The detainees at Alligator Alcatraz have been denied access to legal representation, are being held without charges, and bond hearings have been canceled by a federal immigration court, according to civil rights attorneys requesting a temporary restraining order against the immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades.
During a virtual hearing on Monday, the immigration lawyers contended that the constitutional rights of the detainees were being violated and that 100 of them had already been deported from Alligator Alcatraz.
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The civil rights attorneys demanded that federal and state officials find an immigration court that has jurisdiction over the detainees so that it can begin accepting petitions for bond. The attorneys who attended bond hearings for Alligator Alcatraz detainees were informed that the immigration court does not have jurisdiction over their clients.
During the hearing in federal court in Miami, Eunice Cho, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, stated that this is an emergency. Alligator Alcatraz officers are attempting to coerce individuals into signing deportation orders without giving them the opportunity to consult with legal representation.
However, Nicholas Meros, a lawyer for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, stated that since the civil rights organizations’ lawsuit was filed on July 16, things have changed. In-person sessions between detainees and attorneys had begun, and videoconference facilities had been made up for detainees to speak with counsel.
During the hearing on Monday, Meros stated that certain facts had changed.
President Donald Trump’s pick, U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz, did not issue a decision right away. He scheduled a briefing that would conclude with an in-person court hearing on August 18 and requested the human rights lawyers to refile their lawsuit in order to combine their filings as a request for a preliminary injunction.
The judge stated that attempts to turn the court into the guardian of Alligator Alcatraz would not take place here and cautioned that his job was to provide remedies for any established constitutional infringement. A hazy topic since the detention center opened a month ago, the judge also gave the civil rights organizations the opportunity to argue for the publication of any agreements between the federal and state governments that outline who has control over the facility.
Since the court might be entering a bit of a dark hole about the interaction between federal and state agencies and undoubtedly jurisdictional questions, it would be beneficial for all parties to know more about any agreements, Ruiz said. Who is doing what at this facility is part of the issue.
This is the second lawsuit that has been filed against Alligator Alcatraz. Because the project didn’t adhere to state and federal environmental regulations, environmental organizations filed a lawsuit against federal and state officials last month, requesting that the construction of an airstrip in the center of the Florida Everglades be stopped.
While the property is owned by Miami-Dade County, attorneys for the federal government and the state of Florida have argued in both cases that the federal court’s southern district in Florida was the incorrect venue because the airstrip is situated in neighboring Collier County, which is part of the middle district. Additionally, they contended that Tallahassee, located in the northern region, was the site of decision-making. On Wednesday, a hearing will be held to determine if the southern district venue is appropriate for the environmental case.
Construction, paving, and detention—all of which the plaintiffs claim are detrimental to their interests—took place in the Middle District rather than the Southern District. Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice stated Friday in a court filing for the environmental lawsuit that all pertinent decision-making took place in either the Middle District or the Northern District of Florida.
DeSantis and other Republican state officials have defended the facility as part of the state’s strong campaign to back President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, while others have denounced it as a cruel and inhumane menace to captives.
As the agency seeks to greatly increase its capacity for immigration detention, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has commended Florida for putting forward the concept.
DeSantis expressed his expectation that the facility’s deportation rate would increase during a press conference held in Panama City Beach on Monday.
The truth is that if you oppose sending someone who entered the nation illegally and has already been told they are breaking the law and must be deported back to their home country, you are in favor of an open border, DeSantis stated. I disagree with that. A nation cannot function that way.
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Follow Mike Schneider at @mikeysid.bsky.social on the social media network Bluesky.
