Lawyers: Immigrants Suffering from Illness at Alligator Alcatraz – 'I Don't Want to Die in Here'

Growing Concerns Over Health Conditions at Alligator Alcatraz

A troubling respiratory illness is reportedly spreading among individuals detained at Alligator Alcatraz, a remote immigrant detention center in Florida. This situation has led to multiple affidavits being filed as part of a class-action lawsuit against the facility. Lawyers and detainees have raised concerns about what they describe as negligence and deteriorating conditions, including a mysterious illness that may be linked to COVID-19.

Eric Lee, an attorney representing former detainee Luis Manuel Rivas Velásquez, filed a complaint on Wednesday against Alligator Alcatraz, calling it a “petri dish for disease.” Velásquez, a 38-year-old Venezuelan influencer, reported falling seriously ill with breathing problems last Thursday. According to Lee, Velásquez was allegedly denied medical care for 48 hours before collapsing and becoming unresponsive.

In the filings, Lee stated that Velásquez was taken to Miami’s Kendall regional medical center and diagnosed with a respiratory infection before being briefly returned to the Florida camp and then transferred to another facility in El Paso, Texas. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a statement on Thursday, claiming that Velásquez “fainted and was taken to the hospital out of precaution.”

Alongside reports of respiratory symptoms, the plaintiff mentioned that conditions at the facility have worsened significantly, with more detainees falling ill. Lee told the Guardian on Tuesday that “multiple detainees” have informed him that the “vast majority” of those held in the camp have become sick. He described situations where people were losing breath and coughing on one another.

Protesters near the facility have reported witnessing several instances of ambulances arriving and leaving. However, the DHS maintained in its statement that there is “no widespread disease circulating at Alligator Alcatraz” and “no cases of COVID and no cases of Tuberculosis.” In an earlier statement to the Miami New Times, Stephanie Hartman, a department spokesperson, did not directly address questions about a possible outbreak but claimed that detainees have access to a 24/7, fully staffed medical facility with a pharmacy on site.

After being transferred to the El Paso facility, Velásquez reportedly called Lee and said that his condition was worsening. “I don’t want to die in here,” he told Lee on the phone call before abruptly being cut off, according to the filing.

In a separate filing, detainees and attorneys alleged that Alligator Alcatraz had poor sanitation, limited access to legal counsel, and overcrowded tented housing. Plaintiffs described the site as lacking “adequate medical infrastructure” with hundreds of migrants “crammed into close quarters in extreme heat and humidity, with poor ventilation and limited access to hygiene.” According to the filing, detainees have been left in their bunks without testing or treatment. It also accuses immigration officials of erecting “an unconstitutional barrier between detainees and their counsel.”

Federal judges have recently stepped in to improve conditions in other detention settings after lawyers documented unsafe and unsanitary environments. Separately, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Mary Williams temporarily halted any further construction of Alligator Alcatraz after two days of testimony about the environmental impact of the site.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis responded to the developments by stating that “operations at Alligator Alcatraz are ongoing and deportations are continuing.”

The Independent remains committed to providing global news, commentary, and analysis for the independently-minded. Our mission is to make change happen, and this commitment has never been more important than it is today.