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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced plans to repurpose the Baker Correctional Institution into an immigration detention center.

Residents near the facility expressed mixed reactions, with some worried about safety and others questioning the fairness of detaining immigrants for immigration violations.

The plan has sparked debate even in the conservative Baker County, where residents are divided over the potential impact on their community.

SANDERSON — Lucy Johnson didn’t know a shuttered prison down the road would soon hold as many as 2,000 immigrant detainees until a reporter told her. Standing under her carport as ribs sizzled on the grill and her four children played in the yard, she said her concern wasn’t politics — it was safety.

“I know I live right by th

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