Donald Trump vetoes plan to protect Miccosukee Tribe’s Osceola Camp

President Donald Trump has vetoed a bipartisan bill calling for safeguarding the Osceola Camp in South Florida from flooding.

In a veto message, he cited the Miccosukee Tribe’s position on immigration after the Tribe sued earlier this year over Alligator Alcatraz. Trump also characterized the legislation as a misguided pursuit started under Democratic President Joe Biden.

“The previous administration developed a plan to protect and replace unauthorized infrastructure at the Osceola Camp, which could cost up to $14 million. But despite seeking funding and special treatment from the Federal Government, the Miccosukee Tribe has actively sought to obstruct reasonable immigration policies that the American people decisively voted for when I was elected,” reads a statement from Trump.

“My Administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding projects for special interests, especially those that are unaligned with my Administration’s policy of removing violent criminal illegal aliens from the country.  Ending the massive cost of taxpayer handouts and restoring fiscal sanity is vital to economic growth and the fiscal health of the Nation.”

The action killed a bill (HR 504) sponsored by U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez, a Miami-Dade Republican. The legislation passed in the House on a voice vote in July before being approved in the Senate through unanimous consent. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, a Naples Republican, had sponsored a companion bill in the Senate.

Florida Politics has reached out to Giménez for comment about the veto.

In July, he spoke on the floor about the bill before it passed.

“This bipartisan legislation ensures that the Miccosukee Tribe has the legal authority to manage, protect and preserve their land — and continue their traditional way of life,” he said.

The bill would have amended the Miccosukee Reserved Area act to include the Osceola Camp, an inhabited tribal village located in the Everglades. As approved, the legislation would have directed the Interior Department to consult with the Miccosukee Tribe on the best ways to protect structures from flooding events.

“The Osceola Camp is not only home to tribal members, but it is also a site of historical and cultural importance. Including this land in the reserved area will empower the tribe to protect their community, manage water flow into Everglades national park, and raise structures within the Camp to prevent catastrophic flooding,” Giménez said on the floor.

“The Everglades is the largest subtropical wilderness in the continental United States, and one of the most unique ecosystems on the planet. For generations, the Miccosukee Tribe has served as a responsible steward of the fragile environment. Their leadership in conservation, water management and environmental protection has helped preserve the natural beauty, biodiversity and the cultural heritage of South Florida.”

But Trump, whose Mar-a-Lago home sits less than a two-hour drive from Osceola Camp, said the bill would offer unwarranted special treatment to the Tribe.

“This principle carries especially heavy weight here; it is not the Federal Government’s responsibility to pay to fix problems in an area that the Tribe has never been authorized to occupy,” he said. “For these reasons, I cannot support the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act.”

The Miccosukee Tribe has not released a statement about the veto on social media.

Earlier this year, Miccosukee Tribe Chair Talbert Cypress legally challenged the opening of the Alligator Alcatraz immigrant detention center in the Everglades. That resulted in a temporary halt of work there, though an appellate court overturned that decision in September.

“This is not the first fight for our land and our rights,” Cypress said in a statement in the Fall. “The Miccosukee Tribe remains steadfast in our commitment to protect our ancestral lands in Big Cypress from development as a permanent detention center. … We will always stand up for our culture, our sovereignty, and for the Everglades. When it comes to our homeland, there is no compromise.”