The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has disclosed plans to spend an estimated $38.3bn converting warehouses into immigration detention centres, according to documents sent to the governor of New Hampshire. The scheme, reported by the Washington Post, involves acquiring 24 buildings across the US to create a network of facilities capable of holding tens of thousands of detainees.
Under the plan, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would retrofit 16 buildings into regional processing centres, each holding between 1,000 and 1,500 people. A further eight large-scale centres would hold 7,000 to 10,000 detainees and serve as primary locations for deportations. Detainees would typically spend three to seven days at processing sites before being transferred to larger facilities, where they would be held for about 60 days ahead of deportation.
The documents state that the new model is needed due to a surge in ICE hires and anticipated rise in arrests, with detention numbers hitting records under the second Trump administration. The facilities are intended to “ensure the safe and humane civil detention of aliens in ICE custody, while helping ICE effectuate mass deportations”. Funding comes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congress.
In New Hampshire, the proposed Merrimack facility would cost $158m to retrofit and $146m to operate over three years. Governor Kelly Ayotte said DHS provided the documents on Thursday, contradicting ICE acting director Todd Lyons, who told a Senate hearing that an economic impact summary had already been supplied. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey opposed the plan, calling it “outrageous” and accusing ICE of unsafe practices.
