WASHINGTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement intends to hire thousands of new guards, some with guns, to blanket major East Coast cities and transport immigrant detainees.
In an active solicitation on a government contracting database, ICE said it is seeking a private company to provide around-the-clock transportation and monitoring of people whom immigration agents have detained. A 77-page draft document included a suggestion for would-be agents: “Unless unforeseen circumstances arise, prevent public contact or keep to a minimum.”
“Operations are primarily conducted in the States of New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Delaware, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Virginia, and, in some cases, as far as North Carolina and Georgia,” reads the draft.
The winning bidder would operate from Newark and Mount Laurel field officers, and elsewhere along the East Coast. ICE also is targeting Baltimore, Boston, New York City and Washington.
The request from ICE is part of a growing nationwide immigrant jail and deportation apparatus, funded through a dense July 2025 law that disproportionally benefits the wealthy while cutting public health care and food programs.
That law contains $45 billion for new ICE detention facilities available through President Donald Trump’s term, making it nearly impossible to defund. From that total, ICE plans to spend about $38 billion to construct a network of detention sites to hold and deport people, according to public records.
The new model calls for 92,600 detention beds in ICE facilities nationwide, up from more than 75,000 in mid-January, and the hiring of 12,000 officers. Construction of all these facilities is scheduled to be complete by November.
“This model includes the acquisition and renovation of eight large-scale detention centers and 16 processing sites, as well as the acquisition of 10 existing ‘turnkey’ facilities where ICE ERO already operates,” the agency, referring to ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division, said in a planning document last month.
In New Jersey, the ICE buildout is taking root. The agency purchased a warehouse in Roxbury Township in Morris County, 45 miles west of Manhattan, for about $130 million — roughly double its market value — from investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Dalfen Industrial, a Dallas real-estate firm.
Credit: (John Mooney/NJ Spotlight News)Elected leaders and many residents in Roxbury, which Trump easily carried in the 2024 presidential election, oppose the new ICE warehouse.
After ICE’s Roxbury purchase became public, the congressman who represents the area, Rep. Tom Kean (R-7th), filed a bill to create a federal grant program to “mitigate expenses for municipalities where ICE processing or detention facilities are maintained or under development.”
Kean voted for the law that paid for the warehouse purchase. His bill almost certainly won’t receive a vote in this Congress, where Republicans hold the majority in the House and Senate.
The open solicitation calls for hired guards to accompany detainees on daily tasks. “These services shall include, but might not be limited to, escorting and guarding detainees for emergency medical services, to medical or doctor’s appointments, immigration and criminal court hearings, ICE interviews, and any other location requested by the ICE-designated official,” the draft reads.
In a statement about its work in New Jersey, ICE said it is “expanding its operations” because of the new law.
ICE “has achieved a 120% increase in workforce and secured funding for additional detention centers,” the agency said. “ICE remains steadfast in its commitment to uphold the law and safeguard our communities.”
Beyond its field bases in Newark and Mount Laurel, ICE purchased office space in Roseland, in Essex County.
Trump on March 12 fired Kristi Noem as secretary of Homeland Security, which includes ICE. Trump said Republican U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin from Oklahoma will assume the job, which requires Senate confirmation, at the end of the month.
A former mixed-martial arts fighter often found bouncing a ball for fun in the Senate halls, Mullin is an ardent supporter of ICE.
After immigration officers in Minnesota fatally shot two civilians who protested the Trump administration’s deportation agenda, Mullin defended ICE in an online post: “These Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are red-blooded American patriots doing a tough job to keep our nation safe.”
Trump praised Mullin. “Markwayne truly gets along well with people and knows the wisdom and courage required to advance our America First agenda.”
