BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
County commissioners have invited ICE to consider Bradford as a warehouse location for immigrants awaiting adjudication or deportation.
Two — Commissioners Carolyn Spooner and Danny Riddick — voted against advancing the proposal because of the selected location. The Douglas Building — originally acquired from the state for economic development — fronts U.S. 301 North, just south of Starke, in a commercial and residential hub. They didn’t object to the detention facility but didn’t join the remaining commissioners in advancing the proposal, asking for more time to consider options.
Backed by Sheriff Gordon Smith and County Manager Scott Kornegay, federal money would be used to transform the Douglas Building and surrounding acreage into a detention facility initially housing 1,000 but eventually up to 3,000 immigrants. The county would be compensated for the use of the property. Smith worked with Sabot Consulting on development of the plan.
Most present opposed
Before the plan was presented, citizens lined up in opposition, including Melissa Protomastro, who said she was excited to have moved to Starke 14 years ago and happy to tell others until she realized the city’s only fame to outsiders was as a speed trap or home to “old Sparky.”
“This discouraged me, and I would try to explain that that wasn’t Starke, that wasn’t the Starke that I knew. And I would hate for another comment to be, ‘Oh yeah, the concentration camp,’ because I don’t see any purpose in bringing ICE here. I just don’t,” she said, closing with scripture about loving God and our neighbors.
Sally Harvin, having moved to Starke much more recently for its vibe, also spoke about damage to the city’s reputation, adding it probably won’t help property values either. “I think it’s going to focus hate, it’s going to put you in the news, and it’s going to be negative. Look what happened to (Alligator Alcatraz). Do you really want that?” she asked.
Monique Constantino from Gainesville spoke about the reputation of ICE facilities’ failures to meet minimum standards for safety and dignity, including reports of overcrowding, shortages of food and hygiene products, filthy bathrooms and unsafe living conditions, reports of physical and sexual abuse, and medical neglect.
“Heightened immigration enforcement, detentions and deportations create chronic fear and uncertainty that spill over into whole communities, including lawful residents and citizens,” she said, adding that detention center-based policies lead to children living without a parent, increases in poverty, lower educational attainment and greater distrust of authorities. They also prove more expensive for taxpayers than community-based alternatives.
“Government and independent analyzes show that alternatives such as case management programs, community placement or supervised release not only cost far less, but also achieve very high immigration court appearance rates, often above 95%. Because detention centers often operate with limited transparency and oversight, communities risk being associated with ongoing civil rights violations and humanitarian crises, damaging local reputation and trust,” she said.
Fabian Martinez said he and his family have felt safe here, even in interactions with local law enforcement. “Bringing ICE to Starke is going to set a bad precedent. It is going to further the divide between people that look like me and people that look like you. It is going to set a bad example on what happens when you bring state-sanctioned goons to a quiet town. I prefer to keep Starke quiet. I prefer to keep Starke peaceful,” he said. “They are there to stomp people down. They are there to put people in cages. I would like to remain outside and free and Black in spaces that I am legally allowed to be in without the worry of some state-sanctioned goon coming at me because I look Mexican.”
Kate Ellison of Melrose spoke of the reduction in training for ICE agents, the pressure they are under to meet quotas and their opposition to public scrutiny, saying they have a lot to hide.
“They hide their faces, their badges, their license plates. When they go out, it is so much easier to be mean, even violent, when you are anonymous. What they are hiding is inhumane treatment of people they pull off the streets, off job sites, out of their homes without warrants. These people are detained, mistreated, and then often released because they had no reason to be arrested in the first place. Many are American citizens,” she said.
Ellison said those who have been detained have reported overcrowding, spoiled food, dirty water, and lack of treatment for the abuse they’ve suffered or chronic medical attention.
“This is not what Bradford County stands for,” she said. “It is not the moral thing to do, the Christian thing to do, the American thing to do. In our country, we use warrants to arrest people. We treat each other with respect and courtesy. We do not have secret prisons. Please do not allow ice to bring their dirty business to our county. If you do this, will we still be ‘Better in Bradford’?”
Similarly, Skylar Harper asked why the county would allow an ICE facility near a “Welcome to Starke” sign. Kayleigh Harper said spending what will amount to hundreds of billions of dollars on facilities like these instead of providing Americans health care is like dangling “taxpayer money in front of our faces.”
Rose Knowles spoke as a resident of Deerwood Subdivision, which has already faced a lot of commercial encroachment. She wanted to know how the county was going to protect residents if something happens at the ICE facility or someone dangerous does escape.
“We’re of a family of law enforcement, retired law enforcement. We’re already trying to move out of that area because of what y’all have allowed to come into that area to invade us. We no longer have the privacy we had before,” she said. “We’ve been there 28 years. Some have been there longer than that, and they can’t afford to leave. So, what are you going to do to protect us if y’all allow that to happen?”
Brian Roberts criticized the proposed location of the detention facility as well as the actions of ICE.
“We have watched ICE ramp up into a force that is ill trained and operating quite often outside the law. And that is very clear, and that is not up for debate, whether you think it is or not. They have been operating outside the law. They have brought controversy everywhere they’ve gone. We see the videos on TV of all the ICE facilities and people chanting outside,” he said. “I don’t want that in my community.”
Only a single member of the public spoke in favor. Bo Haisten said she didn’t have problems with the facility or removing people from the country who are here illegally. “I’m okay with the illegals being taken out of here, the rapists, the murderers. It’s not about skin color. You’re here illegally. You broke the law,” she said. What Haisten said did bother her was the confrontation of ICE agents and their facilities around the country.
“I don’t want to see that here. But as far as the ice facility, hey, if it helps us get them caught and get them out of here, we need to do what we need to do to make our country safe,” she said.
The plan and justification
Darren Chiappinelli of Sabot Consulting presented the plan, saying the company has a long history in detention compliance advisory. If accepted by ICE, the county and sheriff’s office would enter an intergovernmental service agreement. The federal government would cover the cost of construction and operation, with no direct cost to the county. ICE would operate the resulting facility with some level of governance and oversight by the sheriff. The cost the county charges for use of the facility would be negotiated prior to final approval of the agreement and could include compensation for impact the county incurs for infrastructure or liability.
The warehouse would be converted to detention housing, with portable buildings brought for administration, dining facilities, etc. Additional detention pods would be added to increase the population in future phases. The site would be “low profile” because of obscure fencing, Chiappinelli said. Significant infrastructure improvements would be needed for electricity, water and sewer, and any permanent improvements would remain when it no longer served its proposed purpose.
In addition to hundreds of initial construction jobs, the facility would create 1,000 to 1,250 “permanent” jobs from detention to support and medical, and there would be local preference in hiring, Chiappinelli said. In addition to the direct economic benefit, local businesses providing wraparound services would receive an indirect benefit. He added it would fit well in a community with several nearby detention facilities.
The need of it, however, was questioned because of the vacancy of nearby prison facilities. ICE moved into a Baker County prison, for example. But Sheriff Smith said the New River prison in Raiford is kept empty to house evacuated prisoners during a weather emergency.
Commissioner Diane Andrews, a former prison warden, said a prison is only as dirty as its leader allows.
“I just want to say, just listening to everyone’s comments, my mind goes to the people who have been brutally murdered by some of these people that that are being arrested. … This is a very ugly thing, but we can’t take the reality out of it either. We have to remember these people have been brutally, brutally killed, raped, murdered,” Andrews said, to outcries from the public. Chairwoman Spooner had to call for order multiple times, and a few people were escorted out of the meeting during continuing discussion.
Sheriff Smith said people were getting roles confused, saying the county wouldn’t be involved in beating on doors and making warrantless arrests. The county is providing a housing facility.
“Here, we have the right to make sure people are treated decent, humanely,” he said, which might not be the case if the property was overtaken without the county’s cooperation.
As for those with concerns about the location, primarily the Deerwood residents, he pointed out that the county jail and Lawtey prison are in residential areas. He said he’d listened to a lot of “mistruths and misunderstandings.”
“That’s usually the safest place to be. You’re in a safe, quiet community. We’re not looking for a big banner that says Alligator Alcatraz in front of a facility in Bradford County. We need an address and privacy fence. It’d be a whole lot quieter than jet engine motors cranking up all day long,” he said of the prior plans to use the Douglas Building as an extension for MHD Rockland facility at the airport.
“The opportunity came for 1,200 jobs in my community. I’ve seen the damage done by losing 100 jobs. These are living wage jobs at federal rates. They’ll make a big impact in our community,” Smith said.
“We’ve got thousands of convicted felons in our community housed safely, and you’re in one of the safest places to sleep in bed at night. These people, most of them are here on violation of immigration status. They are not career violent criminals,” he said, calling the plan an economic opportunity the county would not otherwise have.
“Whatever your opinion is, whether it be politically wise or your personal belief, it’s happening. We can’t stop it. It’s the law being followed. We have a president who was elected into office and voted in unanimously — not unanimous, but overwhelmingly — voted into office,” he said, interrupted by someone who said the five county commissioners could stop it.
They did not stop it, however. Commissioners Spooner and Riddick expressed their disapproval for the location, but the vote was 3-2 in favor of moving forward with the proposal.
If the proposal is accepted, there will be a period of negotiation, and if that is successful, the final agreement will be brought back to the commission for approval.
