Trump Administration Plans $38 Billion for Migrant Detention Centers in US

The office of Kelly Ayotte, governor of New Hampshire, has released a document showing that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency plans to spend $38.3 billion by the end of this year on detaining 'illegal immigrants' across the United States.

The funds will support detention centers to hold tens of thousands of migrants slated for deportation while processing their cases, according to the document provided by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) following Ayotte's investigation after a U.S. Senate hearing last Thursday.

Under the plan, ICE intends to purchase and renovate 16 existing buildings into regional processing centers capable of holding 1,000 to 1,500 detainees for an average of three to seven days. It also plans to open eight large detention facilities with capacity for 7,000 to 10,000 detainees for about 60 days each, serving as primary sites for those facing removal from the country. Additionally, ICE will take over 10 more 'ready-to-use' centers it previously operated.

These expansions are deemed necessary as ICE prepares for an expected rise in detentions in 2026 after hiring 12,000 additional agents. Contractors will be hired to build detention spaces, medical and dental services, cafeterias, lobbies, recreational areas, dormitories, and court spaces, ensuring 'safe and humane civil detention of aliens,' the document states.

The costs will be covered by a massive spending package, dubbed the 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' passed by the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress in July 2025. This $170 billion measure for immigration enforcement includes $45 billion specifically for detention. For comparison, the fiscal year 2024 budget for migrant detention was $3.4 billion.

The Trump administration aims to intensify immigration enforcement this year using the congressional funding to hire thousands of agents, detain more than 100,000 migrants at any given time, and expand surveillance to track potential immigration violators amid rising political reactions ahead of next year's midterm elections.