After ‘Alligator Alcatraz’, Florida to build ‘Deportation Depot’ to suit Trump’s plans
The detention centre will be housed at a state prison and could hold up to 2,000 immigrants
Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’ administration is preparing to open a second immigration detention facility dubbed “Deportation Depot” at a state prison in north Florida, as a federal judge decides the fate of the state’s holding centre for immigrants at an isolated airstrip in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz”.
DeSantis announced Thursday that the new facility is to be housed at the Baker Correctional Institution, a state prison about 69km (43 miles) west of downtown Jacksonville. It is expected to hold 1,300 immigration detention beds, though that capacity could be expanded to 2,000, state officials said.
After opening the Everglades facility last month, DeSantis justified building the second detention centre by saying US President Donald Trump’s administration needs the additional capacity to hold and deport more immigrants.
“There is a demand for this,” DeSantis said. “I’m confident that it will be filled.”
US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has trumpeted Republican governors’ efforts to expand their immigration detention capacity, calling Florida’s partnership a model for other state-run holding facilities.
DeSantis touted the relative ease and economy of setting up the north facility at a pre-existing prison, estimating the buildout cost to be US$6 million.