Florida's New Migrant Detention Facility: Inside the 'Deportation Depot' in Sanderson
Florida has recently opened a new migrant detention facility named "Deportation Depot" in Sanderson, Florida. The facility, located in the former Baker Correctional Institution, has already started accepting detainees, with 117 individuals currently being held there. The site has the capacity to accommodate up to 1,500 detainees.
The decision to open the new facility comes after a federal appeals court temporarily halted a lower court judge's order to shut down the "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades. The panel's 2-1 vote allows the facility to continue operations while an appeal is pending.
The legal battle over the "Alligator Alcatraz" facility stemmed from a lawsuit filed by environmental groups, alleging that the state and federal officials did not comply with federal laws requiring an environmental review for the detention center. The groups argued that the facility posed a threat to the sensitive wetlands in the area.
President Donald Trump had previously visited the "Alligator Alcatraz" facility and suggested that it could serve as a model for future detention centers across the country to support his mass deportation plan. Despite legal challenges, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis affirmed that the facility would remain operational.
In response to the court ruling, Attorney General James Uthmeier expressed confidence that the new "Deportation Depot" site would not face similar legal obstacles. The facility, housed in a pre-existing state jail, has been retrofitted to accommodate a large number of detainees, and the state aims to quickly fill it up and utilize it effectively.