US EditionDetainees to testify about legal access at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
Civil rights lawyers seek a temporary injunction citing First Amendment violations and restricted attorney access at the Everglades facility built in 2025 by Florida's DeSantis administration.
- On Wednesday, former detainees planned to testify at a two-day hearing in Fort Myers as civil rights attorneys sought a temporary injunction from U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell to ensure equal attorney access at the Everglades facility.
- Civil rights attorneys say visits require three-day appointments, transfers, and delays that prevent detainees from meeting attorneys before key deadlines, violating ICE requirements.
- The remote, state-run site known as 'Alligator Alcatraz' was built last summer at a remote airstrip by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis's administration, and the access case is one of three federal lawsuits including a wind-down order by a federal judge in Miami.
- Federal officials argued no constitutional violation occurred, while state officials denied restricting access, citing security and staffing protocols; Juan Lopez Vega is expected to testify Wednesday after failing to quash a subpoena.
- Earlier this month, a related suit ended after the immigrant detainee who filed it agreed to be removed, while an appellate court panel stayed a Miami federal judge's wind-down order.
62 Articles
62 Articles
Temple Daily Telegram
Detainees at Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' say they were punished for seeking legal help
Two former detainees at a Florida immigration center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” testified they faced punishment for seeking legal advice. They say they had to write attorneys' phone numbers on walls with soap because of a lack of pen and…
Two people who were detained in an immigrant detention center in the Everglades of Florida, known as “Alcatraz de los caimans”, testified on Wednesday that they could be punished for seeking legal advice and that they had to write lawyers' phone numbers on the walls and beds using soap because they had no access to pen and paper.The two men, one deported to Colombia and one sent back to Haiti, testified on video in a federal court in Fort Myers,…
Federal judge hears testimony about alleged constitutional rights violations at Alligator Alcatraz
A federal judge in Fort Myers heard testimony Wednesday from former detainees of Alligator Alcatraz, the state-run immigration detention facility located in the Everglades since 2025, as part of an ongoing civil rights lawsuit challenging conditions at the facility.Former detainees and their immigration attorneys argue that their constitutional rights are being violated by state and federal governments because attorney-client conversations at Al…
The Trentonian
Florida Everglades detention center accused of punishing detainees seeking legal help
By GISELA SALOMON and MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press ORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Two former detainees at an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades testified Wednesday that they could be punished for seeking legal advice and had to write down phone numbers for attorneys on walls and beds using soap because they had no access to pen and paper. The two men, one who was deported to Colombia and another who was sent back to Haiti, testif…
San Diego Union Tribune
Detainees to testify about legal access at Florida immigration detention facility
By GISELA SALOMON and MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Former detainees planned to testify Wednesday about conditions at an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” as a federal judge considers during a two-day hearing whether they are getting sufficient access to the legal system. Civil rights attorneys representing the detainees were seeking a temporary injunction from U.S. D…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 72% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
