Florida has opened a new First Coast facility as part of President Donald Trump’s deportation campaign, using a repurposed Baker County prison as an immigrant detention center.
The Baker Correctional Institution, which closed four years ago due to staffing shortages, began taking in detainees Tuesday and held more than 100 inmates as of Friday, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office.
Located about 30 miles west of Jacksonville, the “deportation depot” has capacity for up to 1,500 detainees.
This week’s launch coincided with a federal appellate court ruling on Thursday that cleared the way for authorities to resume transfers to a controversial Everglades complex known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals knocked down a lower court order that sought to end its operations.
A U.S. District judge ruled last month that construction at the site violated federal law because environmental-impact studies weren’t completed.
State officials enthused about the appeals court ruling, saying the Everglades center is back in operation.
“No Limits. We will fill it up with thousands of detainees, and we will get these criminal aliens back where they came from,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Friday in an appearance on Fox News.
