Judge orders Florida, federal officials to produce 'Alligator Alcatraz' agreements [View all]

Source: Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Federal and state officials in Florida must produce agreements showing which government agency or private contractor has legal authority to detain people or perform immigration officer roles at “Alligator Alcatraz,” the immigration detention facility in the Everglades, a federal judge said Monday.

Officials must provide by Thursday all written agreements and contracts showing who has legal custody of the hundreds of detainees at the facility that was hastily constructed more than a month ago on an isolated airstrip in South Florida’s Everglades wilderness, said U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz, an appointee of President Donald Trump.

Ruiz’s order was part of an ongoing civil rights lawsuit against the state and federal governments by immigration attorneys who say “Alligator Alcatraz” detainees’ constitutional rights are being violated since they are barred from meeting lawyers, are being held without any charges, and a federal immigration court has canceled bond hearings.

Who has authority over the detention center has been a murky issue since it opened at the beginning of July.

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By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Updated 5:30 PM EDT, August 4, 2025


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/florida-immigration-alligator-alcatraz-27fbae217427be730f589323df7cf656