MIAMI — A month into his detention at Alligator Alcatraz, Daniel Ortiz Piñeda faced a stark choice: continue his legal fight for asylum or give it up to hopefully put an end to his extended stay at the makeshift immigration detention camp in the Everglades.

The Colombian national, with no criminal record, had the right to remain in the country while appealing the 2023 denial of his asylum request. But last week, the 33-year-old asked his attorney to drop his appeal, preferring repatriation to the possibility of indefinite detention.

“He feels like there’s nothing here for him now,” Piñeda’s mother said in an interview.

Stories like Piñeda’s have played out repeatedly at the Everglades detention camp. While it was promoted as a place where migrants with heinous criminal histories would b

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