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Lawyers for detainees at the immigration detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Florida Everglades want a federal judge to take an unscheduled, personal tour of the facility to see firsthand whether they are getting adequate access to their lawyers.
Lawyers on Friday asked U.S. District Judge Sherri Polster Chappelle to visit within the next two months to help assess whether detainees are allowed to meet with their lawyers in a confidential and regular manner. The facility was built this summer on a remote airstrip in the Florida Everglades republican Governor Ron DeSantis‘ Administration.
The detainees’ federal lawsuit claims that their lawyers are required to make appointments for visits three days in advance, unlike other immigration detention facilities, where lawyers can only be present during visiting hours; Detainees are often transferred to other facilities after their lawyers make an appointment to meet with them; And scheduling delays became so long that detainees were unable to meet with lawyers before key deadlines.
“Federal courts routinely use site visits as a legitimate fact-finding tool, particularly in cases involving conditions of confinement,” attorneys for the detainees wrote in their request.
But Florida state lawyers “vigorously” objected to the visit, saying a federal judge does not have the authority to inspect a state facility and that a visit would pose a significant security risk.
Florida state attorneys said, “It would also impose a significant burden on facility staff and significantly interfere with the operation of the facility.”
As of Monday, the judge had not ruled on the request.
Judge, who is located in fort myersFlorida ordered attorneys for the inmates and lawyers for the state and federal governments to meet last week in an effort to resolve the case. But despite nine hours of talks they could not reach any solution.
The access to legal system case is one of three federal lawsuits challenging practices at the immigration detention center. Another lawsuit brought by detainees in federal court in Fort Myers argues that immigration is a federal issue, and Florida agencies and state-appointed private contractors have no authority to operate the facility under federal law. Last week a judge rejected the detainees’ request for a preliminary injunction to close the facility.
In a third lawsuit, a federal judge in Miami last summer ordered the facility to cease operations in two months because officials had failed to review the environmental impact of the detention center. But an appellate court panel put that decision on hold for a while, allowing the facility to remain open.
prisoners There have been complaints at the facility about toilets that don’t flush, floors full of fecal waste, and mosquitoes and other insects everywhere. chairman donald trump Visited the detention center last summer, suggesting it could be a model for future lockups across the country as his administration races to expand the infrastructure needed to increase deportations.
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