DeSantis announces a new deportation center to complement 'Alligator Alcatraz'
It will be located 15 minutes from the Lake City airport, which will facilitate deportations handled by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
DeSantis on 'Alligator Alcatraz'/ Andrew Caballero-Reynolds.
Ron DeSantis announced a new deportation center in Florida. At a news conference on Thursday, the Republican governor previewed the opening of "Deportation Depot" to complement the newly opened "Alligator Alcatraz."
The center will operate in the facilities of the Baker Correctional Institution, a now-closed state prison in northern Florida, 44 miles from Jacksonville, FL. It is estimated that it will have the capacity to house between 1,300 and 2,000 people.
In addition, it will be located 15 minutes from the Lake City airport, which will facilitate deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
">Great to be in Sanderson today to announce that Florida’s new Deportation Depot will begin housing, detaining, and processing illegal aliens for deportation, in coordination with federal authorities.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) August 14, 2025
With Alligator Alcatraz operating in South Florida and Deportation Depot… pic.twitter.com/l43j58GhFf
"We're taking yet another step in supporting the important mission that President Trump was elected to implement of securing the border, enforcing immigration laws, and removing illegal aliens who are in our society now and sending them back to their home country," the governor said at a press conference.
"We have reached the point where we need additional capacity. The reason for this is not just to house people indefinitely. We want to process, stage and then return illegal aliens to their home country. (...) 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," he added in reference to the mothers whose children were killed by undocumented immigrants.
DeSantis also remarked that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will reimburse the cost of construction.
The Baker prison closed in 2021 due to difficulties in finding sufficient staff. They even had to call on the Florida National Guard to help.
Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, stated that Baker had long been on the radar to transform the facility. "A building that's been dormant now for a couple of years is going to have some unforeseen challenges," Guthrie explained regarding the work to be done on the building.
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