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A federal judge ordered this Friday that the immigration detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz," located in the Florida Everglades, ensure its detainees have real and confidential access to legal representation.
According to AP, Judge Sheri Polster Chappell issued a preliminary injunction in the case H.C.R. v. Noem, which requires the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Florida Department of Emergency Management to provide confidential and immediate outbound calls for detainees.
The court also required the publication of information on how lawyers and detainees can contact each other, and to continue allowing attorney visits without prior scheduling. Additionally, it certified the case as a class action, which extends protection to all current and future detainees at the facility.
The ruling came after two days of hearings held in February, where former detainees testified about the systematic denial of contact with lawyers and the lack of paper and pencils for communication.
Before the order, detainees could only speak with their lawyers through monitored and recorded phone lines, and the attorneys had to request appointments at least three days in advance, unlike federal centers where visits can occur without prior notice.
The case was presented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Florida, and the organization Americans for Immigrant Justice.
Corene Kendrick, Deputy Director of the ACLU National Prison Project, was emphatic after the ruling: "Access to legal representation is a constitutional right... We will not stop until we shut down this abusive facility."
The center, built in just eight days in June 2025 at the order of Governor Ron DeSantis using emergency powers, opened on July 3, 2025, at the Dade-Collier Airport, within the Big Cypress National Preserve in Ochopee, with a capacity for 3,000 detainees.
Since its opening, the facility has faced multiple legal challenges: lawsuits for environmental violations, inhumane conditions, and now for restrictions on legal access.
Between 700 and 800 Cubans are being held there, including individuals as old as 84, and 70% do not have final deportation orders, according to the lawsuit.
Amnesty International classified some practices at the center in December 2025 —including the prolonged use of shackles— as torture, while Cuban detainees reported conditions of up to 32 people per cage, overflowing toilets, spoiled food, and inadequate medical attention.
The cost of operation amounts to $249 per detainee per night —three times the state average— and exceeds one million dollars daily in total, while the $608 million in promised federal funds remain blocked due to an ongoing environmental review.
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