MEXICO CITY (BN24) — President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that 14 Mexican nationals are currently being held at a U.S. immigration detention center nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” and that her government is seeking their immediate repatriation. The facility, located in a remote wetland near Miami, has become a controversial symbol of the Biden-era immigration rollback under President Donald Trump’s administration.
“All arrangements are being made to ensure they are repatriated immediately to Mexico,” Sheinbaum said during her daily press briefing. She added that consular and legal teams are actively working with U.S. authorities to secure the release of the detainees, many of whom have not yet seen a judge.
The detention center, situated roughly 37 miles west of Miami, is surrounded by swamplands inhabited by alligators, crocodiles and invasive Burmese pythons. The site’s location and its harsh conditions have been used by the White House to illustrate its commitment to removing migrants it claims were unlawfully permitted to remain in the U.S. during the Biden presidency.
Since Trump returned to office in January, Mexico has received 73,533 deportees, including 67,008 Mexican citizens, according to figures released by Sheinbaum in a separate briefing earlier this month. Most of the repatriations occurred via air transport.
The plight of two detainees, brothers Carlos and Alejandro Gonzalez, has drawn widespread attention in Mexico. Their father, Martin Gonzalez, told local radio station W that his sons were locked up in the Alligator Alcatraz facility despite holding valid tourist visas. He said Carlos, 26, was initially pulled over by a state trooper while driving in the U.S. and detained for lacking vehicle registration. When Alejandro arrived shortly afterward to deliver the document, he was also taken into custody.
“It’s really bad. The facility is completely closed—no sunlight gets in. The lights are on 24/7, so they don’t even know if it’s day or night,” Martin Gonzalez said. “Obviously my sons are desperate to get out of this situation.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has not responded to requests for comment regarding the brothers’ case.
Mexico’s consul in Orlando, Juan Sabines, released a video on Monday with the brothers’ father, confirming that the two young men remain in legal limbo. He said a court-appointed lawyer has yet to gain access to their case files, and no immigration judge has been assigned.
The Sheinbaum administration has made the defense of Mexican nationals abroad a key part of its foreign policy platform, and the president reiterated that her government would not tolerate violations of their rights on foreign soil.
