The Justice Department filed in court to block environmental groups from delaying the construction of the immigration detention center in Florida known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”

The department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to prevent groups like the Friends of the Everglades Inc. and Center for Biological Diversity from preventing the construction of the detention center.

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“Delaying the construction of Florida’s temporary detention center, as plaintiffs request, would imperil critical immigration enforcement efforts and endanger detainees in overcrowded detention facilities,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of ENRD said in a statement.

“We are proud to defend against these unfounded claims and to help the administration fulfill its fundamental obligation to prioritize the safety and security of Americans,” Gustafson said.

In June, the two environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and Miami-Dade County to block the build-out of the immigration center. 

The two groups argued that the project has failed to undergo a proper environmental review or a public comment period. The groups added that the detention facility which is being built in Florida’s Everglades is home to endangered species.

“The site is more than 96% wetlands, surrounded by Big Cypress National Preserve, and is habitat for the endangered Florida panther and other iconic species,” Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades, said in a statement at the time.

 “This scheme is not only cruel, it threatens the Everglades ecosystem that state and federal taxpayers have spent billions to protect,” Samples said.

‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT FLORIDA’S NEWEST IMMIGRANT DETENTION CENTER

Florida converted the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport into a detention center in eight days. The center is located about two hours west of Miami. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier proposed the facility as the Trump administration has set a quota for ICE officers to arrest 3,000 illegal immigrants every day.

The first group of illegal immigrants arrived at the detention center on Wednesday night. When completed, the detention center is expected to be able to hold about 3,000 detainees. It will be managed by 1,000 staff with 20,000 feet of barbed wire surrounding it. The detention center will cost $450 million per year to operate.