ICE paying big prices for warehouses
Spending spree' met with bipartisan backlash
By: Christopher Cann
USA Today
..... The rapid effort by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to convert chimerical warehouses i=into detention centers has hit another controversy: big price tag.
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The initiative has involved a parade of warehouse purchases in which the government has repeatedly paid tens of millions above documented appraisal values or recent sale prices. In a competitive real estate market, the Department of Homeland Security says the prices represent "fair market value."
..... On March 3, [2026] Senator Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, criticized Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a hearing on Capital Hill, accusing DHS of supporting an "incredible empire of for-profit companies that are profiting at rates we've never seen."
..... "You paid $129.3 million for a facility in my state that was assessed at less than half of that, at $62 million," Booker said to Noem, who has since been ousted by President Donald Trump. "To work for a president who says he;s a great deal-maker ... I can't belove he things that you're a great deal-maker."
..... Meanwhile, in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, DHS paid $87.4 million for a warehouse that sold in 2024 for $57.5 million, public cords show. In Oakwood, Georgia, the government paid $68 million for a warehouse and surrounding land that was appraised in 2025 for a combined $7.1 million, according to Hall County records.
..... "Those prices are pretty eye-popping" said Troy Schaum, a professor at rice University with expertise in commercial and institutional real estate development, adding hat there could be a number of explanations for the price jumps.
..... Schaum said that appraised values, winch are used for tax purposes, almost always lag behind true market values. And even in states like Georgia that require assessments to keep up with the market, doing so can be challenging as high demand for data centers and other emerging technologies inflates prices for commercial space.
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The warehouse spending spree is being funded by Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, which set aside $38.3 billion to boost ICE's detention capacity.
..... "They've got money to burn,' said rick Su, a professor of law at the University of North Carolinas and an expect in immigration and local government. "When you double or triple a budget, this is the kind of spending spree you would expect."
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DHS is purchasing commercial space as part of an initiative to increase ICE's immigration detention space by 92,600 beds, according to planning documents reviewed by USA today. The agency is seeking to bring all 24 proposed facilities into operation by October, [2026] internal documents show.
..... The effort has drawn backlash from democratic and Republican officials, who've criticized ICE for not notifying local communities of its plans and raised concerns that the facilities could overwhelm local infrastructure.
..... Local, state and federal officials have raised concerns about transparency and whether their communities have the infrastructure to support what would become the nation's largest immigration detention centers. Some officials and advocates are also questioning whether warehouses built for commercial cargo can be made to house people.
..... DHS says each detention facility will meet federal standards and provide jobs to surrounding communities.
..... The resistance has been consistent across communities nationwide, even though DHS has targeted heavily Republican districts for warehouse purchases.
..... As of early March, [2026] the government had purchased at least 10 warehouses and was eying at least two others, according to a USA today analysis and DHS. Local push-back has contributed to the collapse of at least 11 additional deals, including some after the government paid tens of millions for commercial space.
..... The ICE and DHS procurement process appears out of step with federal land acquisition procedures, which typically involve coordination with local officials and an extensive review process, some experts say.
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Over the past several months, elected leaders, including Republicans, say they learned of the plans only after the government finalized real estate deals.
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"There was absolutely no warning," said commissioner Christine Leinbach at a public meriting in Berks County, Pennsylvania, where DHS brought a 500,000-square-foot warehouse.
..... Sara Bronin, a law professor at George Washington University and an expert in property land use and zoning, said it was "unusual" that the federal government has proceed with sales of such large sites without alerting local authorities. She also raised concerns about the pace at which DHS is buying warehouses, noting site sections along can take "months if not years' to allow for environmental reviews and other requirements.
..... ICE has said in documents shared with local authorities that it conducts site inspections, environmental surveys, water-infrastructure reviews and explores "alternative options' for each of the warehouses it's attempting to purchase.
..... But local and state officials said they haven't receive such reports despite requesting them. Others said the federal government's responses have been insufficient.
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ICE's rapid expansion has also been marred by a string of errors. Over a three-day span in February, [2026] the agency retracted three separate statements announcing warehouse purchases.
..... "ICE has NOT purchased a facility in Lebanon, Tennessee," the agency told the Nashville Tennessean, part of the USA Today Network, a day after confirming the acquisition to multiple news outlets. "That statement was sent without proper approval, and this mistake has since been rectified."
..... ICE also walked back statements saying it had brought warehouses in Chester, New York, and Roxbury, New Jersey.
..... In New Hampshire, Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte and GOP leaders have criticized the administration's handling of a proposed ICE facility in the state, accusing the agency of rushing the process and providing inaccurate information.
..... Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons testified to Congress that he had shared an economic impact report with Avott's office. The governor said "this s simply not true" and wrote in a statement that she did not received the report until after Lyons' appearance on Capitol Hill.
..... The report itself raised fresh concerns: it first paragraph refers to the "Oklahoma economy."
..... "The data we got last night was clearly a cut-and-paste job," said New Hampshire state Senator Tim McGough, a Republican.