The Department of Homeland Security is pausing plans to buy more warehouses to detain immigrants, according to two senior DHS officials who stressed the decision may only be temporary.
The two officials said that while purchasing is on hold, plans are moving forward to develop facilities that have already been acquired for that purpose. It’s not clear yet whether incoming Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin will change the direction of immigration enforcement and detention.
Border security and immigration remains a top priority for President Donald Trump. But voters gave him poor marks on immigration according to a recent NBC News poll, after DHS surged federal agents into the heart of American cities under former Secretary Kristi Noem.
As of spring 2026, 11 sites nationwide have been purchased out of 20 potential locations, according to a tally by NBC News. The cost of the total purchasing plan was estimated at over $38 billion.
A DHS spokesperson said: “As with any transition, we are reviewing agency policies and proposals.”
The pause gives Mullin time to review Noem’s policies before adapting them, the officials said. The former Oklahoma senator was sworn in last week by Attorney General Pam Bondi in the Oval Office.
Under Noem, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement bought up mega warehouses around the country that could house up to 8,000 immigrants per facility.
But local leaders and members of Congress in some of the districts where the detention centers were planned pushed back. Maryland sued successfully to stop ICE from developing a warehouse near Hagerstown. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., criticized the DHS’s plan to turn a warehouse in Byhalia, Miss. into an ICE Detention Center.
“I’m all for immigration enforcement, but this site was meant for economic development and job creation. We cannot suddenly flood Byhalia with an influx of up to 10,000 detainees,” Wicker said in a Feb. 4 post on X before Noem scrapped the plans.
During his confirmation hearing, Mullin was questioned about whether he would work with community leaders before moving ahead with plans to purchase warehouses. He said he would.
“I will work with the community leaders and make sure that we are delivering for the American people what the President set out … We want to work with community leaders. We want to be good partners,” he said.
Previously, two government contractors who work in immigration detention told NBC News they were worried that new warehouses would present safety problems.
