A legal black hole

"We're surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland," President Trump said earlier this month, referring to the new detention camp in the Florida Everglades known as Alligator Alcatraz. "The only way out is really deportation."

According to a class action lawsuit, that turned out to be literally true. Hundreds of people are being held at the facility without charges, without access to attorneys, and without the ability to contest their detention in court.

The plaintiffs in the case filed an emergency motion last Friday to protect their clients' rights. Under the Fifth Amendment, "No person shall be… deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law."

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, immigration detention is a federal matter and, therefore, the exclusive jurisdiction of federal courts. But in affidavits submitted with Friday's filing, attorneys representing the detainees state they are being locked out of the legal system.

When attorneys representing clients being held at the Everglades detention center attempt to contest their confinement in federal court, they are told that the federal court lacks jurisdiction because the facility is being run by the state government. Attorney Z. Zareefa Khan submitted this account of his efforts to seek the release of his clients, G.T.C. and R.T.F., on bond:

On July 24, 2025, I appeared virtually on behalf of G.T.C. at the [federal] Krome Immigration Court. When I logged into the hearing, [Immigration Judge] Lerner said, “what is going on?” and told me that no hearing for G.T.C. was included on the docket. I then had an off-the-record conversation with IJ Lerner and the government’s counsel. The government counsel stated that my clients had been detained at Alligator Alcatraz since July 3, and that the immigration court had no jurisdiction over their cases… because G.T.C. was in state, not federal custody. IJ Lerner then went back on the record, and stated that the immigration court did not have jurisdiction over their cases. G.T.C. was not brought to the hearing in person or virtually.

Khan added that when he later checked a federal online portal to review the status of his clients' cases, it stated that "their bond motions had been withdrawn on July 21, 2025, although I had not withdrawn either of their motions."

Under section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can "delegate to state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform specified immigration officer functions under the agency’s direction and oversight." Authorities say that the Everglades detention camp is operating under such an agreement. But the existence of a 287(g) agreement does not extinguish the constitutional rights of the detainees or their ability to challenge their detention in federal court.

The plaintiffs also contend that detainees are prevented "from communicating confidentially with legal counsel." The only contact with the outside world that is permitted is "via infrequent access to collect pay phone calls that are monitored and recorded, and last approximately five minutes." According to attorneys representing individuals at the Everglades detention camp, "[a]n email address provided by officials reported to be used for arranging attorney-client communication at the facility results in bounced-back messages." Attorneys who traveled to the facility to speak to their clients in person were "greeted at a military checkpoint and barred from entry." According to the emergency motion, these restrictions "violate the First Amendment rights of all Plaintiffs."

At a hearing on these issues this week, a federal judge demanded more clarity on "who is running the show" at the Everglades detention camp. He described the current situation as "a bit of a black hole" regarding "the interplay between the federal and state authorities and… jurisdictional concerns."

At the hearing, an attorney representing the government said he was "not prepared" to state what court had jurisdiction over legal issues raised by detainees. The attorney also declined to immediately provide a copy of the agreement between the state of Florida and ICE. They also claimed the detention facility was now allowing video and in-person consultations with attorneys.

The judge did not immediately rule but asked for additional legal arguments and scheduled another in-person meeting on August 18. Until then, hundreds of detainees will remain in legal limbo.

Maggots, feces, and floods

Since its opening earlier this month, detainees have reported inhumane conditions at the Everglades detention center. Detainees say that meals are infrequent, they only get “minutes to eat,” and that they have found worms and maggots in the food. At times, toilets in the facility have reportedly backed up and flooded the center with feces. According to detainees, they go days without being able to take a shower.

The facility, which was hastily built in eight days, consists of cells enclosed with chain-link fences. Detainees have said that the facility is swarmed with mosquitoes and enormous bugs. The lights inside the facility reportedly stay on at all times, making it difficult to sleep or know what time of day it is. According to Tessa Petit, the co-executive director of the Florida Immigration Coalition, multiple people have said that the air conditioners “are turned off for at least five hours in the day,” leaving detainees exposed to the Florida heat.

Detainees have also decried the medical care at the center, stating that they have not had access to medication and that some people have become ill. One detainee, who spoke over the phone in his native Spanish to a news conference, said that “there’s not a set schedule to take his blood pressure medication." He also said poor sanitation “caused him to get fungus on his feet” and that people are "stripped naked every time they are moved to a different cell.” He described the facility “like a dog cage.”

There have also been reports of excessive punishments by guards working at the facility. One detainee told WLRN that he was “chained… to the ground” and forced to stand outside in the sun for hours without any water. Other detainees have alleged that guards “used racial slurs when addressing detainees.”

Lawmakers who were permitted to tour parts of the facility said the conditions were “unlawful” and “inhumane” inside the center. “There are three toilets in each cage for the group of 32 people, and their drinking water comes from the toilet,” said Congressman Maxwell Frost (D-FL), referring to a “little spigot on top of the toilet” used by detainees. According to the lawmakers who toured the facility, temperatures inside the center reached 85 degrees in some areas.

Florida officials deny reports of inhumane conditions. stating that the “facility meets all required standards and is in good working order.”