TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida’s so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” may have been the state’s first immigration detention center, but according to Gov. Ron DeSantis, it won’t be the last, with new plans to open up a facility in the panhandle.
“We’re actually in the process of figuring out how we can set up a Panhandle Pokey,” said DeSantis at a press conference in Orlando on Tuesday.
With South Florida and the East Coast covered, the new center is the state’s latest detention facility in the works to hold and deport immigrants in the country illegally.
“You’re in the Panhandle sending to Alligator Alcatraz; that’s a long way,” DeSantis said. “Even sending to the Deportation Depot in north Florida, you know, that could be three to five hours, depending on where you are in the Panhandle.”
This announcement comes at a time when the contentious facility located in the Florida Everglades continues to face heat in court. A federal judge ruled to halt operations and dismantle some of the facility.
Democrats inside of the statehouse took this as a win and vowed to keep pushing back.
“I mean, first of all, these childish names are just that: they’re childish,” said State Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando. “They’re sophomoric. It’s embarrassing. It makes fun of what is a very serious issue around immigration policy, so all of that is just sad and pathetic. It needs to stop.”
Eskamani, who has been a strong voice in the fight against the governor’s efforts, said they will continue to challenge every possible facility that pops up across the state.
“Since many of them are gonna be former state prisons, we have every intention of visiting these facilities and conducting oversight over how they are run, how they’re managed, who gets the contracts, and of course, what the environment is like for detainees,” Eskamani said.
DeSantis added that the state is complying with the court’s ruling but is striking back, doubling down on immigration enforcement.
“I do think we’re going to win that fight,” he said.
DeSantis said the state’s second immigration center, located in Baker County near Jacksonville, will be opening “pretty soon.”