LEILA FADEL, HOST:
A federal judge is transferring a lawsuit filed by lawyers representing detainees held at a site they're calling Alligator Alcatraz to another district. NPR's Greg Allen reports the judge also dismissed one part of the case.
GREG ALLEN, BYLINE: The Trump administration filed a court document over the weekend saying that people held at the detention center in the Everglades now will have their cases heard before immigration judges at another South Florida detention center. That answered one of the plaintiffs' key demands in the case, and U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz said it rendered the issue moot.
Lawyers who represent people held at the detention center in Florida's Everglades say they've been unable to meet with clients at the facility in a timely manner or in a confidential setting and that outgoing calls by detainees are monitored and recorded. They say attorneys can't even confirm their clients are held at the facility because the federal immigration detainee locator website doesn't contain information about the Everglades site.
Judge Ruiz was considering the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction to force the state and federal authorities to ensure detainees' rights to legal counsel are respected. But in an order filed late Monday, he agreed with Florida and the Trump administration that the case should be moved to Florida's Middle District and heard in Fort Myers. In court Monday, the judge signaled he might transfer the case, and lawyers representing the detainees said they were prepared for that. Lawyers for Florida, which built and operates the facility, said attorneys can now meet confidentially with their clients there, and they chalked up any delays in their meetings as a, quote, "natural byproduct" of the facility being stood up quickly.
ACLU attorney Eunice Cho said the court should not be satisfied with that answer.
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EUNICE CHO: People are being held at Alligator Alcatraz in horrifying conditions. Their rights are being violated on a daily basis, and it is not acceptable for the government to say, we're going to fix this later.
ALLEN: Yesterday's hearing followed proceedings last week in another lawsuit challenging operations at Alligator Alcatraz. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says he's expecting the judge in that case to rule that the hasty construction of the facility violated federal law.
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RON DESANTIS: This is a political thing. We get that. But we also know that we're right on the law. And if we don't win with the trial judge, you know, we'll ultimately win going forward.
ALLEN: Last week, DeSantis announced Florida was opening a second detention center at a shuttered prison in North Florida.
Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami.
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