Managing migrants like merchandise. According to information from Washington Post – illustrious American investigative daily – Donald Trump’s administration is preparing a massive overhaul of the immigration detention system in the United States, with a project aimed at locking up to 80,000 people simultaneously in renovated industrial warehouses. Information currently denied by the American government.
According to internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) documents consulted by the daily, seven large-capacity detention centers — each capable of housing between 5,000 and 10,000 people — should be put into service, supplemented by sixteen smaller sites. The stated objective is to speed up expulsions thanks to a “structured delivery system”, making it possible to put an end to the current system of permanent transfers between saturated centers. “Newly arrested people would be registered at processing sites for a few weeks, before being directed to one of seven large warehouses […] where they would be held with a view to their expulsion”, details the WP.
Warehouses located in Republican states
The majority of these warehouses would be located near large logistics hubs in Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, Georgia and Missouri, states led by Republicans and favorable to Donald Trump’s migration policy. ICE plans to develop the buildings, with dormitories, bathrooms, kitchens, medical units, indoor and outdoor recreational spaces, and legal libraries and administrative offices, with some facilities being family-friendly.
The plan is part of Donald Trump’s broader strategy to detain and deport millions of immigrants, with more than 579,000 people already deported this year. And the pace isn’t slowing: As of early this month, ICE was detaining more than 68,000 people, according to agency data — a record high. Nearly half, or 48 percent, of those people have no criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, according to ICE data.
The administration already has $45 billion voted by Congress to expand the detention system, having already reopened disused prisons, used military bases and set up tent camps in isolated regions managed by Republican governors. On top of that, the government has already awarded a $30 million contract for help with “due diligence and conceptual design services” for the new facilities, according to government procurement records.
“Run it like a business”
The new structures must, according to documents cited by the newspaper, “maximize efficiency, minimize costs, shorten processing times” and “promote safety, dignity and respect”. Acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons takes a managerial approach: “We have to do a better job of learning how to run this like a business,” he said at an April border security conference documented by the Arizona Mirror. Going so far as to compare the goal to the efficiency of Amazon’s package delivery: “Like Prime, but with human beings.”
However, the project has attracted strong criticism, particularly from experts and human rights defenders. “It’s dehumanizing,” denounces Tania Wolf of the National Immigration Project, quoted by The Washington Postbelieving that those detained would be treated “like cattle”. Commercial real estate experts say consolidating people held in warehouses would pose its own logistical problems. These structures are designed for storage and shipping, not human accommodation. They are often poorly ventilated and lack accurate temperature controls — and, because they are typically located far from residential areas, they may lack the plumbing and sanitation networks needed to accommodate thousands of full-time residents.
No construction or commissioning schedule has yet been established, and the tender project is not final and may still evolve. But according to an internal email viewed by The Post“ICE plans to share it this week with private detention companies to gauge their interest and refine the plan. A formal request for proposals could follow soon after,” says the newspaper.
