ORLANDO, Fla. – A warehouse facility in east Orange County could become a new detainment center for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
News 6 was there Friday as ICE representatives toured the building on Transport Drive, which is located in southeast Orange County, east of the interchange between State Road 528 and State Road 417, in International Corporate Park.
[WATCH: ICE is considering this Orange County facility as potential immigrant detainment center]
David Venturella, a senior adviser with ICE, told News 6’s Mike Valente that ICE was not looking at any other facilities in the area, but insisted the tour was only part of an “exploratory stage.”
“It’s a site that could fit that purpose, but we are at very early stages,” Venturella said.
[WATCH: Rep. Frost: ICE has made ‘pretty large’ hotel reservations in Central Florida]
Venturella would not say how many people they are looking for the facility to hold.
Venturella also said permits or zoning changes might be needed, and they still have to look into that, along with whether any permission from the city of Orlando or the Orange County government is needed.
News 6 asked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to comment on the tour, and we received this statement from Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin:
“Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country. We do not discuss future or potential operations. We have had tremendous success when local law enforcement work with us including 40,000 arrests in Florida and more than 550 arrests in New Orleans.”
What we know about the building
The facility is being marketed as warehouse space with a location close to the Orlando International Airport.
According to Orange County records, the facility has a “living area” of some 440,000 square feet and was completed in 2024. That’s about half the size of Orlando’s Kia Center.
[WATCH: what we know about the Orange County building ICE toured]
It’s also nearly three times bigger than the housing facility at “Alligator Alcatraz,” Florida’s immigration detention facility.
That facility in the Florida Everglades is designed to house about 3,000 detainees.
The tour comes amid rumors of a surge in ICE agents working in Central Florida, particularly in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties.
The Orange County Corrections Department, which has an agreement to hold ICE detainees, told News 6 that there had been 831 bookings with immigration holds at the Orange County Jail since the start of the year.
In December, News 6 reported the federal government owes Orange County more than $600,000 in reimbursement payments for holding those detainees.
On Thursday, Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Orlando, said he confirmed that ICE had made “pretty large” hotel reservations in the area.
We are reaching out to Central Florida’s other representatives to get their perspective, as well.
[WATCH: Interview with Rep. Randy Fine after ICE agent shoots, kills woman in Minneapolis]
Lake County Commissioner Anthony Sabatini said an ICE facility in the Orlando area is long overdue and would help relieve overcrowding in local jails.
“I’m sure it will be a controversial idea, but I think it’s common sense,” Sabatini said. “I think it’s smart logistically.”
Sabatini said county jails are already at or near capacity and that local taxpayers often shoulder the financial burden when detainees are held without adequate federal reimbursement.
“The jails are basically full, and the reimbursement isn’t there either, so taxpayers are actually getting hit,” he said.
State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) said she strongly opposes the proposal, raising concerns about ICE enforcement practices and the potential impact on immigrant communities.
“Complete opposition. This is an awful, terrible idea,” Eskamani said.
Eskamani said her office is currently assisting numerous Florida residents who she says were detained despite complying with immigration requirements.
“I have a very large caseload right now of everyday Floridians that have been detained at their immigration appointments, following all of the rules they were told to follow,” she said.
Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that “Operation Tidal Wave,” an immigration-enforcement operation launched last April in conjunction with DHS, has resulted in more than 10,000 arrests. It is not clear if claims about an increased presence of immigration agents may be related to that operation.
Staff for State Rep. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee, told News 6 that they were also tracking reports from constituents about ICE agents in their district.
Soto sent this statement to News 6 Friday:
“We have reached out to ICE to inquire about this facility or any other being considered in Florida’s Ninth Congressional District. We oppose locating these facilities in our community, given the history of abuses and tearing local families apart.”
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