Trump administration rushes to rent space for immigration officers conducting raids

"According to three employees at GSA, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive internal operations and to avoid retribution, the agency has created an "ICE surge" team in recent weeks, referring to an effort to lease private offices to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency officers to establish long-term work space in the cities where they are operating. Last week, the GSA's Public Buildings Service posted a solicitation for "as-is, fully-finished and furnished office space in support of administrative operations for law enforcement" in 19 cities across the country."

"The push is happening just months after the informal White House advisory group, the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, fired a large number of GSA employees and terminated a huge chunk of government leases, decisions that are now being reversed in many cases in order to accommodate government procurement needs. There's no clear evidence those cuts saved significant amounts of taxpayer money."

"It's also happening alongside a government-wide effort to divert resources towards immigration enforcement, from federal leasing efforts to law enforcement expertise from other agencies like the FBI. Limited enforcement resources, including a lack of funding to bring on more people to conduct arrests and investigations and litigate cases, have been one of the biggest challenges to scaling up the pace"

GSA employees are scrambling to find office space to accommodate a rapid increase of ICE officers conducting widespread raids. The agency created an "ICE surge" team to lease private, fully furnished offices in cities where ICE is operating and posted solicitations for space in 19 cities, estimating 70 workstations per lease and a one-week bid window. ICE requested about 300 fully furnished properties by winter. The effort reverses recent DOGE-driven GSA staffing cuts and lease terminations to meet procurement needs. Federal leasing and law enforcement resources are being diverted toward immigration enforcement despite limited funding for arrests, investigations, and litigation.

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