About 50 people gathered in rural Baker County Sunday along the side of the highway in opposition to Florida’s second immigration detention facility Sunday.
The state-run immigration detention center, “Deportation Depot,” is located at the former Baker Correctional Institution in Sanderson and opened in 2025 to hold up to 1,300 detainees. It serves as a counterpart to Alligator Alcatraz, an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades that has attracted controversy due to instances of abuse and negligence toward its detainees.
The crowd was made up of members of north Florida organizations including the Party for Socialism & Liberation, Baker Interfaith Friends, Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance and Florida Immigrant Coalition. Bundled up to fight the cold, rainy day, protesters were holding signs reading, “No ICE detention in Florida,” “Abolish ICE” and “Justice for immigrants.”…