MIAMI — Environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Friday to block a migrant detention center being built on an airstrip in the heart of the Florida Everglades.

The lawsuit seeks to halt the project until it undergoes a stringent environmental review as required by federal law. There is also supposed to be a chance for public comment, according to the lawsuit filed in Miami federal court.

The center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” by Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to begin processing people who entered the United States illegally as soon as next week, the governor said Friday on “Fox and Friends.”

The state is plowing ahead with building a compound of heavy-duty tents, trailers and other temporary buildings at a Miami Dade County-owned airfield in the Big Cypress National Preserve, about 45 miles west of downtown Miami.

The lawsuit names several federal and state agencies as defendants.

“Governor Ron DeSantis has insisted that Florida will be a force multiplier for federal immigration enforcement, and this facility is a necessary staging operation for mass deportations located at a pre-existing airport that will have no impact on the surrounding environment. We look forward to litigating this case,” DeSantis spokesperson Sierra Dean said.

Florida’s attorney general pointed to the harsh conditions surrounding the far-flung Everglades airstrip and its nearly 10,500-foot runway as making it an ideal location to house and transport migrants.

“We don’t need to build a lot of brick and mortar,” AG James Uthmeier said in an interview with conservative media commentator Benny Johnson. “And thankfully, Mother Nature does a lot on the perimeter.”

Environmental advocates say Mother Nature is what needs protecting.

“Surrounded by Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve, this land is part of one of the most fragile ecosystems in the country,” reads a statement from the advocacy group Friends of the Everglades. “Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past. This land deserves lasting protection.”