The Trump administration is preparing an ambitious plan to rapidly expand immigration detention capacity in the United States by converting large industrial warehouses into immigrant detention centers.

According to internal documents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement According to information revealed exclusively by The Washington Post, Customs and Immigration Services (ICE) plans to simultaneously detain up to 80,000 people in at least seven large-scale facilities, each with a capacity to hold between 5,000 and 10,000 immigrants, distributed across states such as Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, Georgia, and Missouri. The ultimate goal would be to accelerate deportation processes as part of the mass expulsion plan implemented by the Trump Administration since its return to power. The scheme envisions newly detained immigrants being sent first to smaller processing centers for several weeks before being transferred to these warehouses, where they would remain until their deportation is finalized. In addition, the project includes the establishment of 16 other smaller centers, with between 500 and 1,500 beds, in locations such as Chester, New York; Salt Lake City; and Los Fresnos, Texas. and strategic locations

Most of the proposed warehouses are in Republican-governed areas, though the plan also includes at least two cities under Democratic leadership: Stafford, Virginia, and Kansas City, Missouri.

In Stafford's case, ICE plans to detain some 5,000 people in an industrial area about 40 miles south of Washington.

Stafford County Supervisor Pamela Yeung warned the Post that any such facility would have to comply with local zoning laws and building codes.

“Immigration policy is federal, but its impacts are local,” she said. “A facility of this magnitude would affect infrastructure, public safety and social services.”

Other cities that would host large detention centers are Hutchins and Baytown, Texas; Hammond, Louisiana; Glendale, Arizona; and Social Circle, Georgia. The facilities would be located near major logistics hubs, which, according to ICE,would reduce costs and transfer times.

Criticism, Logistics, and Record Deportations

The draft argues that the new centers “will minimize costs, shorten processing times, limit the length of stays, and expedite the deportation process,” while promoting “the safety, dignity, and respect” of detainees.

The structures would be modified to include dormitories with showers and bathrooms, kitchens, dining rooms, recreational rooms areas, medical units, and even law libraries. However, human rights advocates and commercial real estate experts warn about the risks of using warehouses designed for storage and transportation as living spaces.

“It's dehumanizing,” denounced Tania Wolf of the National Immigration Project, comparing the treatment of immigrants to that of “cattle.”

Recent data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) indicates that, since January 20, 2025, the United States has deported more than 605,000 immigrants, in direct response to Trump's immigration offensive.

ICE also reported that as of early December, it was holding more than 68,000 people in custody, nearly half of whom had no criminal record.

Although the draft is not yet final, ICE plans to share it this week with private detention companies to gauge their interest. The scale of the project, warn former agency officials, will depend not only on the available infrastructure but also on the ability to recruit and train the necessary personnel to safely operate detention centers of this size.