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From “Alligator Alcatraz” to a new “Deportation Depot,” Florida says it is leading the way in enforcing federal immigration laws.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that the state will open a new immigration detention center dubbed “Deportation Depot” at a shuttered former prison in Sanderson, north Florida, expanding the state’s capacity to hold and deport migrants.
The new facility will be located at Baker Correctional Institution, about 43 miles west of Jacksonville and will initially hold 1,300 beds and can be expandable to 2,000.
RED STATES CONSIDER ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’ SPINOFFS AS WH URGES THEM TO FOLLOW DESANTIS’ LEAD: ‘LOTS OF BEARS’
DeSantis said the facility, which has been dormant since 2021, will build on the success of Alligator Alcatraz in the Everglades and is expected to be operational in two to three weeks with staffing by the Florida National Guard and state contractors.
“There’s a massive part here at Baker Correctional that’s vacant and isn’t being used for any state correction activity,” DeSantis said at a press briefing. “Talk about ready-made infrastructure, this is something that’s very appealing from that perspective.”
DeSantis touted the relative ease and economy of setting up the northern Florida facility, estimating the build-out cost to be $6 million. That’s compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars the state has committed to constructing the vast network of tents and trailers at the south facility in the rugged and remote Florida swamp.
“This part of the facility is not being used right now for the state prisoners. It just gives us an ability to go in, stand it up quickly, stand it up cheaply,” DeSantis said of the state prison, calling the site “ready-made.”
The new facility is being built as part of the Trump administration’s effort to deport the millions of migrants who flooded the country under the Biden administration.
DeSantis said that there are an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 illegal immigrants in Florida who already have final orders of removal but have not yet been deported. He touted state and local law enforcement agencies’ participation in ICE operations with the latest move expanding Florida’s 287(g) program, where state officers collaborate with ICE.
TRUMP SAYS ONLY WAY OUT OF ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’ IS DEPORTATION
DeSantis also praised the Trump administration’s “sea change” in policy for enabling Florida Highway Patrol to legally enforce immigration laws during traffic stops.
“We have done more on this than any other state by a country mile,” he said. We’ll enforce the law, we’ll hold the line, and we will keep delivering results.”
DeSantis had previously floated plans to open a second detention facility at a nearby Florida National Guard training facility known as Camp Blanding, about 30 miles southwest of Jacksonville. The long-standing military installation was a major U.S. Army training facility during World War II and serves as a “continuity of government” site for Florida’s executive branch, according to the facility’s website.
But announcing the plans Thursday, DeSantis said the Baker facility was a better fit because of its available capacity and proximity to a regional airport.
“Blanding does have air capacity, but probably not a big enough runway to handle large planes,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis said detainees at the new Baker facility will get the same services as those at the Everglades site and that it will be air-conditioned, which is not required under Florida prison standards.
Attorneys for detainees at Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz have alleged unsafe and inhumane conditions, including COVID-19 exposure without isolation, flooding and pressure to sign removal orders before meeting lawyers.
Last week, a Miami federal judge ordered a temporary halt to construction at the “Alligator Alcatraz” detention facility.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams said the facility, which is built in the middle of the Florida Everglades, can continue to hold migrant detainees, but cannot add any new infrastructure capacity.
The ruling stops new construction, including filling, paving, installation of new infrastructure, and installation of new lighting, for a 14-day period while the parties involved in a lawsuit over the facility complete their hearing on a motion for a preliminary injunction.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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