New documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit reveal that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is actively reviewing proposals from private companies to expand immigration detention facilities in at least six states, including California, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Washington.
Private businesses, including CoreCivic, GEO Group, and Management & Training Corporation, filed plans for facilities that could add 6,650 to 12,000 detention beds countrywide. Some of the planned sites, such as the Midwest Regional Reception Center in Kansas and the Torrance County Detention Facility in New Mexico, have already been criticized for their unsafe or unsanitary conditions.
ICE’s request, as documented in the records, stated that the agency was looking for an inventory of potentially thousands of beds, largely for men but also for women, from public or private businesses, with no imminent plans to sign contracts…