GAO Finds Admin Wasted Millions in Expanding Immigrant Detentions

NEWS & RESEARCH

The General Accountability Office released a report on September 24, 2026 finding the Trump administration wasted tens of millions of dollars in federal funds in its efforts to greatly expand immigrant detentions. The expansion is part of the administration pledge to detain and deport a record number of immigrants and, to that end, Department of Homeland Security agenices have dramatically beefed up their hiring of enforcement officers and the purchasing of warehouses to use as detention centers. Among the waste cited by GAO, the administration misspent:

• $2,5 billion on warehouses and other facilities without assessing long-term costs.

• $20.5 million on utilities and administrative costs for seven warehouses the government bought and then sold.

• $3 million for tents to house migrants at Guantanamo Bay that were never use. The camp was intended to house 5,000 migrants; its daily average was actually 16.

• $7.1 million for food it did not need at a new detention camp in Texas.

• Department of Homeland Security reimbursed Florida at 171% of the rate of other facilities to house migrants at the now-shuttered “Alligator Alcatraz,” notorious for substandard and abusive conditions.

• ICE is also facing high costs under an agreement in which the Bureau of Prisons is housing detainees at eight facilities. The agreement requires ICE to reimburse the full cost— $182 per detainee per day.

• ICE has failed to state any goals with respect to bed space needs, including location, gender, risk classification, and medical needs.

SOURCES: General Accountability Office report | Axios | New York Times | Politico | The Guardian

ANALYSIS & OPINION

The GAO report, requested by congressional Democrats, found that rapid, unvetted detention expansion led to tens of millions of dollars in squandered taxpayer dollars. The expansion was fueled by dramatic increases in ICE funding. In 2025, ICE’s annual appropriation for detention facilities was around $3.8 billion. The so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act jacked that up to $45 billion for detention capacity through 2029, about three times the annual budget line in the 2025 appropriation. Sen. Gary Peters commented: “The Administration spent millions of dollars recklessly expanding detention facilities that could not meet basic standards, only to later dismantle or retrofit the facilities at enormous cost, all while deaths within ICE detention have skyrocketed. The federal government has an obligation to provide safe and appropriate conditions for people in its custody, and ICE should not be wasting taxpayer dollars on facilities that cannot safely meet those needs.”

SOURCES: General Accountability Office report | Axios | New York Times | Politico | The Guardian

HOW TO FIX IT

Federal action:

• Support the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act (S. 3702 / H.R. 6397):, which aims to prohibit the Department of Homeland Security from contracting with for-profit private entities to run detention facilities, phase out private operators, end family detention, and repeal mandatory detention requirements.

• Support the Stop Inhumane Conditions in ICE Detention Act (H.R. 7347), which aims to enforce stricter facility standards, safety requirements, and accountability measures on ICE detention centers.

• Support the Ban Warehouse Detention Act to bar DHS and ICE from establishing, converting, or expanding industrial warehouses into mass immigrant detention facilities.

• Support the Know Your Rights Act to require all detention centers and holding facilities to provide formal legal orientation programs to educate detainees on their due process rights.

• Reintroduce Public Oversight of Detention Centers (POD) Act), which aims to combat transparency blocks by immigration enforcement agencies to ensure unhindered facility access.

State action:

• State Attorneys General can argue that private corporations run most detention centers under government contracts, requiring these private entities to obey state laws. Washington State, for example, defended a 2023 law requiring routine state health inspections at private detention sites.

Litigation:

Follow and support this actions:

• Barco Mercado v. Mullin: US District Judge Lewis Kaplan issued a permanent injunction on September 24, 2026, condemning the "dreadful" and "squalid" conditions at a temporary holding facility in Lower Manhattan where ICE packed dozens of migrants into tiny rooms without proper bedding, showers, or medical care for days or weeks.

• Crow v. DHS (Members of Congress v. Trump Administration): On February 2, 2026, the federal district court for DC granted emergency relief to 13 members of Congress, restoring their legal right to conduct unannounced, real-time oversight visits to federal immigration detention centers after the administration attempted to enforce a mandatory 7-day advance notice policy.

• Maryland v. Lyons: Maryland's attorney general sued in federal district court to force ICE to comply with civil rights investigation subpoenas regarding detention practices and proposed expansions in Maryland.

Legislation: S.3702 - Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act | H.R.7347 - Stop Inhumane Conditions in ICE Detention Act of 2026 |
S.3927 - End Warehouse Detention Act‍ ‍