ICE wasted millions in rush to expand detention, government watchdog finds

A new Government Accountability Office report has revealed that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency wasted millions of dollars in its rush to expand detention facilities under President Trump's administration. The watchdog found that ICE invested billions in six new initiatives without proper planning. According to the report, ICE failed to conduct necessary analyses before making significant investments, leading to unsuccessful detention initiatives and uncertainty about the long-term affordability of its projects.

One of the main issues highlighted in the report is that ICE purchased over $2.5 billion worth of detention facilities and warehouses without calculating their future maintenance costs after the initial three years. This lack of information on long-term affordability has left ICE without the necessary data to make informed decisions about its investments.

In a related case, ICE had purchased 11 warehouses to convert into immigration facilities, with a total cost of roughly $1.07 billion. However, the agency decided to sell seven of these warehouses in June 2026, resulting in a loss of approximately $7.7 million in nonrecoverable purchasing costs. Additionally, ICE continues to pay for utilities and security at these locations, adding an extra $12.8 million in costs according to August estimates.

The report also exposed wasteful spending at Guantanamo Bay, where the Defense Department spent $2.85 million on tent assemblies that were never used due to the facilities not meeting detention standards. Furthermore, the agency bypassed normal contracting procedures, leading to inflated costs, such as a bed rate of $249 per day at a shuttered facility in Florida, which is about 171% higher than ICE's median rate of $92.

The Government Accountability Office has recommended that ICE develop a comprehensive strategic plan to guide its detention expansion. However, ICE projected that the plan would not be completed until August 31, 2027, which prompted the Government Accountability Office to conclude that more timely completion may be warranted in order to prevent further waste of taxpayer dollars.