CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — Construction on a new ICE detention facility at Camp Blanding, near Starke, could begin as soon as next week, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis and state emergency officials.

The project, which would house up to 2,000 detainees, is sparking national debate and drawing sharp criticism from State Representative Angie Nixon.

Nixon, who recently appeared on CNN during coverage of President Donald Trump’s visit to the newly opened “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center in the Everglades, called the planned Camp Blanding site a “makeshift concentration camp.”

DeSantis announced Tuesday that the Camp Blanding facility will help state and federal efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.

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.

Nixon, one of the most outspoken critics, says the project is a misuse of taxpayer dollars and a threat to American values.

“Now it’s coming to our backyard and the fact remains that these are makeshift concentration camps,” she said. “Especially down south in Alligator Alcatraz, you know, my people are resilient people, but once upon a time they were babies that were fed to alligators, so this is personal and not only that, even if I was not a descendant of slaves, I would be upset because this is not how you treat people. At the end of the day we’re Americans and we should act as such. This goes against everything that we should be standing for as a country.”

State officials say the Everglades facility cost an estimated $450 million. Nixon argues that the funds should be spent on community needs, not detention centers.

“450 million taxpayer dollars to fund torture,” Nixon said. “This is just solidifying Donald Trump’s blueprint for America which consists of barbed wire and broken families. What type of country have we become when we’re allowing these type of inhumane practices to take place?”

President Trump and Governor DeSantis maintain that the facilities are necessary for immigration enforcement and public safety.

“Very soon, this facility will house some of the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet,” Trump said.

During his tour, the president called the Everglades site a potential model for other states. DeSantis has urged other states to follow Florida’s lead.

“Don’t let Florida be the only state,” DeSantis said. “We’ve got, very red states that should be doing this just as much as Florida is doing, that will increase their numbers. And then what happens is you’ll have a lot of people that will deport on their own because they don’t want to end up in an Alligator Alcatraz or some of those other places. So I think this is a model, but we need other states to step up.”

Construction at Camp Blanding is expected to begin next week. The Everglades detention center is already receiving migrants, as the state moves forward with its controversial immigration enforcement plan.