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…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business