A South Florida man who spent months in federal immigration custody is speaking publicly for the first time after his release from a remote detention site widely known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Forty-five-year-old Maikel Rojas was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in October 2025 after he showed up for his routine, court-mandated annual check-in at the Miramar immigration office. Instead of being allowed to return home, he was taken into custody and later transferred to the isolated facility.
Rojas remained detained for nearly five months until a phone call in March changed everything. His wife, Roxana Torres, says she had been protesting outside the facility with other families when she received word that he was being released from Krome Detention Center. She rushed to the facility, and the couple were reunited after months apart.
Now home, Rojas describes what he calls inhumane conditions at the detention site: little to no access to visitors or lawyers, unsanitary and overcrowded living areas, and poor food. “We have no privacy. … There are cameras over the toilets,” he said in Spanish. “Thirty-two people share three toilets, so you can imagine the smell.” He also alleged meals often arrived spoiled after sitting for hours in the heat and said he lost 45 pounds during his four-and-a-half months in custody.
Torres says Rojas’ release was secured through a habeas corpus petition, a legal procedure that lets detainees challenge the lawfulness of their confinement in court. She learned about the option from another detainee’s wife and said, “One of the wives told me, ‘Do you want to do habeas corpus for your husband?’ … It’s free.”
Rojas arrived in the United States from Cuba in 2004. In 2005 he was arrested and later convicted as an accessory to murder, serving 13 years in prison. After his release, he was required to report annually to immigration authorities — a requirement that ultimately led to his detention last October.
Although he is home, Rojas’ immigration case remains unresolved. He must wear an ankle monitor and faces an upcoming hearing that could determine whether the device will be removed. He is also scheduled to report again to the Miramar facility next week.
CBS News Miami reached out to ICE for comment. The agency acknowledged the inquiry but said it needed more time to respond.