4 July 31 - August 6, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | ORPHANS OF THE DEPORTED A hidden toll of Trump’s mass deportation efforts: Abandoned pets. BY ALEX DELUCA O n June 23, just two years after he was adopted from the Humane Society of Broward County, Nino was dropped off at the same shelter where he once found his forever home. Described as a “sweetheart” who is well- behaved, in tune with his emotions, and over- all “the perfect dog,” the 7-year-old Pointer mix wasn’t surrendered for one of the usual reasons, which typically include financial re- straints, allergies, or behavioral issues. Instead, he arrived with a brief note: “fam- ily deported.” Nino is just one of a handful of pets who have been surrendered to animal shelters across South Florida after their owners were either deported or forced to flee the country under President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown. It’s a largely hidden toll of the mass deportation efforts — and one that’s adding pressure to an already over- whelmed system. At the Humane Society of Broward County in Fort Lauderdale, at least four dogs and one cat were recently surrendered under these circumstances, spokesperson Cherie Wachter tells New Times. One of them is Bruce, a 5-year-old pit bull mix. Wachter says Bruce was brought to the shelter on May 3 after his owner, the family’s father, was deported. His wife, left to care for their four children and two cats, was prepar- ing to leave the country and couldn’t bring Bruce along; the airline refused to take him because of his “rambunctious behavior.” Another is Margot, a 2-year-old brown tabby cat. Wachter says that after Margot’s owners were deported, they left her in the care of a friend who intended to keep her, but quickly discovered he was severely allergic to cats. On July 7, he returned Margot to the shel- ter. The roughly 10-pound, black-and-brown striped cat is described as mellow and sweet, and gets along with “calm dogs” and kids. Nino, Bruce, and Margot were each ad- opted within weeks of being surrendered. Still, Wachter says: “I’m sure these won’t be the only pets we receive because of this reason.” Wachter explains that each animal arrived at the shelter with the reason listed as “no home” and an additional note elaborating that their owners were deported from the country. While the shelter didn’t previously list “deported” as a reason for surrender, Wachter says it does now. “Some, but not all, of the other reasons animals are surren- dered include cost, al- lergic, too many, gift, divorce, owner ill, pet ill, other pet, not housebroken, no home, too friendly, barks, no room, no time, sheds, too big, too small, mov- ing,” Wachter wrote in an email, “and now deported has been added.” Janet Steele, director of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control, says she’s aware of at least 19 pets surrendered to the shelter or its rescue partners this year “as a specific result of immigration detention.” On July 20, for instance, an 11-year-old male poodle with extensive medical issues was surrendered to the shelter after someone called the police to report that the dog’s owner was “deported by ICE,” Steele tells New Times. She says the senior dog is partially blind, has tooth loss, doesn’t walk well, and has fleas and hookworms. While the dog undergoes medical intake, including a physical exam, routine vaccina- tions, a heartworm test, and other diagnos- tics, Steele says the shelter has sent a “Notice to Owner” to his last known address. If the shelter doesn’t hear back by the end of this week, they’ll process him for adoption or rescue, as is standard practice. “Should they not respond by this Friday, we will likely send this dog to one of our res- cue partners, as they are better equipped to deal with older pets,” Steele says. The Palm Beach County shelter also re- cently took in a 5-year-old female German Shepherd mix named Zuri after her owner was deported. Lady Luck Animal Rescue, a Fort Lauder- dale-based animal rescue group, said it quickly secured Zuri a temporary foster home. A photo shared on the rescue’s Face- book page shows the dog in the back seat of a car en route to her foster. Zuri is currently available for adoption through Lady Luck Animal Rescue. Good Karma Pet Rescue, a nonprofit fos- ter-based rescue in South Florida, says it has also received several dogs and cats surren- dered after their owners were deported. In February, after Lena and Leon’s owners were deported, the pair of dogs wound up in the rescue’s care, says the group’s vice presi- dent, Devin Soto. The following month, two separate fami- lies adopted thesmall, scruffy, 1-year-old pups, which Soto believes are Portuguese Podengo. In late July, the rescue took in two felines — a black cat named Milady and a Bruce, a 5-year-old pit bull-terrier mix, was brought to the shelter on May 30 after his owner was deported. Margot, a 2-year-old brown tabby cat, was recently surrendered to a local shelter after her owners were deported. Photos by Humane Society of Broward County | METRO | NINO ARRIVED WITH A BRIEF NOTE: “FAMILY DEPORTED.” ‘Humanitarian Crisis’ Detainees’ families decry conditions at Alligator Alcatraz. BY B. SCOTT MCLENDON G uards at Alligator Alcatraz are limiting air conditioning for detainees, forcing them to stand in the elements for punishment, and holding them in custody lon- ger than they’re allowed by law, according to detainees’ family members and prominent members of local nonprofits. Several Florida nonprofits, led by the Flor- ida Immigration Coalition, joined medical pro- fessionals, public health experts, and families of detainees on July 22 outside Alligator Alca- traz, enduring the oppressive swamp heat and endless barrage of mosquito bites to call for the detention center closure. Sonia Collazo, who spoke to reporters in Spanish and through a translator, described the sweltering condi- tions her 63-year-old husband, Rafael, has ex- perienced at the tent detention facility. “Officers are cursing him, telling him to go back where he came from,” Collazo told re- porters outside the facility. “His feet have fun- gus due to the humidity. “This place is a cage. It’s for dogs. They don’t deserve to be here, no matter what; they’re human.” The conditions outside the center were bru- tal enough to cause at least one woman to col- lapse from apparent heat exhaustion. About 50 people gathered in the 90-plus- degree heat on the side of U.S. Route 41, about an hour and 15-minute drive from Miami, to urge Miami-Dade County officials to push for the immediate evacuation and closure of the facility, which they describe as a concentration camp. A few cars drove by and offered honks, seemingly supporting the protesters and their picket signs targeting President Donald Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Gov. Ron DeSantis. Some passersby made their feelings more clear, like the heckler with an Alabama license plate who yelled “deport, deport, deport!” as he drove past, and another man who belted “Go Trump” from his lifted truck. Florida nonprofits like Florida Rising, Flor- ida Immigrant Coalition, Dream Defenders, and Dade County Street Response spoke out against the detention facility between family members who told of the horrors their de- tainee husbands and sons faced. In a statement to New Times, Florida Immi- grant Coalition co-executive director Tess Petit called Alligator Alcatraz “an atrocity in our community.” “The concept is morally repugnant be- cause it mimics concentration camps that have left very negative memories for our country’s history,” Petit said. “But the condi- tions under which people are detained raise major medical concerns. >> p5 >> p5
