ICE Infrastructure Expansion — The Secret Buildout¶
Published by: Mortui Vivos Docent Intelligence Project
Date: February 12, 2026
Type: Infrastructure Intelligence
Confidence: HIGH — Based on leaked GSA documents, federal procurement records, and investigative reporting by WIRED, Bloomberg, Common Dreams, and American Immigration Council
Status: ACTIVE — Updated as new locations are identified
250 New Facilities. Nearly Every State. Hidden by Design.
Since September 2025, DHS has been secretly expanding ICE's physical footprint across the United States — 150+ leases already executed, ~250 total planned. They told the GSA to bypass normal procurement and hide the locations citing "national security." Many new offices are next to schools, daycares, churches, and hospitals.
Executive Summary¶
Internal government documents obtained by WIRED reveal that ICE and DHS have carried out a secret campaign to expand ICE's physical presence into nearly every state. More than 150 leases and office expansions have been executed, with approximately 250 total locations planned. DHS pressured the General Services Administration (GSA) to bypass standard procurement procedures and conceal lease locations.
The expansion is fueled by nearly $80 billion from the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," enabling ICE to more than double its workforce to 22,000 officers with plans to add 13,000 more — including 3,500 attorneys and 1,000 support staff.
This is not just an expansion of enforcement. It is the construction of a permanent surveillance and enforcement infrastructure embedded in American communities — next to schools, medical offices, places of worship, and childcare centers.
Timeline: The Secret Buildout¶
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | GSA staff assigned to "ICE surge" team; training cited "Big Beautiful Bill" as trigger |
| Sep 10, 2025 | OPLA memorandum requested exemption from standard leasing procedures |
| Sep 24, 2025 | DHS email requested GSA not publicize lease locations — "national security concerns" |
| Sep 25, 2025 | GSA commissioner approved exception to acquisition pause for ICE hiring surge |
| Sep 29, 2025 | ERO division submitted specific facility requirements |
| Oct 6, 2025 | Internal memorandum directed GSA to approve all ICE lease determinations |
| Oct 9, 2025 | OPLA submitted requests for 41 cities |
| Oct 29, 2025 | HSI memorandum requested nationwide lease acquisition |
| Early Nov 2025 | 19 projects already awarded; 100+ more pending |
| Feb 10, 2026 | WIRED publishes leaked documents |
By the Numbers¶
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| New facilities planned | ~250 |
| Leases already executed | 150+ |
| Budget allocation | $80 billion |
| Current ICE workforce | 22,000 |
| Planned new hires | 13,000 |
| Planned attorney hires (OPLA) | 3,500 |
| Planned support staff | 1,000 |
| Previous ERO field offices | 25 |
| ICE detainee population (record) | 66,000 |
| Increase since inauguration | ~70% |
How They're Hiding It¶
The expansion bypasses normal government procurement through multiple mechanisms:
- "Compelling urgency" loophole — DHS invoked the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) exemption, claiming "unusual or compelling urgency" to skip competitive bidding
- Concealment orders — DHS explicitly told GSA to hide lease listings from public view, citing "national security"
- Acquisition pause exemption — The GSA commissioner granted ICE an exception to the government-wide acquisition pause
- Blanket approval — An October 6 memorandum directed GSA to approve all ICE lease determinations without individual review
- Speed over process — Priority was "securing a space. Renovations are secondary" — finalize leases in days, not months
Translation: The government is spending billions of taxpayer dollars on a massive enforcement infrastructure buildup while deliberately preventing the public from knowing where these facilities are going.
Documented Locations¶
Texas (9+ projects)¶
| Location | Address | Nearby Sensitive Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Harlingen | 222 East Van Buren | — |
| The Woodlands | 1780 Hughes Landing Blvd | Primrose preschool nearby |
| El Paso | Epicenter Office Community (I-10 campus) | Multiple health providers |
| San Antonio | 15727 Anthem Parkway | — |
| Eagle Pass | 3381 US Highway 277 | — |
California (7+ projects)¶
| Location | Address | Nearby Sensitive Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Irvine | 2020 Main Street | Adjacent to childcare agency |
| Sacramento | John E. Moss federal building | DOJ immigration court |
| Van Nuys | James C. Corman federal building | — |
| Los Angeles | Federal buildings (expansion) | — |
| San Diego | Edward J. Schwartz Courthouse | — |
| Santa Ana | Federal buildings (identified) | — |
New York / New Jersey¶
| Location | Address | Nearby Sensitive Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Roseland, NJ | 5 Becker Farm Road | Roseland Child Development Center |
| Woodbury, NY | 88 Froehlich Farm Blvd | Expedited passport center |
| New Windsor, NY | 843 Union Avenue | — |
Detention Corridor
All three NY/NJ locations are within 90 minutes of a warehouse in Chester, NY that DHS is pursuing as an immigrant detention center — creating a coordinated arrest-to-detention pipeline.
Maryland¶
| Location | Address | Nearby Sensitive Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Hyattsville | Metro 1 building, 6505 Belcrest Rd | — |
| Cockeysville | OPLA office | Near proposed detention warehouse |
Connecticut¶
| Location | Address | Nearby Sensitive Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Hartford | Abraham A. Ribicoff federal building | Betances Elementary School |
Tennessee¶
| Location | Address | Nearby Sensitive Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Nashville | House office building | — |
| Memphis | 5904 Ridgeway Center Parkway | Hutchison School nearby |
Illinois¶
| Location | Address | Nearby Sensitive Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Oakbrook | Oakbrook Gateway | Bright Horizons daycare |
Idaho¶
| Location | Address | Nearby Sensitive Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Meridian | Portico at Meridian Center | Spalding STEM Academy |
| Coeur d'Alene | (address not disclosed) | — |
Pennsylvania¶
| Location | Address | Nearby Sensitive Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | 801 Arch Street | Co-located with DMV |
| Berwyn | 1000 Westlakes Drive | Hillside Elementary |
| York | Yorktowne Medical area | Medical facilities |
| Hamburg | Warehouse (~$90M purchase) | Proposed mega-detention |
Ohio¶
| Location | Address | Nearby Sensitive Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Westerville | 774 Park Meadow | Oakstone Academy High School |
South Carolina¶
| Location | Address | Nearby Sensitive Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Columbia | 1441 Main Street | Prisma Health Baptist Hospital |
| Charleston | (identified) | — |
Florida (6+ projects)¶
| Location | Address | Nearby Sensitive Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Naples | 75 Vineyards Boulevard | Physicians Regional Pine Ridge campus |
| Orlando | 12249 Science Drive (Research Commons) | — |
| Tampa | (identified) | — |
| Jacksonville | (identified) | — |
| Fort Lauderdale | (identified) | — |
| Fort Myers | (identified) | — |
Louisiana¶
| Location | Address | Nearby Sensitive Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Baton Rouge | (identified) | — |
| Alexandria | 1201 3rd Street | 16 minutes from staging facility |
| New Orleans | (identified) | — |
Other Confirmed States¶
| State | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Birmingham | Office expansion |
| Iowa | Des Moines | Office expansion |
| Kentucky | Louisville | Office expansion |
| Maine | Portland | One City Center |
| Michigan | Grand Rapids | Office expansion |
| Missouri | St. Louis | Office expansion |
| North Carolina | Raleigh | Office expansion |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma City | Office expansion |
| Virginia | Richmond | Office expansion |
| Washington | Spokane | Office expansion |
| Wisconsin | Milwaukee | Office expansion |
The Pattern: Schools, Churches, Hospitals¶
ICE is systematically placing enforcement infrastructure near institutions that communities depend on — and that people in vulnerable situations cannot avoid:
Documented Proximity to Sensitive Sites
Schools & Childcare:
- Primrose preschool (The Woodlands, TX)
- Childcare agency (Irvine, CA)
- Roseland Child Development Center (Roseland, NJ)
- Betances Elementary (Hartford, CT)
- Bright Horizons daycare (Oakbrook, IL)
- Spalding STEM Academy (Meridian, ID)
- Hillside Elementary (Berwyn, PA)
- Oakstone Academy High School (Westerville, OH)
- Hutchison School (Memphis, TN)
Medical Facilities:
- Multiple health providers (El Paso, TX)
- Yorktowne Medical (York, PA)
- Prisma Health Baptist Hospital (Columbia, SC)
- Physicians Regional Pine Ridge (Naples, FL)
This proximity is not accidental. It creates a chilling effect — parents afraid to take children to school, patients afraid to seek medical care, congregants afraid to attend services. The infrastructure itself becomes an instrument of terror, even before a single arrest is made.
Connections to Existing Intelligence¶
The Detention Pipeline¶
The office expansion feeds directly into the broader detention infrastructure we track:
- Chester, NY warehouse → Part of the TITUS network of mega-detention facilities
- Hamburg, PA warehouse (~$90M) → Proposed warehouse-to-jail conversion (Bloomberg investigation)
- Alexandria, LA staging facility → 16-minute drive from new ICE office, creating arrest-to-processing corridor
- Cockeysville, MD → OPLA office near proposed detention warehouse
→ See Detention Infrastructure for facility-level tracking
→ See The Pipeline for the arrest-to-deportation workflow
→ See Deportation Flights for air transport infrastructure
Personnel Expansion¶
The 13,000 new hires connect to the agent accountability crisis we document:
- ICE doubled from ~11,000 to 22,000 with no corresponding increase in oversight
- Training cut from 5 months to 47 days under Todd Lyons
- New OPLA attorneys (3,500) will accelerate deportation proceedings
- More agents + less training + zero accountability = more violence
What This Means¶
-
This is permanent. Leases and warehouse purchases are long-term investments. This infrastructure won't disappear with a change in administration.
-
This is everywhere. Not just border states — Idaho, Maine, Wisconsin, Iowa. ICE is building a nationwide domestic enforcement apparatus.
-
This is hidden by design. The deliberate concealment from public view means communities cannot prepare, organize, or respond.
-
This is accelerating. 19 projects awarded by November 2025, 100+ pending. The pace will increase as the $80 billion flows.
-
This is the machine. Individual arrests make headlines. This infrastructure is the machinery that makes mass enforcement possible at industrial scale.
Sources¶
- WIRED — "ICE Is Expanding Across the US at Breakneck Speed. Here's Where It's Going Next" (February 10, 2026)
- Common Dreams — "Amid Secretive Expansion, Leaked Docs Reveal Locations of New ICE Facilities Nationwide" (February 2026)
- Bloomberg — "ICE Begins Buying 'Mega' Warehouse Detention Centers Across US" (January 29, 2026)
- CBS News — "ICE's detainee population reaches 66,000, a new record high" (2026)
- American Immigration Council — "Immigration Detention Expansion in Trump's Second Term" (2026)
- Washington Post — "ICE eyes warehouses for its mass detention network" (January 30, 2026)
Every new office is a new point of surveillance. Every warehouse is a potential prison. Every lease hidden from public view is a community denied the right to know what's being built in their neighborhood.
Every. Human. Matters.
Published by Mortui Vivos Docent Intelligence Project
Methodology: Bellingcat-standard OSINT — public sources only