Alligator Alcatraz

"Worst of the Worst"

I had only vaguely heard about this place - I saw a meme on it and didnt understand it and had even asked chatgpt what it was.

There were a lot of rumors, a lot of confusion, but it was very clear this was not a good place, and as point of fact was a horrible place and had already received a great deal of criticim and scrutiny for its potential human right violations even before it opened. 

I could not fathom or process that the US would have any kind of place like this - surely this was some kind of joke? 

But It was real. A facility deep in the Everglades in  isolation -built fast, half-classified, and celebrated by ICE for being for "the worst of the worst". The cruelty was several layers deep. Apart from the treatment, it was also not listed in their locator system, and was not yet accessible to lawyers, it was already notorious in advocacy circles for the worst conditions, and it had just opened and Enrique was there. 

The more I read, the worse it became. Detainees slept under tent roofs that leaked during the rain. The ground beneath them turned to mud. The heat was suffocating during the day, and the lights stayed on all night.

Water pressure failed constantly. Toilets overflowed. Men reported maggots in food trays and guards laughing when they complained showers were allowed every 3-4 days.

One Venezuelan detainee had reportedly collapsed from heat stroke. Another developedsepsis from an untreated wound. (Washington Post)

Attorneys called it “a legal black hole.” since deliberate conflict over governance was part of the charm. The state said it was federally controlled. ICE said it was a state-run overflow center. Nobody took ownership. That bureaucratic no-man’s-land meant there was no consistent jurisdiction, no court schedule, and no point of contact for families. (PBS NewsHour)

Even senators were denied access. When Rep. Frost and Sen. Padilla attempted a visit, guards reportedly moved detainees into hidden areas. Witnesses outside said they could hear voices shouting through the canvas:
“Tell my wife I’m okay!”
“We’re here! Help us!”
But officials insisted there was “no one to see.” (Democracy Now)

When I heard that, my stomach turned. How unusual it was to see history happening real time and someone you were once so close to it in the middle of it. I imagined him in one of those tents, surrounded by chaos and heat, forced to adapt again - the same man who once spent thirty minutes choosing the right soap brand, who could spend hours perfecting a color palette for a project. Being led in chains and locked up in a cage. 
I tried to picture how that kind of mind survives a place like that.

His mother reached out a few times and I was trying to offer emotional support - but the truth was I was also being hit badly and I had to remind myself several times that it was healthier for me to take distance and space from this if I couldn't actually make any impact. 

I was able to distract myself with my best friend Jay and we caught up on a few of his recent projects and went for a walk. 

When I went to sleep that night, I put on YouTube videos again and Alligator Alcatraz had been all over the news again- hunger strikes and mosquito infestations. I closed the laptop before I ruined my mood and fell into a deep sleep. 

In the morning later my phone rang - the caller ID indicated a legal company and it made me Irritated, I sent it to voice mail. We had already been declined 39 times and this call was likely going to be to schedule a mandated consultation fee just to tel me that they couldn't take the case on. 

But then I saw a new email - and an immigration attorney named Ana saying she thought she could help and wanted to talk live. 

 
Even with the uncertain nature of those words, it was the first time I started to feel hope.

The criminal charge was so stupid and he had a public defender that there wasn't that much to really think, do or stress about - the procedures were very clear. Immigration was like an unknown beast to me and every day the headlines blasted at the cruelty, the shock, the disappearances, the violations of human rights, and now we finally had a guide. After I researched her experience for 30 seconds, I know she was the one and I called her. 

We talked through everything and she didn't sugarcoat it. She was clear this was not a good situation he was in and that even getting access to him would prove to be a long frustrating process, but she wanted to help and we hired her that day, feeling hopeful we could start to see results.