Image Credit: Office of Gov. Ron DeSantis via Fox News 
Florida officials unveiled a new detention center for illegal aliens on the same day that a federal appeals court ruled the state can continue operating Alligator Alcatraz, a similar facility in the Everglades.
On Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the grand opening of ‘Deportation Depot,’ located inside the former Baker Correctional Institution in Sanderson, an unincorporated community in northeast Florida.
The first detainees began arriving at Deportation Depot on Tuesday, and 117 illegal aliens are now being held at the site, which has a capacity for at least 1,500.
“The Baker County facility will now be a great supplement to Alligator Alcatraz. We’ll use as many of the detention spaces as we can,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier told Fox News.
“We want to fill them up. We want deliver on this mission. The Baker County site was actually a pre-existing state jail that was no longer in use. So it’s already retrofitted out to hold a lot of people. We’ll fill it up quickly, and we’ll put it to good use.”
On Thursday, a U.S. appeals court overturned Judge Kathleen Williams’ order to shut down Alligator Alcatraz, which opened in July.
“Victory secured against activist judge who held me in contempt! The 11th Circuit not only blocked Judge Williams’ order to close Alligator Alcatraz, but they blocked her from proceeding with the case until the appeal is complete,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier stated in response to the ruling.
Other immigration detention facilities being launched by states working in partnership with the federal government include the Louisiana Lockup, Speedway Slammer, and Cornhusker Clink.
