Trump administration mulls turning vacant warehouses into mega-detention centers
By avagrace // 2025-11-12
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  • The Trump administration plans to convert large, vacant warehouses – some originally built for corporations like Amazon – into "mega detention centers" for immigrants facing deportation. These facilities could be up to 3.8 million square feet, dwarfing existing ICE detention centers.
  • ICE is targeting warehouses near major airports in the southern U.S. to streamline deportations, minimizing transit times and centralizing operations for efficiency.
  • Unlike traditional private or state-run detention centers, ICE would directly purchase and operate these facilities, consolidating federal oversight and reducing reliance on contractors.
  • The expansion is financed by Trump’s "One Big Beautiful Bill", part of a record $76.5 billion allocation to ICE, transforming it into the largest federal law enforcement agency.
  • The plan reflects the administration’s unwavering commitment to mass deportations, despite logistical and ethical concerns, signaling a dramatic philosophical hardening of U.S. border policy.
The Trump administration is actively exploring the purchase of massive, vacant warehouses – some originally designed for corporate giants like Amazon – and converting them into holding facilities for immigrants facing deportation. This initiative confirmed by officials within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the White House signals a significant escalation in the government's capacity to detain individuals, leveraging vast, impersonal structures to accelerate removals. The plan underscores a fundamental shift toward a more aggressive and expansive enforcement regime, raising profound questions about scale, oversight and the very nature of American justice. The proposed facilities, described internally as "mega detention centers," represent a quantum leap in the government's detention ambitions. The warehouses under consideration are, on average, more than twice the size of existing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers. For perspective, a current ICE facility in Tacoma, Washington, spans 277,000 square feet (ft²) and houses approximately 1,500 individuals. The average Amazon warehouse, by contrast, is around 800,000 ft², with the largest, in Wilmington, Delaware, encompassing a staggering 3.8 million ft². The potential conversion of such spaces points to an administration preparing for a substantial and long-term detention campaign. Detention centers are used to hold noncitizens who are subject to mandatory detention, BrightU.AI's Enoch engine explains. They also hold individuals who ICE determines pose a public safety or flight risk while their custody status is being decided. A key driver of this plan is logistical efficiency. Officials stated that ICE is specifically targeting locations in the southern United States, strategically positioned near major airports that serve as hubs for deportations. This geographic focus is intended to streamline the process of moving detainees from custody to removal, minimizing transit times and centralizing operations. By creating these hubs, the administration aims to turbocharge the deportation pipeline, turning a complex legal and logistical process into a more assembly-line operation.

A departure from traditional models

This initiative marks a stark departure from the traditional model of immigrant detention. Historically, ICE has relied heavily on a network of facilities owned and operated by private prison corporations or state governments, which are then contracted to hold detainees. Under this new plan, ICE would purchase the warehouses outright, owning the properties directly. Furthermore, the agency intends to staff these mega-centers with its own federal employees, rather than contractors or military personnel, consolidating direct federal control over the entire detention process. The financial muscle for this ambitious expansion would come from the massive budget reconciliation package President Donald Trump signed earlier this year, a bill he famously dubbed the "One Big Beautiful Bill." This allocation is part of a broader, historic funding injection for ICE, transforming it into the largest federal law enforcement agency. The move occurs against a backdrop of White House frustration. Despite campaign promises of mass deportations, ICE has struggled to meet daily arrest quotas and fill hiring goals, leading to the replacement of some senior leaders. The warehouse plan is the latest in a series of unconventional and often contentious ideas the administration has pursued to secure more detention space. Previous efforts have included exploring the use of tents at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba – a plan that ultimately did not materialize – and establishing large-scale tent facilities at Fort Bliss, Texas. The persistent search for new capacity highlights the administration’s unwavering commitment to a policy of maximum enforcement, regardless of the practical or ethical hurdles. The exploration of mega detention centers is more than a bureaucratic real estate decision. It is a potent symbol of a nation grappling with its identity and the boundaries of its power. As the administration moves forward with this plan, the nation must confront the reality of what these vast warehouses represent – a monumental and potentially irreversible hardening of the American border, both physically and philosophically. Watch this report about ICE agents raiding an Airbnb full of migrants. This video is from the TREASURE OF THE SUN channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include:  NBCNews.com Livemint.com Newser.com BrightU.ai Brighteon.com
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