Florida is preparing to hold immigrant detainees at a new detention facility in a remote, northern part of the state, the second since the makeshift detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” opened in the Everglades just over a month ago.
“We are calling this the Deportation Depot,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Thursday.
DeSantis announced that more than 1,300 detainees will be held inside the facility at Baker Correctional Institution, a temporarily closed state prison about 45 miles west of Jacksonville near Osceola National Forest.
“The reason of this is not to just house people indefinitely. We want to process, stage and then return illegal aliens to their home country. That is the name of the game,” DeSantis said, adding the detention center “will be operational soon.”
“It’s not going to take forever but we are also not rushing to do it right this day,“ the governor said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
