‘Alligator Alcatraz’ civil rights case sees split ruling from Miami judge

Civil rights lawyers say immigrants at the Everglades site lack confidential access to counsel as judge moves case

A federal judge in Miami issued a split decision in a lawsuit over the legal rights of detainees at the immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades known as Alligator Alcatraz", dismissing part of the suit and also moving the case to a different jurisdiction.

US district judge Rodolfo Ruiz issued the decision late on Monday, writing in a 47-page ruling that claims the detainees at the facility do not have confidential access to their lawyers or to hearings in immigration court were rendered moot when the Trump administration recently designated the Krome North processing center near Miami as a site for their cases to be heard.