U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is planning to open four new detention centers in the Seattle, Philadelphia, Miami and Denver areas with a combined capacity of 5,500 people, according to federal solicitation documents that outline one of the agency's largest recent expansions of immigration detention.
The proposed facilities would be "turnkey" operations capable of housing detainees within 30 days of a contract award. Each would include five immigration courtrooms, judges' chambers and at least 20 offices for ICE attorneys, allowing many court proceedings to take place inside the detention centers rather than requiring transportation to outside courts.
The expansion, reported by NBC News, comes as ICE detention has reached record levels. The agency detained nearly 40,000 people in June and is currently holding more than 65,000 detainees across 207 facilities in 40 states, according to Department of Homeland Security data.
DHS says about 72% of those in custody have criminal convictions or pending criminal charges.
The solicitation documents also require extensive video surveillance throughout the facilities, retention of camera footage for up to 90 days and policies governing the use of body-worn cameras during detainee transport, use-of-force incidents and periods of unrest.
The requirements follow criticism over the fatal shootings of two men by ICE agents in Texas and Maine, where officers were not wearing body cameras. After the Maine shooting, border czar Tom Homan said ICE had directed agents to ensure at least one body camera is used during every vehicle stop.
WIRED reported that draft contract language for the four facilities states that state and local laws "shall not apply" to their operations. The proposed language was published one day after a federal judge ruled that an ICE contract could not prevent Washington state health officials from inspecting the privately operated Tacoma detention center, though that order has since been temporarily paused on appeal.
The expansion also comes amid broader scrutiny of detention conditions. A court-appointed monitor this week found California's largest ICE detention center failed to meet required healthcare standards across every category reviewed, citing systemic deficiencies in medical care.
