ICE Plans $38.3 Billion Expansion to Detain 92,000 Immigrants, Buying Warehouses for New Facilities

Federal immigration officials are preparing to unleash a massive expansion of the U.S. detention system, aiming to house up to 92,600 immigrants at a cost of $38.3 billion, according to a newly released ICE document. This comes as the agency quietly purchases warehouses in states like Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Texas to convert into detention and processing centers.

The plan calls for 16 regional processing centers, each holding between 1,000 and 1,500 detainees for short stays averaging three to seven days. Additionally, eight large-scale detention centers would house 7,000 to 10,000 people for stays under 60 days. ICE also intends to acquire 10 existing “turnkey” facilities to meet these targets. All sites are expected to be operational by November, financed by President Trump’s recent tax-cut law that funneled billions into expanding detention capacity.

This expansion represents a near doubling of detainees since Trump took office, with over 75,000 immigrants in custody as of mid-January, up from 40,000 a year earlier. The document’s mention of “non-traditional facilities” underscores ICE’s strategy of converting warehouses—some larger than 1 million square feet—into detention sites, a move that has alarmed communities and activists.

Local officials have expressed frustration over the lack of transparency. Republican New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte publicly challenged ICE after the agency’s interim director claimed coordination with her office on a warehouse conversion in Merrimack. Ayotte called the assertion “simply not true,” noting that ICE provided an economic impact summary only after the director’s testimony, and that the report contained glaring errors such as referencing Oklahoma’s economy instead of New Hampshire’s.

City governments often find themselves blindsided, with ICE withholding details until property sales are finalized. Several planned warehouse purchases have fallen through due to activist pressure, though deals in places like New York remain pending.

The Department of Homeland Security has resisted labeling these sites as “warehouses,” insisting instead they will be “very well structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards.” But for those following ICE’s track record—marked by inhumane conditions, civil rights violations, and a sprawling for-profit detention system—these reassurances ring hollow.

This massive investment in detention infrastructure signals a deepening commitment to aggressive immigration enforcement under the guise of “processing” and “regional centers.” It raises urgent questions about the human cost of this expansion, the lack of democratic oversight, and the relentless push toward a detention regime that prioritizes capacity over dignity and justice.

We will keep tracking developments as communities mobilize to resist this dangerous escalation of state power and human rights abuses.