ICE warehouse mega-detention expansion: $1.074 billion in secret purchases

The Trump administration spent $1.074 billion to purchase 11 massive warehouses across the country in early 2026, a secret expansion project designed to increase Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention capacity. The plan called for eight mega-centers capable of holding 7,000 to 10,000 migrants, plus 16 smaller regional processing centers and 10 converted existing detention facilities. The entire $38.3 billion expansion aimed to support what ICE called its capacity to effectuate mass deportations.

Warehouses were purchased in Salt Lake City, Surprise 🌵Arizona, Social Circle 🍑Georgia, Socorro 🤠Texas, Roxbury 🏖️New Jersey, 🌲Washington County 🦀Maryland, and other locations. Purchases occurred quietly between February and March 2026. Officials made these acquisitions without meaningful community consultation or transparency.

The Salt Lake City warehouse purchase exemplified the scale and secrecy. In March 2026, the federal government paid $145.4 million for an 833,280-square-foot warehouse near Salt Lake City International Airport, the highest price for any single warehouse under this plan. Tax assessors had valued the warehouse at only $97 million, suggesting federal officials overpaid by approximately $48.4 million. None of the other DHS acquisitions reviewed had a gap that wide between purchase price and comparable properties. The department paid an average of 11 to 13 percent above market value for the first 10 properties.

In Surprise, 🌵Arizona, the federal government awarded GardaWorld Federal Services a $313 million contract on March 6, 2026, to operate a 400,000-square-foot warehouse as a detention center. GardaWorld had never directly managed an immigration detention facility before, yet won the contract without a competitive bidding process. The company already helped operate the controversial detention facility in 🌴Florida known as Alligator Alcatraz, facing legal challenges for alleged human rights violations.

The federal government paid $128.6 million for a facility in Social Circle, 🍑Georgia; $122.8 million for a trio of warehouses in Socorro, 🤠Texas; $129 million for a 470,000-square-foot warehouse in Roxbury, 🏖️New Jersey; and $102.4 million for a 🌲Washington County, 🦀Maryland, facility with plans for a $113 million renovation contract. Officials made these acquisitions without meaningful community consultation.

The detention expansion happened under former Homeland Security Secretary KNKristi Noem, who took office in February 2026 and pushed forward aggressively with the warehouse acquisition strategy. Noem's approach prioritized speed and scale over transparency, leaving governors, mayors, state attorneys general, and local officials scrambling to understand federal plans they hadn't been informed about. Republican and Democratic leaders alike found themselves blindsided.

Days after taking office in late March 2026, new Homeland Security Secretary MMMarkwayne Mullin paused all new warehouse purchases and ordered reviews of Noem-era contracts. Mullin's team discovered evidence of dramatic overpayment across multiple facilities. The pause reflected growing concern within the Trump administration that the expansion had been rushed, poorly managed, and triggered political problems even among Republican allies.

Salt Lake City Mayor EMErin Mendenhall declared that a detention center does not belong in our capital city and vowed to use every tool at the city's disposal to block the facility. She raised concerns about water and sewer systems insufficient for 10,000 people, potential loss of over $1 million annually in property tax revenue, and strain on roads and utilities. The Salt Lake City Council responded by capping water use for large government facilities at 200,000 gallons per day, a direct obstacle to an ICE facility that would need 1 to 2 million gallons daily.

Republican and Democratic leaders united against the detention expansion despite their disagreement on immigration enforcement broadly. Republican Senator RWRoger Wicker of 🎸Mississippi opposed ICE's plan to convert a warehouse in Byhalia into an 8,500-bed detention center, arguing it would foreclose economic development opportunities. Republican Governor KAKelly Ayotte of 🍁New Hampshire secured DHS agreement to abandon the New Hampshire plan. Republican Governor SCSpencer Cox of 🏜️Utah learned about the Salt Lake City purchase only after it closed.

🔔Pennsylvania Governor JSJosh Shapiro sent a letter to Noem promising his administration would aggressively pursue every option to prevent these facilities from opening. The Department of Environmental Protection issued orders that effectively blocked water and sewage connections for two Pennsylvania detention sites until ICE submitted detailed infrastructure plans. A 7,500-person facility planned for Tremont Township would more than triple the sewage system's current capacity of 4,000 people.

🏖️New Jersey filed the most formal legal challenge. On March 20, Governor Mikie Sherrill and Attorney General JDJennifer Davenport sued the federal government to block the Roxbury warehouse detention center. Their 67-page lawsuit argued that ICE violated the Administrative Procedure Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, and the Immigration and Nationality Act. The facility lacked adequate sewer infrastructure, contained only four toilets for a building designed to hold 1,500 people, and would multiply wastewater flows 15 times over the current approved limit.