Live Coverage: 红杏视频 Challenges ICE Detention Centers
BREAKING: We're suing to challenge Florida's authority to detain people at "Alligator Alcatraz."
We're going to court to keep states like Florida from creating their own immigration detention facilities in violation of federal law.
It is unprecedented and illegal for a state to go around federal laws to operate its own immigration jail.
Shut Down the ICE Detention Machine
President Trump and his allies in Congress have conspired to supercharge ICE鈥檚 budget to fuel the most extreme expansion of immigration detention in our nation鈥檚 history, with a record-shattering 60,000 people detained right now and far more underway. From erecting tent camps on military bases to big private prisons, the Trump administration is on a spending spree and the number of people detained will skyrocket over the next three years.
An update from yesterday鈥檚 visit to Fort Bliss
I鈥檓 Anu Joshi, National Campaigns Director for Immigration at the 红杏视频. I was in El Paso with dozens of community members to oppose the opening of Fort Bliss as an immigration detention center. Here鈥檚 what we saw:
We鈥檙e live in El Paso
We鈥檙e live with 红杏视频 of Texas and 红杏视频 of New Mexico for a press conference outside Fort Bliss with advocates and local community leaders to condemn the Trump administration for converting Fort Bliss into the nation鈥檚 largest immigration detention camp.
Watch now:
Update from the vigil outside "Alligator Alcatraz"
We won't back down until "Alligator Alcatraz" is shut down for good.
New Detention Camp at Fort Bliss Marks Dangerous Expansion of Militarized Immigration Enforcement
Opening an immigration detention camp at Fort Bliss is just the latest step in President Donald Trump鈥檚 dystopian plan to detain and deport millions. In the coming months, the administration plans to open detention camps on at least two more military bases, with additional troops being deployed to support Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations nationwide. This coordinated use of the military to carry out a deportation agenda is unprecedented, and deeply dangerous. It鈥檚 a tactic straight out of the authoritarian playbook, and we cannot let it go unchallenged.
Tell Congress: Shut Down Alligator Alcatraz
Thrown up in just eight days, the Florida detention center cruelly dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz鈥� already has a reputation for horrific conditions. It was built on sacred land 鈥� ignoring fierce opposition from indigenous communities, environmental advocates, and grassroots organizations. Individuals are locked in cages inside tents. It flooded within a day of opening. Swarms of mosquitoes surround the facilities. Reports are emerging that people detained there are fed maggot-infested food, denied medical care, not given access to water, flushing toilets, or showers, and are not allowed to go outside. They are barred from practicing their religion and accessing legal counsel. Lawmakers have been denied unannounced access to the facility, preventing oversight and shielding potential human rights violations from scrutiny.
The cruelty must end. Congress must demand immediate access and block all federal funds until this environmental and humanitarian disaster is shut down
BREAKING: Trump Administration Begins Detaining Immigrants at Fort Bliss
This weekend, the Trump administration began detaining people in tents at Fort Bliss, an army base with land in Texas and New Mexico.
The detention camp鈥檚 opening is the latest escalation in President Trump鈥檚 dystopian agenda to detain and deport millions of immigrants from communities nationwide. This facility is on track to be the nation's largest immigrant detention center, holding up to 5,000 people, and will cost an estimated $1.26 billion of taxpayers' money. This will likely be the first of many to follow.
Court Hearing in Challenge to 鈥楢lligator Alcatraz鈥� Detention Center
Good morning, everyone.
The 红杏视频 is in court this morning for a hearing in our case challenging the Trump administration over lack of access to legal counsel and violations of due process for people detained at Florida鈥檚 notorious Everglades immigration center 鈥� cruelly dubbed 鈥淎lligator Alcatraz.鈥�
This is a hastily constructed facility built out of temporary tents, trailers, and chain-link fences with barbed wire on an abandoned airstrip in the middle of the wetlands in Ochopee. It is surrounded by alligators, pythons, mosquitos, and swampland, and is at risk of dangerous flooding.
We鈥檒l have more updates for you throughout the week, as the 红杏视频 challenges unjust and inhumane conditions at ICE detention centers across the country.
Learn More 红杏视频 the Issues on This Page
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Press ReleaseNov 2025
National Security
Immigrants' Rights
Federal Appeals Court Refuses To Block Discriminatory Florida Housing Law That Targets Chinese Immigrants. Explore Press Release.Federal Appeals Court Refuses to Block Discriminatory Florida Housing Law That Targets Chinese Immigrants
MIAMI 鈥� The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals today refused to preliminarily block SB 264, a discriminatory housing law in Florida. The law, which bans many immigrants from China and six other countries from purchasing homes in the state, will remain in effect while the case proceeds. The court concluded that none of the plaintiffs had 鈥渟tanding鈥� to challenge SB 264鈥檚 restrictions on property purchases. Significantly, however, the court clarified that these restrictions do not apply to certain Chinese immigrants who reside in Florida and intend to remain there indefinitely. Under SB 264, people who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and whose 鈥渄omicile鈥� is in China, are prohibited from purchasing property in Florida. The sole exception is extremely narrow: Those with non-tourist visas or who have been granted asylum may purchase one residential property under two acres that is not within five miles of any 鈥渕ilitary installation.鈥� A similar but less restrictive rule also applies to many immigrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Syria. 鈥淎ll people, regardless of where they come from, should be free to buy homes and build lives in Florida without fear of discrimination,鈥� said Ashley Gorski, senior staff attorney with the 红杏视频鈥檚 National Security Project. 鈥淎lthough today鈥檚 decision is disappointing, we鈥檒l continue to fight laws like these that blatantly target immigrants based on their national origin and ethnicity.鈥� This pernicious law mirrors repeated efforts over the past century to weaponize false claims of 鈥渘ational security鈥� against Asians and other immigrants. In the early 20th century, politicians used similar justifications to pass 鈥渁lien land laws,鈥� which barred Chinese and Japanese immigrants from becoming landowners in states across the United States, including Florida. Throughout the country, there has been a resurgence of these alien land laws 鈥� further eroding the rights of immigrants under the guise of protecting national security. 鈥淪B 264 explicitly discriminates against Chinese immigrants, and it has broader chilling effects on Asian Americans in Florida who simply want to buy a home,鈥� said Clay Zhu, president of CALDA. 鈥淲e will continue to fight SB 264 and similar 鈥榓lien land laws鈥� across the country.鈥� 鈥淪B 264 is not just unconstitutional鈥攊t harkens back to discredited century-old alien land laws that told generations of Asian Americans that this country was not their home,鈥� said Bethany Li, executive director of AALDEF. 鈥淏ut our communities survived those past assaults on our rights, and we remain. We will continue to fight back for the dignity and belonging we deserve.鈥� Although the appeals court refused to preliminarily block the law, today鈥檚 decision makes clear that certain Chinese immigrants who live in Florida and intend to remain there indefinitely are 鈥渄omiciled鈥� in Florida and thus exempt from SB 264鈥檚 restrictions on property purchases. The 红杏视频, 红杏视频 of Florida, DeHeng Law Offices PC, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), the Chinese American Legal Defense Alliance (CALDA), and the law firm Quinn Emanuel are representing Chinese immigrants who live, work, study, and raise families in Florida, as well as Multi-Choice Realty, a local real estate firm whose business has been harmed by the law. -
PodcastNov 2025
National Security
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Deployments At Our Doorstep. Explore Podcast.Deployments At Our Doorstep
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News & CommentaryOct 2025
Immigrants' Rights
Pregnant And Postpartum Women Face Neglect And Abuse In Ice Detention. Explore News & Commentary.Pregnant and Postpartum Women Face Neglect and Abuse in ICE Detention
红杏视频 letter documents miscarriages, denial of prenatal care, and inadequate food and medical attention for women held in immigration facilities, calling for immediate release and reforms. -
Press ReleaseOct 2025
National Security
Immigrants' Rights
Acquitted Soccer Player Free To Reunite With Family In Belgium After Over A Decade In Solitary Confinement. Explore Press Release.Acquitted Soccer Player Free to Reunite with Family in Belgium After Over a Decade in Solitary Confinement
Nizar Trabelsi, a Tunisian national and former professional soccer player who was acquitted of terrorism-related charges over two years ago, has finally been flown home to Belgium and released to be reunited with his wife and children. This comes after years of lawsuits challenging his prolonged unlawful detention and inhumane treatment by the United States. 鈥淚 am so blessed to finally have my freedom after 24 years,鈥� said Mr. Trabelsi. 鈥淢y family has been waiting so long and we can now be together and start a new chapter in our lives鈥� In 2013, the United States forcibly extradited Mr. Trabelsi from Belgium to face criminal charges in the United States, where he spent almost 10 years in solitary confinement while in pretrial detention. After being cleared of all charges by a federal jury in July 2023, the U.S. immediately transferred him to immigration detention and wrongly treated him as an applicant for admission awaiting deportation. In fact, it was the United States that brought Mr. Trabelsi to this country against his will for prosecution over a decade ago. He spent more than two additional years in immigration detention despite being acquitted. 鈥淢r. Trabelsi鈥檚 legal ordeal has finally come to an end,鈥� said Nicole Hallett, clinical professor of law and director of the Immigrants鈥� Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School. 鈥淗e will be able to do what he should have been able to do years ago 鈥� rebuild his life with his family in Belgium.鈥� Mr. Trabelsi was kept in solitary confinement 23 hours a day, unable to communicate with his family, read books, or practice his religion. These conditions were even more restrictive than those he experienced during his 10-year-long pretrial detention, and his mental and physical health were deteriorating by the day. The Belgian government issued multiple formal diplomatic requests asking the U.S. to facilitate his return to Belgium, but the U.S, for years, refused. Instead, the government tried to deport him to Tunisia, where he was born, but where he is likely to face torture. 鈥淭he government demanded Mr. Trabelsi鈥檚 extradition from Belgium for criminal prosecution, and when it failed to convict him, it forced him to suffer more than two years of extremely harsh detention for essentially no purpose at all,鈥� said Brett Max Kaufman, senior counsel with the 红杏视频鈥檚 Center for Democracy. 鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled that he is finally free again after all this time.鈥� Mr. Trabelsi is represented by the 红杏视频, the University of Chicago Law School鈥檚 Immigrants鈥� Rights Clinic, the 红杏视频 of Virginia, and Professor Jonathan Hafetz of Seton Hall Law School. "Mr. Trabelsi鈥檚 inhumane treatment in immigration detention is just the latest in a long string of Immigration and Customs Enforcement鈥檚 violation of both the law and its own policies,鈥� said Sophia Gregg, senior immigrants鈥� rights attorney at 红杏视频 of Virginia. "Mr. Trabelsi's reunion with his family comes after being held in detention in the U.S. for years even after being cleared of all charges. That should never have happened."