JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Duval County Courthouse on Friday to oppose plans for a new immigration detention facility at Camp Blanding.
“We can’t have this in our town, and since it’s here, we will fight it here. We will not stop,” Dan Lipp, a volunteer with the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance, said
The crowd’s chants of “Stand up, fight back” echoed around the courtyard as several speakers took the microphone to share their thoughts on the project.
The proposed facility at Camp Blanding, currently a Florida National Guard training base, would hold about 2,000 detainees, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis. The state has already begun seeking vendors for the project, though no opening date has been announced.
State Rep. Angie Nixon, who addressed the crowd, criticized the allocation of resources for the detention facility while other community needs remain unmet.
“We’re closing schools in Duval County,” Nixon said. “There was flooding in San Marco and on Edgewood Avenue the other day. You cannot tell me you can’t find the money to address the issues working families in Florida need to be addressed.”
But in a press conference this week, DeSantis said Camp Blanding and similar projects would save money.
Even saying that much of the funds will be reimbursed by federal entities.
“When you spend money for this, you save money because you take the stress of hospitals, schools, criminal justice — all of that," he said. “Enforcing the law will ultimately save money rather than just lawlessness taking over.”
Katie Chorbak of 50501 Veterans spoke out against the proposed transformation of the military installation.
“Camp Blanding is a place where soldiers train to defend freedom. Turning it into a site to cage immigrants — people seeking protection, hope and opportunity — is a disgrace,” she said.
The protest comes amid growing controversy over Florida’s expanding immigration enforcement infrastructure, including the recently opened facility nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The governor also noted that Florida accounts for 15 to 20% of daily immigration-related arrests nationwide, saying the state is “punching way above our weight class” in enforcement efforts.
Protest organizers said they plan to continue their demonstrations, with a rally scheduled for July 19 at 3 p.m. at Camp Blanding.
“Our goal is to stop them no matter what happens,” Lipp said. “The first thing to do in stopping them is getting eyes on it and making sure they can’t do it in the dark.”
