Federal documents indicate that by year-end, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) intends to significantly increase the detention capacity for immigrants awaiting deportation.
Reports suggest that detention space could surpass 107,000, up from the 50,000 capacity at the end of the Biden administration.
ICE plans to establish new detention centers in areas that previously lacked such facilities. This initiative includes various “softside” housing units—likely referring to tents—to quickly expand available space.
The initiative is backed by $45 billion secured through a recently passed budget known as the “Big Beautiful Bill.” This funding enables ICE to promptly allocate contracts to companies for construction and management, advancing their plans to build new facilities.
The contracts have been awarded to Geo Group, now ICE’s leading contractor, and CoreCivic, which is among the largest private prison operators in the country.
States with the largest detention capacities include Texas, Louisiana, California, Georgia, and Arizona. Other states, such as Colorado, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida, Mississippi, and 38 more states and territories, are also contemplating facility expansions.
This new plan builds upon existing contracts.
In July, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security rolled out a $1.26 billion proposal to construct a facility in Fort Bliss, Texas, which will cover over 112 million acres near the Mexican border. This new site is expected to accommodate 5,000 beds and may function as a deportation center for both ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
During the same month, additional plans were released for detention housing at a military base in Camp Atterbury, Indiana, along with another site at the joint base of McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.
Previously, in April, the Trump administration suggested that initiating large-scale deportations would be more cost-effective than broadening detention facilities and handling the associated costs of unauthorized immigration.
Congress’s budget bill stands at $45 billion, with Trump officials contrasting it against the expenses tied to illegal immigration.
A child of an undocumented immigrant or a U.S.-born child is estimated to cost around $8,776 annually, according to the latest report from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). The data suggests that tax contributions from undocumented foreigners only cover about a sixth of the overall expenses incurred at various government levels.
