A significant number of immigrants with clean records in regard to criminality find themselves relocated to Alligator Alcatraz. This detention center, located in Florida, has a reputation among local and federal officials as a site where ‘ferocious’ and ‘unhinged wrongdoers’ are detained prior to their expulsion from the country. Despite this, among the center’s residents are over 250 individuals, their only faults being immigration irregularities, with no criminal history in the United States.
The details emerge from a list exceeding 700 names, individuals who are currently kept in provisional accommodations, whether in tents or behind chain link cages at the temporary detention center. They are, alternatively, believed to be on route to the facility, situated in the midst of the Florida Everglades. Among these detainees, a third have a record of criminal convictions which span across a spectrum, from attempted homicide, to illegal re-entries, and innocuous traffic violations.
In contrast, there are several hundreds more whose only stains on their records are charges still pending adjudication. Unfortunately, however, the records do not provide any insights into the nature or types of the alleged crimes these individuals have been charged with.
These facts demonstrate a large amount of immigrants with no criminal histories in their records being caught up in the web cast by the state and federal agencies in their bid to arrest and deport immigrants residing illegally within Florida’s bounds. On a country-wide scale, it is significant to note that nearly half of the individuals in ICE custody towards the end of June were detained primarily due to immigration infringement, with no prior record of any criminal charge or conviction.
Public sentiment as shown by recent polls indicates that while the American voter supports the expulsion of individuals with criminal inclinations, they are less agreeable when it comes to the arrests and detention of undocumented immigrants who are otherwise law-abiding citizens. This finding was echoed by South Florida’s congressional representatives, who have urged the governing authorities for a more empathetic approach in their pursuit and deportation of immigrants with status irregularities.
However, it must be made clear that just because an immigrant has not had any criminal charges brought against them while in the United States, it does not necessarily mean they are completely innocent. This is merely a small window into who resides inside the walls of this detention facility.
A great deal can be learned about the conditions there, even though the holding center, a combination of mobile homes and tents set up on an airstrip aside U.S. Highway 41, has been functional for just over a week. In this short span of time, the facility has come to house approximately 750 immigrant detainees.
Delving into these detainees’ backgrounds reveals the diversity that exists, with records showing that they originate from around 40 different nations. Among these multitudes, half of the detainees hail from Mexico, Guatemala, and Cuba, with the ages of the individuals on site varying from 18 to 73 years.
Curiously, unsettlingly, one register entry indicates a detainee is from the United States. The facility organizational structure can be seen through the lens of wristbands the detainees are made to wear. These bands, color-coded into categories of yellow, orange, and red, serve to categorize the detainees according to the severity of their civil or criminal offenses.
As explained by state officials, yellow denotes minor transgressions while red symbolizes graver offenses. The central idea for the formation of this facility was not just to detain individuals, but also to create additional capacity to house undocumented immigrants. Without this space, many would need to be released due to the lack of sufficient accommodations.
However, it is also worth bearing in mind that certain detainees not included on the attorney general’s roll have been slapped with comparatively minor charges including traffic violations. Some detained at the facility are in fact asylum seekers.
To illustrate: it was the case for a 37-year-old Brazilian man, a resident who had legal permission to work for a period of five years. He owned a business installing solar panels in the Orlando area, and he faced arrest due to DUI charges.
He was taken into custody while attending a probation hearing and was detained initially by the Orange County Sheriff’s office. Subsequent to this, he was transferred to Alligator Alcatraz, the detention center nestled in Florida’s Everglades.