Florida Opens 'Deportation Depot' At Baker Prison — 1,500 Beds To Boost ICE Removals

Florida has opened a second state-run immigration detention site, the “Deportation Depot,” at the shuttered Baker Correctional Institution. Officials say it currently holds 117 detainees with capacity for about 1,500, positioning the site to support a federal push for mass removals amid limited ICE capacity. The launch comes as an appeals court allowed the Everglades facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz” to continue operating during ongoing legal and environmental challenges, and as other states move to repurpose prisons for immigration detention.