The new immigration detention center in the Everglades, officially known as Alligator Alcatraz, opened on July 1, 2025 at Dade-Collier Airport, with a projected capacity of 3,000-5,000 people and an estimated annual cost of $450 million. Organizers built the complex in just eight days under an emergency order invoked by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Activists, native tribes and environmental organizations have filed federal lawsuits, alleging environmental impacts, lack of public review and civil rights violations.
Camp Blanding: second center on the doorstep
Buzzy
Florida is now preparing the North Detention Facility at Camp Blanding, southwest of Jacksonville, as the state’s second immigration detention facility.
A contract of nearly US$40,000 was awarded to install a portable weather station and warning sirens for this new site, with operation scheduled to begin on August 8, 2025.
Although DeSantis and the Division of Emergency Management(FDEM) are moving forward with planning, construction at Camp Blanding is on hold until Alligator Alcatraz reaches full capacity.
Reactions and citizen resistance
The plan has generated protests in Gainesville and near Camp Blanding in Florida.
More than 250 people gathered in July under extreme temperatures with banners such as “This is what democracy looks like”.
Community leaders and Democratic lawmakers question the use of emergency funds and compare the facilities to environmental and humanitarian concentration camps.
Florida is now preparing the North Detention Facility at Camp Blanding
QuéOnnda.com
Direct impact: Latino families face increased risk of deportation and arbitrary detention.
Key information: Alligator Alcatraz already operating, Camp Blanding still in planning temporarily frozen.
Local action: community networks and activists organize resistance, press alerts and accompany court hearings.
The immigration landscape in Florida is in transformation.
With the announcement of expanded detention infrastructure – and the approval of federal funds supporting these projects – mass deportation operations intensify.
For more information, visit QuéOnnda.com.
