Attorneys for detainees at a state-run immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz” said Thursday they still face obstacles contacting and visiting their clients as a federal judge considers a request for expanded access.
In filings submitted to the court in Fort Myers, Florida, lawyers for the detainees said their clients were unable to call them using staff cellphones, and that the attorneys could not make unannounced visits to the facility. The lawyers argued that those barriers persist even though the state has said access problems have been removed.
The dispute is before U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell, who has not yet ruled on whether to order relief for detainees seeking access comparable to what lawyers can obtain at federally run detention centers. The case, filed by former Everglades detainees, alleges violations of their First Amendment rights.
As described in the court record, the legal fight centers on how attorneys reach clients and how quickly they can meet to prepare for proceedings. Attorneys said they have to schedule visits three days in advance—unlike at other immigration detention facilities where lawyers can show up during visiting hours—and that detainees were often transferred to other facilities before lawyers’ appointments.
The attorneys also said scheduling delays had been lengthy enough that detainees were sometimes unable to meet with counsel before key deadlines. Federal officials named as defendants denied that the detainees’ First Amendment rights were violated, according to the reporting.
State officials named as defendants also denied restricting attorney access, and cited security and staffing reasons for the challenges described in the lawsuit. During an earlier hearing over whether detainees were receiving adequate access to their lawyers, a state contractor testified that both staff-phone calling and unannounced visits were available.
Florida Department of Emergency Management, the state agency overseeing the detention center, did not respond to an emailed inquiry on Thursday. The Everglades facility was built last summer at a remote airstrip under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, according to the report, to support immigration policies associated with President Donald Trump.
The litigation now turns on whether Judge Polster Chappell accepts the detainees’ contention that their access to attorneys falls short of constitutional requirements, and on whether the state’s account of improved access matches what detainees and their lawyers experience on the ground.