DACA recipient detained at Alligator Alcatraz, attorney says. ‘We don't know why'
Attorney Phillip Arroyo said his client, whom he isn't identifying out of fear of retaliation, arrived in the United States from Mexico when he was a minor. The man, now in his early 30s, has legal status through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, according to the attorney.
Arroyo said his client was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a 'misunderstanding' during a traffic stop. He was sent to Alligator Alcatraz on Friday and remains at the facility, Arroyo said.
Considering his client's legal status, Arroyo told the Herald he's confident he will be able to get an immigration bond. But if that fails, the attorney said he is prepared to file a federal civil rights lawsuit seeking his client's release.
'The narrative is that only violent criminals are being sent to Alligator Alcatraz,' Arroyo said. 'We don't know why [he was sent there] because he has legal status.'
The man, Arroyo said, was arrested on a charge of driving without a valid driver's license. However, he did have a valid driver's license at the time of the traffic stop, Arroyo said, and prosecutors are reducing the misdemeanor to a civil citation.
Attorney Josephine Arroyo, who is also representing the man, told the Orlando Sentinel that he was issued a citation last year that was mailed to an address where he no longer lived. That led to his arrest when he was pulled over in Orange County.
The man's family paid a bond to release him from jail, but he was then detained by ICE, Arroyo told the Herald. He was held at the Orange County jail when his family and attorney lost contact with him.
His loved ones didn't hear from him for days, Arroyo said, until he called his brother from the Everglades, where the state of Florida has been detaining migrants caught up in President Donald Trump's mass-deportation campaign. Only one of three phones in his cage pod works, according to Arroyo, who said he was able to speak with his client on Tuesday for the first time.
During their conversation, Arroyo said his client described poor conditions at the facility: The food was rotten. The toilets were flooded with excrement. The air conditioning broke, and detainees had to swat away mosquitoes in the sweltering heat. He said he wasn't allowed to shower for four days.
Similar complaints have been reported by other detainees. But Stephanie Hartman, a spokesperson for the state Division of Emergency Management, told the Herald Wednesday evening that the allegations about the conditions of the facility were 'completely false' and that Alligator Alcatraz 'meets all required standards and is in good working order.'
The state has invited state and federal lawmakers to tour the facility on Saturday.
Arroyo said he tried to set up an attorney visit but was told by Alligator Alcatraz officials that there was 'no information' about a visitation policy.
'Apart from the horrors in that facility, the lack of access to an attorney is troubling to me,' he said. 'It's a Sixth Amendment violation.'
Hartman said detainees do have access to phone and video calls with their attorneys, and has told the Herald that visitations could be arranged upon request. She didn't confirm whether lawyer calls are being recorded or monitored, and did not respond to questions about how visitations can be arranged.
Miami Herald staff writer Ana Ceballos contributed to this report
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
41 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Who's in charge at Alligator Alcatraz? ‘We've gotten a lot of runaround'
Immigration attorneys and environmental activists — even the Mexican government and the Archdiocese of Miami — have all asked who's in charge at Alligator Alcatraz. They say they can't get a straight answer. 'We've gotten a lot of runaround,' Archbishop Thomas Wenski told the Miami Herald after trying unsuccessfully to provide religious services for detainees. 'We don't know who's really accountable for that facility, whether it's the state of Florida or the federal government.' Now nearly a month since Florida opened the country's newest, most novel immigration detention center, the question of whether the state or federal government has jurisdiction over the facility — and especially its detainees — continues to puzzle legal experts, tangle up lawsuits and complicate due process for the people held there. Attorneys say they have repeatedly been told their clients at Alligator Alcatraz are not in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, even though immigration enforcement is historically the realm of the federal government. Environmental activists suing in federal court to shut down the facility have been told the Trump administration is barely involved. Lawmakers given a tour of the detention camp said they were told it is functioning under a federal program that gives state and local officials the power to hold immigrants for the federal government — even though the state entity in charge has no such agreement. The confusion has real-life consequences for the hundreds of men held in the detention camp's tents and pens, and potentially broad implications for immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, which may replicate the precedent established in Florida. The Trump administration is inviting states and local governments to apply for FEMA 'detention support' grants from a $608 million pool to fund the expansion of facilities to hold immigrant detainees. 'We've had several other states that are actually using Alligator Alcatraz as a model for how they can partner with us as well,' Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said this month during a press conference in Tampa. THE COURTS Uncertainty around who has jurisdiction of the facility's detainees is frustrating the Mexican government's ability to push for the release of 14 Mexican nationals held at the site, including two brothers brought there on July 11 after being arrested by Florida Highway Patrol. Juan Sabines, the Mexican Consul in Orlando, told the Miami Herald in a Thursday interview that the immigration attorney hired by the Mexican government to represent the brothers is still trying to find a judge who can be assigned to their cases. The Mexican government is now working to transfer them out of the detention center and to an ICE facility, he said. 'This is a prison that is not under the custody of ICE and that has no immigration judge on site,' Sabines said. 'We are in limbo.' Also complicating their cases, according to Sabines: the brothers were only assigned an Alien Registration Number — the identifier used by ICE to keep track of detainees — for the first time on Wednesday. Sabines' comments echoed frustrations aired more than a week ago by immigration attorneys who said they had been unable to find a court assigned to handle cases for Alligator Alcatraz detainees. The state said Friday that on-site legal services would be available for detainees starting Monday. MIXED MESSAGES Federal and state officials have delivered mixed messages about who's in charge of what. Department of Homeland Security officials have attempted to distance themselves from the facility as a whole in court filings and deferred most questions about Alligator Alcatraz to the state. But Gov. Ron DeSantis has consistently evoked the Trump administration's oversight of immigration detainees, saying Friday during a press conference at the facility that it is the federal government taking detainees to and from the site. 'I know DHS has a whole process of how they do it,' DeSantis said, telling reporters that the Department of Homeland Security is now running flights to and from the detention center. 'Once they get on that plane, DHS handles them and processes them and deports them accordingly.' A high-ranking Trump administration immigration official, however, said in response to a federal lawsuit by environmental groups challenging the facility's operations that it's the state, not ICE, that decides which detainees end up at Alligator Alcatraz. 'The ultimate decision of who to detain' at Alligator Alcatraz, wrote Thomas P. Giles, acting deputy associate director of Enforcement and Removal Operations for the Trump administration, 'belongs to Florida.' The Department of Homeland Security has said that the state is managing the facility, and that immigrants arrested under a program granting local law enforcement immigration powers are to be detained at the site. The agency did not answer questions about whether they have any kind of agreement with the state to manage the detention center, or whether detainees held there fall under federal jurisdiction. The Florida Division of Emergency Management did not respond to questions. Scott Hiaasen, a Coffey Burlington attorney representing the environmental groups who filed the lawsuit, said the question of who is running the detention center is crucial to the suit because it's based on a federal statute requiring an environmental review of major federal actions. 'It shouldn't be a mystery to either the state or federal government where the legal authority is for this place,' Hiaasen said. 'What they're trying to do, at the end of the day, is pretend like this facility is not governed by federal law.' Beyond the bounds of 287(g) Another representation from Giles — that the site is operating under the 287(g) program granting local and state agencies immigration-enforcement powers typically reserved for the federal government — has also confused lawmakers and immigration experts. Scores of Florida law enforcement agencies have active 287(g) agreements, including the Florida National Guard, which has stationed guardsmen at the detention center. But the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which is tasked with running the site, is not one of them. U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie told her during a tour of the site that his agency does not have the direct 287(g) authority to run the facility. She and other Democratic lawmakers said officials clarified to them many times that ICE 'is calling the shots' while they toured Alligator Alcatraz on July 12. 'They [FDEM] are not designated to manage this facility on behalf of the federal government,' said Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat. 'We were not able to get clarity on whose 287(g) authority this facility is being run.' Jennifer Whitlock, senior policy counsel at the National Immigration Law Center, an advocacy organization for low-income immigrants, said she's baffled by how Alligator Alcatraz came to be, if it's not being run by ICE. Whitlock said the state and federal governments' statements that Alligator Alcatraz is authorized through the state's various 287(g) agreements sound inaccurate. A 287(g) agreement permits local and state officers to hold detainees in 'custody,' but it does not allow for detention without ICE oversight, Whitlock said. Operating a state detention center, rather than holding detainees in state prisons and county jails, is stretching the 287(g) agreement beyond the bounds of what Congress intended, Whitlock said. In the federal statute allowing 287(g) agreements, it says that any officer, employee, or political subdivision of the state is acting under the 'color of Federal authority.' Also, anyone acting on behalf of a 287(g) agreement is supposed to be under the supervision of the U.S. Attorney General — which would be Pam Bondi. 'I don't know if there is actually a plan in place for any sort of oversight,' Whitlock said. The DeSantis and Trump administrations have been clear that Alligator Alcatraz is not a federal detention center, but have been less forthcoming about what it is under state and federal law. On the state side, officials have said that the facility is not a state correctional institution because it's managed by the Division of Emergency Management, not the Department of Corrections. If that is the case, it's not legally subject to the state's standards for jails and prisons, Whitlock said. A spokeswoman for Florida's Division of Emergency Management did not answer questions about which laws regulate the operations and oversight of Alligator Alcatraz. The majority of federal immigration detention centers are run through government service contracts, said Nanya Gupta, policy director at the American Immigration Council. Whether through private companies or local governments, there is typically an agreement in place for the federal government to fund the facility while another entity sets it up, staffs it and runs day to day operations. While DeSantis has mentioned the possibility of getting refunded by the Trump administration for the facility's cost — about $450 million a year — DHS officials have said the federal government is not currently funding any aspect of Alligator Alcatraz. Because Florida hasn't been paid, a formal federal contract likely doesn't exist for Alligator Alcatraz, Gupta said. 'This is the Trump administration and the state of Florida being shifty about what authority they're invoking, when it suits them,' Gupta said. 'My guess is that the only way we'll be able to find that clarity, if at all, is through continued litigation in the federal courts.' Miami Herald staff writers Ana Claudia Chacin and Lauren Costantino, and Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau reporter Ana Ceballos contributed to this report.
Newsweek
42 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Trump Admin Identifies Gang Immigration 'Loophole'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A new report from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has raised concerns over the Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) program, citing instances of identity fraud and gang affiliations among applicants approved for lawful permanent residency. "The scale of criminality, gang involvement, and fraud described in this report is more extensive than in earlier public discussions of the Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) program," Morgan Bailey, a partner at Mayer Brown and a former senior official at the Department of Homeland Security, told Newsweek. One expert told Newsweek that Project 2025 had called for USCIS to bolster its fraud detection unit, with this latest report a sign of that effort. "It also reflects the Trump administration's terminations of the temporary, discretionary statuses granted under the Biden administration—humanitarian parole, deferred action, and temporary protected status (DACA being a notable exception)," Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, told Newsweek. Why It Matters SIJ status is a form of humanitarian immigration relief available to undocumented minors in the United States who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected by one or both parents. It was created by Congress in 1990 to protect vulnerable youth from being returned to unsafe environments and to provide them a pathway to lawful permanent residency. Once SIJ status is granted, the individual becomes eligible to apply for lawful permanent residency. President Donald Trump has ordered his administration to carry out widespread removals as part of his pledge to conduct what Republicans describe as the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history. Police detain immigrants and asylum-seekers reporting for immigration court proceedings in New York City on July 24, 2025. Police detain immigrants and asylum-seekers reporting for immigration court proceedings in New York City on July 24, 2025. DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images What To Know USCIS said in a report that 853 known or suspected gang members filed SIJ petitions during the review period, including more than 600 affiliated with the MS-13 gang. Of those, over 500 applications belonging to suspected MS-13 gang members were approved, per the report. Many petitioners submitted their SIJ I-360 petitions after turning 18 and qualified based on determinations that one of their parents had abandoned or neglected them. The report also identifies approved petitions from individuals linked to other gangs, such as over 100 members of the 18th Street gang, at least three from Tren de Aragua (TdA), and several associated with the Sureños and Norteños. Bailey told Newsweek that there were various weaknesses in the program, particularly in how agencies communicate with one another, which can lead to opportunities for fraud or exploitation. The report, titled "Criminality, Gangs, and Program Integrity Concerns in Special Immigrant Juvenile Petitions," examines more than 300,000 SIJ petitions filed between fiscal year (FY) 2013 and February 2025. Over half the SIJ applicants in FY 2024 were between 18 and 20 years old, according to USCIS. Many applicants reportedly entered the United States without legal inspection, and some were found to have submitted petitions using false information about their age, identity, or nationality, the report claims. On June 6, USCIS rescinded a policy, in place since 2022, that automatically considered deferred action—temporary protection from deportation—for approved SIJ petitioners. "Criminal aliens are infiltrating the U.S. through a program meant to protect abused, neglected, or abandoned alien children," USCIS spokesman Matthew J. Tragesser said in a press release. To qualify for SIJ, a state juvenile court must issue an order establishing dependency or custody or placement with a state‐appointed guardian, find that reunification with a parent is not viable due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment, and determine that returning to the child's home country would not be in the child's best interests. After USCIS approves the SIJ petition and a visa number becomes available, beneficiaries can apply to adjust their status to lawful permanent resident, thereby gaining the stability to build a safer future in the U.S. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services field office in downtown San Diego, California. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services field office in downtown San Diego, California. Getty Images What People Are Saying Morgan Bailey, a partner at Mayer Brown and a former senior official at the Department of Homeland Security, told Newsweek: "While these exceptions are well-intentioned, the program's relatively low statutory barriers to eligibility have also introduced vulnerabilities. Individuals who would otherwise be barred from obtaining lawful status may see the SIJ program as one of the few viable paths to remain in the United States and normalize their status. "While previous reports and policy analyses have noted some concerns about fraud and the need for better oversight, this USCIS July 2025 report is distinguished by its comprehensive data analysis, explicit documentation of criminal and national security risks, and detailed critique." Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, told Newsweek: "Moving forward, I expect to see the Trump administration trying to deport some of the youth granted Special Immigrant Juvenile status, as happened before the Biden administration's deferred action program, since they remain vulnerable to deportation while they wait for visas to become available, if they do not have deferred action." USCIS spokesman Matthew J. Tragesser said in a statement: "This report exposes how the open border lobby and activist judges are exploiting loopholes in the name of aiding helpless children." What Happens Next USCIS said it was looking at other ways to mitigate vulnerabilities in the SIJ program.
.JPG&w=3840&q=100)
Miami Herald
2 hours ago
- Miami Herald
I'm proud Miami Beach is standing up against anti-immigrant rhetoric
On Wednesday, the city of Miami Beach did something powerful. With unanimous support, the city commission adopted a resolution I sponsored condemning the use of dangerous and dehumanizing rhetoric against immigrants. This resolution doesn't concern itself with partisan politics or border policy. It doesn't call for open borders, nor does it question the need for lawful and orderly immigration. It draws a moral line — one that people of conscience, regardless of party, should be able to agree on. It says: 'The Miami Beach mayor and commission strongly oppose dehumanizing and violent rhetoric targeting immigrants, including the Alligator Alcatraz detention facility and statements by national leaders and is affirming the dignity and contributions of Hispanic and immigrant families in Miami Beach...' This resolution makes Miami Beach one of the first cities in Florida to formally oppose Alligator Alcatraz and the national political discourse that supports it. I understand the complexity of immigration in this country. And I welcome robust, even passionate debate about how to fix the system. But that debate cannot happen if we begin by stripping people of their human dignity. If we can agree to speak with respect about immigrants, we may clear away enough of the static to begin a more thoughtful, less performative conversation about real solutions. As a proud son of Cuban exiles, I grew up with a deep appreciation for the promise of this country — and I've always worn my roots with pride. But today, I meet people who feel the need to hide theirs — not out of shame, but out of fear. That fear is not a reflection of their character — it's a reflection of ours. It means the promise of America that once welcomed my family is slipping further out of reach. That promise now feels endangered by a rising tide of anti-immigrant rhetoric designed not to inform, but to inflame. Political leaders have repeatedly referred to immigrants as 'animals,' 'vermin,' 'poison' and 'parasites.' That's not just offensive — it's dangerous. We're seeing the consequences unfold. I have constituents — law-abiding immigrants — who are afraid to call 911, afraid to seek medical attention, even afraid to show up for a court hearing. Others, including TPS and DACA recipients, and young professionals like doctors with valid work permits, live in constant fear that their lives will be uprooted. Some are being held in detention facilities under conditions no American would accept for themselves or their loved ones — no access to attorneys, limited medical care, no clergy, family separation and stripped of hope. The people experiencing this are not faceless hypotheticals — and they are not all criminals, as some political rhetoric suggests. These are our neighbors. They cared for our aging loved ones, taught music to children, built our homes and contributed in countless ways to our community. Local businesses are struggling to retain talented immigrant workers. Immigrant tourists — vital to our economy — are being driven away by the growing sense that they're unwelcome. Words have real consequences. For months, I've struggled with the limits of what I can do legally. As a Hispanic elected official, I've wanted to do so much more — but the laws are real, and my fear has always been that even well-intentioned efforts could invite retaliation that harms the very people I want to protect. In the absence of stronger protections, this resolution is about doing what I still can — standing up for dignity. We are also answering the call of faith and humanity. Days ago, Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski reminded us of Pope Francis's teaching in Fratelli Tutti — 'we belong to one another.' That truth must guide our words, especially in moments like these. In his homily, the Archbishop recalled the haunting moment when political leaders stood before cages at the makeshift detention center and made light of the fear and pain of those inside. He asked if we could truly say, in that moment, that 'we belong to one another,' that the dignity of others was being recognized. I believe that this week, Miami Beach answered that question with moral clarity. Alex Fernandez is a Miami Beach commissioner.
