ICE to expand detention capacity using Arizona warehouse, Washington Post reports

Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to detain immigrants in a series of large warehouses around the U.S. — including one in Arizona. That’s according to a recent report from the Washington Post.

The Post says it reviewed a draft solicitation document that shows ICE is asking contractors to help outfit the US detention system to detain more than 80,000 immigrants at once.

The report identifies 23 warehouse sites across the country that would be renovated to serve as processing centers — where 500 to 1,500 people would be held — and detention sites — where as many as 10,000 could be held. That includes one detention site in Glendale, Arizona, though further details about the exact location there are not clear.

According to the Post, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said she could not confirm the reporting and declined to answer questions about the warehouses.

Earlier this year, Post reporting using internal ICE documents found the agency plans to use existing jails and prisons to expand capacity — including one in Phoenix and another outside Tucson.

More than 68,000 people are detained today, according to the latest ICE data, a record high population.