CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — The so-called Alligator Alcatraz planned in the Everglades may have caught a lot of headlines in recent days, but now Governor Ron DeSantis has announced we could see an ICE detention facility built here in Northeast Florida.
The planned location: Camp Blanding.
Spanning 73,000 acres, Governor DeSantis argued there’s space for a detention facility to be built there.
“We have some capacity there. So, Kevin Guthrie, Division of Emergency Management, are working on that,” said DeSantis.
The idea immediately drew pushback from the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance.
JIRA’s Maria Garcia argued Northeast Florida residents don’t want an ICE facility in their backyard.
“It’s just a shame that they’re using the lie about this being for security to house people that, for the vast majority, don’t have any type of criminal record,” said Garcia.
Details on the potential size of the proposed facility at Camp Blanding and a construction timeline are unclear.
While plans for Alligator Alcatraz have been approved by DHS, the Camp Blanding proposal is still awaiting federal approval.
Related: What to know about ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
The Governor said an announcement is coming soon, and while the state would build the detention centers, the federal government would reimburse the cost.
He argued the facility will actually save local taxpayers money by freeing up space in local jails.
Read: ‘We need a new jail’: Jacksonville mayor says major decision on jail move coming soon
“We can’t have every illegal housed in our jails cause we actually have non-illegals who need to be housed in there when they commit a crime too,” said DeSantis.
But Garcia argued it’s not so simple.
“When people eventually get sick in those detention centers, if any type of emergency happens in the detention center, that’s gonna take away from local resources,” said Garcia. ”And I don’t think he has answered or has a plan as to how he is going to address that and how that is going to make us safer.”
Action News Jax also reached out to the regional ICE office seeking more details on the proposed Camp Blanding detention center.
We’re still waiting to hear back.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
