Alligator Alcatraz: Legality of arrests questioned
“Alligator Alcatraz”: Immigrants are being detained without charges or legal access at a facility built in the Everglades.
Photo of Arnav Das in Unsplash
“Alligator Alcatraz” faces an intense legal battle. The immigration detention center is located on an airstrip in the heart of the Florida Everglades. According to a federal lawsuit filed on July 16, the constitutional rights of hundreds of detainees are consistently violated by being held incommunicado, without formal charges, and without access to bail hearings.
In a virtual hearing in Miami, lawyers denounced the immigration court's refusal to grant jurisdiction, blocking legal defense. A new motion was filed last Friday seeking a temporary restraining order halting the center's operations.
A disturbing situation at Alligator Alcatraz
Lawyers say the detainees have no legal access and that it has not been determined which court has jurisdiction over their cases.
The lack of access to due process and the cancellation of bail hearings have raised alarm bells among civil and immigration rights organizations.
Second claim: environmental impact
This isn’t the first time “Alligator Alcatraz” has faced a lawsuit. Last month, environmentalists sued over the center's construction on an Everglades airstrip, alleging damage to protected wetlands.
Support from the governments of Florida and Washington
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other Republican state leaders have championed the center as part of a strategy to support President Donald Trump's immigration policies.
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