ICE shifts detention expansion approach as warehouse plan stalls
Project Salt Box's monthly procurement report shows ICE moving away from its stalled warehouse conversion strategy, instead purchasing existing facilities and signing construction contracts for owned land. The report also highlights over half a billion dollars in transportation contracts and $57 million in skip-tracing actions. Warehouse conversions are not fully halted, as one new contract was awarded in San Antonio.
ICE’s August procurement reveals a dual-track approach: while three warehouse conversion contracts remain active—including a new $1 billion San Antonio project—the agency has also purchased four CoreCivic facilities and begun construction on owned land. Transportation spending exceeded $500 million, with a $328 million award to operate a newly purchased DHS-owned deportation fleet. Skip-tracing actions totaled $57 million, and a new 287(g) coordination center in Tennessee will handle thousands of daily law-enforcement requests, reflecting expanded local partnerships.
This pivot could accelerate detention capacity growth while bypassing legal challenges to warehouse conversions, potentially affecting immigrant communities facing faster detention and removal. Expanded transportation and skip-tracing contracts may increase enforcement reach, straining local law-enforcement relationships and raising privacy concerns. The scale of spending suggests a sustained operational surge, with impacts on detained individuals, families, and contractors reliant on federal immigration work.