Sign in Subscribe
Emigration and immigration

Florida to Open Second Migrant Detention Center, With a Capacity for Up to 1,300 Detainees

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Florida will convert an old state prison into a migrant detention center with a capacity for up to 1,300 detainees, Governor Ron DeSantis announced. The facility is expected to cost $6 million and take two to three weeks to set up. This move comes as part of DeSantis' aggressive stance on immigration, following the opening of the first state migrant detention facility, Alligator Alcatraz, in July.

Key Takeaways:

  • The new facility, dubbed "Deportation Depot," will have a capacity for up to 1,300 detainees and is expected to cost $6 million.
  • The facility will be set up in a dormant part of the Baker Correctional Institution in north Florida, which currently has about 400 inmates.
  • The facility will serve people arrested in Florida under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
  • The new center is expected to take two to three weeks to set up, much faster than the six weeks it took to set up the first facility, Alligator Alcatraz.
  • The facility will be built without a new runway, but it is located near Lake City Gateway Airport, which DeSantis said could provide sufficient transportation options.
  • The cost of the new facility is a fraction of the $450 million cost of Alligator Alcatraz and is seen as a more convenient location due to its existing infrastructure.
  • DeSantis has been criticized for the conditions and logistical challenges at Alligator Alcatraz, including overflowing portable toilets, flooded cells, and swarms of mosquitoes.
  • Despite the challenges, the site has become a symbol of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem has said that several other states might use it as a model.
  • Critics have argued that building a temporary center in protected wetlands was unnecessary, and the state may have been motivated to open a new center despite Alligator Alcatraz being far below capacity.
  • Environmental groups, the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, and civil rights attorneys have sued to shut down the Everglades center due to poor conditions and lack of access to legal counsel for detainees.

Statistics:

  • 1,300: The capacity of the new detention center.
  • $6 million: The cost of setting up the new facility.
  • 2-3 weeks: The expected time to set up the new facility.
  • 400: The current number of inmates at the Baker Correctional Institution.
  • $450 million: The cost of setting up Alligator Alcatraz.
  • 5,000: The maximum capacity of Alligator Alcatraz.
  • 1,000: The current number of detainees at Alligator Alcatraz.

Sources:

  • [1] "Florida to open second migrant detention center" by Lori Rozsa, Florida.
  • [2] "DeSantis announces plans for second migrant detention center" by Governor Ron DeSantis's office.
  • [3] "Critics slam DeSantis' immigration policies as Florida opens second migrant detention center" by state Rep. Anna Eskamani.
  • [4] "Deportations from Everglades migrant detention center begin, despite ongoing issues and lawsuits" by Reuters.
  • [5] "Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem on the future of immigration enforcement" by Homeland Security Department.

Read more