The Government Accountability Office says ICE wasted millions expanding detention: it spent about $1 billion on 11 warehouses and plans to sell seven. About $20 million in related costs were nonrecoverable; the Defense Department also spent nearly $3 million on unused tents.
GAO said ICE pursued detention expansion without a comprehensive strategic plan, consistent goals or an assessment of the risks and benefits of high-cost facilities compared with its existing space. The unused tents were intended to provide 5,000 beds for immigrants.
Separately, the Department of Homeland Security is reimbursing Florida through a FEMA grant for operating the now-shuttered Alligator Alcatraz and one other detention facility, at a rate 171% higher per bed than ICE normally pays. DHS did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
