...
By Dan Gooding
Associate News Editor
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
More immigrant detention space is being created across the United States as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seeks to ramp up operations under President Donald Trump.
A previously-closed facility in New Jersey will be brought back into use with 1,000 beds, ICE said Wednesday. Then on Thursday morning, one of its main contractors, CoreCivic, announced additional space would be created at its detention facilities in Ohio, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Mississippi.
The move comes as U.S. military bases are also being looked at for use as temporary facilities.
Read More on Politics
Why It Matters
The announcements come after the acting head of ICE, Caleb Vitello, was fired by President Donald Trump, who was reportedly unhappy with the pace of arrests and deportations of illegal immigrants, which he promised during his election campaign. The administration has come under pressure from voters on social media who are unhappy with the numbers ICE has touted so far.
What To Know
ICE has limited capacity, noting in its 2024 annual report that it only had funding for 41,000 beds while over 7 million immigrants were on its docket at any one time. The report stated that Congress needed to provide extra funding in order to expand capacity and increase staffing levels moving forward.
Following Trump's return to the White House, he announced an expansion of detention capacity with 30,000 beds at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, while his border czar Tom Homan has repeated that Congress needs to fund ICE's work. The GOP's budget does include upwards of $170 billion to aid in the immigration enforcement effort.
Where is ICE Expanding?
The Delaney Hall facility in Newark will be operated by one of ICE's main contractors, the GEO Group, which signed a 15-year contract that it estimates to be worth around $1 billion over that time.
ICE announced the 1,000-bed expansion Wednesday, touting it as the first to open under the new administration, but conversations were underway to bring the facility back into use during former President Joe Biden's term in office.
In a statement, outgoing acting ICE director Caleb Vitello said the site's location close to Newark Liberty International Airport would help the agency to streamline removal processes.
GEO Group is one of two major private prison companies used by ICE, alongside CoreCivic, to manage its detention facilities. In December, GEO said it was planning to invest $70 million in expansion, with a particular focus on ICE facilities.
On Thursday, CoreCivic also announced multiple sites would get extra beds: 784 beds will be added for ICE detainees across its Northeast Ohio Correctional Center, Nevada Southern Detention Center, and its Cimarron Correctional Facility in Oklahoma.
The company is also looking to use up to 252 of its 2,672 beds at the Tallahatchie Correctional Facility in Mississippi for illegal immigrants.
...
Elsewhere, the federal government is looking to expand detention space by using military bases, including at Fort Bliss in Texas, per a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo seen by NPR. The facility there could also house up to 1,000 immigrants initially, but that could be expanded to 10,000 beds eventually.
The memo showed up to 10 other facilities could be used as holding facilities, including at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station near Buffalo, New York, Hill Air Force Base in Utah, and Homestead Air Reserve Base near Miami, NPR said.
The Department of Defense would not comment on the plans when asked by Newsweek.
Using space at Guantanamo Bay to house immigrants with final orders of removal was a shock announcement by the President at the end of January. Since then, around 200 people have been held at the site temporarily, with most then deported back to Venezuela.
Immigrants' rights groups have sued the Trump administration over the move, arguing that those being held there have been cut off from legal counsel and contact with their families. Despite insistence that the "worst of the worst" would be the ones detained there, it has been reported that deportees with no other criminal histories were also moved there.
...
The Biden administration also used temporary facilities at military sites when welcoming new arrivals following the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
It was also actively looking to expand facilities in the last year or so before the presidential election, with sites in California, New Mexico, and Washington State among the options, according to multiple FOIA requests by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Can ICE Hold All Immigrants Arrested?
In short, no. The agency has repeatedly said in its reports that it has limited bed space. Even if Guantanamo Bay does reach the President's aim of 30,000 beds, it would not even double the current capacity.
Many illegal immigrants are detained for a short period of time – around 40 days on average – before being released or removed from the country. If they are released, they can be given GPS tags, but many are simply listed on the non-detained docket pending hearings or final removal.
The issue was raised during debates on the Laken Riley and Justice for Jocelyn Acts in Congress. Both require ICE to detain far more illegal immigrants, causing concerns that some violent offenders could be released into communities as a result.
What People Are Saying
Vitello, in a press release on Delaney Hall: "The location near an international airport streamlines logistics, and helps facilitate the timely processing of individuals in our custody as we pursue President Trump's mandate to arrest, detain and remove illegal aliens from our communities."
Newark Mayor Ras J. Barakas, in a statement to Newsweek: "Without satisfying city property-use requirements, inspections, and permits, Delaney Hall cannot lawfully open in Newark at this time. Regardless of the process, an immigrant detention center is not welcomed here. ICE's stated intention to round up 'criminals' is a thin veil that does not conceal their scheme to violate people's rights, desecrate the Constitution, and disassemble our democracy."
George C. Zoley, Executive Chairman of GEO, in a press release: "Our company-owned Delaney Hall Facility will play an important role in providing needed detention bedspace and support services for ICE in the Northeast. We are continuing to prepare for what we believe is an unprecedented opportunity to help the federal government meet its expanded immigration enforcement priorities."
Damon T. Hininger, CoreCivic's Chief Executive Officer, in a press release: "We are pleased to provide U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with this additional capacity. We have an extensive supply of available beds that provides our government partners the flexibility to satisfy their immediate and long-term needs in a cost-effective manner."
What's Next
It is likely that the Trump administration will be looking for additional capacity and resources to continue its push for mass deportations in the coming months.
Update 02/27/25 5:43 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Newark Mayor Ras J. Barakas.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines