The Department of Homeland Security’s purchase of more than a billion dollars in warehouses is facing fresh scrutiny from inside the agency.
The DHS inspector general launched a probe into the controversial $38B program started under former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to convert warehouses into detention centers.
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The probe is looking at whether U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's plan to convert facilities complies with federal standards, according to the DHS Office of Inspector General website. It adds to a probe launched in 2025 into whether existing facilities are meeting standards, according to the OIG.
The probe was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which said the inspector general plans to announce an “audit of ICE’s acquisition of detention space,” one of Noem’s biggest policy moves during her tumultuous tenure at the top of DHS.
The agency spent at least $1.1B on 11 warehouses before Noem was fired on March 6. Markwayne Mullin left his seat in the Senate representing Oklahoma to replace Noem. ICE paused warehouse acquisitions shortly afterward, with the new secretary expressing skepticism about the plan.
President Donald Trump ran for a second term on a platform that included the promise of mass deportations, and the administration said it executed 675,000 deportations in its first year. A DHS spokesperson said the agency was committed to full transparency and pledged it wouldn't interfere in the investigation.
“Under Secretary Mullin, ICE law enforcement is focused on delivering the President’s mandate to the American people to remove murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and terrorists from American communities,” the spokesperson said.
The inspector general is also looking into how DHS contracts were awarded during Noem’s tenure, the WSJ reported in March.
Critics argue that DHS vastly overpaid for some properties in its race to stand up facilities that could hold as many as 80,000 people as part of its immigration crackdown.
The plan has faced setbacks on several fronts, most recently in a Maryland court after a judge ruled that a planned facility couldn’t skirt environmental review. The decision could have knock-on effects and cause delays for other planned facilities, with DHS officials now planning to take additional regulatory steps at at least two other sites to try to avoid litigation, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times.
Several planned purchases were also canceled after pushback from local communities and elected officials. At least three acquisitions failed after the sellers walked away in February alone, including a Trammell Crow-owned warehouse in Oakwood, Georgia, and properties in Virginia and Oklahoma.
Other communities have balked after finding out acquisitions have already happened. Civic leaders in the tiny community of Hutchins, Texas, raised the alarm in January after a planned facility was forecast to potentially more than double the city’s population. U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, a Republican Trump ally, raised concerns to DHS in February over the purchase of a warehouse in Surprise, Arizona, after hearing complaints from constituents.
UPDATE, MAY 13, 1:06 P.M. ET: This story has been updated to include comment from DHS.
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