Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, R, has announced that his state will open a second immigration detention facility. The “Deportation Depot” will join “Alligator Alcatraz,” which is defending against another lawsuit.
Deportation Depot
The Deportation Depot will open at a state prison called Baker Correctional Institute in Sanderson, about 45 miles west of Jacksonville.
DeSantis said the new facility will hold 1,300 immigration detention beds, but that number could get up to 2,000.
“We have reached that point where I’m confident that we need additional capacity beyond what we’re already doing down in South Florida,” DeSantis said in a news conference covered by Fox 13 Tampa Bay.
It will take between two and three weeks to get the facility functional, according to Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
The prison is currently vacant after closing in 2021 due to staffing shortages.
“This facility is a permanent preexisting structure, meaning that our teams can get in here, get it operational quickly, efficiently and without delay,” Guthrie said. “It is also, again, a permanent structure, meaning that we will not have to look for temporary permits or things like this. We will move into existing infrastructure.”
Cost to taxpayers
Because of that, this facility will come at a lower cost to taxpayers.
DeSantis estimates the cost at around $6 million, a much smaller price tag than the $245 million for Alligator Alcatraz.
That’s because the Deportation Depot comes at a preexisting prison, whereas Alligator Alcatraz was basically built from the ground up in a swamp.
“We would get reimbursed for the state of Florida, but still we want to be as cost-effective as possible,” DeSantis said.
Democrats voiced their opposition to this latest plan.
“These inhumane facilities reward massive, taxpayer-funded no-bid contracts to politically connected businesses and corporate elite donors,” Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, said in a statement. “DeSantis is funneling millions of tax dollars from the working and middle class to fill the pockets of the wealthy at the expense of immigrants who have come to our State seeking a better life for their families.”
Alligator Alcatraz lawsuit
The announcement comes as Alligator Alcatraz faces yet another lawsuit, this latest one over a reported disease outbreak.
The suit said a respiratory disease, possibly COVID-19, has spread through the facility.
“Migrants with fevers and coughs were left in their bunks without testing or treatment,” the complaint reads.
Among those who reportedly got sick was Luis Manuel Rivas Velasquez.
“We are all sick in this jail. Some are worse than others, it is an emergency,” Rivas Velasquez said in a statement. “They are treating us like dogs, like animals. People are suffering from lack of medicine. Somebody needs to do something to help us.”
This latest lawsuit comes after a federal judge temporarily halted construction at the facility over an environmental lawsuit.
A third lawsuit backed by the ACLU accuses federal and state officials of denying detainees access to legal counsel.
DeSantis and other officials have not commented on this latest lawsuit.
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Author: Bast Bramhall
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