LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The Trump administration says detainees held at the site they're calling Alligator Alcatraz now will have their cases heard before immigration judges at another south Florida detention center. NPR's Greg Allen reports that immigration officials made that announcement in response to a lawsuit over the civil rights of detainees.
GREG ALLEN, BYLINE: Lawyers who represent people held at the detention center in Florida's Everglades say they've been unable to meet with clients at the facility in a timely manner or in a confidential setting, and that outgoing calls by detainees are monitored and recorded. They say attorneys can't even confirm their clients are held at the facility because the federal immigration detainee locator website doesn't contain information about the Everglades site.
Their lawsuit said attorneys have been unable to determine which immigration court has jurisdiction over their clients' cases. But in a document filed over the weekend, the Trump administration notified the federal judge hearing the case that it has now designated the Krome Processing Center, another federal facility in south Florida, as the immigration court that will handle their cases. That answered one of the plaintiff's key demands, and U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz said it rendered the issue moot.
Judge Ruiz said he's still considering the plaintiff's request for a preliminary injunction to force the state and federal authorities to ensure detainees' rights to legal counsel are respected. Lawyers for Florida, which built and operates the facility, said there are now rooms at the Everglades site where attorneys can meet and talk with clients in a confidential setting. A lawyer for the state chalked up any delays immigration lawyers encountered in meeting with clients as a, quote, "natural byproduct of the facility being stood up quickly." ACLU attorney Eunice Cho said the court should not be satisfied with that answer.
EUNICE CHO: People are being held at Alligator Alcatraz in horrifying conditions. Their rights are being violated on a daily basis. And it is not acceptable for the government to say we're going to fix this later.
ALLEN: Yesterday's hearing followed proceedings last week in another lawsuit challenging operations at Alligator Alcatraz. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says he's expecting the judge in that case to rule that the hasty construction of the facility violated federal law.
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RON DESANTIS: This is a political thing. We get that. But we also know that we're right on the law. And if we don't win with the trial judge, you know, we'll ultimately win going forward.
ALLEN: Last week, DeSantis announced Florida was opening a second detention center at a shuttered prison in north Florida.
Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami.
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