ICE eyes massive warehouses to detain tens of thousands of illegal immigrants, delivering on President Trump’s promise to secure borders and enforce laws long ignored by open-border radicals.
Warehouse Retrofit Plan Takes Shape
ICE launched exploration of large unsold warehouses in early November 2025, leveraging $45 billion from the One Big Beautiful Bill for detention expansion. These structures, built for clients like Amazon, span 800,000 square feet—four times typical ICE centers. Positioning in Texas or Louisiana optimizes logistics near deportation airports. Government ownership ensures ICE operational control, avoiding reliance on private firms that handled 90 percent of prior facilities. This pragmatic approach accelerates mass deportations promised to American voters frustrated by illegal immigration surges.
Funding and Capacity Surge
Congress allocated $45 billion specifically for detention to support 100,000 average daily population and add 80,000 new beds. Current holdings stand at 40,000, with plans to triple via mega-sites, military bases like Fort Bliss, and reactivations such as Dilley, Texas (2,400 beds). Executive orders direct ICE to maximize detentions, extend holds, and target criminals including Tren de Aragua gang members. This counters sanctuary policies from leaders like Gov. Healey and Mayor Wu, whom ICE’s Tom Homan publicly rebuked for shielding illegals.
Strategic Advantages Over Past Methods
Unlike tent cities plagued by delays or full new builds, retrofitting existing warehouses enables faster deployment despite challenges like medical and schooling upgrades for court standards. Plans outline four 10,000-bed mega-sites plus 14 smaller ones (700-1,000 beds). ICE’s McLaughlin called the funding historic. This direct federal control empowers efficient enforcement, restoring rule of law eroded under prior administrations’ catch-and-release chaos that burdened communities with crime and costs.
Private firms GEO Group and CoreCivic benefit from reactivations like Leavenworth, Kansas (1,033 beds), though ICE prefers owning mega-centers. Multi-pronged strategy includes Guantanamo Bay for 30,000, addressing deportation pipeline strains noted by experts.
Delivering on Deportation Mandate
As of November 7, 2025, NBC’s exclusive revealed no finalized purchases, but momentum builds post-executive orders and mid-2025 funding. Short-term retrofits avoid tent reliance; long-term enables sustained removals protecting American jobs, safety, and resources. Critics draw WWII parallels, but facts show necessity against 1.4 million illegals gaming benefits—now terminated via Trump’s bill. Southern communities gain secure logistics hubs; sanctuary cities face rightful federal pressure. This upholds conservative values of sovereignty and accountability.
Logistical hurdles like transport persist, yet scale matches campaign pledges. Former officials warn of clogs, but Migration Policy Institute notes detention stages efficient removals. President Trump’s leadership reverses Biden-era failures, prioritizing citizens over open borders.
Sources:
Detention Watch Network on expansion plans
Brennan Center on budget bill funding
Politico on immigration bed capacity