Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Thursday plans to open a second immigration detention facility in the Sunshine State, calling it “Deportation Depot.”

“Great to be in Sanderson today to announce that Florida’s new Deportation Depot will begin housing, detaining, and processing illegal aliens for deportation, in coordination with federal authorities,” DeSantis announced.

“With Alligator Alcatraz operating in South Florida and Deportation Depot authorized in North Florida, we are ramping up our capacity to deport more foreign criminals every day. Florida will always stand for the rule of law and put the safety of our citizens first,” he continued.

More from the Associated Press:

DeSantis announced Thursday that the new facility is to be housed at the Baker Correctional Institution, a state prison about 43 miles (69 kilometers) 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.

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After opening the Everglades facility last month, DeSantis justified building the second detention center by saying 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.”

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 build-out cost to be $6 million. That’s compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars the state has committed to construct the vast network of tents and trailers at the south facility in the rugged and remote Florida swamp.

“This part of the facility is not being used right now for the state prisoners. It just gives us an ability to go in, stand it up quickly, stand it up cheaply,” DeSantis said of the state prison, calling the site “ready-made.”

DeSantis said costs will be reimbursed by federal partners and it will be operational soon.

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Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said it could take two to three weeks to get the facility operational.

News4JAX noted:

DeSantis had previously mentioned that the state was considering opening an immigration detention facility at Camp Blanding in Clay County, which serves as the Florida National Guard training headquarters.

However, the governor said on Thursday the focus shifted from Camp Blanding to the Baker Correctional Institution after Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie determined that Camp Blanding did not have the runway capacity that they were looking for, and that there was “a massive part” at the Baker Correctional Institution that is vacant.

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The new facility is only a 15-minute drive from Lake City Airport, allowing for rapid deportations.

“The reality is, although Blanding does have some air access, we were not going to be able to run the big flights out of that airstrip. We’re gonna have to go to Cecil Field anyways,” DeSantis said.

The Baker Correctional Institution was among three North Florida prisons that were temporarily closed in 2021 amid staffing shortages and a drop in inmate population during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been closed ever since.

Watch the full press conference from Gov. DeSantis below:

 

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