00:02On immigration detention centers, what's the status of Camp Blanding?
00:06So I had mentioned this the other day when I was in Northeast Florida.
00:10We sent out the request, the RFP, for Blanding.
00:15I think that there are a number of people that submitted bids.
00:19What I've told the DEM is I'm willing to do Blanding once Alligator Alcatraz is filled.
00:26And so DHS has started moving a significant number of people, and they're starting to deport people from there too.
00:34Remember, this is not the Ritz-Carlton, okay?
00:38We're not doing this just to let people have food and shelter, although they do get that.
00:46But that's not, and all the minimum standards are upheld.
00:49But the reality is it's there to be a quick processing center so that they can, we have a runway right there,
00:55they can just be flown back to their home country.
00:58So that is the purpose of why we're doing it.
01:01And as that fills, once there's a demand, then we would be able to go for Camp Blanding.
01:08But what I don't want to do is set up Blanding if, you know, one is 60% full and then the other is 40%.
01:14I'd rather just have channel everyone to Alligator since it's easier.
01:18You can add from whatever, you know, you need.
01:21But we definitely think that you can do easily 3,000 to 4,000 at Alligator Alcatraz.
01:28We have not yet received that many illegal aliens yet there, but it has grown pretty quickly.
01:34And if you think about it, we submitted our proposals, just kind of a broad policy about what we can do
01:41with the Florida Division of Emergency Management in the spring.
01:44We worked with DHS.
01:45And then finally they said, yep, if you do that, you know, that will be eligible for reimbursement.
01:50And so within a week we had this facility set up.
01:54And I know other states are now saying they want to get in the ball game.
01:58It will be interesting to see, you know, how quickly these other states are able to move.
02:02I think Florida has really set the standard not only for executing missions but doing it swiftly
02:08and doing it in ways that kind of defy people's expectations about what government can do.
02:15You think about with the Iran conflict in Israel.
02:19We had a lot of – we had students over there.
02:21We had a lot of Floridians over there.
02:23All of a sudden they shut down Ben-Gurion Airport.
02:25You got all these rockets raining down.
02:27We turned the switch and we executed rescue missions.
02:31And we brought back – I mean, we got – I think we got like 1,500 people out of Israel on boat.
02:38We fly people to Florida.
02:39We did all this stuff in record time.
02:42And we were the only state in the game on that.
02:44Now, granted, I'm not saying that every state has the same connections that Florida does
02:49in terms of our population and people that go over there or study over there.
02:53So I'm not saying every state should have done exactly what we did.
02:55But we were the ones in the game and we were able to bring a lot of people back home to safety.
03:00So that's just what we do.
03:02Blanding can be turned on very quickly.
03:05I know they'll award the bids once we make that decision.
03:09But I don't want to set up a new infrastructure until – and look, this may happen in a matter of a week or two, right?
03:15I mean, it's possible.
03:17We also have different ways we can do blanding.
03:19We can use existing infrastructure there, which would not give us as big of a footprint.
03:24So we would end up having some illegals, but we wouldn't be able to house like 2,000 or 3,000 if the existing footprint – if we build out from there with the temporary structures, that's when you can get to 2,000 or 3,000.
03:37So we'll make those decisions based on the facts on the ground.
03:41But I told these guys, even though we're getting reimbursed for it, I don't want to be creating some structure that can hold 2,000 illegal aliens and then we end up having like 150 there after a week.
03:53And I don't think that's what – I don't think that's the trend.
03:56I do think DHS is doing a good job of sending – and here's the thing.
04:01These are basically like military-age males that are going to Alligator Alcatraz.
04:06I mean, like, you know, these are folks, and a lot of them have criminal records, but that's what's happening here, and I think it's been very effective.
04:16Now, I would note kind of like, you know, the Democratic Party in this state, such that it still exists in this state, they really – I mean,
04:26honestly, like, if I had to say, like, what I, as a Republican governor, would want you guys to focus on that would benefit us,
04:35I would tell them try to kick up a storm about Alligator Alcatraz because what it's – first of all, what they're doing is incredible,
04:42and people that have been there and seen – it is – it's a professionally run operation.
04:48But these are people that are illegally in the country.
04:51Many of them do have criminal records.
04:53Have you ever seen these Democrats in Florida fight this hard for you as an American citizen?
04:59I haven't seen that.
05:01In fact, they've opposed almost everything that we've done over these many years, and yet they're fighting tooth and nail
05:08to not have illegal aliens deported to their home country.
05:13Now, can you imagine, as an American, you know, if you tried to, like, illegally enter France or Japan or China?
05:20I mean, you'd be sent back.
05:22Like, it wouldn't even be a question that that would happen.
05:25You want to try to work illegally in some of those countries?
05:27No way.
05:28They would not let you.
05:29So this is just basic upholding the rule of law.
05:33I do think it will be beneficial if you're able to have an increased pace of removals.
05:39You're going to end up with less stress on schools, less stress on hospitals, less stress on the criminal justice system.
05:46I think higher wages for American workers, particularly in some of the industries that you constantly hear.
05:53So this is something that can be very beneficial for Floridians, and yet they want to basically put the thumb on the scale for folks here illegally to just stay in the state of Florida and stay here indefinitely.
06:07That's what they want.
06:09So I don't understand why they think this is something that is going to be effective.
06:14There's so many things that Floridians care about.
06:18Why don't you fight for Florida citizens?
06:21Why are you fighting for foreign nationals that came into the country illegally?
06:25It just doesn't make sense to me.
06:27One thing I do want to mention, we were out in Hendry County yesterday.
06:32This is further south than the Tampa Bay area.
06:35But, you know, we launched Major Everglades Restoration, and it's the largest restoration in all of America, maybe in the world.
06:44And there's a lot of different components to it.
06:47But one of the things that we've had to do is construct reservoirs on each side of Lake Okeechobee.
06:52I mean, the Army Corps, when that lake goes, they spew the water out into the rivers.
06:56It creates problems.
06:57And so we've worked with the Corps to mitigate that.
07:00But ultimately, they can make those decisions.
07:02So we wanted to have the existing infrastructure where you could store water, clean it, and everything.
07:07Everyone lives happily every after.
07:08So yesterday, we opened the C-43 Reservoir, which is on the east side of Lake Okeechobee.
07:15And that is going to hold.
07:17I mean, they said we did the ribbon cutting, and South Florida Water Management District said you could fit almost every Florida university inside the footprint of this reservoir.
07:27I mean, like, it's just a massive reservoir.
07:30So that's going to be something that's going to be very good.
07:32And basically, what we've tried to do is just restore the natural hydrology to the state of Florida, which means water moving further south through the Everglades into Florida Bay.
07:43And there's just a lot that goes into that.
07:45So that was a huge achievement.
07:47We also did the C-44.
07:48The C-44, and the federal government has had to work with us.
07:51We've got to get them in a better spot.
07:52But we did the C-44, which is on the east side of Lake Okeechobee.
07:56Now we have this massive reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee, and we did our part in that ahead of schedule.
08:01The feds, Army Corps, are kind of doing what they're doing.
08:04But, you know, working with the president, we have a, I think, an agreement that we're likely to arrive at where we're going to get delegated the federal responsibility for a lot of those projects.
08:18And so we'll be able to get in, get some of those done.
08:22And so under Biden, this really slid to where this wasn't going to be done until the middle of next decade.
08:28And we want it done this decade.
08:30So I think now that's going to compress the timeline.
08:32So stay tuned on that.
08:34But we've been working really, really hard.
08:35And the president himself said we want to empower Florida.
08:39And even the Army Corps has acknowledged, look, Florida does things quick.
08:41We get it.
08:42And we want you to, we want to utilize you.
08:44So if we're able to get that agreement and then really work going forward, that will be one of the biggest achievements that any state government has ever had.
08:54Because that restoration was floundering when I became governor.
08:59We were way behind on what we needed to do.
09:01And we've really put a lot of emphasis and a lot of resources into doing something that will have impacts in Florida for decades and decades.
