ICE Plans Four New Detention Facilities for 5,500 Detainees
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is moving forward with plans to open four new detention facilities capable of housing 5,500 detainees, according to a public solicitation document reported by NBC News. The expansion, which targets locations near Denver, Seattle, Miami, and in central Pennsylvania, represents the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s intensifying immigration enforcement campaign.
A Rapid Procurement for Critical Capacity
On July 10, 2026, ICE posted a Request for Information on the federal contracting site SAM.gov seeking contractors to operate “turnkey” detention facilities that must be ready to accept detainees within 30 days of contract award. Industry respondents were given just five business days — until July 17 — to submit proposals. The rapid turnaround, documented by Project Salt Box, signals the agency’s urgent need to expand detention capacity as immigration arrests continue to climb.
The four facilities are geographically distributed as follows: 1,500 beds near Denver (Centennial, Colorado), 1,500 beds near Seattle (Tukwila, Washington), 700 beds near Miami (Plantation, Florida), and 1,800 beds in central Pennsylvania (State College, Pennsylvania). Each facility must be reserved exclusively for ICE use and include video-equipped courtrooms, judges’ chambers with separate secure entrances, and dedicated interview offices for asylum officers.
Existing Infrastructure at the Center of the Plan
The geographic requirements in the RFI align precisely with four facilities currently operated by the GEO Group, the private prison company that dominates ICE detention operations. These include the Aurora ICE Processing Center in Colorado, the Broward Transitional Center in Florida, the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Washington, and the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania.
All four GEO Group-operated facilities have contracts or operating agreements set to expire between August and October 2026, creating an urgent deadline for ICE to secure continued access. Rather than selecting the lowest bidder, ICE plans to use a “best-value” evaluation model that prioritizes operational readiness and management experience over cost alone. The 30-day activation requirement effectively limits the field to existing, fully staffed, and operational buildings, making it likely that current operators will retain control.
Escalating Enforcement Amid a Detention Crisis
The detention expansion comes as the Trump administration pursues its mass-deportation campaign in its second term. Over 600,000 undocumented immigrants have been detained since January 2025, with approximately 65,000 currently in ICE custody. The agency is averaging roughly 1,474 arrests daily as of July 2026.
However, the expansion is unfolding against a backdrop of mounting concern over conditions in ICE detention. A Human Rights Watch report released in June documented at least 52 deaths in ICE custody since January 2025, calling it the highest mortality rate in two decades. The New York Times reported 33 deaths in 2025 alone, the highest annual total in 20 years, with at least 20 additional deaths recorded in the first half of 2026.
Inspection reports have flagged systemic failures at facilities targeted by the new RFI. A June 2026 inspection by ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma identified delayed comprehensive health assessments and missed welfare checks for detainees on suicide watch, along with an ongoing federal investigation into an alleged physical assault on a female detainee by medical staff.
Private Prison Expansion and State-Level Resistance
The new solicitation is part of a broader pattern of detention capacity expansion. On July 28, ICE awarded the GEO Group a $528.7 million contract to reactivate the Big Horn detention facility in Hudson, Colorado, which has sat vacant since 2014. Earlier in July, the Department of Homeland Security executed a $1.5 billion deal to purchase two CoreCivic facilities in California, including the Otay Mesa Detention Center.
At the same time, states led by Democratic governors are pushing back against the expansion. As The Atlantic reported, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill has sued to block ICE plans and called for shutting down the Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark. Washington state secured a federal court order allowing health inspectors into the Tacoma facility after the GEO Group refused access. Multiple states have also sued to block ICE’s warehouse conversion plans.
What to Watch For
As contract deadlines approach in the coming months, the question of whether ICE will award the new contracts to GEO Group or other bidders remains open. The agency has also explored purchasing GEO-operated facilities outright, which would fundamentally change the legal status of the properties and potentially shield them from state-level oversight. With the 30-day activation requirement, facility readiness is paramount, and oversight mechanisms for detainee safety at the new facilities will face intense scrutiny from advocacy groups including the ACLU, Detention Watch Network, and Physicians for Human Rights.