Alligator Alcatraz Detainees Report Guard Violence in Calls to Local Station
(Rebecca Blackwell/AP photo)
Detainees at Florida’s notorious “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention center have reportedly accused guards of unleashing tear gas and beating them during what they described as a violent crackdown on a protest inside the facility.
The claims, aired in phone calls to Miami-based Spanish-language station Noticias 23, come just as federal authorities work to empty the camp ahead of its court-ordered closure.
The confrontation began when migrants shouted for “freedom” after a detainee learned of a relative’s death, according to the accounts. Witnesses reported a fire alarm ringing nonstop and helicopters circling overhead.
“Right now, it’s unrest,” one detainee told Noticias 23. “Everyone here has been beaten up, many people have bled, brother, tear gas. We are immigrants, we are not criminals, we are not murderers.”
Other outlets could not independently verify the alleged incident or when it took place, but officials at Florida’s division of emergency management, which runs the site on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), flatly rejected the allegations as fantasy.
“These reports are manufactured. There is no uprising happening at Alligator Alcatraz,” spokesperson Stephanie Hartman told The Guardian, insisting detainees were kept in “clean, safe living conditions.”
In August, federal judge Kathleen Williams ordered the site closed within 60 days, citing environmental breaches, and refused attempts by the Trump administration and Florida officials to delay her ruling.
