LAWYERS SAY 'ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ' DENIES ACCESS TO COUNSEL — LAWSUITS AND APPEALS MOUNT

Attorneys filed court papers saying detainees at the Everglades detention center nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz" face ongoing barriers to confidential meetings with immigration lawyers. The filings allege detainees are often transferred just before scheduled lawyer visits, in-person meetings require a three-day scheduling window that enables transfers to frustrate access, ICE omits detainee information from its online locator, videoconference consultations occur in non-soundproof areas with staff nearby, and staff review detainees' documents. The court papers came after an appellate panel stayed a lower court injunction that had ordered the facility to wind down; lawyers seek a mid-October visit and permission to keep clients anonymous in filings.