3 d. ago Detainees report alleged uprising at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’: ‘A lot of people have bled’

Reports of incident were denied by Florida and Ice officials as detainees say they were beaten and teargas was firedGuards at Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration jail deployed teargas and engaged in a mass beating of detainees to quell a mini-uprising, it was reported on Friday.The allegations, made by at least three detainees in phone calls to Miami’s Spanish language news channel Noticias 23, come as authorities race to empty the camp in compliance with a judge’s order to close the remote tented camp in the Everglades wetlands. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ to be vacated in compliance with court order to shut it

Reported email by Florida official confirms state will shutter prison though governor Ron DeSantis has appealedFlorida’s immigration jail known as “Alligator Alcatraz” will probably be empty of detainees within days, a state official has said, indicating compliance with a judge’s order last week that the facility must close.The Republican governor Ron DeSantis’s administration appealed the order by federal court judge Kathleen Williams that the tented detention camp in the Florida Everglades, which attracted criticism for its harsh conditions, must be dismantled within 60 days. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Almost 800 shoplifting offences a day go unsolved, study shows

Liberal Democrat MP Joshua Reynolds described the figures as ‘shameful’.

Politics

9 d. ago ‘Shameful’: Democrats join call for closure of Texas immigration jail

Camp at Fort Bliss base on US-Mexico border described as ‘dangerous misuse of military land and resources’Prominent Democratic lawmakers and legal advocates have called for the new immigration detention camp at Fort Bliss military base to be shut down amid accusations of lack of external oversight and concerns over access to legal services.Camp East Montana began full operation last weekend as a sprawling tent facility across acres of military land in the eastern part of El Paso, on the US-Mexico border in west Texas, amid rapid expansion plans and much controversy. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Federal judge orders closure of Trump’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration jail

Judge’s order finds jail, which has attracted waves of criticism, was causing severe harm to Florida EvergladesA federal judge in Miami late on Thursday ordered the closure of the Trump administration’s notorious “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration jail within 60 days, and ruled that no more detainees were to be brought to the facility while it was being wound down.The shock ruling by district court judge Kathleen Williams builds on a temporary restraining order she issued two weeks ago halting further construction work at the remote tented camp, which has attracted waves of criticism for harsh conditions, abuse of detainees and denial of due process as they await deportation. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Largest ICE detention facility at Fort Bliss opens after months of delays, contract squabbles, and a workplace death

New detention facility, dubbed the ‘Lonestar Lockup’ by one Texas senator, expected to hold roughly 5,000 immigrants

Events

2 w. ago Florida governor says state will open ‘deportation depot’ immigration jail

Ron DeSantis announced move as judge to decide whether to close ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ facility in EvergladesFlorida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, said on Thursday that the state will open a second immigration jail, as a federal judge weighs whether to close the controversial existing facility in the Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz”.DeSantis painted the forthcoming detention center at the shuttered Baker correctional institution in Sanderson as supplementary to the remote tented camp. He also said the facility would hold up to 1,300 undocumented immigrants awaiting deportation. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago ‘Petri dish for disease’: attorney raises alarm of possible Covid outbreak at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

A respiratory disease is running rampant through Florida immigration jail, according to attorney of a detained personAn outbreak of a respiratory disease, possibly Covid-19, is running rampant through the remote Florida immigration jail known as “Alligator Alcatraz”, according to the attorney of an infected detainee removed from the camp last week.Eric Lee said he was told by his client Luis Manuel Rivas Velasquez that conditions at the facility had deteriorated significantly since Thursday as more migrants held there by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agency experienced symptoms. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago UK to deport foreign criminals to free up jail space in latest immigration crackdown

Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood vows the offenders will be sent ‘packing’ immediately when they receive a custodial sentence

Events

3 w. ago Conservationists hail US judge’s order to halt building at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ jail

Temporary halt for facility in Florida Everglades comes as attorneys argue whether it violates environmental lawsA coalition of conservation groups has welcomed a federal judge’s ruling on Thursday that halts construction work on the controversial immigration jail in the Florida Everglades known as Alligator Alcatraz.US district judge Kathleen Williams ordered workers to stop adding any new paving, infrastructure or ground filling at the remote tented detention camp that the Trump administration intends to eventually hold 3,000 migrants awaiting deportation. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Conservationists hail US judge’s order to pause building at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ jail

Temporary halt for facility in Florida Everglades comes as attorneys argue whether environmental laws being violatedA coalition of conservation groups has welcomed a federal judge’s ruling on Thursday that halts construction work on the immigration jail in the Florida Everglades known as Alligator Alcatraz.US district judge Kathleen Williams ordered workers to stop adding any new paving, infrastructure or ground filling at the remote tented detention camp that the Trump administration intends to use to eventually hold 3,000 immigrants awaiting deportation. Continue reading...

Events