Hundreds of Immigrants Held at Florida ICE Facility Missing from Government Records
A troubling situation has emerged involving immigrants who were detained at a makeshift U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in the Florida Everglades, unofficially known as Alligator Alcatraz. According to reporting by The Miami Herald, the whereabouts of a significant number of detainees cannot be tracked through ICE’s official online database, leaving families, attorneys, and advocacy groups struggling to locate them.
Journalists reviewing internal records obtained by the Herald found that by the end of August, the locations of about two-thirds of more than 1,800 men held at the site in July 2025 could not be determined using ICE’s public detainee locator system. Of these, roughly 800 detainees had no record at all in the database, while another 450 were listed only with the vague note “Call ICE for details”, a notation that does not clarify their status or location.
The situation has alarmed families and lawyers who say they are unable to find their loved ones or clients. Some reports suggest that detainees may have been transferred between facilities, deported, or remain at the site without updated records, but advocates describe the lack of transparency as effectively creating a “black hole” in the system.
Alligator Alcatraz, established in July 2025 in a remote part of the Everglades, has been controversial since its opening. Critics have raised concerns about poor conditions, limited access by attorneys, and the absence of standard tracking procedures used in most federal detention centers. Because the facility is state-run, detainees may not consistently appear in the federal ICE database, complicating efforts to locate them even further.
The uncertainty over the detainees’ whereabouts has sparked criticism from immigrant rights advocates and legal groups. They argue that timely information about location and status is critical for legal representation and due process, and point to cases where individuals were separated from their families for extended periods or deported without clear notice.
Federal authorities have disputed claims that individuals are “unaccounted for” in the system, stating that no one is missing from ICE’s records, but the conflicting accounts have done little to quell concerns among affected families. The case continues to attract attention as advocates press for greater transparency and accountability.
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