Former ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detainees testify about barriers to lawyers

FORT MYERS, Fla – Former detainees testified Wednesday in federal court about what they described as barriers to accessing attorneys at Florida’s remote Everglades immigration detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” as a judge considers whether their First Amendment rights have been violated.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of detainees held at the facility, argues that conditions and policies at Alligator Alcatraz unlawfully restrict access to legal counsel. Attorneys for the detainees are seeking a temporary injunction that would require the facility to provide the same level of attorney access as other federally run immigration detention centers.

U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell is presiding over a two-day evidentiary hearing in Fort Myers. Attorneys for the plaintiffs, the state of Florida, and the federal government were all present on Wednesday for an eight-hour hearing. 

More than 30 exhibits were filed with the court on Wednesday morning by all parties.

The Everglades detention center was constructed last summer at a remote airstrip by the administration of Governor Ron DeSantis.

Two former detainees, identified in court by their initials, testified remotely via livestream with interpreters.

The first witness, identified as H.C.R., testified in Spanish from Colombia, where he has since been deported. He said he was seeking asylum when he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Sept. 4, 2025, and held at Alligator Alcatraz for 12 days.

H.C.R. testified that he had a valid visa, driver’s license, and work permit at the time of his arrest and that he informed ICE officers of his legal status. Federal attorneys questioned that claim during cross-examination.

He told the court he had no criminal history and described harsh conditions inside the facility, saying he was “handcuffed, tied to the floor,” and not allowed to remove his restraints even while eating. He testified that he was never given access to an attorney and that officers inside the facility would not answer his questions.

H.C.R. said there were only a few phones available to detainees and that calls frequently dropped when attempting to reach lawyers. When relatives provided him with attorney phone numbers during calls, he said he wrote the numbers on a bar of soap because detainees were not provided pens or paper.

He also testified that shortly after arriving at the facility, he was pressured to sign documents written in English that he did not understand. “It is important to us,” he said, referring to access to attorneys. He told the court he does not wish to return to the United States, but if he did, he would do so legally.

The second detainee, identified as J.E., testified in Haitian Creole from Haiti. He said he was seeking asylum because of violence in his home country, telling the court that “gangs had taken over” and that he feared for his safety. He said he applied for Temporary Protected Status.

J.E. testified that he arrived in the United States in January 2024 and lived in St. Thomas before being detained by ICE on Nov. 3, 2025. He was transferred to Alligator Alcatraz on Nov. 11 and remained there until Jan. 6.

He told the court detainees were given little to no information about legal resources and said there were no posters inside the facility listing attorney contact information. Like H.C.R., he said he wrote attorney phone numbers on a bar of soap because pens were not allowed.

J.E. testified that phones frequently malfunctioned and could remain down for days, limiting his ability to contact attorneys. He said calls were limited to 15 minutes and often failed to connect. “It wouldn’t ring,” he said, referring to attempts to call lawyers.

He also testified that he was pressured by ICE to sign paperwork agreeing to deportation without first consulting an attorney. “Over there, when you don’t do what they ask you to do, you get punished,” he said. “They don’t treat people justly there. They abuse you there.”

Plaintiffs’ attorneys also told the court that another former detainee scheduled to testify could not be located. They said ICE had visited the individual in Mexico days earlier and that they have been unable to contact him since, adding they do not know whether he is currently in ICE custody.

Juan Lopez Vega, deputy field office director of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Miami, testified that ICE has oversight responsibility for the facility, though he acknowledged he has not visited Alligator Alcatraz since it opened. An earlier attempt to quash his subpoena was unsuccessful.

Lopez Vega testified that ICE has conducted several inspections of the facility and emphasized that detainees there are held under a civil litigation process. He told the court that detainees are permitted to communicate with attorneys, that attorney calls are not monitored, and that detainees are provided with lists of free legal services. He also testified that detainees have a right to privacy when speaking with legal counsel.

Another witness, Mark Saunders, vice president of Nakamoto Group Inc., testified as a witness and expert. Nakamoto is a government contractor who manages attorney visit scheduling for the facility.

Saunders testified that his company oversees a legal inbox used to coordinate attorney visits and that four staff members handle those requests. He said the inbox began operating in July 2025, when the detention center opened. He testified that his staff responds to most inquiries within hours and said only one request went unanswered.

Saunders said attorneys are now allowed to visit detainees in person without scheduling an appointment in advance, a policy change he said occurred about six weeks ago. Under earlier policies, attorneys were required to make appointments. 

He testified that no attorney would be “turned away” from the facility and said walk-in visits are now accepted, though he conceded that detainees themselves may not yet be aware of the policy change. He said the current practices align with other ICE detention centers, even if some policies have not yet been formally documented.

Saunders also testified that detainees do have access to pen and paper inside the facility and said that if detainees were deported without the opportunity to consult counsel, ICE would bear responsibility.

The final witness on Wednesday was Dr. Dora Schriro, a former corrections and ICE official with extensive experience in jail and detention operations, who testified as an expert for the plaintiffs.

Schriro criticized the facility’s policies, calling them unnecessary and outside customary detention practices. She testified that attorneys are essential to the legal process and that detainees have a right to confidential phone calls with counsel. She said standard practices include posting attorney information inside facilities and allowing walk-in attorney visits.

“The methodology they have in place is highly ineffective,” Schriro said.

The court adjourned just before Schriro could be cross-examined. Testimony is expected to resume at 9 am Thursday.