ICE ramps up deportation push with 92,600 new beds in $38.3B expansion

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is readying to boost migrant detention capableness to 92,600 beds arsenic portion of a nationwide deportation push, according to an interior bureau memo.

The memo, dated Feb. 13, 2026, lays retired a sweeping overhaul designed to enactment what ICE describes arsenic the quality to "effectuate wide deportations," including 8 mega-centers susceptible of lodging up to 10,000 detainees each and slated to beryllium afloat operational by Nov. 30, 2026. The memo states that the inaugural volition beryllium funded done legislature allocations nether the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act."

Beyond the mega-centers, the program calls for 16 determination processing sites built to clasp betwixt 1,000 and 1,500 detainees for abbreviated stays of 3 to 7 days, arsenic good arsenic the acquisition of 10 existing "turnkey" facilities wherever ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations already operates. The caller exemplary aims to consolidate existing contracts portion centralizing detention operations nationwide.

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An aerial presumption shows a warehouse successful Social Circle, Georgia, that was precocious purchased by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for imaginable usage arsenic a detention facility, according to reporting. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)

The papers states that ICE has added 12,000 caller instrumentality enforcement officers done a surge hiring effort and says expanded detention abstraction volition beryllium a indispensable downstream request to prolong an anticipated spike successful enforcement operations and arrests successful 2026.

The memo describes the web arsenic ICE’s "long-term detention solution," emphasizing standardized installation plan and scalable infrastructure built to grip some contiguous surge capableness and sustained operations.

The recently released papers comes arsenic ICE has softly purchased astatine slightest 7 warehouses — immoderate exceeding 1 cardinal quadrate feet successful caller weeks crossed Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Texas, according to The Associated Press.

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Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons testifies during a House Homeland Security Committee proceeding connected Capitol Hill successful Washington, D.C., connected Feb. 10, 2026.  (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Proposed warehouse purchases successful six different cities fell done aft sellers declined to determination guardant nether unit from activists, according to the report. Additional deals, including successful New York, are reportedly nearing completion.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said this week that determination are astir 1.6 cardinal amerciable aliens successful the U.S. with last deportation orders, astir fractional of whom person transgression convictions.

During grounds earlier the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee connected Thursday, Lyons said, "What we're tracking close present is astir 1.6 cardinal last [deportation] orders successful the United States, with astir 800,000 of those having transgression convictions."

A antheral is detained by national agents during raids successful Colony Ridge, Texas, successful February 2025.  (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

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Lyons clarified that those deportation orders were issued "through an migration justice with the Department of Justice abstracted from Immigration Customs Enforcement," not by ICE oregon the Department of Homeland Security.

He added that determination are "16,840 last orders astatine ample successful the authorities of Minnesota," a authorities that has go a flash constituent for absorption to migration enforcement.

Border czar Tom Homan announced a impermanent drawdown of enforcement resources this week, citing the request to recalibrate operations arsenic ICE scales arrests and detention capableness nationwide.

Fox News Digital's Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.