The first group of immigrant detainees arrived at Florida’s new “Deportation Depot” on Tuesday, WTSP, the Tampa Bay CBS affiliate, reported.
The facility in Baker County is housing 117 detainees and has the capacity to hold 1,500 people, according to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office.
“The Baker County facility will now be a great supplement to Alligator Alcatraz. We’ll use as many of the detention spaces as we can,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier told Fox News.
“We want to fill them up. We want to deliver on this mission. The Baker County site was actually a pre-existing state jail that was no longer in use. So, it’s already retrofitted out to hold a lot of people. We’ll fill it up quickly, and we’ll put it to good use.”
It’s the second immigrant detention facility the state has opened — “Alligator Alcatraz” currently holds between 120 and 150 detainees, though that could change after a federal appeals court stayed a lower court’s order to shut down the center.
“Deportation Depot” was announced in August. The state is also exploring adding a third detention site in Florida’s panhandle, which DeSantis has called “Panhandle Pokey.”
Other states have announced similar sites with names like “Speedway Slammer” in Indiana.
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