1A 'If You Can Keep It': "Alligator Alcatraz" And Due Process
Aug 5, 2025
Elliot Williams, a CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, joins Eunice Cho, Senior Counsel at the ACLU, Magdalena Cupris, an attorney for detainees, and Senator Chevron Jones to discuss the notorious 'Alligator Alcatraz' detention center. They dive into the alarming conditions, such as overcrowded cells and the lack of legal representation for detainees. The conversation uncovers vital issues around due process and the challenges posed by rapid deportations, revealing the urgent need for reform in immigration policies and detainee rights.
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Barriers to Legal Access
- Attorneys face severe obstacles visiting detainees, including armed checkpoints and lack of access.
- Zoom meetings are allowed but detainees appear handcuffed, with unclear privacy or attorney-client confidentiality.
No Speedy Hearings in Immigration
- The immigration detention system lacks any legal limit on detention duration, causing cases to linger for years.
- Unlike criminal trials, immigration cases do not have a right to a speedy hearing, worsening inefficiencies.
Ordinary Lives Disrupted
- Magdalena Cupris represents clients picked up under ordinary circumstances, like fishing or leaving church, without criminal records.
- These clients, including asylum seekers, face unclear detention and bond hearing processes at Alligator Alcatraz.