GAO finds millions wasted in ICE detention expansion

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement wasted millions of dollars as it rapidly expanded detention capacity without a comprehensive strategic plan, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Thursday.

ICE spent about $1.07 billion to buy 11 warehouses intended for conversion into detention centers, but none has housed detainees and seven are now slated for sale. The agency incurred nearly $20 million in unrecoverable costs for services, security, utilities and other expenses tied to the properties. Renovations at two of the remaining warehouses, in Arizona and Maryland, are on hold amid legal challenges.

The report also identified $2.85 million spent on tents at the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay that were never used because they did not meet federal standards. At Camp East Montana in El Paso, the government bought $7.1 million in food it did not need and spent another $11.5 million on services during two weeks when the facility was empty. The federal government also committed up to $608 million to reimburse Florida for operating the now-closed facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” where the daily cost per detainee reached $249, compared with ICE’s usual $92.

ICE’s detained population grew from roughly 39,000 in January 2025 to about 67,000 on July 30, 2026. Congress allocated $45 billion for detention expansion. The GAO urged “urgent planning” to limit further waste and said ICE’s target of August 2027 for completing a strategy was too late. DHS said ICE was pursuing cost-effective ways to implement the administration’s deportation policy.