Overview
- U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell opened a two-day hearing in Fort Myers to assess claims about detainees’ ability to consult lawyers at the state-run facility.
- Two former detainees testifying from Colombia and Haiti said they never reached an attorney, that calls mentioning counsel were cut off, and that they lacked pens and paper to record phone numbers.
- One witness from Haiti said staff pressed him to sign documents he could not understand that he later learned were voluntary return forms.
- Plaintiffs argue facility rules violate First Amendment rights by requiring three-day advance appointments, transferring detainees after visits are scheduled, and causing delays that precluded meetings before key deadlines.
- An ICE official and a contractor executive said the site meets ICE standards, receives inspections at least every two weeks, allows unmonitored attorney calls on request, and now permits some in-person visits without advance appointments.