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Florida fights court order for Alligator Alcatraz facility changes

State argues that adding confidential phone lines for detainees to speak with lawyers would be too costly and that the facility already provides adequate access to counsel

WFTS

By: Jamie Ostroff

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The state of Florida is making its case for why it shouldn't comply with a court order to make changes at the immigration detention facility known as "Alligator Alcatraz."

WPTV has been following the legal battles surrounding the facility, which has cost state taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

WATCH BELOW: Florida fights court order for Alligator Alcatraz facility changes

Florida fights court order for Alligator Alcatraz facility changes

In an ongoing civil rights case, the ACLU argues the First Amendment rights of detainees are being violated because they cannot talk to their lawyers in a timely, confidential manner.

About a month ago, a federal judge in Fort Myers agreed, at least in part, with the ACLU. The judge ordered that the facility add confidential phone lines, post signage about access to counsel policies, and post those policies online.

The state government says it plans to appeal and asked the judge to pause her order during that process.

During a January hearing in the case, Alligator Alcatraz officials testified that guards had cellphones that the detainees could request to place outgoing, confidential legal calls.

Immigration attorneys said that testimony came as a surprise to them and have since disputed it in court filings, saying their detained clients cannot request cellphones.

The January testimony also included statements that attorneys can show up at Alligator Alcatraz to meet with a client without an appointment (the attorneys have disputed that as well). The preliminary injunction that followed the January hearing included a requirement to put those policies in writing, which still has not occurred, according to court records.

In its motion to stay the order, the state argues the facility already allows for confidential access to counsel via in-person visits and Zoom calls. Regarding the posting of policies, the state says that it is government speech, and the court does not have the authority to compel government speech.

The state also says installing more phones in the middle of the Everglades would be costly, at about $180,000 upfront, plus $6,300 a week.

The state's filing includes a declaration from an Alligator Alcatraz official stating it would be unfeasible to install the infrastructure needed for landlines or a cell tower at the remote facility, so the pricing was based on estimates for Starlink connections and cellphones.

"Some of the things in that March 27 order are things that the state and ICE had testified under oath that they were already doing," said Corene Kendrick of the ACLU, who is the lead attorney for the plaintiffs. "Which beggars the question: well, if you were doing this all along, then why are you appealing it? And why are you saying, 'Oh, we can't comply with an order telling us in what we were saying we were doing all along?'"

The state also used an appeals court opinion from earlier this week in a separate federal lawsuit alleging the construction of Alligator Alcatraz violated an environmental law to bolster its argument that a court does not have the authority to dictate how a detention facility is run.

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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