- Share via
Brothers Carlos Martín and Oscar Alejandro Gonzalez — both of whom are Mexican nationals — were released from the Florida detention center in the Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz” after being detained earlier this month.
The 26-year-old Carlos Martín was pulled over by Florida Highway Patrol officers in Orlando on July 7 because the car he was driving had overly tinted windows and a Mexican license plate, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The state trooper ran the vehicle’s plates and said it had no valid registration. Carlos Martín explained that it belonged to this older brother; but when Oscar Alejandro arrived to prove ownership, neither his name nor his brother’s was registered on the title.
Carlos Martín was subsequently booked for driving an unregistered car and taken to a county jail. The circumstances regarding Oscar Alejandro’s detention are unclear, as there was no arrest record released.
The younger Gonzalez brother had been visiting his sibling in Orlando on a tourist visa. Oscar Alejandro, who is married to a U.S. citizen, has an expired residence permit, according to El País.
Lawyers who have shown up for bond hearings for the detainees say they have been told that the immigration court doesn’t have jurisdiction over their clients.
In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, the brothers’ father, Martin Gonzalez, said his sons were transferred to the Everglades immigration detention center after spending three days in a county jail.
After flying from Mexico to Orlando, Martin Gonzalez was able to get into contact over the phone with his sons and the Mexican Consulate.
“[My sons] tell me they are scared and desperate to get back to their home country,” Martin Gonzalez said. “They say it’s a closed place with artificial lights on 24 hours a day, and they don’t know what time it is, or if it’s day or night.”
But after several weeks of detention, Roberto Velasco Álvarez — the head of the North American unit at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs — confirmed on Sunday that the brothers had returned to Mexico without charges.
“Regarding the case of the two brothers detained in ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ [Consul of Mexico in Orlando Juan Sabines Guerrero] informs us that both are now in our country without charges and with their valid documents,” Álvarez said in a post from his official X account. “The dialogue with local and federal authorities enabled the voluntary departure of the young people this weekend.”
‘Alligator Alcatraz’ is a rebrand of an age-old threat and a euphemism for cruelty wrapped in a bad joke.
In a Tuesday morning news conference, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that there were 14 Mexican nationals at the Florida detention center and that the government was making efforts to retrieve them.
“From the moment we learned of this facility, we sent a diplomatic message so that any Mexican can be deported immediately and that they don’t need to spend any time at that detention center,” Sheinbaum said. “The consulate is looking to see if there are any violations of human rights.”
Álvarez reiterated Sheinbaum’s message Sunday on X, saying, “ As for [the Ministry of Foreign Affairs], we remain attentive to the Mexicans still detained at said center. By order of President @Claudiashein and Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente, we are monitoring that their immigration processes are carried out in accordance with due process and respect human dignity.”
Legal advocates in Florida have called the conditions in the Everglades detention center “unlivable.” One detainee of the center told NBC News that she is held in an overcrowded room that is filled with mosquitoes and is allowed to shower only once every three to four days.
The flights operated by the Department of Homeland Security have transferred about 100 detainees from the immigration detention center to other countries, said Gov. Ron DeSantis, who expects that number to increase soon.
Last week, Human Rights Watch — a nongovernmental advocacy group that monitors human rights abuses around the world — released a 92-page report that claimed three Florida detention centers “flagrantly violate international human rights standards.” The organization interviewed 11 currently and recently detained individuals who had been held at the following Florida detention centers: Krome North Service Processing Center, the Broward Transitional Center and the Federal Detention Center. Additionally, family members of seven detainees and 14 immigration lawyers were interviewed as part of the report.
Tricia McLaughlin, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary, has denied that any Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities violated any safety or human rights standards.
“Any claim that there are subprime conditions at ICE detention centers are FALSE. All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers,” McLaughlin has said. “Ensuring the safety, security and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority at ICE. ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens.”
The Latinx experience chronicled
Get the Latinx Files newsletter for stories that capture the multitudes within our communities.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
