Immigrants

RCMA serves thousands of families in 18 Florida counties.

Thousands of immigrants have been transferred from jails and prisons across Florida into ICE facilities since President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. The tool behind this pipeline is called a detainer: a request by the federal agency to state and local law enforcement to hold individuals who are not U.S. citizens for up to 48 hours past their scheduled release for possible detention and deportation.

As the federal government intensifies its immigration crackdown, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has emerged as one of the Suncoast’s most active partners with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In recent months, Sheriff Kurt Hoffman’s deputies have patrolled the Everglades immigration jail known as “Alligator Alcatraz” and shuttled immigrants between detention facilities in Florida, earning more than $280,000 in state funding for the work. Meanwhile, the number of ICE detainers — which keep people up to 48 hours past their release date for possible detention and deportation — have quadrupled this past year inside the already crowded county jail.

“Hands Across The Land” is being billed as a peaceful gathering outside the Everglades detention center on Tamiami Trail/U.S. 41 in eastern Collier County and planned this Sunday.

A federal lawsuit over an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades, known as "Alligator Alcatraz," has been paused by an appellate court because of the government shutdown. Earlier this month, U.S. government attorneys requested a stay in proceedings because funding for the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security had expired. The appellate court granted the request on Wednesday. Environmental groups, including Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity, had sued over environmental concerns. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams previously ordered the facility to wind down operations, but that injunction was put on hold by an appellate court panel.

The Fallout from the immigration raids conducted by Immigration & Customs Enforcement are beginning to take a toll on small businesses.

No Kings rally brought out thousands all over Southwest Florida on Oct. 18.

Florida Congressman Jimmy Patronis criticized Democrats Friday for the government shutdown and says Americans should "sit on the couch and watch college football” instead of taking part in Saturday’s No Kings rallies. Florida’s former chief financial officer made his remarks during a virtual media briefing.Using widely used Republican talking points, Patronis blamed Democrats completely for the now government shutdown, terming it the "Schumer Shutdown" after Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.

Florida officials have been accused of failing to disclose their application for federal reimbursement for an immigration detention center in the Everglades known as "Alligator Alcatraz." A public records lawsuit filed Monday by Friends of the Everglades says this led to a false impression before an appellate court panel, which put on hold a judge's order to wind down operations at the facility. Florida applied for federal funding in August but didn't inform either a federal district court or an appellate court panel. Federal officials confirmed that a $608 million reimbursement had been approved for the center earlier this month.

U.S. government lawyers say detainees at the Florida Everglades immigration detention center, known as "Alligator Alcatraz," likely include people who have never been in removal proceedings. This contradicts Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's claims since the facility opened in July. The U.S. Department of Justice made this admission Thursday in a court filing. They argue that detainees don't have enough in common to be certified as a class in a lawsuit over access to attorneys. Civil rights groups allege detainees have been denied proper access to legal counsel, violating their constitutional rights. DeSantis's office hasn't responded to requests for comment.