Related videos:
The United States government, led by President Donald Trump, aims to significantly expand the ICE detention center network by acquiring and repurposing warehouses and former prisons in various regions of the country.
According to AP, federal officials have been visiting cities and counties in search of facilities that can house thousands of detained immigrants, as part of a $45 billion expansion plan funded by proceeds from the recent tax cut legislation.
The program has generated strong local opposition. In places like Kansas City, Richmond, and Orlando, municipal authorities and state legislators have pushed for measures to block the establishment of detention centers, citing security concerns and a lack of transparency.
In Kansas City, for example, a five-year moratorium was imposed on new centers not managed by the local government, emphasized the press agency.
The expansion occurs as ICE doubles its operational capacity: more than 75,000 migrants were detained by mid-January, compared to 40,000 recorded a year earlier.
In just twelve months, the number of centers contracted by the agency grew to 225 across 48 states and territories, many of them through agreements with local prisons or the Federal Marshals Service.
Various states led by Democrats, including New Mexico, California, and New York, have introduced bills to limit or prevent new contracts with ICE.
However, experts in immigration law warn that the scope of action for local governments is limited, as federal contracts take precedence over state regulations, emphasized AP.
Filed under: