Florida Reportedly Eyeing Another ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ at Former WWII POW Camp as Deportations Mount

| Published August 7, 2025

Florida is reportedly planning to open a second controversial immigration detention facility modeled after its so-called “Alligator Alcatraz,” this time at Camp Blanding—a historic site once used to house prisoners of war during World War II. The move follows a rise in deportations and appears to signal a long-term commitment by the state to expand its role in immigration enforcement.

According to internal documents and local officials, the proposed site—referred to informally as the “North Detention Facility”—is being evaluated by the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM). The facility would be located in Clay County, northeast Florida, on a large tract of land previously used for military training and federal operations.

While construction is not yet underway, the state has reportedly spent nearly $40,000 on weather-monitoring equipment for the site, suggesting plans may be further along than publicly acknowledged.

From Swamp to Stockade

The model for the Camp Blanding site comes from the existing detention facility in the Everglades, built in June 2025 under Governor Ron DeSantis’s emergency powers and dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” by critics and reporters.

That facility—located at the Dade-Collier Training & Transition Airport deep in Big Cypress National Preserve—houses over 1,000 detainees in tents and trailers surrounded by a natural moat of alligators, pythons, and swampland. It was built without environmental review or local input, sparking multiple lawsuits from tribal, environmental, and civil liberties organizations.

Despite legal challenges, the state has continued to operate the Everglades site and is now poised to replicate the approach further north.

A New Chapter at Camp Blanding

Camp Blanding’s historical significance as a WWII-era POW site is not lost on observers. For some, the symbolic reuse of this land as a modern detention center evokes concerns over creeping authoritarianism.

“The fact that Florida is using a former POW camp to house immigrants in mass detention facilities is disturbing,” said a spokesperson for the Florida Immigrant Coalition. “It suggests a troubling comfort with indefinite, isolated incarceration outside of federal oversight.”

The Florida government has stated that the facility is needed to assist federal authorities in managing the rising number of deportations. Governor DeSantis has publicly championed the state’s aggressive deportation posture, casting it as a necessary step to protect Floridians from what he calls the failures of federal immigration policy.

But civil rights advocates say this new facility would deepen what they call an already dangerous precedent: the normalization of large-scale, state-run immigrant detention centers with minimal legal safeguards and limited media access.

Allegations and Lawsuits

The original “Alligator Alcatraz” has drawn national attention for alleged human rights violations. Reports from detainees and former staff describe harsh conditions: overcrowding, 24-hour lighting, food infested with insects, lack of medical care, and the seizure of religious materials.

One 15-year-old was reportedly detained alongside adult men for several days before officials recognized his age. A Cuban detainee has been on a hunger strike for more than a week, prompting urgent calls for intervention.

Civil rights and environmental groups, including the ACLU, Friends of the Everglades, and local tribal nations, have filed lawsuits challenging the legality of both the detention model and the use of protected land.

If Florida proceeds with the Camp Blanding facility without federal cooperation or public environmental review, it may face another wave of legal resistance.

Public Opinion and Political Stakes

Polls show a deeply divided American public. A July 4 survey found that 48% of voters oppose the “Alligator Alcatraz” approach, while 33% support it. Women, young voters, and independents voiced the strongest opposition.

Still, the move has garnered support from portions of the electorate that favor stricter border enforcement and view federal immigration policy as insufficient.

With Florida playing an increasingly central role in national politics and immigration debates, the construction of a second detention facility may have ripple effects well beyond state lines.

A Turning Point?

For now, Florida’s expansion plans remain in flux, tied closely to deportation levels and the resolution of pending lawsuits. But the state’s willingness to consider a second high-security, remote detention site suggests that “Alligator Alcatraz” was not a one-off experiment—but a pilot program for something much bigger.

Whether this signals a new era in decentralized immigration enforcement or a dangerous shift in state power may ultimately be decided not just in Florida, but in the courts, in Congress, and at the ballot box.

 Implications:

Here are the implications—legal, political, humanitarian, environmental, and strategic—of Florida reportedly planning a second “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention facility at Camp Blanding:

🧑‍⚖️ 1. Legal & Constitutional Implications

• Expansion of Emergency Powers: The first facility was built under emergency powers by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis—sidestepping usual environmental and procedural requirements. Replicating this at Camp Blanding could further test constitutional limits of state-level authority.

• Due Process Risks: Detainees at the original site reportedly lacked access to lawyers, courts, and asylum hearings. A second site might amplify concerns about habeas corpus, child detention laws, and international obligations (e.g., Geneva Conventions).

• Judicial Backlash Likely: Courts are already hearing cases involving constitutional and environmental violations tied to the first site. Expanding without resolution may invite nationwide injunctions or federal override.

🧭 2. Political Implications

• Election-Year Messaging: For DeSantis and political allies, these facilities signal a hardline stance on immigration. This could galvanize support among conservative voters who prioritize border security and deportation enforcement.

• National Partisan Divide: The move inflames ideological rifts. Conservatives frame it as “restoring order” while progressives call it authoritarian and xenophobic.

• Federal-State Tensions: The Biden administration and DHS may face pressure to intervene or cut funding, especially as more federal programs (FEMA, ICE) get tied to controversial state-run operations.

🏚️ 3. Humanitarian & Human Rights Implications

• Mass Detention Precedent: Creating multiple state-run mass detention sites sets a dangerous precedent for how non-citizens can be held outside federal facilities, oversight, or due process.

• Conditions in Question: Reports from Alligator Alcatraz mention infested food, lack of healthcare, 24/7 lighting, overcrowding, and poor hygiene. Reproducing such conditions elsewhere might result in international condemnation (e.g., UN, Amnesty International).

• Psychological & Family Trauma: Reports include minors being held with adults and detainees unaware of their legal status—potentially violating both U.S. child protection laws and international conventions on refugees and family reunification.

🌿 4. Environmental & Indigenous Implications

• Ecological Disruption: Camp Blanding, like the Everglades site, borders sensitive environmental zones. Emergency construction could bypass the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) again.

• Tribal Land Concerns: Similar to the Everglades case, Native American tribes (e.g., Seminole, Miccosukee) may argue Camp Blanding threatens sacred or ancestral land, triggering legal and ethical challenges.

🛰️ 5. Strategic & National Security Implications

• Militarization of Immigration Enforcement: Using a former WWII POW camp as a modern detention site carries symbolic and practical implications: it normalizes militarized detention infrastructure, potentially shifting immigration control away from civil jurisdiction toward paramilitary logic.

• Surveillance and Biometric Testing: Expansion likely includes new contracts for surveillance, movement sensors, and biometric ID systems—raising privacy and civil liberty concerns.

Overall Takeaway: Florida’s Push for a Second ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

Florida’s reported plan to establish a second immigration detention facility—dubbed the “North Detention Facility” at Camp Blanding—marks a bold and controversial expansion of state-led immigration enforcement.

This move follows the model of “Alligator Alcatraz,” a high-security, remote detention center already under fire for alleged human rights violations, environmental damage, and legal overreach. By proposing a second site at a former WWII POW camp, Florida signals a deeper commitment to aggressive deportation logistics and a hardened immigration posture.

Yet, this expansion does not come without serious implications:

• It challenges constitutional safeguards, including due process and judicial oversight.

• It intensifies the national political divide over immigration, federalism, and state authority.

• It risks humanitarian fallout as reports of abuse, neglect, and family separations surface from the first facility.

• It provokes environmental and indigenous opposition, particularly given the lack of environmental review and historical sensitivity of the proposed site.

• And it sets a strategic precedent—normalizing militarized, extrajudicial detention zones in civilian governance.

In short, Florida’s detention expansion is not just about immigration control. It is a test of how far a state can go in shaping national policy through emergency powers, symbolic infrastructure, and political momentum—raising fundamental questions about law, liberty, and the balance of power in the United States.

SOURCES: THE GATEWAY PUNDIT – Florida Reportedly Eyeing Another ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ at Former WWII POW Camp as Deportations Mount

AP NEWS – Florida prepares to build a second immigration detention center to join ‘Alligator Alcatraz’