By Joseph De Avila

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to spend $38.3 billion on new detention facilities to meet the agency's growing demand for bedspace and to streamline the removal process for people living in the country illegally.

ICE aims to acquire and renovate eight large-scale detention centers and 16 processing sites, according to documents released by New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican. The immigration-enforcement agency plans to increase its detention capacity to 92,600 beds, the documents said. The agency also plans to acquire 10 existing facilities where it currently operates.

"For ICE to sustain the anticipated increase in enforcement operations and arrests in 2026, an increase in detention capacity will be a necessary downstream requirement," the documents said.

The documents show how the Trump administration plans to transform industrial spaces into immigration detention facilities for long-term use. The expansion of the detention centers will help speed up the removal of people living in the U.S. illegally, according to ICE, as President Trump acts on his campaign promise of large-scale deportations.

The detention centers are expected to hold detainees for 60 days on average, the documents said. Processing sites will hold people for an average of three to seven days.

The funds for the new sites were allocated through Congress in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The Department of Homeland Security provided the documents to Ayotte's office Thursday after a U.S. Senate hearing where interim ICE Director Todd Lyons testified.

Part of ICE's expansion plans calls for opening a processing site in Merrimack, N.H. DHS estimates it will spend $158 million retrofitting the facility and $146 million to operate the site in the first three years, according to an economic-impact analysis provided to Ayotte's office.

The document also says the facility will help increase annual state income and sales tax revenues. New Hampshire doesn't have a state income or sales tax.

The town council of Merrimack opposes the new facility and wrote a letter to DHS saying the site would have negative financial impacts for the community and create unrest among residents. Residents against the proposed facility have protested outside the town hall, according to local news reports.

DHS didn't respond to a request for comment Friday.

Write to Joseph De Avila at joseph.deavila@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 13, 2026 15:19 ET (20:19 GMT)

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