Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Thursday announced the soon-to-be opening of a second illegal immigration detention center in the state called the “Deportation Depot,” explaining that the demand is now here for it.
DeSantis made the announcement during a press conference in Florida’s Baker County. He explained that they were originally considering Camp Blanding for the second immigration detention center, until they stumbled upon an unused portion of the Baker Correctional Institution, which already had so much of the infrastructure they were looking for, saving millions of dollars. Further, he noted that Camp Blanding’s runway did not have the capacity to handle large migrant flights and noted that the Lake City Airport is close to the second facility.
“So I’m here to announce today that we are authorizing and will be soon be opening this new illegal immigration detention processing and deportation facility here in North Florida. We are calling this the Deportation Depot,” DeSantis formally announced.
“It is going to be located here at Baker Correctional Institution, and again, the process — 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, and that’s what we do in Florida. We know that this is an important national priority, not only of President Trump, but of the American people,” DeSantis said, reminding reporters that immigration was a top issue in the last presidential election.
Ultimately, DeSantis said they have “reached that point where I’m confident that we need additional capacity beyond what we’re already doing down in South Florida,” noting, again, that there is a “massive part here at Baker correctional that is vacant, that isn’t being used for any state correction activity.”
“This was something that was very appealing from that perspective, because it would require us to do a lot less in standing up than we would at Blanding and far less than we had to do at Alligator Alcatraz,” he explained, adding that because there is so much existing infrastructure at this facility, they are saving money compared to what it would have been to build out Camp Blanding.
Further, the governor said this second location will be able to hold more than 1,300 illegal alien detainees and will provide the same services as Alligator Alcatraz.
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“Costs will be reimbursed by our federal partners, and as I mentioned, Lake City airport [is] just right down the road. It’s 15 minutes away. This is something that the Division of Emergency Management worked very quickly on,” he said, explaining that this second facility will be operational “soon.”
“It’s not going to take forever, but we’re also not rushing to do it right this day. They’re doing what they need to do to get it done in all deliberate speed. So I’m proud of them for their work. Florida is making a difference. This is a priority for the people of our state. It’s a priority for the people of this country. And I don’t want to see any more Angel Moms in Florida … because the laws weren’t being enforced,” DeSantis added.
Kevin Guthrie, Executive Director of the Florida Division Emergency Management, also spoke and said the opening of this second facility symbolizes “the successful endeavors of our southern facility and our commitment to detaining illegal immigrants across the state.”
“This facility will act as a North-based site that will support the governor’s mission to keep Florida a law and order state and to ensure that Florida families remain safe,” he said, walking through some logistics, including special housing units, a 12-foot chain-link fence with razor-ribbon wire, and services that — he says — “meet or exceed the federal or state detention standard.”
Those include three meals a day, a 24/7 medical facility and pharmacy, and access to indoor and outdoor rec yards.
“They will have access to legal and clergy support services. They will have laundry again. They will have everything that is required under federal or state law for a detention facility,” Guthrie said. “This facility is a permanent pre-existing structure, meaning that our teams can get in here [and] get it operational quickly, officially, and without delay.”
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