A.G. Gancarski
The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups are suing over due process violations and deprivation of legal counsel at ‘Alligator Alcatraz.’
The case, filed in the Southern District of Florida, lists as defendants the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Director of Emergency Management Kevin Guthrie.
The ACLU, ACLU of Florida and Americans for Immigrant Justice are working with inmates at the an immigrant detainment facility and other groups representing them, including Florida Keys Immigration, Sanctuary of the South, U.S. Immigration Law Counsel, Victoria Slatton of Sanabria & Associates, and the Law Offices of Catherine Perez, PLLC.
The plaintiffs (Michael Borrego Fernandez, J.M.C. and E.R.) allege that lawyers have been frustrated in their attempts to meet with clients on site, and their clients have been thwarted in their attempts to file motions that could lead to their release from the extraordinary ad hoc prison located on the edge of the Everglades.
The suit says attempts to phone the facility have proven fruitless, while an email provided to plaintiff lawyers allegedly leads to bounced back messages.
Fernandez alleges, per the complaint, that brutality runs rampant and that “detained people were told that they are only allowed one meal a day (and given only minutes to eat), are not permitted daily showers, and are otherwise kept around the clock in a cage inside a tent.” After an episode that led to “profuse bleeding,” he says he was hospitalized, operated on, and returned to the facility, but was denied antibiotics that were prescribed, and infection with pus ensued.
E.R., apprehended at a traffic stop, says he is locked up with 32 other men in a plastic tent, sharing three toilets and restricted to calls lasting roughly five minutes that do not allow for confidential communication.
Plaintiff lawyers are outraged.
“This facility opens another dark chapter in our nation’s history. Its very existence is predicated on our country’s basest impulses and shows the danger of unchecked governmental authority when combined with unbridled hate. It represents an attack on common decency, and in this case, its treatment of detained people is also unlawful,” said Eunice Cho, senior counsel with the ACLU’s National Prison Project.
DeSantis has quipped that the facility is not the Four Seasons, a ritzy hotel chain with abundant amenities and five-star service.
Guthrie has dismissed space concerns, saying inmates have much more room than do people in state-run hurricane shelters.
One comment
Michael K
July 17, 2025 at 5:21 pm
Cruelty is the whole point – in addition to awarding lucrative non-competitive contracts to DeSantis donors. Most workers had to sign non-disclosure agreements, but several hired workers soon resigned in disgust over the horrible conditions and treatment at the hastily and poorly constructed facility.
It’s very costly, inhumane political theater designed to feed the hate and political aspirations of our governor. It’s nothing like a hurricane shelter – it’s an internment camp. We should be ashamed by what is happening. Even National Guard members called to Los Angeles are disgusted by the assignment, and are speaking out about it, with some resigning.