Judge Partly Dismisses Detainee Suit at Florida ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz issued a split ruling on a civil-rights lawsuit brought by detainees at the immigration facility nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Florida Everglades. In a 47-page order, Ruiz dismissed claims that the government violated the Fifth Amendment by failing to identify which immigration court had jurisdiction, saying the issue became moot after officials designated the Krome North Processing Center in Miami to hear the detainees’ cases. The judge declined to throw out several First Amendment allegations that the detainees are being denied confidential access to attorneys. Those claims were transferred to the federal court in Florida’s Middle District because the facility sits in Collier County. The decision hands a partial victory to the Trump administration and Florida officials, but leaves key questions over legal access unresolved as separate environmental litigation over the site continues.