DHS Pauses Immigrant Warehouse Purchases Under New Secretary

The Department of Homeland Security is pausing new warehouse purchases intended to house immigrants while it reviews contracts signed under former Secretary Kristi Noem, according to a senior DHS official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The pause comes days after Markwayne Mullin was sworn in as the new Homeland Security secretary, inheriting a $38.3 billion detention expansion plan that generated fierce opposition across the country. DHS confirmed the review in a statement, saying that “as with any transition, we are reviewing agency policies and proposals.”

Mullin stepped into a department already dealing with significant blowback over how the previous administration handled the warehouse acquisition strategy. The plan called for boosting detention capacity to 92,000 beds by acquiring eight large-scale facilities capable of housing 7,000 to 10,000 detainees each, plus 16 smaller regional processing centers.

So far, 11 warehouses have been purchased across Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Utah. The federal government spent a combined $1.074 billion on those acquisitions. But lawsuits are pending in three states, and the capacity of at least one facility has already been walked back. A warehouse in Surprise, Arizona, was originally planned as a 1,500-bed processing site. Surprise Mayor Kevin Sartor confirmed Monday that DHS now plans to cap occupied beds at 542.

The backlash to the program stretched well beyond communities that have opposed Donald Trump’s administration on immigration. Mayors, county commissioners, governors, and members of Congress in Trump-supporting areas said they learned about ICE’s plans only after the agency had already bought or leased space in their communities. The lack of coordination drew criticism on both sides of the aisle.

Eight deals collapsed before they closed, including a planned site in Kansas City, Missouri, where property owners chose not to sell after details became public. Opponents raised concerns ranging from moral objections to ICE detention to practical worries about whether large-scale facilities would strain local sewer and water infrastructure.

During his confirmation hearing, Mullin acknowledged the communication failures. “We’ve got to protect the homeland and we’re going to do that,” he said. “But obviously we want to work with community leaders.” The DHS statement following news of the pause echoed that, noting Mullin’s commitment to being “good partners” with local officials.

Whether the review results in significant changes to the acquisition plan, a scaling back of the bed count targets, or simply a procedural reset is not yet clear. The scrutiny covers both new purchases and warehouses already acquired under Noem’s leadership.

The warehouse program matters to South Florida beyond federal immigration policy. The region’s industrial real estate market has been sensitive to large government acquisition activity, and any federal pullback from warehouse purchases nationally could affect how property owners and developers price and position large industrial assets in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. South Florida’s port-adjacent warehouse stock in particular draws interest from multiple sectors, including marine logistics, freight forwarding, and now federal detention infrastructure.

The pause also arrives as Florida’s congressional delegation and municipal leaders have been navigating the politics of ICE cooperation. Several local governments in the region have faced pressure to clarify their posture toward federal immigration enforcement, and the DHS communication failures documented in the warehouse program have not made those conversations easier.

Mullin’s stated preference for working with community leaders before acquiring facilities represents a meaningful shift in tone from how the program operated under Noem. Whether that shift translates to substantive changes in how DHS moves forward with detention expansion is a question that local officials, legal challengers in three states, and property owners sitting on potential acquisition targets will all be watching closely in the months ahead.