ICE set to spend $38 billion on 16 warehouses for detention centers, each housing 1,000–1,500 detainees

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to spend $38.3 billion to purchase and convert warehouses nationwide into immigrant detention centers, according to documents shared with New Hampshire’s governor and posted on the state’s website Thursday, as reported by The Washington Post.

ICE intends to acquire 16 buildings across the countryand retrofit each to hold 1,000 to 1,500 detainees as regional processing centres, according to an overview of the agency’s detention plan, the report stated.

According to the document, individuals would spend an average of three to seven days at the processing centers before being transferred to the larger facilities, where they would remain for roughly 60 days prior to removal.

The documents state that the expansion of detention space is needed to accommodate ICE’s increased staffing and an anticipated rise in arrests. They provide the most detailed overview so far of the Trump administration’s plan to transform industrial buildings into immigrant detention centres—an extensive initiative intended to enhance ICE’s capacity to detain and deport more immigrants quickly, The Washington Post reported.

The new warehouse-based detention system is designed to funnel detainees into large-scale holding centres for deportation rather than moving them to any available facility nationwide, according to ICE documents.

The documents reveal the scale and resources devoted by the Trump administration to creating a mass deportation network. The plan’s $38 billion budget exceeds the total annual spending of 22 U.S. states, according to state budget data cited by The Washington Post.

ICE has provided limited details about the initiative, raising concerns among state and local officials over logistical and humanitarian challenges associated with constructing large detention centres in their regions.

The agency has also expressed interest in at least four additional properties in Georgia, New Hampshire, New York, and New Jersey, according to statements from local officials.

The government intends to hire contractors for major renovations, converting empty industrial buildings into detention facilities with lobbies, recreational areas, dormitories, courtrooms, and cafeterias.

For example, at a facility ICE plans to acquire in Merrimack, the agency anticipates spending $158 million on retrofitting, according to an ICE economic impact assessment that Governor Kelly Ayotte posted on her website.

Democrats want new limits on immigration enforcement in response to the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis, including requirements that officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal law enforcement be better identified, follow a new code of conduct, and obtain judicial warrants more often, among other reforms, the report stated.

Democrats and the White House have exchanged proposals in recent days, but they have been unable to reach an agreement.

Unlike the record 43-day shutdown last fall, the closures will be narrowly confined, affecting only agencies under the DHS umbrella — like Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, AP reported.

Still, depending on how long the shutdown lasts, some federal workers could begin to miss paychecks and services like airport screening could suffer if the shutdown drags on for weeks.

(With inputs from The Washington Post, AP)