Camp Blanding is out, and the empty Baker County Correctional Institute is in.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the empty prison will be the new home of the state’s second immigration detention facility.
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“We are calling this the Deportation Depot,” DeSantis said Thursday.
DeSantis said the facility has capacity for more than 1,300 detainees and is only about a 15-minute drive away from the Lake City Gateway Airport, where he expects deportation flights to be carried out.
READ: DeSantis opening ‘Detention Depot’ in empty Baker County prison to combat illegal immigration
According to the Governor, the facility will be staffed by contractors and the National Guard.
DeSantis explained that the need to bring a second facility online comes as Alligator Alcatraz reaches about 50 percent capacity.
But he argued a standing order from a federal court blocking new construction at the Everglades detention center did not factor into the decision to move forward with the second facility.
READ: Florida appears to be moving forward with Camp Blanding immigrant detention center
“We have what we want at Alligator Alcatraz. We probably could do some more, but we were looking at a demand signal that is strong, and we did need this,” said DeSantis. ”And so, we were always planning on doing it. I just wanted to be sure that the demand was there. The demand is there.”
The Baker County prison was emptied in 2021 as part of a strategic consolidation of state prisons.
Thanks to the existing infrastructure, state officials expect they’ll be able to get the facility up and operational in roughly two weeks, though the buildings will need to be fitted with air conditioning.
READ: ‘Immigrants are welcome here’: Protesters raise concerns over Camp Blanding ICE detention facility
It’s expected to cost $6 million.
In comparison, Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said Camp Blanding would have had up to a $100 million start up cost.
“Effectively it’s DOGE Florida-style to support government DOGE and that is to, you know come in at the lowest price-point,” Guthrie said.
READ: ‘We don’t want to do it just to do it’: Camp Blanding ICE facility may take longer than planned
Meanwhile, Alligator Alcatraz required roughly $200 million to get up and running, according to Guthrie.
The total annual price tag of Alligator Alcatraz is closer to $450 million.
State Representative Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville) argued that the price tag of the Deportation Depot will ultimately be much higher than $6 million.
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“I’m sure we’re still talking hundreds of millions of dollars to operate this facility,” Nixon said.
The Governor has argued the state will not bear the brunt of any of its immigration efforts, noting the federal government is reimbursing the state.
On Thursday, he claimed the state has been approved for a $608 million federal grant to cover the state’s immigration costs.
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By going with the Baker facility, he said he expects the state will ultimately come in much lower than that price tag.
But Nixon argued either way, taxpayers are still picking up the tab.
“The feds are deciding that they don’t need to fund free lunch programs, free breakfast programs anymore. So, at the end of the day that’s taxpayer dollars,” Nixon said.
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