Overview

• Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Baker Correctional Institution will be repurposed as the state’s second ’Depósito de Deportación’ with an initial capacity of 1,300 beds expandable to 2,000.
• State emergency management officials said the facility could become operational within two to three weeks under the management of the Florida National Guard and state contractors.
• The announcement responds to President Donald Trump’s push for increased removal operations while a federal judge has paused further construction at the Everglades detention camp.
• Mexican consular visits to the Everglades site reported a decline in detainee numbers and indicated that treatment of their nationals has improved.
• Advocacy groups and environmental plaintiffs have ongoing lawsuits challenging conditions, access to counsel and potential ecological harm across Florida’s detention network.