Florida Announces New Deportation Facility: ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ 3.0
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis unveiled another expansion of his state’s immigration enforcement partnership with President Donald Trump on Thursday, announcing the creation of a new facility nicknamed the “Deportation Depot.”
The facility will be located at the Baker Correctional Institution in Baker County, about 45 miles west of Jacksonville. DeSantis said the site could house between 1,300 and 2,000 individuals awaiting deportation and would operate in coordination with federal immigration authorities.
“We’re taking yet another step in supporting the important mission that President Trump was elected to implement — securing the border, enforcing immigration laws, and removing illegal aliens who are in our society now and sending them back to their home country,” DeSantis declared at a press conference.
According to DeSantis, the Department of Homeland Security will reimburse Florida for the operational costs. He added that the facility was chosen in part because large sections of the prison were underutilized and could be quickly converted to serve federal deportation needs. The location’s proximity to a nearby airport, he noted, would also allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to expedite removals.
The governor compared the new depot to Florida’s first deportation hub, “Alligator Alcatraz,” which began operations in June and has since processed hundreds of deportations despite opposition from environmental activists and open-borders protesters. A third facility, the “Speedway Slammer,” was recently announced in Indiana as part of a broader Trump administration plan to strengthen interior enforcement nationwide.
“This is a priority for the people of our state. It’s a priority for the people of this country, and I don’t want to see any more Angel Moms,” DeSantis said, invoking the tragedies of American families whose loved ones were killed by illegal immigrants.
The announcement comes as the Trump administration intensifies its campaign against sanctuary jurisdictions and human smuggling networks. Just this week, two Mexican nationals were convicted by a Texas jury for harboring illegal aliens at a bakery near the southern border. Federal officials described the case as an example of how immigration violations often go hand in hand with worker exploitation and organized crime.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Bondi has launched multiple lawsuits targeting sanctuary cities, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, seeking to compel cooperation with federal deportation efforts. While one case against Chicago was dismissed on technical grounds, the pressure campaign is already having ripple effects. Washington, D.C., recently abandoned some of its sanctuary policies, and other cities like Louisville, Kentucky, are reconsidering their defiance of federal law.
With the opening of the Deportation Depot, DeSantis framed Florida as a model for other states to follow in backing Trump’s law-and-order approach to illegal immigration. “We’re showing the country that when states work hand-in-hand with the federal government, we can protect our citizens, uphold the rule of law, and keep our communities safe,” he said.