Detained in the swamps

The Trump administration has run into a problem in its quest to remove illegal immigrants from the United States: It doesn’t have enough space to detain all the individuals it seeks to deport, said Ira Mehlman, media director at the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

“One of the big things that triggered the flood of illegal immigration under the Biden administration [was] the catch and release policies, where people were reasonably sure that if they got to the United States illegally, they’d be processed [and] released into the country,” Mehlman said.

Then, while in the United States, those immigrants could obtain work and look for reasons to remain in the country. “And so the lack of detention was an incentive for more people to come. And under the Biden administration, it wasn’t just that they didn’t have enough facilities; they actually didn’t want to detain people,” Mehlman said.

The Trump administration is eager to detain immigrants who don’t have legal status and disincentivize illegal entries into the United States. And states like Florida are trying to help by setting up facilities like the Everglades detention facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” Opponents warn of inhumane conditions and a lack of due process, while supporters argue that detaining immigrants who don’t have legal status serves national interests. Meanwhile, some are advocating for broader reforms to the U.S. immigration enforcement system.

“Look, it’s important to remember why we have immigration laws. It’s not because we want to be mean and keep people out. It is because we recognize that it’s a public policy and it should serve the best interests of the American people,” Mehlman said. “We all understand why people come here, but you also have to understand that it does have an effect on other people here.”

In many states lately, that effect hasn’t been positive, Mehlman said. States have had to pour more money into their education systems, their healthcare systems, and other parts of their social infrastructure to handle the population increases. The federal government has only helped with some of the cost, Mehlman said. And that’s why places such as Florida are trying to help the government remove illegal immigrants.

The efforts have sparked allegations that the government is violating the rights of law-abiding people. “Unfortunately, the state of Florida created an encampment that has poor conditions and is keeping people in cages,” said Renata Bozzetto, deputy director at the Florida Immigrant Coalition.

Mehlman disputed the characterization of the detention cells as cages. He said he had not visited Alligator Alcatraz, but he visited federal detention facilities in the past.

“I remember back in the first Trump administration when you had [Rep.] Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez outside the facility crying about kids in cages,” he said. “If you went inside it, it was like a Costco-sized warehouse with chain link fences separating various groups of detainees based on very rational considerations. … These were not cages. These were chain link fences to keep everybody safe. And the chain link fences also allowed the people who were working there to be able to see the entire facility and what was going on.”

Regina de Moraes, an immigration lawyer with more than two decades of experience, represents a 37-year-old Brazilian man who was detained in Alligator Alcatraz. She didn’t provide his name because he has a pending asylum claim. De Moraes said her client was arrested in March at a probation hearing for a 2024 charge of driving under the influence. He was put into the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in June and was one of the first detainees in Alligator Alcatraz.

“He spent over 24 hours in a bus outside of Alligator Alcatraz because it was right where Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Trump came in for the [opening of the center],” de Moraes said, adding that 40-50 other men also came on the bus.

De Moraes said that, inside the facility, her client’s accommodations were not as Mehlman described them.

“He stated they were in cages like animals at a zoo, 32 men per cage, three open toilet seats, toilet bowls,” de Moraes said. “The floor is made out of plywood, and wallpaper material is put on to the plywood. There is air conditioning and there is electricity, but it goes on and off all the time and once electricity is off, the toilets would get backed up because you need electricity in order to discharge the toilets.”

The “cages,” as her client described them, also did little to protect the detainees from the elements. “When it rained, the water would seep in through the floorboards. The number of bunk beds in each caged area was not enough for the detainees, so they would have to rotate sleeping times,” de Moraes said. Her client also complained of lack of fresh food and water and inexperienced staff.

When I asked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security about the conditions in the detention center, a spokesperson responded that the facility was not managed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a DHS agency. The Florida Division of Emergency Management is operating the center with National Guard officials under an agreement with DHS called a 287(g). “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are working at turbo speed on cost-effective and innovative ways to deliver on the American people’s mandate for mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens,” the agency said.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management did not respond to my request for comment about the conditions in the camp. Neither did the Florida attorney general’s office.

De Moraes explained that her client entered the country legally almost 10 years ago and has a pending asylum claim. Immigration authorities are not allowed to deport him on the basis of his DUI conviction because he had an asylum claim pending at the time of the offense.

Immigrants residing legally in the United States can be deported for crimes involving moral turpitude, according to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. Offenses arising from negligence—a category that includes drunken driving—are not crimes of moral turpitude, the ILRC explains. Court opinions have recognized that crimes like sexual abuse of a minor would meet that qualification.

De Moraes said that her client pays his taxes and runs a solar panel installation company. She was able to get him removed from the facility by filing a bond motion that led to his transfer to Miami’s Krome Detention Center, she said.

Other attorneys say they have not been able to confirm who is in Alligator Alcatraz or what will happen to them. “Some lists have leaked and are being published through media, but individuals are not necessarily listed in the adequate databases,” said Bozzetto with the Florida Immigrant Coalition.

“I wish we knew what was happening with people there and in which step of the process they were,” she said. “I cannot say with confidence what is the next step.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Florida attorney general’s office, and the Florida Division of Emergency Management all declined to answer my question about how they would resolve any asylum requests that detainees at Alligator Alcatraz previously made.

“Alligator Alcatraz … is a governor here in Florida trying to align himself with this larger immigration enforcement under the present administration,” said Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition. “Alligator Alcatraz is, from where I sit, as a pastor and as a public theologian, is a move towards indiscriminate immigration actions rather than sober, common-sense immigration actions.”

Salguero pointed to Cato Institute research showing that between 2013 and 2022, illegal immigrants were 26% less likely than native-born Americans to commit homicides in Texas.

“These are moms and dads, these are worship leaders, these are parents of citizen children,” he said. Salguero said that his coalition supports detaining and deporting illegal immigrants who are violent criminals but not those who work hard and share American values.

On Thursday, Trump border czar Tom Homan said that other states were considering working with the federal government to create more facilities like Alligator Alcatraz.

“I won’t confirm the states until we have the agreement, but I applaud the states that are stepping up, because immigration issues are a state problem, too,” Homan said. “Millions of people were released by the Biden administration into the states. So I’m glad the states are stepping up.” He added that he hoped to achieve “negative immigration” this year.