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Alligator Alcatraz detainee with intellectual disability claims he was deported after signing for blanket

Civil rights attorneys argue detainees at Everglades facility are being pressured to sign deportation orders without legal counsel

WFTS

By: Jamie Ostroff

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A detainee with an intellectual disability at a state-run immigration detention facility in the Everglades was deported to Jamaica after allegedly signing a voluntary deportation document he thought was for receiving a blanket.

WPTV Chief Investigator Jamie Ostroff has been pressing for answers about the inner workings of the controversial immigration detention facility known as Alligator Alcatraz, located in the middle of the Everglades.

WATCH BELOW: Man with disability deported from Alligator Alcatraz, allegedly signed papers he couldn't understand

Man with disability deported from Alligator Alcatraz, allegedly signed papers he couldn't understand

Civil rights attorneys are arguing in federal court that detainees at the facility are being wrongfully deported.

"We've heard reports of officers going from cage to cage, pressuring detainees to sign voluntary departure orders and without the opportunity to speak to counsel," said Eunice Cho of the ACLU on Monday outside the federal courthouse in Miami.

Cho is serving as the lead counsel in a federal lawsuit against the State of Florida and the federal government for violating the civil rights of Alligator Alcatraz detainees and their immigration attorneys.

Immigration attorney Anna Weiser filed a declaration in the case, mentioning one of her clients who was held at Alligator Alcatraz until he was, as she claims, deceptively deported.

Weiser didn't share the detainee's name because his family hasn't consented, but she told WPTV he's from Jamaica and is diagnosed with an intellectual disability.

"He could speak, but... (his) reading level was below first grade, maybe at a kindergarten level — really struggling," Weiser said.

According to Weiser, her firm was retained just days before the man disappeared from the ICE detainee system. Within a couple of days, he called her from Jamaica.

"It's almost like he just woke up from a stupor. He told me, 'I don't know what happened.' I said, 'Did you sign something? Did you tell them that you don't want to sign anything? Did you tell them that your lawyer is coming and we'll review and you're not going to sign anything?' He said, 'I just signed for a blanket,'" Weiser recalled.

Weiser said she still hasn't seen what her client signed.

"The family went through really extreme trauma, not knowing where their loved one was. They hired an attorney," Weiser said. "They expected, at least, to have due process. Everything was taken away very quickly."

Weiser said her client begged her to bring him back to the United States, where she said he has lived since childhood and has relatives who are U.S. citizens, including a son with an upcoming wedding.

WPTV immediately asked the Florida Department of Emergency Management — which runs the detention facility — to respond to Weiser's claims and will update this story when they respond.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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