Florida updated agreement on handling detainees at 'Alligator Alcatraz,' but a month after it opened

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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — More than a month after Florida opened “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Everglades, the state and ICE signed an updated agreement spelling out how state corrections officials should handle federal immigration detainees at non-correctional facilities.

The addendum signed this week updated a 2020 agreement between the Florida Department of Corrections and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that had explained how to handle federal immigration detainees at correctional facilities, but not at places like this new detention center. The update was made public Thursday in court papers in response to a civil rights lawsuit claiming that “Alligator Alcatraz” detainees have been unable to meet with attorneys or get access to immigration courts.

Attorney Nick Meros, representing the state of Florida, referred questions about the addendum's belated timing to state officials. A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Corrections didn’t respond to an emailed inquiry.

U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz in Miami had ordered federal and state officials to produce agreements showing which government agency or private contractor has legal authority to detain people or perform immigration officer roles at the facility, which was hastily constructed on an airstrip in the wilderness to hold up to 3,000 detainees in temporary tent structures.

Another federal judge in a separate lawsuit in Miami on Thursday ordered a two-week halt to more construction at the site as she considers whether it violates environmental laws.

According to the addendum, the Florida corrections agency must provide ICE with the names and bios of all people who have authority over the detainees, and the federal agency can veto anyone it deems inappropriate. ICE provides oversight, and can demand that a detainee be returned to its physical custody, according to the addendum.

ICE has similar agreements with other Florida agencies, most signed earlier this year, but the Department of Corrections has been the lead state agency for the Everglades detention center, according to June emails between state emergency officials and a local emergency director that were obtained by The Associated Press.

In another court filing on Thursday, the state of Florida disputed that detainees' attorneys have been unable to meet with their clients. Since July 15, when video-conferencing started, the state has granted every request for a detainee to meet with an attorney, and in-person meetings started July 28, it said. The first detainees arrived at the beginning of July.

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Kate Payne in Tallahassee contributed to this report.

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