ICE's growing detention footprint, and the communities fighting back

"The Trump administration's unprecedented expansion of migrant detention facilities is igniting fierce opposition in communities across the political and geographic spectrum, as the administration moves to scale up its detention footprint to fuel its campaign to arrest, detain and deport the largest number of immigrants in modern U.S. history."

"ICE is moving fast to lease and acquire warehouses and buildings across the United States with the aim of retrofitting them into detention spaces, while also expanding contracts with local jails and private prison facilities."

"ICE detainees have been held at more than 220 detention sites around the country, ranging from dedicated ICE facilities and private prisons to county jails, military bases and newly converted warehouses."

"Texas had more than 200,000 book-ins across 115 facilities between President Trump taking office in January 2025 and mid-October 2025, the most book-ins of any state in the country."

The Trump administration is rapidly expanding migrant detention facilities, fueled by $85 billion in new funding, including $45 billion specifically for immigration detention. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is leasing and retrofitting buildings across the U.S. and increasing contracts with local jails and private prisons. ICE is now the highest-funded law enforcement agency, operating over 220 detention sites nationwide. The majority of detention operations are concentrated in five states, with Texas leading in the number of detainee book-ins, reflecting a significant increase in detention capacity and operations.

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