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ORLANDO, Fla. — <\/span>Florida is awaiting approval from federal officials to open a third immigration detention center, following \u201cAlligator Alcatraz\u201d<\/a> and \u201cDeportation Depot,\u201d<\/a> and the state also is looking into a potential fourth detention facility, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday.<\/p>\n Florida officials were waiting for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to sign off on the third detention center in the state’s Panhandle, DeSantis said at a news conference outside the facility which was Florida’s second immigration detention center, dubbed \u201cDeportation Deport,\u201d at the former Baker Correctional Institution in northeast Florida.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, if they approve, we will open,\u201d DeSantis said. \u201cIf they don’t, then we will stand by, and that’s fine. But I think it should be approved since I don’t think they’re where they need to be on detention space.\u201d<\/p>\n The governor said there was \u201canother option potentially\u201d in South Florida, where state officials already have constructed an immigration detention center dubbed \u201cAlligator Alcatraz\u201d at a remote airstrip in the Florida Everglades. <\/p>\n When asked by email about the specific locations of the two potential detention facilities, DeSantis press secretary Molly Best said the Panhandle location would be announced once it’s approved by federal officials.<\/p>\n \u201cUntil this and the proposed additional South Florida location have been approved and finalized, we are unable to provide additional details. Stay tuned!\u201d Best said.<\/p>\n DeSantis said that there had been 10,000 arrests of people in the U.S. illegally in Florida during the past year through a state initiative with federal law enforcement, and that local law enforcement had made an additional 10,000 arrests for a total of 20,000 arrests. Under the state initiative, 63% of those arrested had a criminal arrest or conviction, DeSantis said.<\/p>\n Florida has led other states in constructing facilities to support President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, with DeSantis saying the Trump administration needs the additional capacity to hold and deport more immigrants. The Trump administration has trumpeted the Republican governors\u2019 efforts<\/a> to expand their immigration detention capacity, calling Florida\u2019s partnership a model<\/a> for other state-run holding facilities. <\/p>\n Attorneys for detainees at the Everglades facility have called the conditions deplorable, writing in court documents that rainwater floods their tents and officers go cell-to-cell pressuring detainees to sign voluntary removal orders before they\u2019re allowed to consult their attorneys.<\/p>\n Three federal lawsuits in Florida are challenging practices at the Everglades facility. <\/p>\n In one lawsuit, detainees are asking for the facility to be closed since immigration is a federal issue, and Florida agencies and private contractors hired by the state have no authority to operate it under federal law. In a second lawsuit, detainees were seeking a ruling that would ensure that they have access to confidential communications<\/a> with their attorneys.<\/p>\n In the third lawsuit, a federal judge in Miami last summer ordered the facility<\/a> to wind down operations over two months because officials had failed to do a review of the detention center\u2019s environmental impact. But an appellate court panel put that decision on hold for the time being, allowing the facility to stay open.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n