{"id":3456,"date":"2026-07-06T04:26:33","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T08:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3456"},"modified":"2026-07-06T04:26:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T08:26:33","slug":"immigrants-rights-advocates-applaud-permanent-closure-of-everglades-detention-center-cruelly-dubbed-alligator-alcatraz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/?p=3456","title":{"rendered":"Immigrants\u2019 Rights Advocates Applaud Permanent Closure of Everglades Detention Center, Cruelly Dubbed \u2018Alligator Alcatraz\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Immigrants\u2019 rights advocates applaud the announced<\/a> closure of the notorious Everglades detention center, cruelly dubbed \u201cAlligator Alcatraz,\u201d known for the horrific and unsafe conditions<\/a> faced by immigrants being held there.<\/p>\n

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced the closure during a press conference today, just days after reports emerged<\/a> that people detained at the facility were being transferred to other ICE detention facilities ahead of hurricane season. The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Florida, and Americans for Immigrant Justice had sued over the facility last July, challenging the lack of access to legal counsel and violations of due process for people held there.<\/p>\n

The site is a hastily constructed facility on an abandoned airstrip in the middle of the wetlands in Ochopee. It was built out of shoddy tents and trailers, and surrounded by alligators, pythons, mosquitos, and swampland, and at serious risk of dangerous flooding. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of detainees held there, on behalf of a class, and legal service providers with clients there.<\/p>\n

While pleased with news of the detention center\u2019s permanent closure, the groups also urge caution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that this site ever existed is a travesty, given the cruelty behind it, horrific conditions, and blatant violations of due process. We challenged the Trump administration and the State of Florida over the facility, and now celebrate its closure,\u201d said Carmen <\/strong>Iguina Gonz\u00e1lez<\/strong>, deputy director for immigration detention with the ACLU\u2019s National Prison Project.<\/strong> \u201cHowever, the nightmarish scene found at \u2018Alligator Alcatraz\u2019 is not wholly unique and reflects systemic patterns of abuse at other ICE detention facilities nationwide. We remain very concerned that people may be transferred to other sites with sordid and dangerous conditions, and we will continue to monitor this situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith its official closure, ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ seals its reputation as a ruinous venture. This detention center stands as a monument to what happens when a state government abandons its conscience in service of a federal cruelty agenda. The DeSantis administration deliberately built a detention facility in the middle of the Everglades \u2014 not despite the harsh conditions, but because of them \u2014 and spent over $1 billion of Florida taxpayers’ money to do it,\u201d said Keisha Mulfort, deputy executive director and strategy officer of the ACLU of Florida<\/strong>. \u201cThat is not governance; that is cruelty dressed up as policy, and complicity dressed up as leadership. In spite of this, hundreds of thousands of Floridians protested, organized, called their legislators, and refused to look away. They made this moment possible, and we should name that clearly: this is what accountability looks like when the government won’t hold itself accountable. As people are transferred to other facilities, the abuses do not disappear \u2014 they relocate. The ACLU of Florida will follow. We will not allow this administration, or any administration, to simply shuffle the harm out of sight and call it progress. Our vigilance does not end with a closure. It deepens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cClosing this facility is an important step, but the government’s obligation to respect due process does not end at the facility gates. Constitutional rights must follow every person wherever they are detained,” said Paul R. Chavez, Director of Litigation & Advocacy at Americans for Immigrant Justice. <\/strong>“These failures are not an isolated case \u2014 they reflect systemic failures throughout our immigration detention system. We remain deeply concerned that people transferred out of this facility will continue to face mistreatment and civil rights violations in other detention centers. Americans for Immigrant Justice will continue to defend due process, offer free legal representation to low-income immigrants and stand strong with our immigrant neighbors, friends, and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Immigrants\u2019 rights advocates applaud the announced closure of the notorious Everglades detention center, cruelly dubbed \u201cAlligator Alcatraz,\u201d known for the horrific and unsafe conditions faced by immigrants being held there. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced the closure during a press conference today, just days after reports emerged that people detained at the facility were being […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"registered_only","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[742],"class_list":["post-3456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ciencia-y-tecnologia","tag-vr-news-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3456\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vr-news.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}