Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said his administration is taking steps towards holding migrants at a prison in North Florida, dubbing it the "deportation depot."
Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, DeSantis said the facility "will be operational soon." "It is not going to take forever, but we are also not rushing to do this right this day," he added.
The prison is located in a rural area between Tallahassee and Jacksonville. Officials intend to hold up to 1,300 migrants at the Baker Correctional Institution, which has been closed since 2021 due to staff shortages.
The decision comes as a federal judge in Florida judge is considering whether to order the shutdown of the immigrant detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz" over claims that it could cause "irreparable" harm to the Everglades area in which it is set up.
The Miami Herald noted that the groups are seeking a preliminary injunction to stop operations at the site. They are Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice and the Miccosukee Tribe.
They sued the Trump and DeSantis administrations, accusing them of dodging a federal law requiring an environmental review of the site before pursuing the initiative. The injunction would stop all operations and further halt construction until there is a verdict.
Last week District Judge Kathleen Williams issued a temporary restraining order blocking the construction of additional paving, tall lighting, filling, excavating or fencing at the camp. The new suit would seek operations be halted as well.
Experts claimed at the hearing then that further construction at the center could be detrimental to the area, driving away wildlife and adding possible carcinogens.
Advocates are also calling for the facility to be shut down as they decry "unlivable" conditions that include mosquitoe-ridden units and lights being on all the time.
"Detention conditions are unlivable," Tessa Petit, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, said in a press conference in late July, as reported by NBC News.
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