U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is speeding ahead with a controversial effort to drastically expand its detention space by buying up warehouses nationwide and converting them into holding centers.
According to internal documents, the agency is planning to buy and retrofit 24 commercial warehouses, boosting its detention capacity to more than 92,000 beds in a matter of months.
The largest of the proposed facilities, which ICE has described as “mega-centers,” would hold between 7,000 to 10,000 people at a time, and will serve as the primary location for deportations. ICE is also planning to buy 16 warehouses to convert into “processing centers," which would hold 1,500 detainees for an average of five to seven days, documents show.
As of March 17, the government has purchased at least 11 warehouses across the country, according to a USA TODAY analysis and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE. In another 11 communities where ICE has proposed detention centers, private developers or the federal government itself backed out of deals following pushback from residents, as well as local, state and federal officials from both parties.
In statements, ICE has said the sites will be "well-structured detention facilities" and will undergo "rigorous due diligence" to ensure there's no adverse impacts to local communities.
