SANDERSON, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday almost 3,000 undocumented immigrants have been flown out of Baker County’s “Deportation Depot” since it opened in early September.
During a news conference at the state-run immigration detention facility in Sanderson, DeSantis said that over the last four months, 93 flights have flown out of the facility, carrying a total of 2,926 detainees.
In early September, DeSantis announced the opening of “Deportation Depot,” at the Baker Correctional Institution, which has the capacity to house up to 1,500 detainees. The detention center is one of two state‑run facilities currently operating in Florida, the other being “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Florida Everglades.
“They’ve had a bunch of flights,” DeSantis said. “The tempo has picked up.”
During Monday’s news conference, DeSantis also highlighted “Operation Tidal Wave,” which started in April 2025 and resulted in the arrest of more than 10,000 undocumented immigrants who were turned over to the Department of Homeland Security.
Watch the full news conference in the video player below
According to DeSantis, 63% of those arrested had a criminal background, including some sex offenders.
“There’s no other state that has been able to do anything approaching what the state of Florida has been able to do,” DeSantis said.
The governor said with all “efforts combined,” there have been close to 20,000 undocumented immigrants arrested in Florida since President Donald Trump took office.
DeSantis also mentioned that the federal government has stationed an immigration judge at “Deportation Depot” and one in “Alligator Alcatraz,” but clarified that they “aren’t Article III judges.”
“They’re not real judges, they’re executive branch employees whose function is to serve to adjudicate immigration claims,” DeSantis said.
Moreover, the governor announced the state’s plans to open another state-run immigration facility dubbed “Panhandle Pokey,” and possibly another one in South Florida, although he did not provide specific details about those plans.