Palm Beach Restaurant Maitre D’ Being Held at Alligator Alcatraz

The longtime manager of a high-end Palm Beach restaurant is being held at the controversial Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention facility deep in the Everglades. 

Jose Gonzalez, a 53-year-old native of Mexico, has lived in the United States for 30 years — 20 of which he’s spent working at Bice Ristorante, an upscale Italian restaurant on Worth Avenue. He’s described by neighbors as a beloved member of the community, regularly greeting and seating guests as the spot’s popular maitre d’.

But on December 10, while out on a supply run for his nephew’s taco food truck, the two were pulled over by the Florida Highway Patrol, allegedly for having tinted windows. Gonzalez and his 22-year-old nephew were then turned over to immigration officials, Gonzalez’s attorney, Jeffrey Devore, tells New Times.

Now, Gonzalez is being held at the Everglades facility in conditions that Devore says make a “Motel 6 look good.” He says Gonzalez’s family can’t understand why he was detained.

“He’s got a pending application for asylum, and he has a valid work permit. There’s no criminal history or anything like that,” Devore tells New Times. “He’s just working, minding his own business. He doesn’t really fit within the profile that President Trump said that he was going to go after.”

Devore notes that Gonzalez never received a traffic citation for the tinted windows.

Nestor Iglesias, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE), tells New Times that Gonzalez was taken into the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), not ICE.

According to CBP, Gonzalez’s encounter with federal authorities began with a routine traffic stop.

“On Dec. 10,  Jose Heriberto Gonzalez-Gonzalez, a 53-year-old Mexican national, was encountered by Florida Highway Patrol during a vehicle stop for a traffic violation,” CBP spokesman Alan Regalado wrote to New Times in an emailed statement. “Gonzalez was subsequently found to be illegally present in the U.S. and was transferred to U.S. Border Patrol custody at the West Palm Beach Station for removal proceedings.”

Following his detainment, Devore says, Gonzalez was held at an immigration facility in Riviera Beach before he was transferred to the state-run Alligator Alcatraz on the evening of December 13.

“It’s not pleasant, that’s for sure,” he tells New Times. “I think the policy of the Trump administration is obviously, shoot first, ask questions later, and then make things as miserable for people as possible, get them to give up so they just agree to leave.”

The Palm Beach community has since been rallying for Gonzalez’s release. Maribel Alvarez, a Palm Beach publicist, described him as a “member” of her family and others in the community.

“I can’t imagine this gentle soul being in Alligator Alcatraz,” Alvarez told the Palm Beach Post. “The conditions aren’t fit for animals. It is brutal torture.”

In a Facebook post, U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, who represents parts of Palm Beach County,  called Gonzalez a “brother, uncle, business owner” and “cherished member of our Palm Beach County community for decades.”

“Last week while out on a supply run for his restaurant, ICE detained Jose and his nephew. Jose is now being held in unspeakable conditions at so-called ‘Alligator Alcatraz,'” Frankel wrote. “This isn’t going after the ‘worst of the worst,’ this is terrorizing our neighbors to meet ICE’s detention quota. My team and I are working to find more information and free Jose from ICE’s unjust detention.”

Frankel’s office didn’t respond to New Times’ request for comment. 

While Gonzalez’s nephew has reportedly agreed to return to Mexico, Devore has filed a habeas corpus petition in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida on Gonzalez’s behalf; he says the judge has issued an order directing the government to respond regarding whether he should be released by Christmas Eve. 

“They haven’t done anything to initiate any type of proceedings or anything,” Devore says. “[Gonzalez is] just sort of hanging out there in limbo at the moment.”

This is a breaking story and will be updated as events warrant.