News Service of Florida, Author at NBC2 News
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. —
Two detainees held at Deportation Depot were released by mistake over the weekend and later apprehended and returned to the detention facility, officials have confirmed.
In a statement to the News Service of Florida, the Florida Division of Emergency Management said an administrative error resulted in two detainees being bonded out.
“Both individuals were quickly located and returned to custody,” said FDEM spokeswoman Stephanie Hartmann. “There is no ongoing threat to the public.”
It is unknown whether the detainees had criminal records.
“The matter is being reviewed to ensure accountability and prevent similar incidents,” Hartmann said.
FDEM, housed under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive office, is the agency in charge of running the state’s immigration detention facilities. Alligator Alcatraz, a tented immigration facility in the Everglades, closed down in June. But Deportation Depot, which is located in the former Baker Correctional Institute in Sanderson, continues to operate and house detained undocumented immigrants before they are transferred into the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
According to state documents, Florida has a maximum $101 million contract with GEO|CDR BAKER for “administrative staffing, correctional officers, intake staffing, health and medical personnel,” at Deportation Depot.
As of Sept. 22, the state has paid GEO|CDR BAKER approximately $32 million as part of the contract, according to the Florida Accountability Contract Tracking System.
The company was created in late August 2025, according to state business records, and is headed by executive leaders from The GEO Group, the largest private detention contractor in the country, and CDR Health Care.
Deportation Depot, about 40 miles west of Jacksonville, is not the same facility as Baker County Detention Center, which is run by ICE. When Deportation Depot first opened in September, an ICE spokesperson said the facility could house up to 2,000 people. The facility currently holds about 1,000 detainees.
FDEM is also the agency in charge of hurricane response. On Friday, Hurricane Isaias whipped through the Florida Panhandle, making landfall in Okaloosa County as a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 120 mph.
Isaias knocked the power out of nearly 450,000 homes and businesses in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Bay counties. As of Wednesday afternoon, power had been restored to all but 11,376 customers.
In September, the agency issued a report showing they could have a $1.5 billion deficit at the end of the fiscal year.
According to the report, with a full reimbursement from the federal government for illegal immigration enforcement and an influx of $500 million from the Legislature, the agency still projected a “worst-case scenario” of a $1.5 billion deficit in the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund at the end of the 2026-2027 fiscal year if the state experiences two natural disasters.
The report also stated FDEM has only received $84.6 million out of the promised $608 million in federal grant money.
As of Oct. 14, the state has assisted in the arrests of 27,898 undocumented immigrants in Florida.
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