ICE Plans to Expand Immigration Detention Capacity
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intends to boost its immigration detention capacity to 92,600 beds as part of a nationwide effort to increase deportations, as revealed in an internal memo. This document, dated February 13, 2026, outlines a significant reorganization aimed at enhancing ICE’s capability to “effectively carry out mass deportations.” It includes plans for eight mega-centers, each designed to accommodate as many as 10,000 detainees, expected to be fully operational by November 30, 2026. Funding for this initiative will come from Congressional appropriations under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Along with these mega-centers, the proposal includes the construction of 16 regional processing facilities to hold between 1,000 and 1,500 detainees for short stays of three to seven days. Additionally, there are plans to acquire 10 existing facilities where ICE currently conducts removal operations. The overall goal appears to be consolidating existing contracts and centralizing detention operations throughout the country.
The memo indicates that ICE has recently hired 12,000 new law enforcement officers and suggests that increasing detention space will be necessary to support the expected rise in enforcement activities and arrests in 2026. The document refers to the new network as ICE’s “long-term detention solution,” emphasizing standardized designs and scalable infrastructures to handle both immediate surges and ongoing operations.
Recently, ICE has secretly acquired at least seven warehouses across various states, including Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Texas, some being over 1 million square feet, according to reports.
Proposed purchases in six other cities reportedly did not proceed due to pressure from activists. Further deals are said to be in the works, including some in New York.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons mentioned that there are around 1.6 million undocumented individuals in the U.S. with final deportation orders, half of whom have criminal convictions. He pointed out during a Senate hearing that enforcement efforts are closely monitoring these cases.
He clarified that these deportation orders weren’t issued by ICE or the Department of Homeland Security, but came through immigration judges in the Department of Justice, which operates separately from ICE. Notably, Minnesota has seen approximately 16,840 final deportation orders, according to Lyons, indicating heightened resistance to immigration enforcement in that state.
This week, Border Patrol Commissioner Tom Homan announced temporary reductions in enforcement resources, suggesting that ICE needs to realign its operations as it scales up its arrest and detention capabilities across the nation.
