Florida awaiting federal approval for 3rd immigration detention center
ORLANDO, Florida — Florida is awaiting federal approval to open a third immigration detention center, following Alligator Alcatraz and Deportation Depot, and the state is also exploring the possibility of a fourth detention center, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday.
Florida authorities were waiting for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to approve the creation of the third detention center in the Panhandle state, DeSantis said at a news conference outside the facility that was Florida’s second immigrant detention center, nicknamed “Deportation Deportation,” at the former Baker Correctional Facility in northeast Florida.
“So if they approve, we will open,” DeSantis said. “If they don’t do it, then we’ll sit idly by, and that’s fine. But I think it should be approved because I don’t think they’re where they need to be in the detention space.”
The governor said there is “potentially another option” in South Florida, where state officials have already built an immigration detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” on a remote airstrip in the Florida Everglades.
Asked by email about the specific locations of the two potential detention centers, DeSantis press secretary Molly Best said the Panhandle location would be announced once approved by federal officials.
“Until this and the additional proposed location in South Florida have been approved and finalized, we are unable to provide additional details. Stay tuned!” Better said.
DeSantis said there were 10,000 unlawful arrests of people in Florida over the past year in the United States thanks to a state initiative with federal law enforcement, and that local law enforcement made an additional 10,000 arrests for a total of 20,000 arrests. Under the state initiative, 63% of those arrested received an arrest or criminal conviction, DeSantis said.
Florida has led other states in building facilities to support President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, with DeSantis saying the Trump administration needs additional capacity to detain and deport more immigrants. The Trump administration has touted efforts by Republican governors to expand their immigration detention capacity, calling the Florida partnership a model for other state-run detention centers.
Lawyers for detainees at the Everglades Center have called detention conditions deplorable, writing in court papers that rainwater floods their tents and that officers go from cell to cell pressuring detainees to sign voluntary deportation orders before they are allowed to consult with their lawyers.
Three federal lawsuits in Florida call into question practices at Everglades facilities.
In a lawsuit, the inmates are seeking to close the facility because immigration is a federal matter and Florida agencies and private contractors hired by the state have no authority to operate it under federal law. In a second lawsuit, the detainees sought a ruling ensuring they would have access to confidential communications with their attorneys.
In the third lawsuit, a federal judge in Miami last summer ordered the facility to cease operations for two months because officials failed to conduct an environmental impact assessment of the detention center. But an appeals court suspended that decision for the time being, allowing the establishment to remain open.
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