US Immigration Agency Wasted Tens of Millions on Flawed Detention Projects, Report Finds

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other agencies have wasted tens of millions of dollars on ill-conceived plans to rapidly increase detention capacity, according to a report from congressional investigators. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) warned that the total waste will likely rise due to ongoing mismanagement.

The GAO documented costly problems in several initiatives ICE has pursued since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025 and ordered the mass arrest and deportation of individuals in the country illegally. Among the documented misspendings were nearly $3 million for tents erected at Guantanamo Bay that were never used, $20 million to maintain purchased warehouses that are now being sold without having housed a single detainee, and excessive rates paid to hold detainees at a deficient and now-shuttered Florida lockup.

Congress provided ICE an unprecedented $45 billion to expand detention capacity last year as part of the Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill. However, the agency still lacks a comprehensive strategic plan for how to spend this funding wisely, the report warned. The detainee population has increased from 39,000 in January 2025 to 67,000 as of July 30.

"Without taking action to manage detention investments in accordance with program and project management practices, ICE will likely continue to make uninformed decisions and risk further inefficiency and wasted resources," the GAO stated. The nonpartisan agency investigated at the request of congressional Democrats.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE's parent agency, told the GAO that it would develop a plan to guide its detention expansion by August 31, 2027. However, the report indicated that this timeline might be too late to prevent additional waste.

Detention Initiatives and Mismanagement

Shortly after the Trump administration took office, the government began spending significant funds on plans to detain more individuals in the U.S. illegally, the report found. Following a White House directive in January 2025 to use the military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for immigration detention, the Department of Defense assembled tents capable of holding 5,000 people at a cost of $2.85 million. However, DHS determined that the tents did not meet detention standards, and they were removed before any detainees were housed there. The plan for mass detention at Guantanamo Bay was later deemed "infeasible" due to the costs of constructing facilities that could meet federal standards.

Earlier in 2025, ICE purchased 11 large warehouses across the country for $1.07 billion. This was part of a plan supported by former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to increase detention capacity. However, the initiative was scrapped amid public opposition before any detainees were housed in them, as the department did not conduct "appropriate due diligence and planning," according to the GAO report. DHS is now planning to sell seven of these facilities. ICE has spent $20 million on costs and services related to these seven warehouses, including zoning assessments, title insurance, utilities, and security, which it will not recover. To avoid further waste, the report states that DHS will need to sell them for the total purchase price of $707 million.

ICE faces significant costs for the four warehouses it plans to retain. This includes a $426 million outlay to renovate facilities in Arizona and Maryland, which is currently on hold due to legal challenges.

Florida Lockup and Other High Costs

After the warehouse initiative faltered, ICE pursued a plan to purchase facilities owned by private contractors that were already housing detainees, aiming for greater control over infrastructure and limiting local governments' ability to restrict their use. The agency spent $1.5 billion to buy two such facilities in July and could acquire more, despite ICE having "not assessed the long-term affordability of owning these facilities," the report found.

The report also identified issues with other initiatives. ICE never finalized a contract with the state of Florida to operate the facility nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz," which housed detainees for a year until its closure in June following reports of substandard and abusive conditions. Instead, DHS agreed to reimburse the state through a special $608 million Federal Emergency Management Agency grant, authorizing a charge of $249 per detainee per day—171% higher than ICE's normal rate of $92. DHS is also paying the state the higher rate for a second facility that remains operational in Sanderson, Florida.

ICE is also incurring high costs under an agreement where the Bureau of Prisons is housing detainees at eight facilities. This agreement requires ICE to reimburse the full cost, which has ballooned due to overtime and other staffing assignments, and pay a rate of $182 per detainee per day, the report said.