Governor DeSantis (00:00):
.. field office director Garrett Ripa, and executive immigration director for the State of Florida. Larry Keefe. As you've heard me say many times, 2024 election was a huge mandate from the American people to finally deal and put to bed the issue of illegal immigration once and for all. And part of that, of course, was the border security, but a lot of that was the reality that you had massive numbers of people that have come into this country illegally, and they needed to be repatriated to their home countries, and so we knew in Florida that this is something that was important to our state. We knew we had an opportunity to really make a difference, and so we decided to stand up. And that was nothing new for us. We were the first state to send people to help Texas when Biden opened the border back in 2021.
(00:51)
I launched Operation Vigilant Sentry a couple years ago to help fill gaps in the maritime interdiction efforts of the Coast Guard that when illegals try to come in via the sea to the shores of Florida and just from the state's effort in addition to everything the Coast Guard's done, just the State of Florida, we've ended up stopping and returning 18,000 illegal aliens, and we just had a bus the other day. So that's been really important to keep the State of Florida safe. We've also done things like ban sanctuary cities. We've ensured that there are no ID cards, of course, no driver's license, but any ID cards to illegals. We've increased penalties on illegals who operate motor vehicles, and so we're proud to have been a leader in that even before the Trump administration took in. But then when that happened, we sprung into action on our state agencies doing these 287(g) agreements with Department of Homeland Security.
(01:58)
That basically allows us at the state level to be working in tandem on immigration enforcement, and that wasn't true under the Biden administration. I'd have highway patrol. They'd pull over illegal aliens, and then they'd have to call ICE. And ICE didn't want to deal with them, so they basically had to release them back into the community. And so now, they have the ability to bring those folks and process them for immigration enforcement, which I think is something that's really, really important. We've, of course, called for a special session of the Florida Legislature at the beginning of the year saying, "Hey, this is our moment. This is what we all campaigned on. Let's get it done," and we had some pushback on that initially. I think some of these guys, they didn't want to follow through on their campaign promises. They even sent me a bill that would've made things like Alligator Alcatraz and Operation Vigilant Sentry illegal in the State of Florida.
(02:53)
Of course, I vetoed that. Blaise Ingoglia was in the Senate there, and he was very much standing on the side of the voters that sent us here, and he opposed that Sanctuary Bill. We ended up getting good legislation passed that requires all state and local agencies in Florida to participate in immigration enforcement efforts. And so that really began in earnest months ago, and it was had a lot of success. But the one thing that we were running into was that DHS just did not have capacity to be able to hold and process these illegal aliens prior to deportation. We were using some of our sheriffs. We're using some of their local facilities. We would do what we could at the state level, but there was a huge need for additional capacity. And obviously, they had a rough four years under Biden really letting the agency wilt in ways that it was never intended to do. So we were asked, "Hey, if there's any way you can help with this, this is what you want to do."
(03:52)
So the site here at the Dade-Collier Airport in the heart of South Florida was a unique opportunity because while it was an existing footprint with a massive runway, it was something that was not necessarily full or being used all the time. And so we were able to, under Kevin Guthrie's leadership, within record time, create a facility that could support intaking, processing, and eventually deporting these illegal aliens, and that's important to deport from Florida, but obviously from the United States as well. So we have capacity now for a couple thousand. We can expand that as demand is there, and we are looking forward to being able to do that. I know that the administration has called on other states to follow suit and expand this type of capacity, and I would just reiterate that call. I think it's important. I think it'll make a difference.
(04:50)
And so we're here today to say this was never intended to be something where people are just held, and we just kind of twiddle our thumbs. The whole purpose is to make this be a place that can facilitate increased frequency and numbers of deportations of illegal aliens, and that is the goal. And one of the reasons why this was a sensible spot is because you have this runway that's right here. You don't have to drive them an hour to an airport. You go a couple thousand feet, and they can be on a plane and out of here. So I'm pleased to report that those flights out of Alligator Alcatraz by DHS have begun. The cadence is increasing. We've already had a number of flights on the last few days. We've had hundreds of illegals have been removed from here, and the federal government has a process of how they eventually do, and they've done it different ways on some of these different flights, but the reality is this provides an ability to enhance the mission to increase the number and frequency of deportations.
(06:05)
And so what's been done here has really been remarkable. There's full ground to air communications from the airfield. There's air tracking radar capabilities on site, securing all access ports to the taxiway and runway on aircraft arrival. That happens. You got 5,000 gallons of jet fuel on site. You got runway lighting, you got everything you need to be able to do that. This airport is able to accept commercial sized aircraft and conduct both day and nighttime operations. And so that's what it's all about, to be able to help process and remove folks that are legally in the state of Florida and in the United States of America. So we look forward to this cadence increasing. One of the things when the president came and visited that he approved was deputizing state officers, including National Guard, judge advocates to be immigration judges, and the vision is to just have them on site. You can move forward with the processing very quickly and increase the numbers and the flow would be… There'd be a high turnover rate here because you'd be constantly doing that.
(07:23)
We're working very closely with the Department of Justice. We have not yet had any approval for anybody to be able to come down here and do that, but we do anticipate that happening very soon. And when that happens, you're going to have an availability of a lot of folks to be able to be ripe, to be able to be removed, and ultimately sent back to their home countries. I've also pointed out, we've been supportive of the efforts that if somebody is earmarked to come here, and they would choose to simply voluntarily deport. Now, they're not just going to take your word for it. They're going to take you, chaperone you, make sure that you're on that aircraft and that you're landed in your own country, but there is resources available to do that. And I think that makes sense from a taxpayer perspective because it's cheaper to do it that way. It's also more efficient.
(08:16)
So anybody that wants to take up on the offer can do it. We've had some people take up on the offer, and it's not just limited to Alligator Alcatraz. That's something that in any of these instances with immigration enforcement, that's a way to short circuit, and ultimately, get where we're trying to go anyway. So that is something that's a live possibility, and I hope more and more people avail themselves of that opportunity. I want to bring up folks here. I know Kevin Guthrie has done a lot of Yeoman's work, both in setting up this facility, making sure it's being run professionally but also debunking a lot of the nonsense that gets spewed out with some of the fake narratives that get put out, and he's done a really good job of doing that. Clearly, you have something that's professional and that's meeting very high standards. So Kevin, why don't you come ahead and let her rip.
Kevin (09:12):
Thank you, Governor. Thank you for being here this morning. Thank Governor DeSantis for his leadership and dedication and doing what's right for the state of Florida and the United States of America. Florida has been able to act decisively and deliver results due to his ongoing support for law and order. Florida is a law and order state. Florida knows how to respond to crisis. We specialize in response and recovery, acting fast, and most importantly, logistics management. That same speed, precision, and discipline has been applied here at Alligator Alcatraz. When Governor DeSantis called on us to lead this effort, we brought everything we've learned from hurricanes, severe weather, large scale activations to the table, and made this happen. The focus of this operation has always been and will always be fulfilling our mission, upholding the law and delivering results. This facility was built and operational incredibly fast and has now grown to have a capacity of 2,000 detainees.
(10:12)
Our team continues to work to increase its capacity of the facility, which will eventually hold 4,000 detainees. As our capacity increases, we continue to identify contingency plans to ensure we are ready for hurricane season. I know that I've taken a little bit of heat in the media that the EM guy is not taking care of hurricane season. That is absolutely unequivocally false. When we have 1,000, I need to make sure we have room for 1,000. When we go to 2,000, I need to make sure we have room for 2,000. And yes, I may have visited some facilities in the State of Florida. Why? Because this facility, as I've said on the record, can withstand category winds of up to category two, but there is a category three and a four and a five.
(11:03)
And I hate to talk to you so elementary, but unfortunately, we have to break some things down into simple building blocks for other people. Category three, four and five is greater than and not equal to a category two. When we have that situation, we will have to do an evacuation and it's incumbent upon the Florida Division Emergency Management with our law enforcement partners to be able to take care of that. So yes, we are constantly looking at what we can do based on need when we get to a certain level where we're going to go. And I promise you that the hurricane guys have got the hurricane stuff covered. I promise you that. I'm sorry. I'll get back on track now.
(11:45)
Again, just in case you forgot, we are number one in the nation in emergency response and recovery, and that includes everything from evacuated detention facilities, jails, and hospitals should that need ever arise. Our on-site and services include hot meal service three times a day, not great turkey by the way, full medical care including 24/7 clinic and pharmacy, indoor and outdoor recreational space, laundry, legal and clergy services, air conditioned detention housing units. Again, I've said in the past, and I'll say again, either meet or exceed the higher standard, whatever that is, whether it's Florida standard or national standard, we meet or exceed the higher standard.
(12:29)
The security infrastructure includes over 28,000 feet of barbed wire and fencing, nearly 300 security cameras, a trained force of over 400 security personnel, including an additional 200 National Guard. Additionally, this facility is surrounded by miles and miles and miles. I believe it's 39 square miles of natural buffer turning what was once just a taxiway that saw up to, this is another stat for you, up to over a hundred flights a day as we have issues with the environment. All of a sudden governor is tearing up the environment. There were over a hundred flights a day coming in and out of this facility. There's much less than a hundred flights a day coming in and out of this facility now.
(13:16)
With the airstrip infrastructure already in place, this location has made it even easier for us to coordinate deportation flights directly on site. None of this, none of this would be possible without the commitment of Governor DeSantis, his proactive stance long before this project broke ground coming up on now three years, Florida will not be passive bystander when it comes to border security and public safety. This is what leadership looks like, ladies and gentlemen. Leadership is an action verb. It's an adjective, but it's rooted in an action verb. In closing, as we make our way through hurricane season, this facility serves as an example of state capabilities and coordination. Under Governor DeSantis
Kevin (14:00):
… leadership. Florida continues to lead the way, not just in merger response, but in operational excellence and readiness on every front. Governor, as always, thank you for the opportunity to lead under your direction.
Governor DeSantis (14:11):
Okay.
Garrett Ripa (14:16):
Good morning, everybody. I want to thank everyone for coming. My name is Garrett Ripa. I'm the field office director for ICE ERO here. And again, I want to thank the governor and I want to thank the great executives behind me. We face a monumental task and we have faced a monumental task of writing the wrongs of the last administration. And how we're doing that is through a "whole of government" approach. Everything you see out here is a "whole of government" approach. It's all state, local, federal partners working in unison, working as one, to resolve the problem of illegal immigration in this country. We've done that through this facility and we'll continue to do that utilizing this facility.
(14:51)
Again, it's the governor's vision and it's our determination to make that happen. We've already started to facilitate that this week. We've had two or three removal flights, and we'll continue to have those removal flights. Up to a hundred individuals who were illegally present in the state of Florida have already been removed from the United States. And again, we will continue to do that and utilize this facility to the fullest potential.
(15:14)
Again, I thank everyone for their time and I thank Governor DeSantis for his vision and his leadership. Thank you.
Governor DeSantis (15:19):
Thank you. Blaise?
Blaise Ingoglia (15:22):
Good morning, everyone. Blaise Ingoglia, Chief Financial Officer of the great state of Florida. First I want to acknowledge and thank President Trump for everything that he is doing to make sure that he's stopping the stem of illegal immigration coming over. And I want to thank our great governor Ron DeSantis for everything that he is doing. He has basically led on this issue since day one. And we would not be here today, this facility would not be here today, if it was not for the governor leading on the issue. Because the governor, Governor DeSantis, knew the enormity of this problem that was created by the Biden administration. And we knew that somehow we were going to have to get all of these criminal illegal aliens out of the United States so they don't commit any further crimes. And the ones that are in here, illegal immigrants, we're going to have to do something with them.
(16:16)
I know people have been saying, "Well, is this the right thing to do? What about the cost?" We have always been talking about the cost of illegal immigration and the taxpayers are going to bear the cost of it. So I don't want to hear anyone from the Left start talking about cost. Because this wouldn't be here if we wouldn't have de facto open borders over the last four years under the previous administration, four years under Joe Biden. We are doing what is necessary. We are doing what is right to make sure that we stem and stop illegal immigration.
(16:47)
This facility and what we are doing at the state and the national level should be a deterrent to make sure that illegals do not continue crossing over the border. I am not going to sit here, and I'm not going to apologize for removing criminal illegal aliens from the United States. Those who are harming our communities, effectuating drug trafficking, human trafficking, and ravaging our communities. I make no apologies for saying illegal immigration is a scourge on this country. It needs to stop. It needs to stop now. And if there's any illegal immigrant listening to my voice right now, self deport. Use the app. We will get you home. Do not come here because you be removed. If you want to come here, come here legally. Come here the right way. Be part of our communities. We are not going to stand for illegal immigration anymore.
Governor DeSantis (17:43):
Larry?
Larry Keefe (17:46):
My primary remarks today are going to be directed to the illegal aliens who are in Florida who have not yet been arrested but who will be arrested. But before I do so, and not just to say nice words, to be polite, it's important to understand the significance of this whole thing. President Trump declared and wanted and ordered the largest mass deportation mission in history. That is what we're doing here. And what's very special and very unique about this point in time is you have the genius and mastery of a Kevin Guthrie and his team. And it is a team, it's not just him, at the division of emergency management who is the best in the world at doing things fast, with a sense of urgency and an environment of high pressure and high stakes. And it's an honor to work with you and to work with your team.
(18:42)
And what he brings to this, in addition to his skill set, is doing things with a sense of urgency. And that is a trait that I will say, governor, with all due respect is one that I know you value, and I value as well. Then we have combined with that who I believe the person who has been chosen by the Department of Homeland Security to be the one that, I joke with him and I say was sent to Florida to run all the federal immigration enforcement operations in Florida. I joke with him, they sent him to the best state, the state that's the most effective. The state could quite frankly do most things on its own. But that's not why. Why they sent Garrett Ripa here is because he is developing the blueprint or the prototype here in Florida. Which, the president was just in town here at this very location just a couple of weeks ago declaring Florida the cutting edge, the best, the template, the example for other states to follow.
(19:40)
So Garrett Ripa, each day, 24/7 on the Guthrie timeline, is working to bring this all together to make it happen. Not so we can do high-fives and declare victory in Florida, but to be a national leader under Governor DeSantis' leadership, along with President Trump. Making this the template, the blueprint that can be scaled and replicated to be generative for the entire country. So now returning very quickly as I look to the illegal aliens who live in Florida, and I want to say this humanely and with respect. Not in terms of finger-pointing, that this is going to happen and that's going to happen. You are still here. Implicit in that is the notion that you are aware of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's CBP Home Platform. It's an option for you to self-deport, to have your flight home paid for, to receive a thousand dollars when you arrive back in your home country. And very importantly for you to be eligible to return to this country in the ordinary course the right way, the lawful way.
(20:53)
But it's critical to know and not said enough, in my opinion, is that if you put that off thinking you can take the risk and it might turn out well for you, you should think again. Because if you are arrested and you come to a place like Alligator Alcatraz, you are not eligible for CBP Home. You're not eligible for that. Now, you may think that, based on everything that you've seen or heard, that the tempo that you have seen the last five or six months is the way it's always going to be. I'm here today with some new information. That is not the case. There's two very, very significant things that you need to know about that.
(21:32)
Here in Florida, we've been leading all the national numbers with regard to immigration arrests for months. And that is largely to the credit of the Florida Highway Patrol, who's had 1,800 Florida troopers out with their universal jurisdiction throughout Florida, not just on the highways, leading the country, making arrests. Just within the last couple of days, the federal government has issued credentials to over 1,200 Florida sheriff's deputies and over 650 FDLE agents and other state and local law enforcement agencies. To where we have more than doubled our capability and capacity to affect arrests.
(22:14)
That tied together with us getting good, practicing, getting muscle memory and making things happen, I strongly suggest to you is it is a new day each day as we go forward now. Don't look back on where we've been. There will be a surge of arrests and what you see here at Alligator Alcatraz. And what's to follow on detention capacity will be here to meet that surge. The other thing, the last thing I want to say about this is that if you're thinking is that, "Well, it's not so bad if I get arrested." Because, and you have seen, and we have all lived and seen the last four years of catch and release. "I'll go, I'll get arrested, and an immigration judge will bond me out. And I'll be right back in the community with my lawyer for four or five years of due process of whatever we can throw on the wall thinking there may be some amnesty or something might happen."
(23:09)
Well, that's other news. There's been a development within the last two weeks that has significantly cut back bond release from detention. It is my strong recommendation to you that if you do not take up Secretary Noem on the CBP Home, option to return home, that you'll very likely be in a place just like this, if not this place. And you will be here for the entire duration of the time that you are exhausting your due process rights. You will not be living freely in our communities while you're awaiting the due process to take place for years or months. So I strongly recommend to you, you consider those things. You inform yourself, make the move on CBP Home before you are arrested. Thank you.
Governor DeSantis (24:01):
And so the flights are going. I think the cadence is going to increase. I think you're going to continue to see the numbers really go up dramatically. And then as there's demand, we can expand the footprint here to 3,000. And then we can do Camp Blanding. And I said we've always been ready, willing and able to do that. I don't want it to be something where people, illegals are just being stored there and then just kind of sitting. I want it to be where illegals are here. There's an aggressive processing and an aggressive deportation schedule. That's what you're seeing starting to occur here down at Alligator Alcatraz. And when there's demand for that beyond here, up there, then we're happy to be able to respond accordingly. And so we look forward to the increased cadence, look forward to hopefully being able to get the approval for the immigration judges to be on site here. And we've offered different personnel that are doing. We're working through different issues because there are logistical issues involved.
(25:03)
But President Trump was very clear. He wants to see a force multiplier with respect to the immigration adjudication process, and he wants to speed it up. And he wants Florida to play a role, and he wants the DOJ to approve a way forward there. So we stand ready, willing, and able to help with that. And it's all about just realizing the vision, fulfilling the mandate with what people want. They want the border secured, which has been done very well. But they also want to have a legal workforce. They want to have the rule of law. They certainly don't want to have massive costs imposed on their communities because of waves of illegal immigration. So this is our chance to finally solve this problem once and for all. Florida's playing the leading role amongst the 50 states and I don't think there's anyone that's even close to doing what we've done. Okay. We have any questions?
Reporter 1 (Ed) (25:55):
Sir, two questions. One, I wanted to ask you about something we've seen consistent from attorneys, who say they still have not been able to access their clients even though they're using the email that the state has provided. Can you address that? One, and then two, my second question, allegations by the Democrats who say that contracts related to the facility are no longer on the state website, that they keep disappearing.
Governor DeSantis (26:23):
Well, I'll let Kevin address. Do you want to address the contract issue?
Kevin (26:28):
So Ed, we happen to have the CFO with us today, and he and I were talking about this earlier. The contracts not being on the website is false. What our staff ended up doing was, we actually put proprietary information on the website. We have competitive contracts, we are encouraged to do competitive procurements. And by the way, there's not a single sole source contract at this site. Now that you got me riled back up again. Sorry about that.
(26:58)
Everything here has been competitively bid off of master contracts that went to competitive procurement a year, two, three years ago. So what happened was, our team put the actual detailed line item PO that then, now every other competitive contractor can see what the rate is. So we took that down. We've replaced it with summary sheets on the actual amount that they've been given. So that's what's happened there.
Governor DeSantis (27:24):
What about the legal?
Kevin (27:26):
Oh, and the legal issue. Legal issue? My understanding, my attorney has told me that she has worked out the issues and we should have our first set of on-site legal representation no later than Monday. And we are scheduled, I'm looking for my guy, we're scheduled to go with that almost 24/7 if we need to. So the space that we have, we can do those meetings all day long, 24/7, 365. But we had some technology issues. We have now worked those things out and we should be starting that on Monday.
Reporter 2 (27:57):
… able to start deportation flights without
Reporter 2 (28:00):
… how people have been having to access their clients.
Governor DeSantis (28:02):
Some of the … Remember, there's probably close to 800,000 illegal aliens that have already been ordered deported in this country. Florida, we have at least 50,000, 75,000. I mean so the idea that somehow you need some elaborate process in some of those situations, it's just not factually true in terms of the law. DHS can answer on each individual folks, but the whole purpose of having this is to be able to have a very efficient way to deport, understanding that they have to go through this process, I mean to be …
(28:40)
I mean to me, it's like if you're subjected to traditional criminal process, there's a whole bunch of due process that goes into that because, ultimately, are you guilty of this crime? There's elements, all this. This should be a pretty simple process. You either have a right to be here or you don't.
(28:59)
Really, that's what we need to determine when you do this. Once that's determined, if you're in this country illegally, then you should be subject to expeditious deportation. That's the goal of what this is doing. But I know that DHS has a whole process for how they do it.
(29:18)
Now from the state's perspective, we ramp all this up, we're running. Once they get on that plane, DHS handles them and process them, deport them accordingly. There's different ways. I mean I know DHS has, in some instances, just deported people back across the Mexico border, and that's fine. I mean whatever they think works is all good and … Good.
Media (29:38):
[inaudible 00:29:39].
Speaker 1 (29:41):
Governor, governor, [inaudible 00:29:40] News 13. Wanted to know, we've spoken with several family members who say they have individuals, family members here, what's being done? Those people are here and they should not be here. They have the proper credentials that say they belong here in the United States.
Governor DeSantis (29:53):
Well, I'll refer that to DHS in terms of how that … I can tell you DHS is sending people who they absolutely believe are here illegally and are subject to deportation, right?
Kevin (30:08):
And on final removal. There's not a person here that does not own a final removal [inaudible 00:30:11].
Governor DeSantis (30:10):
Well, there you go. So everybody here is already on a final removal order. So in that situation, to have a family member say they have the proper credentials when they've already been ordered to be removed through the process shows you that that's not accurate, that they had a process, that process has been executed, and they have found to not have the right to be in this country.
(30:34)
I would also just point out, I mean, look, there's a lot of people that have fraudulent credentials, I mean let's just be clear when we have E-Verify in Florida. But some of these guys, they have fake IDs. And so, if you just run the ID, it actually may come back positive as someone can be here because they think it's somebody else. They don't realize that there's an illegal that has it. But, yeah, they've been ordered to be removed from this country and they have the ability to do that.
Media (30:59):
[inaudible 00:30:59].
Speaker 2 (30:59):
At the end of your opening remarks, you talked about how the Trump administration, how Florida has been a force multiplier, but it hasn't just been on immigration, it's been on so many other policies, including school, personnel. We heard Trump endorse Ashley Moody last night, who was your pick, and also Joe Gruters from the RNC. What do you think that it says about Florida and the influence that it's having nationally on policies and on personnel in the Trump administration?
Governor DeSantis (31:27):
Well, I think the issue is Florida's led the way for years now. We led the country, dragged this country out of COVID lockdown. We were the place everybody was coming to escape the madness in a lot of these other places, not just in the United States but around the world.
(31:43)
We led the effort to fight against Biden's immigration and border policies. We led the effort against the woke mind virus, whether that was in schools, whether that was in corporate America. We were effectively the ones that nuked ESG. We were the first state to eliminate DE&I. Of course, we've been leading the way on economy three years in a row, ranked number one.
(32:06)
So I think we've seen issues, we've addressed the issues, particularly when you have some of the far left that's really run amuck in some of these places and may run amuck more in places like New York City if this guy gets elected to be mayor of New York. It's going to be a huge, huge fallout from that.
(32:24)
So we've continued to lead, and I think the stuff that we were doing prior to the Trump administration taking office, these are the things that conservatives have wanted to see done for a long time. I mean we've been complaining for 20 years about higher education going off the rails, and yet no one was doing anything about it. So we came in and we've done that. We've really right-sized or course-corrected, I think, positively.
(32:52)
I think what they're doing with Linda McMahon on higher education is positive. We're working constructively. We just did the accreditation. We're going to have a new accreditor that's going to be able to help us get over some of these things that have been holding back higher ed. So on and on it goes. Law and order. We've been the leading state on law and order. There's no question about that.
(33:15)
So all of this is we've seen problems. We've responded to the voters that have elected us here, and we've led in ways that I think have paved the way for more progress to happen nationally. Remember, when we were taking on the woke, that was not necessarily popular to do. That was at the crest of this madness that was taken hold, and a lot of media, a lot of elites were really going in whole hog, corporate America, educational institutions. We drew a very clear line in the sand and we say our state is where woke goes to die.
(33:46)
Now the woke, no one wants to admit that they're woke. It's different. It's a few years down the line. DE&I, we were the first state to eliminate that. That was years ago, and we took lot of flack for that. Now everybody's running away from DE&I. Women's sports. We were, if not the first, certainly one of the first states to lean in to protect that. That was considered controversial at the time. Now everybody is acknowledging it's not right to inject a male in these female competitions.
(34:14)
So I think on issue after issue, we've been willing to lead, and I think these are addressing problems that a lot of voters have wanted to be addressed. We obviously could do it at the state level. Other states have emulated, and I think now the Trump administration is really focusing on addressing these issues in a national context, and I applaud them for doing that.
Media (34:33):
[inaudible 00:34:34].
Speaker 3 (34:36):
[inaudible 00:34:36]. Any specific goals or estimates for how fast you get the processing here, from the minute these illegal immigrants show up here to when they're flown on the planes?
Governor DeSantis (34:43):
Well, if you think about it, I mean, we have 50, 70, 80,000 illegals that are on final orders of removal already in Florida at a minimum. And so, we would love to be able to get that cadence going very quickly to where we burn through that expeditiously. Then some of the others that are still going through some of the process, we want to be a part of helping supplement that process with our personnel to be able to move that back quickly.
(35:10)
But I mean if you look at the numbers, I mean obviously the deportations that have happened nationwide so far, and ICE has been understaffed, is not scratching the surface of what would need to be done to get to where you have the largest mass deportation in history and where you're even just addressing the Biden people. So you got to increase that tempo. You have a limited amount of time to do it.
(35:34)
I think we've got to assume … We've got these four years under the Trump administration to really get the job done. So my hope is that we have a very strong cadence coming out of here. If the cadence is strong and it justifies us going up Northeast Florida and establishing a footprint at Camp Blanding, we will do that. But for us, the reason why we're in this is because we want this tied to helping DHS remove these folks. That to us is the critical element that we want to see done, and then I think, quite frankly, the voters want to see done.
Media (36:04):
[inaudible 00:36:06].
Speaker 4 (36:08):
[inaudible 00:36:06] that they are not … There are several families that are saying that the people inside the facility that are their family members aren't getting medications. Can you explain this and talk about that?
Governor DeSantis (36:19):
So I'll let Kevin, but I'm sure he's going to debunk it. I mean, seriously, you have to ask yourself on some of this stuff just the desire to create narratives, and these Democrat politicians parading down here and doing all this stuff. I'm just thinking to myself, I've never seen one of you show up to comfort an angel mom who's lost a child because of illegal alien crime. I've never seen you raise any concern about the victims of illegal immigration. Not one time have I seen these Democrats caravan anywhere in this state hold the press conference to be able to stand in solidarity with victims. I've never seen that. These are stunts that they're pulling because they're increasingly politically irrelevant in this state, and they're trying to latch on to whatever they can to create phony narratives. But I will let Kevin address that.
Kevin (37:17):
So, again, simple answer, absolute crap. We have on this facility the ability of a full-fledged medical center with x-ray capability, sonogram capability, prescription med capability. When these individuals come here, and I'm glad you asked this question, again we reiterate, everybody at this facility is on a final removal order. They have been in CBP, ICE, ERO, AMO custody for a while. It's not like they just came into custody last night.
(37:52)
They have been underneath the federal government's health and medical arm. They get brought here. They come with what we call a face sheet that tells us everything that they're on. We have that medication on site. We have a medical doctor on site. We have nurse practitioners on site. We have RNs and a complete medical staff. We can deal with trauma on site. We have four paramedics on duty at all times in conjunction with the medical staff.
(38:19)
So, again, all of that is false, every single bit of it. Again, we didn't just go out with a FHP traffic stop, my friends and brothers in TAN out there making a stop, and then just arbitrarily pull that guy off of Alligator Alley and bring him straight here and we have absolutely no idea who that is.
(38:36)
That is not how this system works. They come from ERO, ICE, CBP to this facility with a face sheet that tells us everything about them. It's absolutely false.
Media (38:47):
[inaudible 00:38:48].
Governor DeSantis (38:47):
Well, and you all … I mean you have all these … Some of these … It's just the lengths that people are going to try to make an issue out of everything. There was one report, one of the illegals said that his ham sandwich was cold. I'm thinking to myself, you're entitled to toast it. It's hoagies. First of all, Jimmy John's is one of the most successful sandwich places in a country. They didn't have any toasted subs until very recently. They had only done cold subs, and it became a massive success, financial success. Now they do offer toasted subs. I don't think they do cheesesteaks. My kids like the cheesesteak from Jersey Mike's.
(39:31)
But be that as it may, to say that, "Oh, the AC is on too much. It's too cold," or this or that, at some point it's like, good grief. Just acknowledge the fact that what Kevin and these guys done has been a Herculean effort to get this up, that they are meeting or exceeding every state or federal standard, whichever is higher, and that this is in fact a force multiplier to be able to assist with the removal of illegal aliens from the country, and that's what it is.
(40:00)
And so, they've done a really good job on this. When I see this stuff, I don't even … I know … I don't have to ask him because I know, like I know that you're not being told the whole story. I think it's also interesting that there's folks, and particularly corporate media, you'll have a criminal alien ordered to be deported, has committed criminal offenses, in addition to immigration, and he will just assert something and that will be reported as fact with no corroboration.
(40:34)
It's interesting, you would never say if somebody that was on law enforcement just asserted. You would always ask questions and you would do that. But somehow with the criminal alien, you'll just accept that. Why? Because it fits the desired narrative. That's why people do it.
Media (40:48):
[inaudible 00:40:50].
Governor DeSantis (40:54):
I'll do both of you. You go first and then you go.
Speaker 5 (40:56):
[inaudible 00:40:56] higher than a category two, like this place can sustain, where will all these detainees [inaudible 00:41:02]? Where will they go?
Governor DeSantis (41:03):
It will depend on the path of the storm. So Kevin has contingency plans. People are like, "What happens if a hurricane hit?" and I just think to myself, this ain't our first rodeo. We know in Florida anything is susceptible to have to be evacuated, depending … And there are some areas that may be a little bit more vulnerable, but there's not a single place in the state that you would be totally immune from having any impacts of hurricanes.
(41:29)
But it also depends on the shape of the storm, the trajectory of the storm. So they have that built out. We do this in different context. We do do it in the corrections context and have done it in the corrections context. We also have to redeploy first responders. So for Hurricane Milton, we were staged at Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays. It's a convenient, very efficient place to do it.
(41:55)
Well, Kevin's watching the storm. He's watching how it's coming and he made the decision
Governor DeSantis (42:00):
… decision, we got to evacuate them out of there, because we think it's going to be impacted by the storm. And of course, it was. The roof got blown off, although the roof was supposed to withstand a little more than it did. So the roof got blown off.
(42:10)
So those guys were strategically redeployed, and then they got on target, just like it was. So that will happen. That will be accommodations that will be made. That's accordingly. This stuff, though, can withstand non-major hurricane, Cat One, Cat Two. Doesn't mean you can't have it.
(42:30)
Now the more interior you are, you guys who've covered hurricanes know, when it hits land, it does slow down. So if we have a hurricane that hits Southwest Florida as a weak CAT Three, by the time it gets here, maybe those winds would be sub-Cat Two. I mean, these are judgments that will be made accordingly, and there will be preparations made.
(42:51)
And I'll just echo something Kevin said, because DEM is overseeing this, that that must mean that they're not doing the standard preparations for hurricanes. That's obviously ridiculous. These, as you know, these are contracted folks. There are DEM personnel who are helping to coordinate, but we've got massive resources that are on standby, in the event that we have additional major weather events.
(43:17)
And I'm hoping that we don't, and I always tell people, we've had six majors in seven years. We deserve a break for, I mean, remember we had 10 years, we didn't have any recently. Wouldn't it be great to get another 10-year stretch? And I sincerely hope for that, but I do not expect that or plan for that. We have to plan as if we're going to have more events this year writ large, even apart from Alligator Alcatraz.
(43:42)
But if you had a Hurricane Michael trajectory, you wouldn't need to evacuate anybody from here. If you had a Hurricane Irma trajectory, then you'd probably need to make some accommodations. So these are things that these guys will watch. They have contingency plans. There's not one specific place where they will go to because you don't want to evacuate people into additional storm.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
You mentioned the medical facilities, you mentioned the laundry facilities, and even the living quarters. Instead of taking the detainee's word for it, or your word for it, why not allow us to go tour the facility today, or another day? Because so far, we've been denied.
Governor DeSantis (44:21):
Well, they have done that. When the President of the United States was here, we had the White House press pool that was following us through all these facilities. You've had different politicians that have come. Now, a lot of them have been posturing, but they have come.
(44:37)
Here's the thing. This is not a spectacle, okay? You don't get to go into other facilities willy-nilly, either. I mean, that's just the reality of the situation. I think they have a job to do here, I think they're doing it, and I think that they're doing it well. And so, we're going to continue, and Kevin's going to be able to make judgments about what's best for the mission. And I'm going to stand by his judgements on what's best for the mission.
Speaker 6 (45:04):
Governor, [inaudible 00:45:07], where we actually had a state trooper acknowledge that he would get a 30,000 bonus now, a $30,000 bonus, after capturing and documenting a migrant. I'm curious if law enforcement are given any incentive.
Governor DeSantis (45:18):
I mean this respectfully, and where are you from? Okay. How many illegals have been apprehended by state law enforcement? Thousands and thousands. Do you honestly think we could underwrite a $30,000 check for each illegal that was apprehended, with those massive numbers? Of course not. I mean, of course not. So I'm not sure where that's coming from.
(45:42)
I can tell you that I worked very hard to get pay increases for the Florida Highway Patrol in this year's budget. I wanted 25% for experience. We didn't get quite that much, but we did get a significant, and we'll probably work more. No, but I mean the idea that you'd get 30,000 for every illegal, that wouldn't even be cost-effective. So I'm not sure where that's coming from.
Speaker 7 (46:04):
What's the process of getting reimbursed, the state of Florida getting reimbursed?
Governor DeSantis (46:07):
Same as you would through any FEMA reimbursement.
Speaker 8 (46:10):
Exactly how many detainees have been flown, out and are they being deported, or where are they being taken?
Governor DeSantis (46:16):
So there've been a hundred full deportations just out of here. There have been many other hundreds who've been flown out of here. The way the federal government does is, they have some areas that are considered kind of hubs. And so, I know some flights have gone to Louisiana, and then they will go from Louisiana. And it makes sense logistically, because if we've got a plane full of people here from a variety of nationalities, if you go to a central hub, then you can pull the nationalities, and send one flight to one place, another flight to another place.
(46:48)
So that's what we're doing. But there have been a hundred folks that have fully been deported, and there have been many hundred that have been exited this facility, and are in route to be deported by the federal government.
(47:01)
And look, I think a lot of people, getting them out of Florida is a huge thing. It's like, we obviously had a transport program, send to California, send to New York, send to Martha's Vineyard, even. And we were happy to do that, because I think it relieved burdens on Florida. But yeah, so they've got a process that they're doing.
(47:20)
Now, DHS has run into some more money now. I think you're going to see an expanded footprint in their capacity. I think you're going to see an expanded detention footprint in their capacity. And I'm all about it. I mean, people say, "Why are you getting involved?" Because we need it. That's why I'm getting involved.
(47:38)
IF DHS had 100% capacity, to handle and process 100% of the illegals, then I'd be happy to just say, "You know what? We've got other things to be doing." But we're needed in this fight now.
(47:52)
Other states have been asked to step up, I hope they do. And I think you're going to see DHS's capacity continue to increase. But right now, they had four really tough years, in terms of the attention and the direction. And so, it's a new day, but it takes some time.
Speaker 2 (48:09):
Governor, are these immigrants being sent to places like El Salvador, or are they being sent to their country of origin? And then, on top of that, if you were to step under this tent I guarantee you, we all smell like bug spray. That is a luxury that we can afford. Do you know what's been done for the immigrants inside the tent and mitigations, because it's uncomfortable?
Governor DeSantis (48:27):
Well, one, I mean, I don't have bug spray on. I know people have it or what, but so, on the deportation, look, that's a question for DHS.
(48:38)
As I said, they've got processes that they go through. They can do a direct deportation from here. They can do to one of the hubs, and then the hub can take them. And I know that they have used El Salvador.
(48:50)
I don't know that anyone from here has gone there yet, so I just can't answer that. But I think DHS could answer that. Okay. Who has a question, who hasn't asked one? Yes, ma'am?
Jennifer Crawford (49:01):
Yeah, Governor? Governor, Jennifer Crawford, WGCU News, in Fort Myers. What concerns do you have about an expanded footprint of this facility on the Everglades, which you have really fought hard to restore?
Governor DeSantis (49:12):
None, because we've looked at it, it doesn't have an impact. As Kevin said, there were hundreds of flights going in here, training flights, there are less flights now doing that. Everything that you see built is on the existing infrastructure, so it's not going to have an impact.
(49:26)
And I would note, particularly for people in your region, I just did something no one thought could get done as quickly as we did, open the C-43 Reservoir. So you remember, before I became Governor back in '18, there was a lot of water being spewed out of Lake Okeechobee. It interacted with the red tide, it created some real serious problems for quality of life, tourism and the economy.
(49:49)
And now, we've got a massive reservoir that can store that water, clean it. It can send to southwest Florida in the dry season when they want it. And that is a huge, huge thing. So the number one environmental issue that was present in 2018, this stuff being spewed in from the lake, we addressed it head-on, and have completed this massive infrastructure project.
(50:15)
And if you also look at the hydrology of the Everglades, what I said was, we got to have water flow south, as nature and God intended, and the amount of water flowing south, compared to when I became Governor, dramatic, dramatic increase. I looked into, should we buy it, and then grow over it? But it doesn't really do a lot to increase the hydrology. That money could be spent much better doing the stuff that we're doing. So there's not going to be an impact here.
(50:45)
But even if this wasn't here, if I had to pay money to mothball it, I think that money would probably be better off doing the pump stations like we're doing at the EAA Reservoir, that the Army Corps has given us responsibility over.
(50:57)
So that's going to be bid on, and procured. We're going to move forward with that. So all those things, I think, are very important. But this has been huge success that we have had with Everglades restoration. We're continuing the momentum, this delegation of authority that we announced down in Marco Island last week, huge, huge deal for the state of Florida.
(51:18)
They were looking at the federal share being done 2034. Now it's going to be done five years earlier, because the state is being given resources, to be able to go forward and then do this. And so, it's been a huge cornerstone of what we've done.
(51:32)
The progress is undeniable. This is not anything that's impacting. In fact, there are less flights as a result of what we're doing, than there were before that. Okay, do we-
Jennifer Crawford (51:44):
Explain all the waste, what happens with all the-
Governor DeSantis (51:45):
They truck it out.
Speaker 9 (51:46):
That's what I wondered.
Governor DeSantis (51:47):
Yeah, yeah. There's no sewer, they just truck the waste out, they bring in potable water, and they do it. So look, that's more expensive to do. That's more cumbersome. But we weren't willing to do this facility if we weren't managing that in a way that was not going to have impacts. And so that's what we're trying to do.
(52:05)
So they're running these things out of here all the time, and I think they've done a really good job doing it. And basically, this existing concrete is what they're using. I mean, you look, there's grass in the interior here. Honestly, there'd be no reason that you couldn't use that, it's not going to affect the Everglades, but they're not even using that. They're literally just staying on the concrete. So I think it's been a really incredible footprint that they've been able to do with this.
Speaker 10 (52:29):
Governor, [inaudible 00:52:31], the Senator's report that talks about the state now doing self-deportation. Can you talk about that? Can you talk about the state doing self-deportations?
Governor DeSantis (52:38):
Yeah, yeah. So the self-deportations is, obviously, the feds are doing it. We're willing to do it as part of this FEMA reimbursement, as well, from here. Now, that's got to be supervised, because some of these people, we're not just going to like, "Hey, take a ticket, see you," no, no, they're going to be escorted. They're going to do that. And so, we've done, how many have we done? We've done it. Not from here, necessarily, but statewide, we've done it-
Speaker 11 (53:03):
20, twentysomething.
Governor DeSantis (53:04):
Yeah. We've done two dozen self-deportations that have been funded. But any self-deportation out of here, if we pay for the ticket, that is subject to FEMA reimbursement, we believe.
(53:16)
So we're happy to do that. I think it saves money. Honestly, it saves the state money, because there's a lot of burdens that get placed, when you have this many folks doing it.
(53:26)
So we will keep providing updates on this. I think you're going to see the cadence on these flights start to pick up. Obviously, honestly, to get to where we were the beginning of this month, and now have flights leaving already, with a facility that's been built out, that's incredible.
(53:43)
It's incredible work by Kevin Guthrie, incredible cooperation with DHS and the Trump administration. A lot of hard work has gone into it. So thanks for everybody that's been involved in this. This is making a difference. This is just the opening stage.
(53:57)
You're going to see this really ramp up, especially given DHS's infusion of cash, and particularly all those illegals that are already been ordered to be removed, we need to get that done. The rule of law really depends on it, and the vitality and safety of our communities depend on it. Okay, thank you.
Speaker 12 (54:16):
Gov, where are we headed next?
Speaker 13 (54:18):
We're going to go, [inaudible 00:54:20].