Mexico requests repatriation of 14 nationals detained at US ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ facility
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Tuesday that Mexico is actively seeking the immediate repatriation of 14 Mexican nationals held at a high-security detention center in the United States known colloquially as “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The facility, located approximately 37 miles from Miami in a subtropical wetland, is infamous for its harsh conditions and proximity to dangerous wildlife including alligators, crocodiles, and pythons, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
“All arrangements are being made to ensure they are repatriated immediately,” President Sheinbaum said during her daily press briefing.
Since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, over 73,500 people have been returned to Mexico, including more than 67,000 Mexican nationals, primarily by air, according to Sheinbaum.
Among those detained are brothers Carlos and Alejandro Gonzalez, who were reportedly held after a traffic stop. Their father described the facility as “completely closed” with no sunlight and constant artificial lighting, leaving detainees disoriented about day and night cycles. Carlos, 26, was visiting the U.S. on a valid tourist visa but was detained after being stopped for driving without car registration. Alejandro was also detained after arriving with the vehicle documents.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed the detentions, citing that Carlos had accumulated numerous toll violations and was working illegally while on a tourist visa, while Alejandro had overstayed his visa.
Mexico’s consul in Orlando highlighted that the brothers are caught in “legal limbo,” with their appointed lawyer denied access to case files and no judge assigned to their case.
The “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center has become a symbol of the Trump administration’s stringent immigration enforcement, intended to deter illegal immigration by housing detainees in remote, harsh environments.
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