The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a scathing review of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) recent detention expansion efforts, warning that the agency has wasted tens of millions of dollars on projects that never materialized.
Unspent funds and abandoned projects
According to the GAO, ICE spent nearly $3 million on tents erected at Guantanamo Bay that were never used, $20 million on warehouses that are now being sold without ever housing a detainee, and paid inflated rates to keep a now‑shuttered Florida lockup operational.
Massive funding without a clear plan
Congress allocated an unprecedented $45 billion to ICE last year as part of the Trump‑backed One Big Beautiful Bill to expand detention capacity. Yet the agency still lacks a comprehensive strategic plan for how to spend those funds wisely. The detainee population has risen from 39,000 in January 2025 to 67,000 as of July 30.
“Without taking action to manage detention investments in accordance with program and project management practices, ICE will likely continue to make uninformed decisions and risk further inefficiency and wasted resources,” the GAO warned.
Government response and timeline
The Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s parent agency, told the GAO it will develop a plan to guide detention expansion by August 31 2027. Critics argue that timeline may be too late to curb further waste.
ICE and DHS offered no immediate comment on the report.
Failed Guantanamo Bay plan
After the White House directed officials to use Guantanamo Bay for immigration detention in January 2025, the Department of Defense assembled tents for 5,000 people at a cost of $2.85 million. The tents failed to meet detention standards and were removed before housing any detainee. The larger mass‑detention plan was later deemed infeasible and scrapped, leaving only an average of 16 detainees daily at a cost of millions of dollars.
Empty warehouses and costly contracts
Earlier this year ICE purchased 11 large warehouses for $1.07 billion under a plan backed by former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Public opposition halted the initiative before any detainees were housed, and DHS now plans to sell seven of the facilities. The agency has already spent $20 million on costs and services related to the seven warehouses it intends to sell, and will need to sell them for $707 million to avoid further loss.
Four warehouses slated for retention have already incurred significant costs, including a $426 million outlay for renovations in Arizona and Maryland that remain on hold due to legal challenges.
Private‑contractor facilities and “Alligator Alcatraz”
ICE also spent $1.5 billion to purchase two private‑contractor facilities in July, with the possibility of acquiring more despite not having assessed long‑term affordability.
The agency never finalized a contract with Florida to operate the facility nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” which housed detainees for a year before closing in June amid reports of substandard conditions. DHS reimbursed the state through a special $608 million FEMA grant, authorizing a charge of $249 per detainee per day—171 % higher than ICE’s normal rate of $92. A second Florida facility remains open under the same elevated rate.
High costs in Bureau of Prisons agreements
ICE is also paying steep rates under an agreement with the Bureau of Prisons that requires reimbursement of full costs, now $182 per detainee per day, due to overtime and staffing assignments.
The GAO report underscores the urgent need for a disciplined, strategic approach to detention spending to protect taxpayer dollars and ensure efficient immigration enforcement.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
