15-year-old detained at Alligator Alcatraz, transferred after age verified
Jul 1, 2025 · Ochopee, FL, Mexico

Alexis, a 15-year-old from Chiapas, Mexico, was detained on July 1 when Florida Highway Patrol stopped a vehicle he was traveling in with friends and handed him over to federal authorities. He had no criminal record. The teenager spent three days at Alligator Alcatraz, a controversial temporary detention facility consisting of tents and chain-link pens, housed with adults and handcuffed during transfer. Officers said he misrepresented his age upon arrest because he feared being separated from his group. His father, Ignacio, learned of his detention only after three days when one of Alexis's friends called from the facility. After Ignacio sent a photo of Alexis's birth certificate and authorities confirmed his age, the boy was transferred to a federal shelter for migrant children on July 4. Ignacio, who fled Chiapas in 2018 due to violence, is working to reunite with his son.
Sources
More incidents in Florida
- Mother and daughter detained by ICE while being treated at Orlando-area hospitalAug 22, 2026 · Orlando, FL
- Video shows ICE agents forcing women to ground during Fort Myers, Florida stopAug 20, 2026 · Fort Myers, FL
- Florida's ICE office leads nation in arrests amid expanding local police partnershipsAug 19, 2026 · Miami, FL
- Former Cuban judge detained by ICE outside Florida home, denies Communist Party tiesAug 18, 2026 · Cooper City, FL
- Immigrant forcibly detained by ICE outside Dollar Tree in JacksonvilleAug 17, 2026 · Jacksonville, FL
- Guatemalan man held over a week at 72-hour ICE facility despite signing voluntary departureAug 17, 2026 · Miramar, FL