ICE Prepares For Scale Of Enforcement Never Seen Before

Internal documents reveal the Trump administration’s plan to retrofit massive Amazon-style warehouses into detention centers capable of holding 80,000 immigrants as part of an unprecedented $45 billion mass deportation infrastructure.

Story Highlights

ICE explores converting Amazon-scale warehouses in Texas and Louisiana into mega detention centers holding tens of thousands per site
Congress approved $45 billion for detention expansion and $29.9 billion for enforcement, tripling ICE’s budget
Daily detention capacity could surge from 56,000 to over 100,000 people under the new funding
Private prison companies stand to benefit massively while immigration judge capacity remains capped at 800

Trump’s Immigration Enforcement Revolution Takes Shape

The Trump administration is implementing the largest immigration enforcement expansion in American history, backed by Congress’s approval of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” that allocates $45 billion specifically for detention infrastructure. This represents a 265% increase over ICE’s previous detention budget and effectively makes ICE the largest federal law enforcement agency by funding. The aggressive approach demonstrates President Trump’s commitment to fulfilling his mass deportation promises through concrete action rather than empty rhetoric.

Amazon-Style Warehouses Become Deportation Staging Centers

ICE officials are actively reviewing large commercial warehouses in southern states, particularly Texas and Louisiana, for conversion into federally-owned mega detention centers. These Amazon-scale facilities, averaging 800,000 square feet, are four times larger than existing ICE detention centers and could house tens of thousands of detainees per site. The warehouse approach allows faster deployment than traditional brick-and-mortar construction, positioning these facilities near major airports to streamline deportation flights to Latin America and the Caribbean.

Massive Capacity Expansion Targets 100,000 Daily Detentions

Administration officials have set ambitious targets of maintaining an average daily detention population of 100,000 people, requiring approximately 80,000 new ICE beds nationwide. Current detention capacity hovers around 56,000 beds, meaning this expansion would nearly double the system’s size. The scale represents a fundamental shift from incremental enforcement to industrial-level deportation operations, with detention serving as a staging mechanism rather than long-term incarceration.

Private Prison Industry Poised for Windfall Profits

Major private detention companies like GEO Group and CoreCivic stand to benefit enormously from the expansion, as approximately 90% of ICE detainees are currently held in for-profit facilities. The legislation explicitly enables contract modifications and facility reactivations, including the Dilley center in Texas and Delaney Hall in New Jersey. While some mega-warehouses may be ICE-operated, the broader expansion solidifies private contractors’ dominant role in immigration detention operations and logistics.

Enforcement Prioritized Over Due Process

The funding package reveals the administration’s enforcement-heavy approach by tripling deportation budgets while capping immigration judges at just 800 despite record backlogs. This disproportion demonstrates a clear priority: removing illegal immigrants rapidly rather than expanding adjudicative capacity or asylum processing. Civil rights groups warn about due process erosion, but conservatives recognize this as necessary action to restore immigration law enforcement after years of border chaos under previous administrations.