TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A third federal lawsuit has been filed involving state-run migrant detention center Alligator Alcatraz.
Several civil rights organizations are defending a detainee who is disputing Florida’s application of 287(g) agreements. These agreements permit state and local police to assist the federal government in enforcing immigration laws.
Alana Greer, who is co-counsel at the Community Justice Project, expressed concerns that the state has misinterpreted and overstepped the terms of the agreement.
“What we are seeing now is the operation of these facilities is unlawful, and no way justified by 287(g) agreements,” Greer said.
The legal complaint argues that federal law prohibits state agencies from establishing their independent immigration detention centers. It further highlights that Congress mandates the Department of Homeland Security to maintain custody and oversight of all detainees.
Greer stated, “They are interpreting these 287(g) agreements to justify the operation of fully state-run immigration detention centers. This action is unprecedented and exceeds what federal law and these agreements authorize.”
While speaking in Orlando on Wednesday, Governor Ron DeSantis discussed the involvement of state and federal officials in any existing or potential state-operated migrant detention facilities.
DeSantis explained, “Our responsibility is to offer additional space to process detentions that facilitate deportations. DHS is the authority that decides who is admitted to these facilities and who exits them.”
The governor didn’t specifically refer to the lawsuit but addressed some concerns listed in the legal claim.
“We are not the ones actually removing them and sending them back to their home countries,” DeSantis said.
The lawsuit also alleges that 287(g) agreements don’t give deputized officers the power to delegate authority to private contractors. This is in response to the state partnering with private companies and personnel to help operate the migrant facility.
Larry Keefe, who serves as the Executive Director of the Florida Board of Immigration Enforcement, recently touted 287(g) agreements and the partnership between the state and federal officials during a news conference.
“Everybody has seen Alligator Alcatraz; we got Deportation Depot. But it all comes down to finding, sorting, processing, detaining and deporting in a mass scale humanely, safely, lawfully, and bringing all of these moving parts together,” Keefe said.
This lawsuit comes as operations at the migrant facility are winding down following a judge’s order, stemming from a different lawsuit, to dismantle some of the facility. That judge also banned detaining additional migrants at the facility.
The Associated Press obtained an email from Executive Director Kevin Guthrie with the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The AP stated the email message from Aug. 22 mentioned that the facility will likely be empty soon.
The governor was asked about this reporting about the email during the news conference.
“They’re (DHS) deporting them very quickly and that’s a good thing. That’s what we want. We don’t determine who goes into the facility. Obviously, there’s litigation that’s been going on that DHS is a party to, so that may be an influence about where they’re sending people,” DeSantis said.
There’s another federal lawsuit that was filed over claims migrants didn’t have adequate access to legal counsel
