U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz heard arguments on Aug. 18 in a suit brought on behalf of detainees at the South Florida detention center—better known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The suit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, accused the government of violating the detainees’ First Amendment rights by denying them access to attorneys and by not giving them privacy to discuss their cases.
They also said officers were going from cell to cell, pressuring detainees to sign voluntary deportation orders.
The government challenged those claims and said the facilities, which are still being built on an airfield surrounded by the Everglades, have been updated to allow lawyers to meet with detainees in conference rooms. They said the attorneys’ documents are examined for contraband, but not read….