News on ICE Warehouses & Related Topics:

Highlights from the ICE Spending Report (National):

$13.8M to Akima for a “temporary” detention facility at Port Isabel in Los Fresno TX (26 cells).

$0 to CoreCivic.  Just moves funds within the Otay Mesa contract.

$0 to GardaWorld.  Suspends performance to the recent award for the transportation within TX.  Suspension awaits the resolution of a GAO Protest.

2 awards to GEO Group:  1 deobligated $600 in excess funds from the Seattle AOR.  The other adds $775K to Mesa Verde and Golden State detention facilities.

The busiest contractor was Atlantic Diving Supplies with 49 actions surrounding Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS).  Many appear to be addressing administrative/closeout actions for older contracts but there were new purchases as well.

$81M to Acentra Health or medical claims processing.

$60M to Cianbro Harking Joint Venture for the design and construction of a 50-agent Border Patrol facility in Houlton ME.  Seems likely that last week’s barriers were related to this construction.

YTD Obligations:  $444M was obligated to bring the 3 sub-agency year-to-date total to $49.185B.

WEXMAC: – No Changes

HEADLINES:

Sep 14: Mayors around the country filed a lawsuit to stop Trump from making it harder for immigrants to receive green cards or visas. NYS Attorney General Letitia James filed a concurrent suit leading a separate coalition. The lawsuits push back on the administration’s attempt to deny green cards or visas based on being a “public charge” (meaning anyone using public safety net programs).

Sep 14: On Sep 4, ICE arrested approximately 7 people in Dover and held them in the ICE warehouse in Roxbury, NJ. A coalition of activist groups has asked the state attorney general to have a charge of contempt levied against the federal government for violating a standing court order.  

Sep 14: LA TACO published an in-depth report on the conditions within a Core

Civic detention facility. At least three alleged suicide attempts have happened at the California City Detention Facility over the last year. An anonymous source reports reported that staff and detainees are at their “breaking limit.”

Sep 14: The office of the inspector general of DHS published findings concerning Alligator Alcatraz on its website. The report confirms the use of outside metal cages the size of phone booths, for detainee confinement in direct violation of ICE rules. Amnesty International had highlighted this previously and Gov. DeSantis dismissed the allegations as fabrications. The report further detailed significant risks to detainee health and safety.  

Sep 15: Tacoma courts have blocked immigration lawyers from appearing remotely for cases at the Northwest Processing Center. Attorneys in Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska are struggling to appear at the prison to represent clients. On Aug 17, the court began enforcing an unwritten policy denying requests by lawyers to appear using WebEx. This has caused major complications for attorneys and clients as well as newly transferred detainees. This policy change could affect even more detainees should it be adopted by other facilities.

Sep 15: US District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV (Boston) granted an injunction sought by a coalition of trade unions and higher education advocacy groups blocking the administration from imposing fixed time limits on foreign students and journalists.

Sep 15: Forbes reported that ICE has lost count of miscarriages in the detainee population. DHS data was apparently collected up to Oct 2025. There are conflicting statements coming from DHS at this point. An official now says the information is collected monthly but not shared publicly.

Sep 16: The Supreme Court announced it would not hear Genalo v. Black, a case concerning whether certain immigrants could be held in a detention facility indefinitely without ever receiving a bond hearing or the opportunity to seek temporary release. It comes as a relief because many believe this Court would have signed off on indefinite detention.

Sep 17: Rep Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican defending her seat in South FL released an ad criticizing Trump’s deportation campaign. Some Republicans have started to tweak their messages downplaying connections to Trump as the elections draw near.

Sep 17: Former Oklahoma state trooper, Lance Schroyer, was withdrawn by Trump as his nominee to head ICE. David Venturella (formerly of The GEO Group) continues as acting director after Todd Lyons resigned.  

Sep 17: An investigation by the Washington Post revealed that ICE is in the process of firing agents who were hired during the rapid expansion phase after identifying problems in backgrounds or performance standards. No numbers on how many applicants have been fired are available at this point.

Sep 18: The Guardian reported that Trump officials are sending undocumented children to Texas sparking fears of mass deportation. Approximately 30% of children in ORR custody have legal representation and fears that sending them to this Republican stronghold threatens their safety is setting off alarm bells for activists.

Sep 18: ICE released a draft solicitation for intelligence analysts to be placed inside 24 EROs and 3 national centers. The final solicitation will be released Dec 10 with contract award in the spring of 2027.

Sep 19: Stephen Miller is leading a push from inside the White House to accelerate the removal of migrant children according to the Guardian. Miller is using the resources of 5 cabinet level departments to facilitate his plan (HHS, DHS/ICE/USCIS, DOJ, Dept of State, DOD). Former ICE employees have now moved into HHS to aid operations. Almost 200K children have been ordered removed under the second Trump administration. Under Miller, inter-agency communication safeguards designed to protect children have been dismantled and children have been rushed before immigration judges who are increasingly taking a hard line opting for deportation.    

Sep 19: Walsenburg CO has launched their “Vote Yes on 2A, Stop the Concentration Camps in Walsenburg” campaign. The ballot measure will appear on the fall ballot in that city after activists fought for its inclusion.

Sep 20: Venezuelan DoorDash driver, Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, was shot and wounded by an ICE agent in Austin. Taken to a hospital and later released into ICE custody, his lawyer filed for an injunction and a Habeas motion. Spontaneous protests broke out in Austin following the shooting. At least 20 people have been shot by on-duty ICE and CBP, 9 have been fatalities.  

Sep 21: NoCCUS signed on as an organizational sponsor for Rep Tlaib’s Yemen TPS Act.

Links:

The Border Becomes the Nation: A Resistance Summit  Oct 3-4, El Paso

Private Prison Giant GEO Group Is Now a Surveillance Company (the GEO Group)