ICE wasted millions in rapid detention expansion push, government watchdog finds

Sep 25, 2026

A Government Accountability Office report reveals that Immigration and Customs Enforcement wasted tens of millions of dollars during a rapid, unplanned expansion of its detention network. Fueled by $45 billion from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the agency purchased 11 warehouses for $1.07 billion but is already moving to sell seven of them, losing over $20 million in unrecoverable costs. The watchdog also highlighted highly inflated per-bed rates paid to Florida for the substandard, now-shuttered 'Alligator Alcatraz' facility. While the Department of Homeland Security agreed to draft a strategic plan, its August 2027 target date was criticized by auditors as too slow to prevent further waste.

Watchdog reports on waste

▪A Government Accountability Office report released on September 24, 2026, found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement wasted tens of millions of dollars in its rapid push to expand immigration detention capacity.
▪A June 2026 Government Accountability Office report found that planning and contracting problems at Camp East Montana in Texas resulted in millions of dollars in waste.

Lack of strategic planning for expansion

▪The Government Accountability Office concluded that Immigration and Customs Enforcement pursued its six detention expansion initiatives without developing a comprehensive strategic plan to guide its efforts or assess long-term affordability
▪The Government Accountability Office warned that the August 31, 2027, timeline for completing the Department of Homeland Security's strategic plan to guide detention expansion is not fast enough to prevent continued waste of unprecedented multi-year detention funding
▪The Department of Homeland Security agreed to develop a strategic plan to guide detention expansion by August 31, 2027, in response to the Government Accountability Office's recommendation to create such a plan
▪The Government Accountability Office found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement only forecasted detention facility costs for three years, failing to plan for operations after allocated congressional funding runs out in 2029.

Warehouse acquisition and renovation costs

▪Immigration and Customs Enforcement purchased 11 warehouses for $1.07 billion between January and April 2026 to convert into detention centers, but now plans to sell seven of them.
▪Immigration and Customs Enforcement lost over $20 million in unrecoverable costs, including $7.7 million on zoning and title insurance and $12.8 million on utilities and security, for seven warehouses it plans to sell.
▪Immigration and Customs Enforcement signed contracts worth $426 million to renovate two warehouses in Maryland and Arizona, but the renovation projects are on hold due to legal challenges from state attorneys general

Guantanamo Bay detention costs

▪Immigration and Customs Enforcement spent $2.85 million on tents at Guantanamo Bay that were never used to house detainees, despite initial plans to house up to 30,000 individuals
▪The Department of Homeland Security spent about $43 million from the start of fiscal 2025 through June 30, 2026, to detain migrants at Guantanamo Bay.

Bureau of Prisons agreement

▪Immigration and Customs Enforcement paid a daily per-bed rate of $182 to house detainees at eight Bureau of Prisons facilities in fiscal 2026, which is double the agency's median rate of $92.
▪The Bureau of Prisons had to pay staff overtime and for temporary assignments to meet Immigration and Customs Enforcement's detention needs.

Spending on Alligator Alcatraz facility

▪Immigration and Customs Enforcement bypassed normal contract negotiations and paid Florida a daily rate of $249 per detainee at the now-shuttered detention facility known as 'Alligator Alcatraz,' which is 171% higher than the agency's standard $92 rate
▪The Department of Homeland Security reimbursed Florida $608.4 million through a FEMA grant program for the 'Alligator Alcatraz' detention facility, which closed in June 2026 following reports of substandard conditions.

Funding and detention population growth

▪Congress allocated $45 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to expand detention capacity through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, 2025.
▪Fueled by One Big Beautiful Bill Act funding, the average daily population of noncitizens in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody rose from approximately 39,000 in January 2025 to over 65,000 by July 2026.

Debatable claims

▪The lack of congressional guardrails is the main cause of ICE's wasteful detention spending
▪ICE should pause its detention expansion until it completes a comprehensive strategic plan
▪The urgency of mass deportation justifies ICE's rapid, unplanned detention spending
▪ICE's purchase of private detention facilities is an effective way to secure long-term capacity