Alligator Alcatraz

Attorneys for detainees at a Florida immigration detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” want a federal judge to visit the facility. They argue this will help determine if detainees have sufficient access to legal counsel.

Every weekday William Botsch leaves his home around sunrise for an hour long trip on two trains to arrive at the Miami immigration court. He isn't a lawyer. He doesn't have a family member due to appear. He watches and takes notes. What has he learned from observing hundreds of immigration hearings?

The decision came from a federal judge who said a detainee, identified as M.A., failed to show irreparable harm.

The Miccosukee Tribe officials say they are moving forward with their legal battle against the "Alligator Alcatraz" immigrant detention facility in the Everglades, arguing that Florida’s acceptance of more than $600 million in federal funds for the facility represents a major concession that strengthens their case.

“These findings confirm a deliberate system built to punish, dehumanize, and hide the suffering of people in detention,” said Ana Piquer, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Americas, in a statement accompanying the report.

Amnesty International reports rights violations at Florida immigrant detention sites.

Five lawmakers filed the lawsuit in July after they made an unannounced visit to the facility dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" but were denied access.

U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has ordered a two-day conference next month in her Fort Myers courtroom. The lawsuit challenges whether detainees at "Alligator Alcatraz" are getting adequate legal access

A coalition of Florida grassroots organizations held an "art-based" protest Saturday night outside the Adrienne Arsht Center for Performing Arts, calling out Florida Grand Opera Chair Tina Vidal-Duart, accusing her of profiting from the detention of immigrants at Alligator Alcatraz.

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.

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.

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.