Florida is preparing another detention center for illegal immigrants in the wake of the controversy over "Alligator Alcatraz," the Tallahassee Democrat first reported.
Officials had previously floated the idea of a second facility which will be located at Camp Blanding in North Florida. The first detention center for illegal migrants, which has been nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz" due to its isolated location within the Florida Everglades, has already received complaints over alleged harsh treatment of inmates. Gov. Ron DeSantis said last month that he would only consider an alternative location once the 17,000-acre Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport was full.
"I'm willing to do Blanding once Alligator Alcatraz is filled, and so DHS has started moving in a significant number of people. I think you're going to — and they're starting to deport people from there too," DeSantis said last month. "Remember, this is not the Ritz Carlton, ok?"
"But the reality is it's there to be a quick processing center so that they can — we have a runway right there, they can just be flown back to their home country. So that is the purpose of why we're doing it. And as that fills, once there's a demand, then we would be able to go for Camp Blanding," the governor said adding, "But what I don't want to do is set up Blanding, if, you know, one is 60% full and then the other is 40% [full]. I'd rather just have — channel everyone to Alligator, since it's easier."
Florida's latest resource allocation comes as the Trump administration has ramped up their efforts over the last month to drastically increase the number of detention facilities to house the thousands of illegal migrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last month that Indiana's Camp Atterbury and New Jersey's Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst will be used to temporarily house illegal immigrants prior to their deportation. Camp Atterbury, located about 40 miles south of Indianapolis, is a 34,000 acre federally owned facility that is licensed to and operated by the Indiana National Guard. Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is located 18 miles south of Trenton, has roughly 42,000 acres, and includes units from all of the armed forces branches. Both camps will be "soft-sided holding facilities," similar to those at Alligator Alcatraz in Florida with tent-like walls and fencing inside to surround the beds.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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