SANDERSON, Fla. — Alligator Alcatraz is back on track, and now Deportation Depot is officially open as well.
Governor Ron DeSantis announced the new facility was up and running Thursday night and when Action News Jax drove by Friday morning, the parking lot outside Deportation Depot in Baker County was full.
117 detainees are already in the former Baker Correctional Institution, which has space for up to 1,500.
The new facility comes online the same week as the State of Florida scored a major court victory, blocking a ruling that had prevented the state from bringing additional detainees to Alligator Alcatraz.
“And we’re going to continue to be pedal to the metal on immigration enforcement,” said Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier in an exclusive interview with Action News Jax.
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Uthmeier explained the state now has the capacity to hold as many as 5,000 immigrant detainees between the two detention centers.
“Here in Florida, we’re arresting more than three times the numbers of detainees as any other state in the country,” said Uthmeier.
Speaking on this Sunday’s episode of This Week in the 904, State Representative Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville) argued the cost of the state’s immigration enforcement efforts is far too high.
“The state, the city, we’re tired and we gotta stop dividing our communities,” said Nixon.
She highlighted the $6 million startup cost for Deportation Depot and the $400 million Alligator Alcatraz is expected to cost for a full year of operation.
“[It] just only illustrates that they care about pandering,” said Nixon. ”They don’t actually care about families here in the State of Florida.”
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But Uthmeier argued the cost of doing nothing would be even greater.
“Our healthcare systems, criminal justice systems, infrastructure, you name it. We’re talking billions of dollars that taxpayers have had to foot the bill to accommodate these illegal immigrants who are breaking the law and shouldn’t be here,” said Uthmeier. ”Far less is being spent to detain them for a short a time as possible so that we can complete the process and get them a flight home.”
While the legal battle over Alligator Alcatraz moves forward, Uthmeier said he fully expects there to be legal challenges filed to try and halt operations at Deportation Depot as well.
But based on this week’s ruling, he said he’s confident the state will ultimately prevail.
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