Immigrants

A Bonita Springs man who was taken into ICE detention in February says that during his three months in custody, he was mistreated so badly, he nearly died.

Some of the highest-ranking U.S. Catholic bishops and nuns on the front lines of America's immigration conflict gathered in Washington to decry the Trump administration's hard-line policies. The religious leaders condemned Trump's immigration crackdown, saying its tearing apart families, inciting fear and upending American church life. They shared how they've supported immigrants who are wary of taking their children to school, and going to work or church for fear of being detained and deported. A Trump administration move gives immigration officers more leeway to make arrests at houses of worship. It has been challenged in court by faith groups representing millions of Americans.

Attorneys are still facing obstacles in contacting clients at the immigration detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz" in Florida. That's according to new court papers filed Thursday. The filings say detainees are often transferred just before scheduled lawyer visits, denying them legal representation. The new court papers were filed a week after a federal appellate court allowed the facility to continue operations by staying a lower court's injunction ordering the center to wind down. Lawyers also claim U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement omits detainee information from its online locator system, complicating efforts to locate their clients.

A federal appeals court panel has put on hold a lower court judge's order to wind down operations of the immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz." The three-judge panel in Atlanta on Thursday decided by a 2-1 vote to stay the federal judge's order pending the outcome of an appeal. The judges in the majority said it was in the public interest. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued a preliminary injunction last month ordering operations at the facility to be wound down by the end of October, with detainees transferred to other facilities and equipment and fencing removed.

Florida plans to resume taking in immigrants at a controversial detention center in the Everglades if an appeals court pauses a judge's order that required winding down operations at the facility, a new court filing says.The filing Tuesday came after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said last week it had stopped sending detainees to the facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” because of a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved sending up to 600 military lawyers to the Justice Department to serve as temporary immigration judges, according to a memo reviewed by The Associated Press. The military will begin sending groups of 150 attorneys — both military and civilians — to the Justice Department "as soon as practicable" and the military services should have the first round of people identified by next week, according to the memo, dated Aug. 27.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says the Trump administration will soon expand immigration operations in Chicago. Noem confirmed plans for the stepped up presence of federal agents in the nation's third-largest city in a CBS News' "Face the Nation" interview on Sunday. DHS last week requested the Naval Station Great Lakes, about 35 miles north of Chicago, provide DHS limited support in the form of facilities, infrastructure, and other logistical needs for the agency's operations. Pritzker says that the plan to mobilize federal forces in the city may be part of an effort by President Donald Trump to "stop the elections in 2026 or, frankly, take control of those elections."

Federal officials are complying with a judge’s order and have stopped sending immigrants to a detention center in the Everglades, less than two months after Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration launched the facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” in support of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.

For generations, The Miccosukee Tribe have lived and created a connection with the land that now hosts the Immigration Detention Center known as Alligator Alcatraz.