The announcement came as Florida officials opened the state’s controversial immigration detention facility in the Everglades.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A contingent of two hundred United States Marines will be deployed to Florida to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as stated in a press release from U.S. Northern Command.
The press release indicates that the deployment of Marines to Florida is a response to a May 9 request from the Department of Homeland Security. The mobilization, which the Secretary of Defense has approved, allows for up to 700 active, reserve, and National Guard forces.
According to the press release, these 200 Marines represent the “first wave” of U.S. Northern Command’s assistance to ICE, with additional deployments planned for Louisiana and Texas.
These service members will not act as law enforcement. Instead, they will focus on administrative and logistical tasks.
The press release clarifies their work will be “strictly non-law enforcement duties,” and they are barred from interacting with individuals in ICE custody.
The announcement comes with the opening of ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ the state’s new ICE detention facility in the Everglades. Buses were seen arriving at the facility Thursday, just a day after Florida’s attorney general said hundreds of detainees would move in. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says the facility will hold up to 3,000 immigration detention beds by early July, according to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.
Another new immigration facility at Camp Blanding in Northeast Florida was also announced this week. The site, located about 30 miles south of Jacksonville, serves as the Florida National Guard’s main training base and already includes infrastructure that state officials say can be adapted for detention and deportation operations. Gov. DeSantis said it could hold up to 2,000 people.
The Marines will come from Marine Wing Support Squadron 272 of Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina.
