Jorge Antonio Gonzalez Rocha
22 July 2025•Update: 22 July 2025
MEXICO CITY
President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that “arrangements are being made” for 14 Mexican nationals to be “repatriated immediately” from a federal immigration center in the US state of Florida, known as Alligator Alcatraz.
“The moment they published that there was this detention center, we sent another diplomatic note so that any Mexican would be deported immediately and that they would not have to spend time in this center,” she told reporters at a news conference.
Juan Sabines Guerrero, Mexican Consul in Orlando, said Mexico is directly assisting two nationals arrested and incarcerated at Alligator Alcatraz, whose human rights were allegedly infringed.
"During a phone call, the attorney warned us about possible violations of the civil rights of both Mexican nationals, as the prison where they are being held does not belong to the federal government, but to the state of Florida. As a result, they still do not have an 'alien' number or a case number, which prevents them from accessing proper legal defense and a fair trial," he wrote on social media.
The two men were reportedly arrested July 7 after a patrol stopped them because their vehicle had tinted windows. The Mexican nationals and brothers, Carlos and Martin Gonzales, were in the US with a tourist visa.
Alligator Alcatraz is a 30-square-mile (77-square-kilometer) detention center in the Everglades that is set to hold up to 5,000 immigrants. It has been criticized for its remote location, harsh conditions, and use of temporary structures to house immigrants.
Since the second term of President Donald Trump began on Jan. 20, US authorities have begun an increased effort to hamper immigration.
The Trump administration has launched raids to arrest suspected undocumented immigrants and deported 73,533 into Mexican territory, 67,008 of Mexican origin.
