Overview
- Homeland Security paused further warehouse acquisitions for planned ICE detention sites and launched a review of contracts signed under former secretary Kristi Noem after Markwayne Mullin took over the department.
- ICE told a Maryland court it will not begin retrofitting its Washington County warehouse for detention while it conducts more environmental study and rethinks the project’s size, with a judge’s temporary restraining order still in place.
- Salt Lake City officials say they still lack clarity on whether the pause affects ICE’s $145.44 million, 833,000‑square‑foot warehouse there, a site city leaders oppose over projected water use and concerns about large‑scale detention.
- The push is part of a $38.3 billion plan to convert industrial buildings into regional hubs and mega‑centers holding up to about 10,000 people, with at least 11 warehouses bought in eight states and prices running 11% to 13% above market.
- Scrutiny is intensifying as members of Congress question sellers over possible profiteering and the DHS inspector general reviews Noem‑era contracting, pressure that could slow or reshape projects in communities worried about utility and traffic burdens.