A summary of recent media coverage on immigration detention

Susan Manuel, July 11, 2026

In February, the American Immigration Council pointed out that ICE planned to use its $45 billion tranche from Congress for a “reengineered” detention system to purchase commercial warehouses and retrofit them for a national network of detention centers. That meant a big change, away from the funding of private detention providers, i.e. private prison corporations and or state and local governments.

The ICE Detention Reengineering Initiative, which aimed to be implemented by Sept. 2026, was to lead to a centrally planned and operated detention system. However, plans changed. In a July 8 story about the Newburgh warehouse allegedly leased by or for ICE, the Times Union said, “DHS is planning to offload some warehouses it purchased under the previous secretary, Kristi Noem.

Previously, the New York Times and NBC News reported in May and June that ICE planned to give or sell to other agencies seven warehouses it bought in other states for $700 million-$1 billion. NBC opined this was part of the “cultural shift” taking place inside DHS under Markwayne Mullin. Protests and lawsuits from communities where detention centers were proposed could also have been a factor.

Meanwhile Project Salt Box reported on 9 July that ICE plans to award construction contracts to restore or build detention facilities without routing the work through a Navy logistics program as previously. This followed calls by Senators Warren and Shaheen for the Pentagon to end its agreement with DHS.

Salt Box cited a federal contractor who said that “ICE was shifting away from the warehouse conversion strategy toward greenfield construction—building new facilities on undeveloped land.” This would also allow ICE to impose stricter controls over who can access the properties and to circumvent any environmental reviews of proposed construction.

A focus on Newburgh

The ICE lease of a 42,377-square-foot warehouse in Newburgh about a mile from Stewart Airport, and subsequent protests — were widely reported by media in the region. The Times Union on July 8 noted that the GSA inventory of owned and leased properties includes a warehouse at 800 Corporate Blvd. References to ICE were later removed from the documents. The lessee is Leverage Enterprises Inc. of Houston which will be paid $35.5 million over 15 years. It’s unclear what the building will be used for.

Media reported on a wall of opposition to a detention center in Newburgh. Hundreds attended a protest on 7 July, including local leaders and Rep. Pat Ryan. Even some Republicans are against it, including Newburgh supervisor Gil Piaquadio and Jackie Auringer, Republican candidate for Congress in Ryan’s 18th district.

Auringer blamed Democrats. “They passed laws that defy federal immigration law and block cooperation with federal immigration enforcement which does nothing to reduce the need to process illegal immigrants. It only pushes Washington toward more costly options, away from existing local capacity into a system that makes life harder for those being detained,” she said, while agreeing that local authorities should be consulted on the use of local facilities.

The Newburgh town board in February passed a resolution opposing the use of any warehouse in Orange County as an immigration detention facility. Local officials said they had not been contacted by any federal agency concerning use of the warehouse. Earlier this year, ICE began leasing office space in New Windsor and has an existing office at 15 Governor Drive in Newburgh. See coverage from the Times Union, the Times Herald Record, WAMC, and the Daily Freeman.

Beds in Buffalo…and beyond

In the same week, DHS announced it is expanding its 650-bed Buffalo Federal Detention Center in Batavia by 100 beds “in response to a recent state law that will bar the agency from detaining people in county jails,” the Highlands Current reported. “The expansion comes as ICE is set to lose access to hundreds of beds it has used at local jails in recent months” as part of the NY state budget which bans counties from detaining people for ICE.

The Buffalo facility is one of a handful of ICE jails that the agency owns outright. Privately run detention facilities are illegal in New York, according to NY Focus. Immigration activists in the area told Focus that this new wing could be used to house women who are often released from traffic stops as there is nowhere to detain them locally. The law goes into effect Aug. 25 and counties have three months to terminate agreements with ICE, according to the Highlands Current. Read more on this from New York Focus and Press Connects.

However, on 8 July, DHS told a federal court that it is reconsidering its plans to sell a ware house it purchased recently as a detention facility in Roxbury NJ. Salt Box also reported that ICE asked private contractors last year for at least 5,500 new detention beds in Denver, Miami, Seattle, and central PA — all places with detention facilities operated by GEO Group. Those facilities must start holding detainees within 30 days of a contract award.

Salt Box concluded, “Whether reviving a mothballed facility in rural Colorado or expanding a prison footprint in an Arizona floodplain, the strategy remains uniform. Nationwide, ICE is moving aggressively on multiple procurement tracks to solidify its grip on any facility it can to hold detainees.”

Mexico responds

Media globally reported last week that Mexico will open criminal investigations into the deaths of its citizens during immigration enforcement operations. President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico “cannot turn a blind eye to the Mexicans who have died.” She said Mexico will file a formal complaint with state and federal prosecutors in the US against those responsible for murders and/or human rights violations.

This came two days after the killing of Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during an immigration operation in Houston. Others have died in custody. Human Rights Watch reported that in the 500 days from Trump’s inauguration to June 4 2026, 52 people died in ICE custody.