US govt in early talks to buy warehouses as ‘mega detention centres’ for ICE detention of immigrants

The United States government is reportedly considering buying and retrofitting warehouses as detention and holding facilities for immigrants before they are deported from the country, NBC reported citing officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the White House.

Warehouses that were originally designed for use by Amazon and other corporates will be adjusted as holding facilities for use by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), it said. The option is under review to “vastly expand” the Trump administration's detention capacity, the official told the publication.

When approached for comment, the White House asked the publication to contact DHS and ICE for an official response on the matter, the report said. It added that the DHS and ICE did not respond to queries.

NBC reached out to Amazon and a spokesperson said that the company is not involved in discussions with the DHS or ICE for warehouses. The representative added that Amazon only leases its own facilities and does not own majority of its warehouse space.

ICE to buy warehouses as detention centres? All we know

• As per the report, the warehouses being considered are “more than twice” the size of current ICE holding facilities. An ICE detention facility in Tacoma (Washington) is 2,77,000 sq ft., and can hold 1,500 immigrants, the report said.
• Talk regarding the deal is in the “early stages” and which warehouses will be bought has not yet been decided, as per the report. It added that ICE is looking at places near airports in the southern US, from where majority immigrants are being deported, the DHS official added.
• The DHS official described the warehouses as future “mega detention centers” to NBC. The average size of Amazon warehouses is around 8,00,000 sq ft., with the company's largest one in Wilmington (Delaware) being 3.8 million sq ft.
• They was no confirmation on who of which department will own the warehouses that may be bought. Both also said that no private contractors, prison industry people or states would own the facilities.
• Once purchased, the warehouses will be turned into detention facilities and run by ICE officials, not contractors or military personnel, both added.
• Both officials were also unable to confirm the size of the deals, but the White House official said ICE would pay for the warehouses with funds from the budget reconciliation package presented in Donald Trump's ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Act aka OBBBA.
• Both official confirmed that Amazon would not be part of the deals and would not profit from any purchases. The warehouses, some of which were never used, will be bought directly from the developers, they added.

ICE ramps up anti-immigration drive: How do Americans view it?

The report added that this is the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration to ramp up its anti-immigration policy. After US President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, he made good on his promise to mass deport migrants and has undertaken “different approaches with varied success”.

But the report noted that the White House is “frustrated” that ICE has failed to reach daily arrest quotas or hire required personnel. Some senior leaders are being replaced amid the struggles, it added.

Among other attempts, earlier this year, there were plans to hold “tens of thousands” immigrants in tents at US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), but this did not materialise, it said. Later, plans were made to construct tents for 2,000 immigrants in Fort Bliss, Texas, but faced logistical issues. More recently, officials announced state-run detention centres would be run in Louisiana, Indiana, and Florida, it added.

According to an NBC News poll, 50% of registered voters said they view ICE unfavourably, while 39% said they were in favour of the exercise. In the same poll, 51% felt the Trump administration has lived up to their expectations on border security and immigration, while 44% felt the opposite.