DHS Pauses New ICE Warehouse Purchases to Review Noem‑Era Detention Contracts
The Department of Homeland Security has halted plans to buy additional warehouse facilities for immigrant detention while it reviews all contracts signed under former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, according to a senior official and a transition statement issued March 31, 2026. New Secretary Markwayne Mullin, sworn in last week, is inheriting a $38.3 billion plan to expand detention capacity to 92,000 beds by adding eight mega‑centers and 16 regional processing hubs, a blueprint that has already sparked fierce local opposition and lawsuits in at least three states. DHS has already spent roughly $1.074 billion on 11 warehouses in Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah, and those deals are now being scrutinized as well. In Surprise, Arizona, local pushback has already forced the department to scale back plans for a 1,500‑bed facility to a cap of 542 occupied beds, underscoring how sewer, water and other infrastructure strains are colliding with Trump’s mass‑deportation ambitions. Mullin told senators at his confirmation hearing that he "knows construction" and wants to work with local leaders and ensure municipalities can handle the added load, signaling a possible recalibration of how and where ICE builds out its detention network even if the broader enforcement strategy remains intact.
📌 Key Facts
- DHS has paused new purchases of immigrant‑detention warehouses and is reviewing all contracts signed under former Secretary Kristi Noem.
- The Trump administration’s Noem‑era plan aimed to spend $38.3 billion to boost detention capacity to 92,000 beds via eight large centers and 16 regional processing hubs.
- So far the federal government has spent about $1.074 billion on 11 warehouse properties in eight states, with lawsuits pending in three of them.
- Homeland Security has already reduced the planned capacity of a Surprise, Arizona, site from 1,500 beds to a cap of 542 occupied beds after local opposition.
- New DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin has publicly emphasized working with community leaders and accounting for local water and sewer capacity when siting facilities.
📊 Relevant Data
In 2025, the leading nationalities among individuals deported by ICE were from Mexico (over 100,000), followed by Guatemala and Honduras (each around 50,000-60,000), indicating that Central American and Mexican nationals constitute the majority of ICE deportations.
Black migrants make up approximately 6% of the ICE detainee population but account for 28% of abuse-related complaints in detention facilities, based on 2025 data.
ICE Detention and Racial Disparities — Black Pre-Law Society, Columbia University
The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act repealed national-origins quotas, leading to increased immigration from non-European countries; between 1965 and 2015, new immigrants and their descendants accounted for 55% of U.S. population growth, adding 72 million people.
Impact of immigration of U.S. population growth since 1965 — Working Immigrants
Communities hosting new prisons or detention centers between 1990 and 2010 experienced lower employment growth in nonagricultural sectors, lower average household wages, and lower median housing values compared to similar areas without such facilities, based on a 2022 economic analysis.
Economic Impacts of Immigration Detention Centers Built Between 1990 and 2010 — UC Berkeley Economics
Under expanded detention policies in 2025-2026, the ICE detainee population reached a record high of 68,990 in January 2026, with 92% of the growth driven by immigrants without criminal records.
92% of ICE Detention Growth in FY 2026 Driven by Immigrants with No Criminal Record — Austin Kocher Substack
📰 Source Timeline (1)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time