BAKER COUNTY, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared on Fox News on Thursday night and announced for the first time that an immigrant detention center in Baker County, dubbed “Deportation Depot,” is now open.
“We’re not only doing Alligator Alcatraz, we’ve now opened the Deportation Depot up in Northeast Florida and we’re working on opening Panhandle Pokey in Northwest Florida,” DeSantis said during his appearance on ‘Hannity.’
Tonight, I joined Sean Hannity on Fox News. pic.twitter.com/uhO9ZxNfQA
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 5, 2025
News4JAX reached out to the governor’s office to clarify details about the facility, which had not been previously announced, and a spokesperson sent us a link to a Fox News clip.
According Fox News’ reporting, the first detainees arrived on Tuesday, and 117 people are currently being held at the facility, which has the capacity to house up to 1,500 detainees.
A Cuban-American woman who spoke to News4JAX said that her husband was taken into custody in Broward County. She said she and her husband spent time living in Jacksonville and Miami.
The website used to update the location of detainees said to call the Department of Corrections for information on her husband. She tells News4JAX that she attempted to call the facility, but was unable to receive any information.
“He said they were the first persons to get in there. There was nobody else before them,” the woman said.
She said her husband was arrested just a week after she gave birth to their baby boy. She said she got a call on Wednesday that her husband had been moved, but they didn’t know where.
Her lawyer eventually received an email that he was in Baker County.
“But still there’s no email, no address, no phone number where you can call or anything,” she said.
And she said she’s scared of what could happen next. During the initial announcement, DeSantis said the “Deportation Depot” was just 15 minutes from the Lake City Airport
“Making this location ideal for quickly deporting illegal aliens that have been processed at this facility.” DeSantis said.
“If they deport him I’m not going to know where or what’s going on because the system is not working,” the woman said.
For now, she said she has to navigate her newfound motherhood alone.
“It’s been really, really, really difficult in every way,” she said. “I need my husband. My baby needs his dad.”
During his appearance, DeSantis also highlighted how Alligator Alcatraz was set up in “record time” and praised its role in fulfilling former President Donald Trump’s mission to increase deportations. DeSantis addressed ongoing legal challenges, including the judge and appeals related to the facility.
Earlier this month, at a press conference, the governor reiterated there is “demand even beyond Alligator Alcatraz” to assist the federal government’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration. He also promoted plans to open the immigration site in Baker County, which was first announced in mid-August.
The announcement comes amid ongoing controversy over Florida’s immigration detention centers.
The Alligator Alcatraz facility in the Everglades recently faced a federal judge’s order to end operations, but a federal appeals court panel put that order on hold, allowing it to continue holding detainees for now.
The Department of Homeland Security called the appeals court ruling “a win for the American people, the rule of law and common sense,” while environmental groups continue to oppose the detention centers, citing harm to sensitive wetlands and ongoing lawsuits.