Deep in the Florida Everglades, the latest illegal immigration detention and deportation facility opened for business on July 1, eight days after state officials said work began.
A cluster of temporary structures large enough to hold up to 3,000 illegal immigrants and 1,000 staff members now stands next to a runway 10,499 feet long and 150 feet wide. The facility was paid for largely by the Department of Homeland Security.
“Think about what you have here,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a roundtable at the facility’s opening on July 1. “They come here, say they have already been ordered to be deported. You drive them 2,000 feet to the runway, and they’re gone….