Taken South to ICE Everglades Detention
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement migrant facility, which has been dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz,' was built in eight days to detain thousands of immigrants for potential deportation. The first of them arrived at the beginning of the month at the facility. Wednesday, immigration rights activists filed a class action lawsuit alleging detainees are not being given access to legal counsel. Some Central Floridians say they have family members who have ended up at the ICE detention facility without any notice. There are reports of unjust treatment and deplorable conditions. Engage speaks with family members of those who have been detained there, and some asked that we only use their first names because they feared harm or retaliation.
J.P. lives in Orlando and owns a small business. The 37-year-old from Brazil is represented by Miami based immigration and criminal deportation defense attorney Regina de Moraes. She says her client came here legally in 2022 on a tourist visa. He entered through customs at Orlando International Airport, later applied for asylum, and was granted permission to live and work here for five years while his case is pending. Last year, he was arrested for DUI. De Moraes says J.P. was detained in Orange County at a probation hearing last month, taken into ICE custody, moved to different facilities in the state, and then transferred to their detention facility in the Everglades last week. Despite repeated attempts, she could not reach her client. De Moraes says legally, J.P. does not qualify for mandatory detention and is not subject to removal. Throughout this process, his sister, Bea who also lives in Orlando, says she frequently didn’t know where he was being held. She and attorney Regina de Moraes join Engage to discuss J.P.’s detention, new developments in his case, and conditions at the Everglades center dubbed Alligator Alcatraz.
Engage also speaks to an Apopka resident named Maria, about her family member being held at the new ICE detention center in South Florida. Maria says five years ago, he immigrated to the U.S. as a minor to escape gangs in El Salvador and now holds a valid work permit. Recently he was arrested for domestic violence and the charge has not been resolved in court. Maria joins Engage to advocate for his rights and due process. While the details of this case are quite different, she echoes concerns about the Everglades facility.
Some lawmakers are offering a different assessment of conditions. Shortly after a bipartisan group toured the facility on Saturday, Florida’s newly appointed Chief Financial Officer, Blaise Ingoglia spoke about what he saw and said there were no issues with conditions.
The Florida Department of Emergency Management oversees the Everglades detention facility. Engage asked the agency about its role in the operation and response to criticism about limited access to legal counsel and conditions for detainees but did not receive a response.
Family members of detainees and their advocates share a very different characterization of what’s happening to Central Floridians in South Florida. Attorney Josephine Arroyo, Managing Partner of the Arroyo Law Firm in Orlando, says her client being held at the Everglades detention center was brought from Mexico to the U.S. as a child in 2001 and legally protected from deportation under the DACA program. She joins Engage to discuss his case.
This week, Orange County commissioners agreed to renegotiate with the federal government how ICE uses its jail. On Tuesday, commissioners talked about the Intergovernmental Service Agreement with the U.S. Marshals Service and an addendum that would have Orange correction officers transporting ICE detainees to sites outside of the county like the one dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz.' Some advocates for the immigrant communities want the County to end the agreement with federal authorities. Ericka Gomez-Tejeda, Organizing Director for the Hope Community Center and one of the organizers of the Immigrants are Welcome Here Coalition, joins Engage to discuss what she’s seeing.
There are new developments in the lawsuit filed by five Democratic lawmakers against the DeSantis administration over being denied entry to the Everglades detention center on July 3. Orange County State Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith is among those suing. He toured the facility on Saturday with a group of invited bipartisan lawmakers. Senator Smith joins Engage to give an update on what’s next for the lawsuit.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd was appointed to the state’s Immigration Enforcement Board made up of law enforcement leaders to advise lawmakers on enforcing federal immigration law. He joins Engage to discuss the infrastructure and policies being used to speed up removal of undocumented immigrants.
Unity on the Corner in Winter Park
A grand opening celebration of Unity Corner at Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Winter Park was held this past weekend. It includes a large bronze statue of Dr. King and a recognition of the Black families displaced from the land in the 1950s. Jason Seeley, Parks and Recreation Director of Winter Park, describes the new addition now open to visitors. Long time Winter Park resident Mary Daniels has been involved in the vision for Unity Corner for several years. She also joins Engage to discuss her commitment to creating a space that captures history and inspires future generations.
