U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is planning to open four new detention facilities across the country allowing for an additional 5,500-bed capacity, according to reports.
The plans include facilities with 1,800 beds in Philadelphia, 1,500 in both Seattle and Denver, and 700 in Miami, according to NBC News.
The information, which was posted to the federal contracting site SAM.gov, explains that the facilities remain exclusive to ICE and requires facilities to begin accepting detainees no more than 30 days after being commissioned, meaning the facilities must already be mostly staffed and functional before signing a contract.
ICE/ERO Special Response Teams (SRT) outside of Delaney Hall New Jersey perform crowd control to allow detention center staff to enter and exit the building on June 10, 2026. (ICE)
The facilities will be required to have video feeds and courtroom space, so that detainees can be swiftly processed through the immigration system and have their cases heard and settled onsite without the detainee having to be transported elsewhere for that purpose.
ICE also implemented a “best-value” bidding system where the total ability of the contractor to provide the services are taken into consideration and where readiness and management experience are prioritized, as opposed to a lowest-bidder system that just signs for the cheapest price.
Rumors of a fifth facility were shot down by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after reports claimed that ICE was set to contract a facility in the former Rivers Correctional Institution in Winton, North Carolina. However, DHS did not note if the Rivers location is now or has been under consideration for future use.
While the bidding was open to all comers, the sites suggested and the operating capacities align with the facilities currently owned by The GEO Group, which already has multiple contracts with DHS. The effort is likely meant to resign contracts that are soon to expire.
The Trump administration continues to focus on the president’s deportation policies and ICE has entered more than 600,000 illegal migrants into ICE detention centers since Trump came to office for his second term. Currently there are 65,000 migrants in ICE custody.
DHS also reported that ICE arrested about 1,474 people on average per day through July so far.
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