The Trump administration is moving forward with plans to purchase large warehouses across the United States for conversion into immigration detention centers, despite widespread protests and local opposition. The move aims to support the administration’s goal of making 3,000 immigration arrests per day and keeping detainees in custody while their cases are adjudicated.

The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have already acquired multiple warehouses, including sites near Hagerstown, Maryland ($102 million), and Surprise, Arizona ($70 million). A proposed facility in El Paso, Texas, could accommodate up to 8,500 beds, potentially making it one of the largest detention facilities in the country. In total, ICE has plans for up to 23 warehouses nationwide, with capacities ranging from 500 to 9,500 beds per site.

The purchases have sparked protests and local resistance. In Hagerstown, more than 200 demonstrators gathered on January 20 to oppose the facility, with US Senator Chris Van Hollen calling the plan “obscene, inhumane, and illegal.” Officials in Oklahoma City reported that property owners refused to sell or lease warehouses to ICE after learning the intended use, reflecting growing community pushback.

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The administration’s expansion is part of a broader $45 billion effort to dramatically increase detention capacity, including previous use of tent camps in remote locations such as the Florida Everglades and Army bases in Texas. Critics warn that the plan could dramatically increase arrests nationwide, targeting immigrants who have been living legally in the US and revoking temporary statuses, while ICE and Customs and Border Protection have already ramped up enforcement in cities like Minneapolis, where federal agents fatally shot two people in January.

Legal and immigration advocacy groups have expressed concern that the expansion will disproportionately affect immigrants with legal status. Emma Winger, deputy legal director at the American Immigration Council, noted that to fill the proposed beds, enforcement efforts would need to escalate significantly across US communities, putting long-term residents at risk of detention and deportation.

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