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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida officials are pursuing plans to physique a 2nd detention halfway to location immigrants, arsenic portion of the state’s assertive propulsion to enactment the national government's crackdown connected amerciable immigration.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday he’s considering lasting up a installation astatine a Florida National Guard grooming halfway known arsenic Camp Blanding, astir 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Jacksonville successful northeast Florida, successful summation to the tract nether operation astatine a distant airstrip successful the Everglades that authorities officials person dubbed “ Alligator Alcatraz.”
The operation of that installation successful the distant and ecologically delicate wetland astir 45 miles (72 kilometers) westbound of downtown Miami is alarming environmentalists, arsenic good arsenic quality rights advocates who person slammed the program arsenic cruel and inhumane.
Speaking to reporters astatine an lawsuit successful Tampa, DeSantis touted the state's muscular attack to migration enforcement and its willingness to assistance President Donald Trump's medication conscionable its extremity of much than doubling its existing 41,000 beds for detaining migrants to astatine slightest 100,000 beds.
State officials person said the detention facility, which has been described arsenic temporary, volition trust connected heavy-duty tents, trailers, and different impermanent buildings, allowing the authorities to operationalize 5,000 migration detention beds by aboriginal July and escaped up abstraction successful section jails.
“I deliberation the capableness that volition beryllium added determination volition assistance the wide nationalist mission. It volition besides relieve immoderate burdens of our authorities and section (law enforcement),” DeSantis said.
Managing the installation “via a squad of vendors” volition outgo $245 a furniture per day, oregon astir $450 cardinal a year, a U.S. authoritative said. The expenses volition beryllium incurred by Florida and reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In the eyes of DeSantis and different authorities officials, the remoteness of the Everglades airfield, surrounded by mosquito- and alligator-filled wetlands that are seen arsenic ineffable to Native American tribes, makes it an perfect spot to detain migrants.
“Clearly, from a information perspective, if idiosyncratic escapes, you know, there’s a batch of alligators,” helium said. “No one’s going anywhere.”
Democrats and activists person condemned the program arsenic a callous, politically motivated spectacle.
“What’s happening is precise concerning, the level of dehumanization,” said Maria Asuncion Bilbao, Florida run coordinator astatine the migration advocacy radical American Friends Service Committee.
“It’s similar a theatricalization of cruelty,” she said.
DeSantis is relying connected authorities exigency powers to commandeer the county-owned airstrip and physique the compound, implicit the concerns of region officials, environmentalists and quality rights advocates.
Now the authorities is considering lasting up different tract astatine a National Guard grooming installation successful northeast Florida arsenic well.
“We’ll astir apt besides bash thing akin up astatine Camp Blanding,” DeSantis said, adding that the state's exigency absorption part is “working connected that.”
___ Kate Payne is simply a corps subordinate for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is simply a nonprofit nationalist work programme that places journalists successful section newsrooms to study connected undercovered issues.
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