Lawyer Says Two Detainees at 'Alligator Alcatraz' Were Assaulted After Complaining About Phone Access

Since opening in the summer of 2025, the immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades known as "Alligator Alcatraz" has drawn a growing number of complaints, lawsuits and criticism alleging abuse of detainees.

In one of the most recent cases, an attorney for two detainees said in a court declaration that guards beat and pepper-sprayed detainees after they complained about a lack of phone access on April 2.

According to a declaration from Katherine Blankenship, cited by The Associated Press, guards began taunting two of her clients before becoming "more aggressive" and "yelling and threatening to enter their cell."

When one detainee approached a guard, he was punched in the face, the declaration states. Guards then began striking others inside the cell. One of Blankenship's clients was hit in the right eye, thrown to the floor and beaten by several guards. He was also kicked in the head and suffered injuries to his shoulder and arm.

"The officers beat several people during this incident and broke another detained individual's wrist," Blankenship wrote.

It is not the first time detainees at Alligator Alcatraz have raised concerns about physical abuses or about the phones detainees use to communicate with their lawyers.

In February, two people testified that they experienced multiple violations of their First Amendment rights, including being denied access to legal counsel and free speech.

The plaintiffs told the court they were forced to write their lawyers' phone numbers on bunks and walls using bars of soap after being denied pens and paper, while phones available to detainees repeatedly malfunctioned or failed when they attempted to contact legal counsel.

As a result, U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell issued a preliminary injunction last month ordering the facility to provide timely, free, confidential and unmonitored outgoing legal calls. The order also requires at least one working telephone for every 25 detainees.

But according to Blankenship, state and federal officials have failed to comply with the order.

State officials have denied restricting access to attorneys and cited security and staffing challenges. Federal officials, who are also defendants, denied that detainees' First Amendment rights were violated and filed notice in April that they plan to appeal the ruling.

The Everglades facility was built last summer at a remote airstrip under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration to support President Donald Trump's immigration policies.

Alligator Alcatraz is operated by GardaWorld Federal Services, a Montreal-based company. The firm secured contracts worth up to $80 million to provide services including armed security, transportation, medical assistance, interpreters and barbers.

More recently in early April, Immigration and Customs Enforcement awarded a $313 million contract to the company to convert and operate a warehouse detention site in Surprise, Arizona.