U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to spend $38,3 billion by the end of the year on detention centers to hold and process tens of thousands of immigrants slated for deportation, according to an overview of the plan released by the office of New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte.
The document was provided by the US Department of Homeland Security, following a request made by Ayotte after a hearing in the US Senate on Thursday, her office said in a statement.
Under the plan, ICE intends to purchase 16 existing facilities and renovate them to serve as regional processing centers, with a capacity of 1.000 to 1.500 detainees, with an average stay of three to seven days.
The agency will also open eight large detention centers that can hold 7.000 to 10.000 detainees, with an average stay of about 60 days, and which will serve as "primary locations" for immigrants being deported abroad.
In addition, ICE will acquire 10 more turnkey facilities where the agency already operates, the plan states.
The document, reported by Reuters, states that the centers are necessary as ICE prepares for an expected increase in arrests in 2026, after hiring 12.000 more agents.
"This new model will allow ICE to create an efficient detention network by reducing the total number of contracted detention facilities in use, while increasing overall bed capacity, improving detention management, and streamlining removal operations," the document states.
ICE plans to hire contractors to renovate the facilities and build detention facilities, as well as medical and dental services, cafeterias, lobbies, recreational areas, dormitories and courtrooms. The facilities will provide "safe and humane civilian detention of aliens," according to the document.
The detention centers will be funded by a massive spending package passed by the Republican-controlled Congress in July 2025. The package, known as "One Big Beautiful Act," included an unprecedented $170 billion for immigration enforcement, including $45 billion for detention. The fiscal year 2024 budget included $3,4 billion for immigration detention, Reuters reports.
A DHS spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
ICE expects the facilities to be operational by the end of November 2026 and to increase the agency's total capacity to 92.600 beds, the document said.
The number of people in ICE custody has risen by about 74 percent since Donald Trump took office in January 2025, to more than 68.000 this month, government data shows.
Trump has overseen a sweeping immigration crackdown since returning to office last year. The administration has deployed more immigration agents to major U.S. cities, increased arrests of immigrants in the United States illegally, tightened border crossing controls and expanded the number of people who can be deported by revoking the temporary legal status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants.
Despite growing signs of political discontent ahead of next year's midterm elections, the Trump administration is poised to further ramp up immigration enforcement this year, using funding Congress has given ICE to hire thousands of agents, detain more than 100.000 migrants at any given time, and expand surveillance to track potential immigration violators.
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