Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the state will be opening a new detention facility to house illegal immigrants.
While addressing reporters, DeSantis explained that his administration will be opening “this new illegal immigration detention, processing, and deportation facility here in North Florida.”
“We are calling this the Deportation Depot…It is going to be located here at Baker Correctional Institute,” DeSantis explained. “Again, the reason of this is not to just house people indefinitely. To process, stage, and then return illegal aliens to their home country.”
Florida is not only doubling down on immigration enforcement efforts, under @GovRonDeSantis, we are redefining the initial blueprint to enhance its effectiveness and increase deportations significantly.
— Molly Best (@MsMollyBest) August 14, 2025
Florida will continue to take the lead in enforcing laws against illegal… pic.twitter.com/Fb3K4oixPb
DeSantis’ announcement comes after the state opened the “Alligator Alcatraz” facility in July. The facilities are aimed at assisting the Trump administration in its mass deportation efforts. The state will be converting the Baker Correctional Institution in Sanderson into the state’s second major facility for processing and deporting illegal immigrants.
BREAKING: @GovRonDeSantis announces a second illegal immigration detention processing facility - dubbed “Deportation Depot” at Baker Correctional Institution in Sanderson. pic.twitter.com/9ZfQfx4gls
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) August 14, 2025
President Donald Trump last month unveiled a $608 million proposal to incentivize states to build their own migrant detention centers. States that do so would receive funding through FEMA’s new Detention Support Grant Program (DEP) to construct or expand short-term detention facilities. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem touted the idea that Alligator Alcatraz would be the blueprint for new detention facilities across the nation. “I hope my phone rings off the hook from governors calling and saying, ‘How can we do what Florida just did?’” Noem said.
Meanwhile, deportation flights from Alligator Alcatraz have already begun. The first flight contained over 100 illegal immigrants. “I want it to be where illegals are here, there’s an aggressive processing and an aggressive deportation schedule,” DeSantis said.
The Alligator Alcatraz facility has faced criticism from Democrats arguing that it is an “inhumane stunt.” Others have complained about the treatment detainees receive while being housed in the detention center. Reports suggest that inmates are living in substandard conditions while their cases are being adjudicated.
A federal judge in Miami issued a temporary restraining order against the detention center, prohibiting the state from continuing construction due to a legal complaint from an organization claiming it was threatening the environment.