Guards at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ severely beat migrant detainees, lawyer claims

At “Alligator Alcatraz,” an immigrant detention center in the Florida Everglades, guards severely beat and pepper-sprayed immigrant detainees, according to an attorney for two detainees; This caused injuries to their heads, shoulders and wrists.

Guards targeted several detainees at the state-run facility earlier this month after they complained about a lack of phone access, attorney Katherine Blankenship said in a court affidavit.

Telephones were the main method for detainees to communicate with their families and legal representatives while they were held in the detention center, but the telephones were not working.

The guards first began to mock the detainees while they were in their cells. Blankenship said the guards became even more aggressive, yelling and threatening to enter the cage.

DOJ Sues New Haven, Connecticut, Over Sanctuary Policies: ‘Open Challenge’

A prisoner punched the guard in the face after approaching him. The guards then started beating other detainees in the cell.

Blankenship said one of his clients was punched in the right eye, thrown to the ground and beaten by several guards. He said the guards kicked him in the head and injured his shoulder and arm. According to the lawyer, a guard also put his knee on the detainee’s neck while restraining him.

The statement also includes a photo taken during a video call about a week after the beating, showing the detainee with a black eye.

“Officers beat several individuals during this incident and broke the wrist of another detainee,” Blankenship wrote, noting that the detainee whose wrist was broken was not among his clients.

Although authorities did not provide any explanation as to why the line was cut, phone service was restored the next day.

HOCHUL APPROVES LAW ALLOWING NEW YORKERS TO SUE ICE AGENTS: ‘POWER DOES NOT JUSTIFY ABUSE’

The detention facility was built last year by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration in support of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. (Getty Images)

Blankenship’s affidavit was part of a court filing alleging that state and federal officials failed to comply with a federal judge’s injunction last month that the detention center provide detainees with access to timely, free, confidential, unmonitored and unrecorded conversations with their lawyers.

U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell ordered officials to provide at least one working phone for every 25 people held at the facility.

The judge’s decision followed a lawsuit alleging that officials at the facility violated detainees’ First Amendment rights.

State officials have denied claims that detainees’ access to lawyers has been restricted, citing security and staffing issues for any cuts. Federal officials who are defendants in the case have denied that the detainees’ First Amendment rights were violated.

Last week, state officials filed a statement saying they planned to appeal the judge’s decision.

The facility has been hit with several lawsuits since it was built over the summer.

Workers install an “Alligator Alcatraz” sign in Collier County, Florida. (Getty Images)

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION

The detention facility was built last year by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to support President Donald Trump’s plan to mass detain and deport immigrants. Authorities in the Sunshine State also built a second immigration detention center in northern Florida.

During a visit to the detention center last week, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., said she was not given the opportunity to talk to detainees.

The lawmaker also described conditions at the detention center as “inhumane” and “cruel”.

“The way detainees are housed is cruel and unnecessary,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.