Civil rights advocates say they have received a surge of complaints about conditions at “Deportation Depot,” a state-run immigration detention facility at the former Baker Correctional Institution in Sanderson, about 50 minutes west of Jacksonville. The site has operated for about a year, and it drew less attention than the Everglades camp known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” which closed over the summer.
A former detainee, identified only by his middle name, Ryan, told WPTV he was held at Baker for four months after being detained in late February. He described about 100 men sharing a dorm with four working toilets and four working showers, black and brown mold, insects, and a broken air conditioner in a room with smashed windows. He said he fainted in the facility and was later told by a hospital that he had an enlarged heart. WPTV said it could not independently confirm that diagnosis, because Ryan says guards took his medical paperwork.
On Oct. 8, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center and Americans for Immigrant Justice sent a 21-page demand letter to the state, the federal government and the private contractors that run the facility. The letter lists seven categories of alleged abuse, including medical neglect, inadequate food and water, dangerous heat and retaliation. It also cites detainees who lost up to 44 pounds.
The Boca Raton-based GEO Group declined to comment. The Florida Division of Emergency Management and two of the three contractors did not respond to WPTV’s questions. An ICE spokesperson criticized the ACLU in a written statement.
