ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Tuesday the controversial immigration detention site, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” is still operating and continuing with deportations, despite a judge issuing an order last week for the facility to shut down.
However, DeSantis said that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not been sending any new detainees to the immigration facility after the judge issued the order late Wednesday. Despite that, the governor reassured the state remains “ready, willing and able to accept” detainees sent by DHS.
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“Because we’ve had ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ you’ve had thousands and thousands of deportations that might not otherwise have happened because they didn’t have enough room to be able to do it. So we’re ultimately going to win that fight,” DeSantis said.
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DeSantis’ remarks came almost a week after U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami wrote in her 82-page order that Florida officials never sufficiently explained why an immigration detention center needed to be located in the middle of sensitive wetlands cherished by environmentalists and outdoors people.
The Associated Press reported last week that shutting down the facility would cost the state $218 million. It would cost $15 million to $20 million immediately, and it would cost another $15 million to $20 million to reinstall structures if Florida is allowed to reopen it, according to court filings by the state.
DeSantis responded to those allegations on Tuesday and said that the state will be getting reimbursed by the federal government.
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The governor also reiterated that there’s a “demand even beyond Alligator Alcatraz” to help the federal government with its efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, and touted the plans to open an immigration site in Baker County, which was announced in mid-August.
DeSantis said the facility, dubbed “Deportation Depot,” will be able to house up to 1,300 detainees at the Baker Correctional Institution in Sanderson.
DeSantis had previously mentioned that the state was considering opening an immigration detention facility at Camp Blanding in Clay County, which serves as the Florida National Guard training headquarters. However, the governor said the focus shifted from Camp Blanding to the Baker Correctional Institution after Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie determined that Camp Blanding did not have the runway capacity that they were looking for, and that there was “a massive part” at the Baker Correctional Institution that is vacant.
State officials are also working on opening an additional immigration facility in the Panhandle, according to DeSantis.
“We’re actually in the process of figuring out how we can set up a ‘Panhandle Pokey,’ and we’re going to have that in the Panhandle. And so the mission continues,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis added that officials are working on appealing the judge’s order to shut down Alligator Alcatraz within the next 60 days.
“The reality is, if this judge’s ruling stands, even if we do, even if we continue with these other facilities, you know, DHS will not have enough space. It will be harmful to the efforts. It will be harmful for the state of Florida,” DeSantis said.