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1h ago

DHS Prepares to Offload Seven Warehouses in Major Reversal of ICE Detention Plan

The decision shrinks a $1 billion warehouse buildup, raises questions about taxpayer losses, prompts an inspector general review, and shifts the agency toward existing detention space.

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An anti-ICE sign sits outside a home in Social Circle, on Feburary 18, 2026, where a warehouse purchased by the Department of Homeland Security was expected to be converted to an immigration detention facility.
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Overview

  • The New York Times reported Thursday that DHS and ICE are preparing to sell or transfer seven of 11 industrial warehouses they bought for conversion to migrant detention centers, with those seven accounting for more than $700 million of the roughly $1 billion portfolio.
  • Michigan officials confirmed Thursday that ICE will sell the Romulus, Michigan, property after Attorney General Dana Nessel and the city sued to block its conversion and forced repeated construction delays.
  • State and local legal challenges used the National Environmental Policy Act and state regulatory orders to halt or limit work at several sites, with courts and agencies freezing utility access and construction in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Utah and elsewhere.
  • Private‑market and procurement concerns are mounting because the government paid above‑market prices for many buildings and partially retrofitted assets may be discounted, which could produce losses for sellers and taxpayers.
  • The reversal follows a pause after Markwayne Mullin became DHS secretary and arrives as the DHS Office of Inspector General probes the purchases; ICE plans to press ahead at four sites and is weighing buying existing facilities from private prison contractors.