Judge pushes for resolution in lawsuit over legal access at Everglades detention center

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO Fla AP A federal judge in Florida is pushing for a resolution in a lawsuit over whether detainees at an immigration center in the Florida Everglades are getting adequate access to attorneys Related Articles What to know about expanded work requirements about to kick in for SNAP US stocks climb ahead of a crucial couple of tests for Wall Street Ford recalls more than Bronco and Bronco Sports for instrument panel failure Jurors hear closing arguments in trial of Ohio officer charged in the killing of Ta Kiya Young Harvard opens new probe into ex-president Larry Summers after release of Epstein emails U S District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell last Friday ordered a two-day conference to be held next month in her Fort Myers courtroom with attorneys present who have the authority to settle The judge questioned for an update at a hearing next Monday The court will not entertain excuses regarding leaving early for flights or other meetings the judge wrote about next month s conference The lawsuit filed by detainees against the federal and state governments over legal access is one of three federal cases challenging practices at the immigration detention center that was built this summer at a remote airstrip in the Florida Everglades by the administration of Republican Gov Ron DeSantis In a separate environmental lawsuit a federal appellate court panel in September allowed the center to continue operating by putting on hold a lower court s preliminary injunction ordering the facility to wind down by the end of October The appeal was put on hold during the governing body shutdown but resumed last week A third lawsuit states immigration is a federal issue and Florida agencies and private contractors hired by the state have no authority to operate the facility President Donald Trump toured the facility in July and suggested it could be a model for future lockups nationwide as his administration pushes to expand the infrastructure needed to increase deportations While the facility was built and operated by the state and its private contractors federal personnel have approved reimbursing Florida for million In the legal access episode attorneys representing detainees at the Everglades facility are seeking a preliminary injunction that will make it easier for their clients to meet and communicate with their individual attorneys They claim that detainees attorneys must make an appointment to visit three days in advance unlike at other detention facilities where the lawyers can just show up during visiting hours that detainees often are transferred to other facilities after their attorneys have made an appointment to see them and that scheduling delays have been so lengthy that detainees are unable to meet with attorneys before key deadlines Florida agents reported in a motion to dismiss that the matter is now moot since the concerns initially raised by the detainees and their attorneys have been addressed Any delays were due to trying to construct a facility for thousands of detainees in a remote area with little infrastructure they noted In other words there is no longer a live debate Florida bureaucrats stated in their court filing Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky mikeysid bsky social