DeSantis Announces New Migrant Detention Center, Dubbed ‘Deportation Depot,’ as Follow-Up to ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced plans to build a second migrant detention facility in the Sunshine State — dubbed “Deportation Depot” — about a month and a half after opening the controversial “Alligator Alcatraz.”

The new facility will be built about 45 miles away from Jacksonville in the community of Sanderson, at the site of the Baker Correctional Institution.

DeSantis said he has acted to begin work on a new facility due to a need for more shelter as more migrants are rounded up by ICE agents.

“There is a demand for this,” DeSantis told reporters Thursday morning. “I’m confident that it will be filled.”

“Alligator Alcatraz” opened in July after a highly publicized tour by President Donald Trump, DeSantis, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

But in the weeks since, the facility has been plagued by reports of inhumane conditions, delayed meal times, and flooding.

The Trump administration has rejected the reports as “FAKE NEWS.”

Last week, a judge ordered a temporary halt to construction at the Everglades facility, allowing it to remain operational but blocking any new filling of land, paving, or other infrastructure for 14 days.