A Florida prison opened by the U.S. federal government in June, promising to house the worst of the country’s lawbreakers, is also holding individuals with no criminal history, according to CBS News.
The outlet reports that some of Alligator Alcatraz’s inmates are beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, or DACA, an Obama-enacted policy that allowed undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to work and live in the country without the risk of deportation.
A man who asked to go by the name Edgar to conceal his identity told CBS News that he arrived in the U.S. in 2001 when he was 13. He is now the father of three children, all of whom are U.S. citizens. He was detained in June during a traffic stop and sent to Alligator Alcatraz.
Leo and Catherine Gentile hold signs near the entrance to the state-managed immigration detention centre dubbed Alligator Alcatraz, located at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the Florida Everglades on Aug. 3, 2025, in Ochopee, Fla.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
“When he got arrested and he was taken there, I was actually worried for his life,” Edgar’s brother told CBS News.
Alligator Alcatraz, once a moniker but now considered its official name, was opened as the Trump administration amped up its pursuit of people it considers to be illegally in the U.S.
According to official immigration data, there were 56,945 people in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention as of July 27. Of that number, 40,461 — or 71.1 per cent — have no criminal conviction.
In mid-July, the Miami Herald obtained and published a list of 700 people held at the facility, showing that at least 250 had committed no offence other than a civil immigration violation.
The deputy director of ICE, Madison Sheahan, told CBS News on Tuesday that all inmates held at Alligator Alcatraz are there for a reason.
“These are people who have committed a crime against the United States by entering this country illegally,” Sheahan told the outlet during an interview in Washington.
Being undocumented in the U.S. is not considered a criminal offence.
‘The cruelty is the point’: Democratic lawmakers slam ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ during tour of facility
U.S. President Donald Trump, Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in July that the facility will soon “handle the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet.”
The president said the name Alligator Alcatraz is “very appropriate because I looked outside and that’s not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon.”
Since being detained, Edgar has been transferred to a different facility, leaving his family members even more concerned for his well-being, they told CBS.
Edgar told the outlet over a Zoom call that he had been detained by mistake and that he informed agents at the time of his arrest that he was a DACA recipient. He says he was told that his DACA was cancelled and that he had no chance of staying in the country.
According to the official DACA website, the policy has been deemed “illegal” by U.S. district courts; however, it will remain valid and continue to protect those who obtained it on or before July 16, 2021.
Edgar’s lawyer says it’s unclear why his client has been detained, a sentiment that Edgar echoed, telling CBS, “It’s like a torture,” adding they try to make “deport yourself.”
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told CBS News that being a DACA recipient does not automatically protect people from deportation.
“DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country,” McLaughlin said. “Any illegal alien who is a DACA recipient may be subject to arrest and deportation for a number of reasons, including if they’ve committed a crime,” she said.
DACA allows people like Edgar to apply for a deferral of removal action from the United States every two years; however, new applications are no longer being accepted due to ongoing legal challenges.
On Aug. 5, Noem announced the opening of the “Speedway Slammer,” a new migrant detention centre that will house 1,000 inmates.
The Indiana-based facility, built in partnership with the state Department of Corrections, will hold “some of the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens arrested by ICE,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.