Another lawsuit challenges Alligator Alcatraz

Florida’s ad hoc immigration lockup Alligator Alcatraz is facing yet another legal complaint charging abuse of power and legal prerogative.

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Florida, Community Justice Project, and National Immigrant Justice Center are suing the state of Florida on behalf of inmates.

In the complaint that names Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie and other state officials along with a “warden” from private contractor Critical Response Strategies, the plaintiffs claim that the state is abusing 287(g) agreements governing immigration enforcement cooperation with the federal government, forcing inmates to languish for weeks amid what is allegedly “the clear lack of authority at the heart of the facility’s operations.”

Federal law “does not provide authority for state agencies to hold immigration detainees during the removal process. And it certainly does not let them place detention in the hands of un-trained, un-supervised private contractors who are not and cannot be deputized to perform immigration functions,” the plaintiffs allege, leading to “exactly the kind of disaster that Congress took pains to avoid.”

The plaintiff arrived in the U.S. in 2018, has filed an asylum claim, and is married to a U.S. citizen. The complaint alleges that he was forced to sign a “voluntary removal form” that he couldn’t read, and that his treatment under state custody has left him wheelchair bound.

“The facility is Florida-owned and Florida-operated. State and federal officials have stated in court filings that Florida exercises ‘complete discretion’ over operations and over who is detained at the facility,” the plaintiff filing states, adding that private contractor employees make up 90% of the staff.

The filing also alleges “atrocious conditions” at the facility, including insufficient water, a plague of mosquitoes, and solid waste allowed to dry and cake up after the hastily-installed toilets overflow in the tent cell blocks.

The relief sought includes injunctions blocking the incarceration at the facility and a declaratory judgment asserting a lack of authority to run the prison.

Judge Kathleen Williams has already ordered the state to wind down the facility, barring further construction on the South Florida airport repurposed for the fight, and ordering transfer of the detained to other facilities within 60 days.

The DeSantis administration has shrugged off adverse rulings to this point, and is appealing Williams’.

Alex Lanfranconi, a spokesperson for DeSantis, said after Williams’ ruling: “The deportations will continue until morale improves.”

“This was not something that was unexpected. This was a Judge that was not going to give us a fair shake. This was preordained, very much an activist Judge that is trying to do policy from the bench,” DeSantis said.