2 ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ guards charged with battery of inmate, records show

Two guards who worked at the former Florida Everglades detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” have been charged with battery after they allegedly struck or touched a detainee against his will, court records show. Andre Junior Seenaraine and Stephen Jordan Trejos are accused of committing battery on a Hispanic male detainee around Jan. 25, according to Collier County records. Further details about the alleged encounter were not released. Gov. Ron DeSantis said in June that the center, located at an isolated airstrip in the Everglades, was always meant to be only temporary until more permanent immigration detention centers could be secured and that federal officials now have that capacity. The detention center was fully closed in July. “It served its purpose for the time,” the Republican governor said. “The demobilization efforts at this facility are underway.” DeSantis added that “Alligator Alcatraz” has “fulfilled the role that it was designed to serve” and “today it now has zero detainees.” The migrants held there remain in federal custody, he said. Officials announced a temporary closure of the facility earlier in June and sent all of the detainees to other facilities, saying hurricane season made it unsafe to keep them in the Everglades. Immigration advocates said the tents were never safe or humane for holding people. Detainees at the facility have talked about their difficulty accessing lawyers and described poor physical conditions, including worms in the food, toilets that didn’t flush, floors flooded with fecal waste, and mosquitoes and other insects everywhere. The detention center was built by DeSantis’ administration in a matter of days and opened in July 2025. DeSantis and President Donald Trump said the detention center was critical to Republican efforts to return people in the country illegally back to their home countries. “There is no question this mission has made the state of Florida safer,” said DeSantis, noting that 21,000 people were deported through the facility. Lawyers for the immigrants at the facility said their clients suddenly started being moved to other facilities in South Florida, California, Arizona, Louisiana and Texas earlier this month, disappearing for about a week before their attorneys and families were told where they were sent. Immigrant advocates said closing “Alligator Alcatraz” does nothing to stop the harm to people who spend months in custody as their families suffer. The Florida Immigrant Coalition said the only winners were corporations and contractors who made millions of dollars in profits as Republicans pushed an immigration emergency that does not exist. DeSantis said the airstrip the facility was built around will continue to be used. In August, Miami-Dade County regained control of site.