January 31, 2026
A proposed 3,000-bed ICE internment facility is targeting Starke, Florida.
Starke is a small town of 5,449 residents, located almost equidistant between Jacksonville, Lake City, and Gainesville. The site under consideration is a county-controlled 30-acre parcel that includes an existing 100,000-square-foot warehouse and sits just across from Walmart on State Road 301. The property lies outside the city limits and currently has no water or sewer hookups - a critical point, since the city’s water and sewer systems are already operating at capacity.
The Bradford County Commission is scheduled to meet this Tuesday, February 3rd, at 9:30 a.m. While the internment facility does not appear on the agenda, decisions connected to this project appear to be advancing quickly and largely out of public view.
That raises an important question: how does a facility of this scale fit into the County’s long-term planning for growth, infrastructure, and public services?
A 3,000-bed detention center functions much like a small town. Yet unlike a town, the detained population does not generate housing demand, support local businesses, or participate in civic life. Still, the facility would place constant, around-the-clock demand on infrastructure - water, wastewater, roads, and emergency services. This creates population-scale intensity without community-scale benefit, a mismatch that local planning policies are meant to prevent.
Water and wastewater impacts are among the most pressing concerns. With city utilities already maxed out, will the internment facility transport its own waste, or will Bradford County be expected to expand infrastructure to serve it? Starke sits within the Santa Fe River Basin, meaning any treated wastewater eventually flows into Alligator Creek. High nitrate levels are already a known issue in this region, and the Florida Department of Health has identified elevated rates of colorectal cancer in Bradford County - a condition linked in multiple studies to nitrate contamination in drinking water.
Transportation and safety raise additional red flags. The facility is projected to employ as many as 1,000 staff, along with frequent detainee transfers and service vehicles, all funneling onto an already congested stretch of U.S. 301. GardaWorld, a company reportedly competing for a transportation contract, has a troubling record. A 2020 Tampa Bay Times investigation found its trucks often lacked reliable brakes, seat belts, or even seats, and described drivers who were poorly trained and pushed to work at unsafe speeds. The investigation documented trucks “swerving into traffic, plunging into ditches, and smashing into cars.”
Beyond infrastructure and safety, there is the broader question of what kind of economic future Starke is trying to build.
The town has long welcomed new businesses that strengthen the local economy while preserving its rural character. A massive internment facility does not fit that vision. Communities that anchor growth to detention centers often find themselves more vulnerable, not more stable - dependent on federal contracts that can change overnight and left with specialized infrastructure that is difficult to repurpose if operations shut down.
Recent events have also brought increased national attention to immigration enforcement and detention practices. Following national condemnation of the ICE killings in Minneapolis, public scrutiny around transparency, oversight, and accountability has only intensified, making many residents more vigilant about how and whether facilities tied to Immigration and Customs Enforcement are sited, regulated, and approved at the local level. That broader context underscores the importance of slowing down, following public process, and carefully evaluating whether proposals of this scale align with community values and long-range planning goals.
Instead of attracting small businesses, families, and long-term investment, a facility of this nature is more likely to draw protests, strain public resources, and deter the kind of homegrown, mom-and-pop enterprises that actually sustain rural towns.
The Comprehensive Plan exists to guide growth thoughtfully, protect public investment, and avoid long-term harm. This proposal raises serious questions about whether those goals are being honored.
In a recent press release condemning the killings of Good and Pretti, the national Sierra Club called on communities to stand against a Trump administration agenda that many believe is eroding democratic norms and human rights - prompting residents here to question whether hosting a detention facility tied to these policies reflects the values we want guiding Starke’s future.
Expanding Bradford County’s functional population by more than 10 percent through the addition of a detention center—no matter where it is proposed—is not a sustainable or meaningful way to support this community. Our town’s future should be built on growth that strengthens families, small businesses, and civic life, not on facilities that isolate people and strain public resources. Immigrants have long been part of the success of the American experiment, contributing to our economy, culture, and communities in ways that detention centers can never replicate.
We hope residents will join us in calling for transparency, public input, and careful consideration - and in opposing this project, so that Starke can pursue a more meaningful, sustainable path forward.