A South Florida man held at the Everglades detention center, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” was transferred to Texas. He says [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] officers then ordered him and the other detainees he was with to cross illegally into Mexico. Heather Walker has this 7Investigates.
In 1989, Andy Pierre fled dangerous conditions in Haiti and came to South Florida.
A judge granted him what’s called a “Convention Against Torture Visa,” allowing him to remain in the United States legally.
Andy Pierre, Alligator Alcatraz detainee: “I’ve been here since I was 14 years old. I have five children here. Three grandchildren.”
He’s been working on getting his citizenship ever since.
Troy Harris, attorney: “He has to check in with ICE. He has to keep everything updated.”
Heather Walker: “Was he doing that?”
Troy Harris: “He was definitely doing that.”
Andy’s immigration lawyer, Troy Harris, says Andy had a run-in with the law in his 20s for possession and distribution of cocaine. He served his time and there have been no issues since — until February, when he was taken into custody while driving to pick up his son from work.
Andy Pierre: “While we are pulling up to his job, an unmarked car cut in front of me. my wife screamed.”
At first, they thought they were being robbed, but soon realized the men in the other vehicle were ICE officers.
Andy Pierre: “I was stopped at gunpoint with me and my family in the car. They have my address, they have my phone number, they have my email. They never contacted me, saying, ‘We need to speak to you.'”
Andy says he was taken to “Alligator Alcatraz.” Less than a month later, he says they moved him.
Andy Pierre: “They put me on a plane, flew me to north Texas, then put us on a bus, drove us to the border, and told us to get out, to go to Mexico.”
He says all of the detainees were essentially being ordered to illegally cross into Mexico with no paperwork.
Andy Pierre: “They put this old man, 80 years old, he’s mute, and he’s deaf. He can’t stand on his own. They have to carry this man on the bus. Who can this man harm? If you send this man to Mexico, you send him to go die? That’s all he’s going to do because he won’t find anyone to take care of him there.”
Around that same time, the Supreme Court ruled that removing people to third countries without due process is illegal.
Despite that, Andy says ICE took him to the Mexican border a second time. Both times, he refused to get off the bus and was returned to Florida.
7 Investigates reached out to the Department of Homeland Security.
A spokesperson sent us a statement saying:
“If you break our laws and come to our country illegally, you could end up in any number of third countries. These third-country agreements, which ensure due process under the U.S. Constitution, are essential to the safety of our homeland and the American people. All illegal aliens being removed to a third country are provided a form informing them and medically cleared prior to travel.”
But Andy says his group was not given any forms.
It’s a scenario that mirrors what other people have shared with a refugee assistance group based in Washington, D.C.
Yael Schacher, Refugees International: “What we found is Mexico didn’t agree to take these folks, like people from far from the border, like people from Florida.”
Refugees International has been documenting the way the Department of Homeland Security has been handling ICE detainees.
They tell us that when someone is dumped in a country that has not agreed to take them, it makes them an illegal alien in that country.
Yael Schacher: “They are basically left to fend for themselves. They have a hard time getting asylum in Mexico, so they are sort of left on the streets.”
The Mexican government says the U.S. sent 13,000 third-country nationals to Mexico in 2025.
Refugees International estimates a few thousand more have been sent there illegally this year.
Andy worries that one day he will just disappear.
Andy Pierre: “Once this gets out, if my family doesn’t hear from me, they know, but I have to put it out there. It’s bigger than me.”
Andy and his attorney are fighting to get his deportation reversed, and he hopes he gets justice soon.
Heather Walker, 7News.
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