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.
