SANDERSON, FL (October 8, 2026) — A group of civil rights groups today urged for the closure of the Baker Correctional Institution (BCI) citing troubling reports of medical neglect, abusive conditions, and inhumane treatment of people detained at the state-run facility.
In a demand letter sent to Florida and federal officials and contractors working at the facility, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Florida, Americans for Immigrant Justice, and Southern Poverty Law Center detailed the harrowing experiences of people who are being denied necessary medical care, deprived of edible food and clean water, exposed to life-threatening heat and mold, subjected to psychological and physical abuse, and barred from access to counsel.
“Florida has no business running immigration detention facilities,” said Amy Godshall, immigrants’ rights staff attorney at the ACLU of Florida. “In the state’s last attempt, it created a torturous facility that harmed thousands of people and families, endangered the Florida Everglades, yielded several lawsuits, and cost Florida taxpayers over a billion dollars. As we said in our letter, the conditions at BCI are just as dangerous, and so is the harm it’s inflicting upon thousands of people. It must be shut down now.”
Dubbed “Deportation Depot,” the facility was formerly an abandoned state prison that the State of Florida reopened last fall as an immigration detention facility. It is now being operated by many of the same contractors and agencies that ran the now defunct “Alligator Alcatraz” detention facility, also known as the Everglades Detention Facility.
“The abuses at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ did not end when the facility shuttered – instead, they are proliferating at the Baker Correctional Institution, where people detained have experienced life-threatening conditions and physical violence from guards,” said Marisol Dominguez-Ruiz, staff attorney at the ACLU’s National Prison Project. “Once again, ICE is violating federal law and its own standards. It’s time for the facility to be shut down for good.”
The letter details how the organizations interviewed dozens of people who are currently or were recently detained at BCI or who have loved ones at BCI, and their testimonies consistently revealed widespread negligence, abuse, and unsanitary conditions at the facility. Most experienced or were first-hand witnesses of life-threatening medical emergencies, extreme weight loss, severe dehydration, sleep deprivation, skin and fungal infections, as well as physical and psychological harm. The letter also accused the facility of systematically denying people reasonable access to the courts and legal counsel, violating their constitutional rights and prolonging people's exposure to unsafe living conditions.
“Every person has a right to be treated with basic dignity, no matter their immigration status,” said A.J. Hernandez, deputy legal director, SPLC. “At BCI, officials and contractors have chosen to ignore people’s medical needs and subject them to degrading and life-threatening conditions. The harm and abuse this facility is inflicting won’t end when people are released. Everyone detained at BCI are being subjected to torture: intentionally deprived of sleep, starved and forced to drink putrid water. They will carry that harm for the rest of their lives.”
Based on the letter’s first-hand accounts of people being subjected to extreme heat, no clean drinking water and sleep deprivation tactics, it is clear that this is a facility that has willfully neglected to comply with the U.S. Constitution and ICE’s 2026 National Detention Standards. BCI’s failure to comply with national detention standards and federal law exposes the Florida Department of Emergency Management, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, GEO Group and other contracting entities to lawsuits for the unconstitutional harm they are inflicting on the thousands of people housed at the facility.
“For 30 years, Americans for Immigrant has stood by our immigrant communities, and the accounts our lawyers hear from people detained at the Baker Correctional Institution rank among the most alarming,” said Sui Chung, Executive Director of Americans for Immigrant Justice. “Families call our Detention Program hotline desperate for help as their loved ones struggle to obtain medical care, clean drinking water, adequate food, and confidential access to an attorney. Every person deserves safety and dignity, regardless of immigration status. These abuses must end.”
“Due process does not stop at the prison gate. ICE’s own standards require clean drinking water, adequate food, medical care, and confidential access to an attorney. Yet the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General reported in September that ICE records listed Baker Correctional Institution’s contractually obligated standards as 'N/A,' or not applicable. This failure to identify the governing standards raises serious concerns about oversight and accountability," said Paul R. Chavez, Director of Litigation & Advocacy at Americans for Immigrant Justice. “Immigration detention cannot be used to punish people or pressure them to abandon their legal rights. Every agency and contractor responsible for the Baker Correctional Institution must answer for these abuses. We demand immediate protection for the people detained at Baker Correctional Institution, and an end to the facility’s use for immigration detention.”
The letter can be found here.
About the ACLU of Florida
The ACLU of Florida, the state affiliate of the national ACLU, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to defending the civil liberties and rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Through litigation, legislation, and public education, the ACLU of Florida strives to ensure that the rights and freedoms of all Floridians are protected. For more information, visit https://www.aclufl.org.
About the Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements and advance the human rights of all people. For more information, visit www.splcenter.org.
Stay Informed
Sign up to be the first to hear about how to take action.
By completing this form, I agree to receive occasional emails per the terms of the ACLU’s privacy statement.
By completing this form, I agree to receive occasional emails per the terms of the ACLU’s privacy statement.