ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis highlighted the state’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration during a news conference at Florida Highway Patrol headquarters in Orlando on Friday.
“I don’t think you’ve seen any state in the country work more closely with these federal agencies to fulfill a very key mission, a mandate from the American people after the 2024 election, to get this job done,” DeSantis said.
On July 3, 2025, Florida opened an immigration detention facility known as ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in South Florida.
“Thus far, we’ve had over 600 that have been deported from Alligator Alcatraz by ICE and that cadence is starting to rapidly increase,” DeSantis said.
Plans for Camp Blanding
During a question-and-answer session with reporters Friday, DeSantis was asked about other future detention sites, such as Camp Blanding in Northeast Florida.
“It has a runway. I don’t know if it would be as equivalent to Alligator Alcatraz because the runway is not as big. You may be able to move people right out of there. You do have Cecil Field very close to that. So, when we look at this, is it really what makes logistical sense? Again, I’m not creating the Four Seasons for illegal aliens. I’m not detaining just to detain,” DeSantis said.
He said although the initial plan was to open a detention site at Camp Blanding right away, that plan has changed. The state wants to look at the pace of deportations at Alligator Alcatraz first.
Florida’s crackdown on illegal immigration
DeSantis said Florida was the first state to help Texas with Operation Lone Star, deploying more than 1,000 guardsmen as well as members of the Florida Highway Patrol to the southern border.
DeSantis also spoke about operation Vigilant Sentry, which was launched to combat illegal vessels coming to Florida from countries such as Haiti.
He also mentioned the migrant flights to Martha’s Vineyard that made headlines in 2022 and the 287(g) program which allows ICE to enhance collaboration with state and local law enforcement.
“So far, FHP alone has apprehended almost 3,000 illegal aliens who were then taken for immigration processing by the Department of Homeland Security. Over 500 of them already had an existing criminal record,” DeSantis said.
In April, Florida conducted Operation Tidal Wave in conjunction with federal partners, which led to the arrest of over 1,100 people in the country illegally. That operation took place over the course of one week.
DeSantis was joined Friday by Attorney General James Uthmeier, Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Executive Director Dave Kerner, Florida Highway Patrol Director Colonel Gary Howze II, and Florida State Board of Immigration Enforcement Executive Director Larry Keefe.
