Attorneys representing detainees at a Florida state-run immigration detention facility claim they are still facing obstacles in contacting and visiting their clients, despite the state's assertions that access barriers have been removed. The lawyers filed statements with a federal court detailing issues with phone access and unannounced visits. The lawsuit raises concerns about the detainees' access to legal counsel, including restrictions on visit scheduling and detainee transfers.
FILE – President Donald Trump tours a new migrant detention facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility, on July 1, 2025, in Ochopee, Fla. ORLANDO, Fla. — Attorneys for detainees at a state-run immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades said Thursday that they are still facing hurdles in getting access to their clients, despite state claims that those barriers have been removed.
Camp Mystic parents seek stronger camp regulations in other statesTwo attorneys filed statements with a federal court in Fort Myers, Florida, saying their clients were unable to call them using staff cellphones, and the attorneys were unable to make unannounced visits to the facility.over whether detainees at the facility were getting adequate access to their lawyers. U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has yet to rule on whether to grant the detainees’ request that they get the same access to their attorneys as detainees do at federally-run detention centers. The Florida Department of Emergency Management, the state agency overseeing the detention center, didn’t respond to an e-mailed inquiry on Thursday. Thewas built last summer at a remote airstrip by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to support President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Florida also has built a second immigration detention center in north Florida. The former Everglades detainees’ lawsuit claims that their First Amendment rights were violated. They say their attorneys have to make an appointment to visit three days in advance, unlike at other immigration detention facilities where lawyers can just show up during visiting hours; that detainees often are transferred to other facilities before their attorneys’ appointments to see them; and that scheduling delays have been so lengthy that detainees were unable to meet with attorneys before key deadlines. State officials who are defendants in the lawsuit have denied restricting the detainees’ access to their attorneys and cited security and staffing reasons for any challenges. Federal officials who also are defendants denied that detainees’ First Amendment rights were violated.After housing nearly 300 people, Los Angeles officials to expand San Fernando Valley’s RV-to-Home project citywideNithya Raman’s entry tests Karen Bass from the left in Los Angeles mayoral raceJames Van Der Beek, the ‘Dawson’s Creek’ star who later mocked his own hunky persona, has died at 4899 Ranch Market in Westwood opens for first time since crash killed 3 in storeWho’s Mariah Carey? Italian journalists to strike after commentator’s blunders at opening ceremony
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