Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference about immigration enforcement on May 1, 2025, in Miramar. | Rebecca Blackwell, AP file
Published on August 14, 2025 at 12:19 pm
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Gov. Ron DeSantis has authorized a new immigration detention center at the Baker County Correctional Institute in Sanderson, dubbing it “Deportation Depot.”
Speaking at the facility Thursday, the governor said the center will have room for up to 1,300 detainees in facilities that have been closed for years.
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“You talk about ready-made infrastructure — this was something that was very appealing from that perspective because it would require us to do a lot less in standing up than we would at (Camp) Blanding, and far less than we had to do at Alligator Alcatraz,” DeSantis said.
The governor had proposed using part of Camp Blanding in Clay County for the state’s second detention facility, after opening Alligator Alcatraz in the Everglades. Camp Blanding’s facility could cost up to $100 million; Baker County’s would cost about $6 million, DeSantis said.
Using Baker County’s facility is not a new idea. It was part of a plan submitted months ago to federal homeland security officials, he said.
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This Correctional Institute in Sanderson shut down in 2021 due to statewide correctional staffing shortages. It is about 18 miles from the Baker County Detention Center, part of which is used to house immigration detainees.
