DeSantis Proposes Another Immigration Detention Center After Ruling Against Alligator Alcatraz

DeSantis Announces Panhandle Pokey

Alligator Alcatraz to Be Dismantled

Controversy Over Migrant Centers

According to the EFE news agency, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis once again stirred controversy on Tuesday by announcing the creation of a new immigration detention center in the northwest of the state.

The project is called “Panhandle Pokey” and follows a court ruling ordering the dismantling of the controversial “Alligator Alcatraz,” a facility built in the middle of the Everglades.

DeSantis defended the plan in a press conference, insisting that the state faces a critical immigration situation.

According to the governor, at least 70,000 migrants in Florida already have pending deportation orders.

A New Center Called Panhandle Pokey

DeSantis proposes another immigration detention center after ruling against Alligator Alcatraz

Follow this link for more information https://t.co/14yt86Cvfc . via @prensacom
https://t.co/VUM2so7Vkw

— La Prensa Panamá (@prensacom) September 2, 2025

The name of the new center refers both to Florida’s Panhandle region and to the slang word “pokey,” meaning prison.

So far, no details have been revealed about its exact location or capacity.

DeSantis indicated that the plan is part of a broader strategy for immigration control in the state.

The “Panhandle Pokey” would add to the “Deportation Depot,” another facility the governor announced in August.

DeSantis Immigration Detention Center and Judicial Appeal

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced plans to create a new migrant detention center in the northwest of the state, which he intends to call “Panhandle Pokey.”

https://t.co/kvJirw0v1Q

— @MeganoticiasMx (@MeganoticiasMx) September 2, 2025

That facility is set to be built in an abandoned prison in northern Florida, with an estimated capacity of 1,000 to 1,500 people.

“We are in the process of figuring out how we can open the ‘Panhandle Pokey,’ and we’re going to have that in the Panhandle,” DeSantis declared.

“This is how the mission continues,” the Republican governor insisted defiantly.

The announcement comes just two weeks after Judge Kathleen Williams ordered the closure of “Alligator Alcatraz.”

Alligator Alcatraz Ordered to Close

DeSantis Announces Panhandle Pokey, a New Immigration Detention Center – PHOTO: EFE

That facility had opened on July 3 in the Everglades, near Miami, and quickly became a symbol of President Donald Trump’s immigration policy.

Trump even visited the site two days before its inauguration, in a gesture that reinforced the administration’s narrative on border control.

However, environmental groups sued the center for being located in a fragile protected ecosystem.

The judge ordered it dismantled within 60 days, sparking an immediate response from the state government.

The Future of Immigration Policy in Florida

DeSantis confirmed that he has filed an appeal against the court order.

Although he expressed confidence that the ruling would be overturned, his administration is already exploring alternatives to avoid gaps in the detention strategy.

Kevin Guthrie, Florida’s Director of Emergency Management, stated last week that “Alligator Alcatraz” would soon have “zero detainees.”

The court ruling prevents the Department of Homeland Security from sending more people to the facility.