Overview

• Governor Ron DeSantis said the Baker Correctional Institution will open with 1,300 detention beds that can expand to 2,000
• DeSantis said President Trump’s administration needs additional bed capacity to speed up immigrant detentions and deportations
• State officials say repurposing the existing prison will allow a rapid and lower-cost conversion without announcing a firm opening date
• The Baker plan comes as a federal judge maintains a 14-day halt on new construction at the Everglades site as environmental and rights groups pursue lawsuits
• Critics including tribal nations, conservationists and civil-rights organizations have decried conditions, limited counsel access and ecological risks at the remote Everglades hub