Alligator Alcatraz

A federal judge has ruled that the immigration detention facility known as "Alligator Alcatraz" must provide people detained there with better access to their attorneys. U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell issued a preliminary injunction Friday saying officials at the Florida facility must provide access to timely, free, confidential, unmonitored, unrecorded outgoing legal calls. They must also provide at least one operable telephone for every 25 people detained there. The order also outlined information that must be made available to detained people and their attorneys in multiple languages. The lawsuit says the rules force visits to be booked three days ahead. It says delays and transfers block legal help. State and federal officials deny rights violations.

Florida lawmakers approved significant new guardrails Friday for the multibillion-dollar emergency fund that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration used to construct and operate the sprawling immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”

Florida initially sought $1.4 billion from the feds for Alligator Alcatraz.

The Lee County Courthouse was the home for a legal showdown between The Immigration Detention Center known as Alligator Alcatraz and several former detainees.

A Leon County circuit judge has rejected a lawsuit filed by five Democratic lawmakers who sought access to the immigrant-detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” saying laws about access to state prisons and local jails do not apply to the Everglades facility. Judge Jonathan Sjostrom on Friday sided with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration in the lawsuit filed after lawmakers made an unannounced visit to the detention center in July but were denied access. The Democrats contended in the lawsuit the denial violated laws allowing access by legislators to correctional institutions.

President Donald Trump has issued the first vetoes of his second term, rejecting two bipartisan natural resources bills. The Tuesday vetoes had the effect of punishing backers of the bills who had opposed the president's positions on other issues. Trump vetoed drinking water pipeline legislation from Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, a longtime ally who broke with the president over releasing files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He also rejected legislation that would have given the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida more control over some of its land. The tribe was among groups suing the administration over an immigration detention center in the Everglades known as "Alligator Alcatraz."

More than 60 people gathered outside the Everglades detention facility known as Alligator Alcatraz for their 21st freedom vigil. Organized by The Workers Circle, a Jewish social justice organization, the group prayed for those inside.

Attorneys for detainees at a Florida immigration detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz" want a federal judge to visit the facility. They argue this will help determine if detainees have sufficient access to legal counsel. On Friday, they asked U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell to make the visit within two months. The facility, built this summer, requires attorneys to schedule visits three days in advance. State attorneys object, citing security risks and operational disruptions. As of Monday, the judge hadn't ruled on the request. This case is one of three federal lawsuits challenging practices at the detention center.

A report released Wednesday by Amnesty International alleges cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment at two immigration detention centers in Florida: The Everglades Detention Facility (“Alligator Alcatraz”) in eastern Collier County and the Krome North Service Processing Center ("Krome") in Miami.

A federal judge in Florida wants civil rights attorneys and lawyers for the U.S. and Florida to hammer out a settlement in a lawsuit over whether detainees at an immigration center in the Everglades are getting adequate access to attorneys. At a Monday status hearing, U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell set a conference for Dec. 16-17 in her Fort Myers courtroom. The lawsuit filed by detainees over legal access is one of three federal cases challenging practices at the immigration detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz." It was built this summer by the administration of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.