Florida’s ‘Deportation Depot’ detention center open for business, DeSantis says

Update: This story has been edited to include a comment from the Department of Homeland Security.

Fresh off a court victory ordering the “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention center to remain open, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that Baker County’s “Deportation Depot” is in operation.

“Deportation Depot,” a DeSantis-coined moniker, occupies the old Baker County Correctional Facility north of Gainesville. The center can hold up to 2,000 people and opened Tuesday, the governor’s office confirmed to The Florida Phoenix.

It’s “receiving” migrants as of Friday.

“We’re not only doing Alligator Alcatraz, we’ve now opened the Deportation Depot up in Northeast Florida, and we’re working on opening a Panhandle Pokey in northwest Florida,” DeSantis said Thursday night on FOX News.

The Department of Homeland Security praised the center’s opening in a statement to The Florida Phoenix, warning migrants illegally in the country to self-deport to avoid detention.

“The Department of Homeland Security announced a new partnership with the state of Florida to expand ICE detention space by up to 2,000 beds. These beds will be available at the Baker Correctional. This facility dubbed ‘Deportation Depot’ may house some of the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens arrested,” a senior DHS official said via email.

“If you are in America illegally, you could find yourself in CECOT, Cornhusker Clink, Speedway Slammer, Alligator Alcatraz, Deportation Deport, or Louisiana Lockup. Avoid arrest and self deport now using the CBP Home App.”

The announcement came hours after a federal appeals court sided with DeSantis by pausing a lower judge’s order that would have dismantled the Everglades facility and blocked it from receiving more migrants by September’s end.

The 2-to-1 decision by the Atlanta-based court was a massive victory for DeSantis and top GOP leaders, who had touted the first-in-the-nation center as a powerful buttress in President Donald Trump’s sweeping anti-undocumented immigration agenda.

DeSantis first announced plans for “Deportation Depot” in mid-August, a month and half after the Everglades facility hosted Trump and other top federal authorities for a grand opening event.

The new center’s opening comes weeks after The Associated Press first reported that Alligator Alcatraz, located firmly within the Everglades and Big Cypress National Preserve, was nearly empty. Molly Best, a spokesperson for the governor, said that added migrant facilities in different Florida regions facilitates quicker deportations.

The “Panhandle Pokey” is a third center planned by the state government in western Florida. DeSantis has yet to select a location or timeframe for it’s opening.

“You know, you’re in the Panhandle sending to Alligator Alcatraz, that’s a long way. Even sending to the Deportation Depot in North Florida, that could be three to five hours depending on where you are in the Panhandle,” DeSantis said at a press conference earlier this week.