ORLANDO, FLORIDA– The state of Florida is awaiting approval from federal officials to open a third immigration detention center next “Crocodile Alcatraz” and “Relay warehouse” Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that the state is also looking at a possible fourth detention facility.
Florida officials are awaiting approval by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the state’s Panhandle Detention Center, DeSantis said at a news conference outside the facility. Florida’s second immigration detention center, called Deportation Detention Center, is at the former Baker Correctional Institution in northeast Florida.
“So, if they agree, we will open,” DeSantis said. “If they don’t, we’ll stand by, and that’s a good thing. But I think it should be approved because I don’t think they’re where they need to be in detention.”
The governor said there is “another possible option” in South Florida, where state officials have already built an immigration detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” at a remote airstrip in the Florida Everglades.
When asked via email about the specific locations of the two potential detention facilities, DeSantis’ press secretary, Molly Best, said the Panhandle location would be announced once federal officials approve it.
“Until this and the proposed additional location in South Florida are approved and finalized, we cannot provide additional details. Stay tuned!” Best said.
DeSantis said that 10,000 people in the United States were illegally arrested in Florida over the past year through a government initiative with federal law enforcement, and that local law enforcement made 10,000 additional arrests, bringing the total arrests to 20,000. Under the state initiative, 63% of those arrested have faced a criminal arrest or conviction, DeSantis said.
Florida has led other states in building facilities to support President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration, with DeSantis saying the Trump administration needs additional capacity to detain and deport more immigrants. The Trump administration has promoted it Efforts of Republican governors To expand its capacity to detain immigrants, calling for the Florida Partnership model For other state-run holding entities.
Lawyers for detainees at the Everglades facility have called conditions deplorable, writing in court documents that rainwater floods their tents and that officers go cell to cell pressuring detainees to sign voluntary removal orders before allowing them to consult their lawyers.
Three federal lawsuits in Florida challenge practices at the Everglades facility.
In one lawsuit, detainees asked to close the facility because immigration is a federal issue, and Florida agencies and private contractors hired by the state have no authority to operate the facility under federal law. In a second lawsuit, the detainees were seeking a ruling that would guarantee them access to it Secret communications With their lawyers.
In the third lawsuit, it was filed by a federal judge in Miami last summer I ordered the facility to scale back operations over two months because officials failed to conduct an environmental impact review of the detention center. But an appeals court panel put that decision on hold for now, allowing the facility to remain open.
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