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4w ago

Florida Shifts Immigration Detention to ‘Deportation Depot’ After Everglades Halt

A federal judge’s two-week halt on expansion at the Everglades site precedes Gov. DeSantis’s $6 million plan to repurpose Baker Correctional Institution under active litigation from environmental groups, tribal nations, civil-rights advocates.

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FILE - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference about a recent immigration enforcement operation, at the South Florida office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Enforcement and Removal Operations, May 1, 2025, in Miramar, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, file)
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This undated image provided by the Florida Department of Corrections shows signage for the Baker Correctional Institution, a state prison about 43 miles west of downtown Jacksonville, Florida.

Overview

  • U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued a temporary two-week restraining order stopping further construction at the Alligator Alcatraz site while hearings on environmental and jurisdictional disputes continue.
  • Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled “Deportation Depot” at the shuttered Baker Correctional Institution, targeting 1,300 beds (expandable to 2,000) with a roughly $6 million build-out and a two-to-three week setup staffed by the Florida National Guard and contractors.
  • Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe allege the Everglades facility violated the National Environmental Policy Act by endangering protected wetlands and species, and civil-rights attorneys are pressing for class-action status over detainee treatment and legal access.
  • State officials argue both detention sites fall under Florida’s emergency powers and are exempt from federal environmental review even as DHS and FEMA praise the model and discuss cost reimbursements.
  • Detainees and lawyers report unsanitary conditions at Alligator Alcatraz—flooded tents, broken sanitation, insect infestations, erratic air conditioning—and restricted access to counsel and medical care, fueling ongoing rights litigation.