The Department of Homeland Security has purchased two California detention centers for $1.5B.
The 2,560-bed California City Detention Facility and 1,994-bed Otay Mesa Detention Center cost the federal government $732.6M and $739.2M, respectively. That's roughly 50% more than the $1B it spent buying 11 warehouses across the country in early 2026.
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The acquisitions are part of an ongoing $38.3B effort to create the infrastructure needed for President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign.
DHS previously focused on purchasing vacant warehouses that could be retrofitted for detention use. In June, the agency reportedly shifted to buying existing facilities from private prison companies with which the government already has relationships.
The purpose-built facilities in San Diego and California City were sold by CoreCivic, one of the largest prison operators in the United States, according to a company release. The firm will continue to manage the facilities under an existing contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
CoreCivic is in discussions with ICE about additional transactions, according to the release. According to a DHS memo published in February by New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte's office, the agency plans to purchase 10 “turnkey” facilities that ICE already uses for immigrant detention.
The funding for the purchases came from $45B allocated to ICE by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed last year, to expand detention center capacity.
DHS also plans to offload a handful of its recently purchased warehouses, some of which weren't meeting federal standards. The government could suffer steep losses after paying significantly above market rate for the properties.
An analysis of DHS records by Project Salt Box found that warehouses were bought at an average 134% markup over assessed value. That includes a facility in Flowery Branch, Georgia, that was purchased for $68M after being valued at just $400K.
ICE has approximately $293M worth of warehouses listed for sale. At least two projects, in Maryland and Arizona, have been paused amid court challenges.
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