Weeks after opening, Alligator Alcatraz to begin on-site legal services, state says

Addressing one of the biggest criticisms lobbed at Florida’s new immigration detention center in the Everglades, a senior DeSantis administration official said Friday that there should be on-site legal representation for Alligator Alcatraz detainees by Monday.

Access to clients at Alligator Alcatraz — opened on July 2 after being constructed in just eight days — has been an ongoing problem for attorneys. Some have waited hours in the parking lot to meet with their client, to no avail. Others have had to speak with clients on recorded calls, so they haven’t been able to discuss case details.

During a Friday press conference at the site, Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which is overseeing operations, said the space for legal meetings will be available around the clock starting next week. 

“We had some technology issues,” Guthrie said. “We have now worked those things out.” 

Guthrie’s agency told the Herald shortly after the facility’s opening that detainees already had regular access to phone and video calls with their lawyers and family members upon request.

“These are federal detainees held in a state facility, and therefore, attorneys should follow their normal representation procedures as they have full access to their clients,” wrote Stephanie Hartman, spokeswoman for FDEM, in an email at the time. 

Attorneys the Herald has spoken to have not been able to see their Alligator Alcatraz clients in person, nor have they had access to secure calls — or even a phone number to call them at. Detainees have to reach out to them from phones located in cells, the attorneys said. 

The access issue is currently the subject of a lawsuit filed by several attorneys on behalf of the detainees they represent at the facility. 

This story was originally published July 25, 2025 at 12:37 PM.