We Don’t Get Ready, We Stay Ready with ACLU’s Cecillia Wang and W. Kamau Bell

WASHINGTON – New documents obtained by the ACLU this week reveal further details about Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) plans to expand ICE detention facilities in 10 states across the country. The documents signal a massive expansion of ICE detention capacity – including at facilities notorious for misconduct and abuse – which echo reports earlier this week that the Trump administration has sought proposals for up to $45 billion to expand immigrant detention. The discovery also comes on the heels of a “strategic sourcing vehicle” released by ICE earlier this month, which called for government contractors to submit proposals for immigration detention and related services. “The documents received provide important details regarding what we have long feared – a massive expansion of ICE detention facilities nationwide in an effort to further the Trump administration’s dystopian plans to deport our immigrant neighbors and loved ones,” said Eunice Cho, senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s National Prison Project. “This expansion is a disastrous waste of billions of taxpayer dollars that will only line the coffers of the private prison industry.” The more than 250 pages of documents disclosed this week include information regarding facility capacity, history of facility use, available local transport, proximity to local hospitals, immigration courts, and transport, as well as access to local consulates and pro bono legal services. Specifically, the documents reveal that Geo Group, Inc. (GEO) and CoreCivic submitted proposals for a variety of facilities not currently in use by ICE, including: Facilities in California, such as McFarland Detention center in McFarland, CA, as well as California City Correctional Center in California City, CA. ICE recently issued a sole source justification and approval notice for use of the California City, CA facility. Facilities across the Midwest, including North Lake Correctional Center in Baldwin, MI and Midwest Regional Reception Center in Leavenworth, KS. Notably, the Leavenworth facility has come under challenge by the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, which has filed suit to prevent CoreCivic from reopening the facility without a city permit. GEO recently announced a new contract with ICE for the Baldwin, MI facility. Facilities across the Southwest, including Lea County Detention Center in Hobbs, NM and South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, TX. CoreCivic has announced a new contract with ICE to reopen the Dilley, TX facility. GEO, CoreCivic, and MTC also sought to renew contracts at current ICE detention facilities, including: Facilities across the Southwest, including Cibola County Correctional Center in Milan, NM; Torrance County Correctional Center in Estancia, NM; Nevada Southern Detention Center in Pahrump, NV; Rio Grande Processing Center in Laredo, TX; and expanded use of El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, TX. Facilities across California, including Central Valley Annex in McFarland, CA; Golden State Annex in McFarland, CA; and Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield, CA. The Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, WA. Sabot Consulting also submitted a proposal to construct new facilities in Utah and Wyoming. Although a large portion of the document is redacted, the proposal cites to “potentially problematic statutory requirements” in Utah state law that would pose challenges to the construction of a new facility absent a contract with the state department of corrections. The proposal also includes a map of the geographic boundaries of the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal. Meanwhile, Target Hospitality submitted a proposal for use of temporary buildings for use as detention facilities at Carrizo Springs, TX, previously used to hold unaccompanied immigrant minors in the custody of the Office of Refugee Settlement. Active Deployment Systems also submitted a proposal including “proposed camp layout[s]” to “utiliz[e] available land to construct a comprehensive using modular units” for ICE detention in sites near Harlingen, TX; Kansas City, MO; and in Montana. ICE previously released these documents in an earlier production, subject to significant redactions, and secured as part of an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit first filed by the ACLU in September 2024. The lawsuit sought records related to ICE’s contract solicitations to “identify possible detention facilities” in 17 states covered by the Chicago, Harlingen, Newark, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Seattle, San Francisco, and El Paso ICE Field Offices. Notably, information regarding the availability of medical care, pricing, and potential staffing challenges remains redacted in most proposals. Details regarding potential impediments to facility operation – including pending or expected legal issues, and political opposition to ICE’s mission within the local community – were also omitted from the latest production of FOIA documents obtained via the ACLU’s litigation. The FOIA documents are available here.

NEW YORK — A federal court in New York issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) tonight halting removals under the Alien Enemies Act for people within that court’s judicial district. The ruling stems from an emergency lawsuit filed yesterday by the American Civil Liberties Union and New York Civil Liberties Union, in partnership with The Legal Aid Society, whose clients are plaintiffs in the litigation. The case results from a U.S. Supreme Court decision on Monday lifting a nationwide TRO in a challenge to President Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 wartime act the administration is trying to use to bypass immigration law. But the Supreme Court also ordered that people targeted for removal under the act are entitled to challenge that and must have meaningful notice and opportunity to do so. The parties were in federal court in New York today successfully seeking the TRO, and a preliminary injunction hearing has been scheduled for April 22 “Just as the Supreme Court stressed, the court in New York properly recognized that the right to judicial review is of no value without notice. The court was correct to block any more removals to a notorious foreign prison without due process,” said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project and lead counsel. “Today, the Southern District rightly blocked Donald Trump's attempts to invoke a wartime act to justify the removal of people without due process in New York. The Alien Enemies Act occupies a deeply shameful place in history, and we will fight to ensure the government does not ensnare any more New Yorkers in its reckless abuse of power,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “This ruling is a powerful affirmation of due process and the rule of law and a vital victory for our clients who are survivors rightfully seeking protection under our asylum laws,” said Sayoni Maitra, supervising attorney in the Immigration Law Unit at The Legal Aid Society. The ruling is here. Case background is here.

HOUSTON — A federal court in Texas today issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) just hours after the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Texas filed an emergency lawsuit. The TRO halts removals under the Alien Enemies Act for people held at the El Valle Detention Center in Raymondville, Texas. The lawsuit follows a U.S. Supreme Court decision on Monday lifting a nationwide temporary restraining order in a challenge to President Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 wartime act the administration is trying to use to bypass immigration law. In its ruling, the Supreme Court also ordered that people targeted for removal under the act are entitled to challenge their removals and must have meaningful notice and opportunity to do so. The Texas federal court scheduled a further hearing for Friday, April 11. The TRO order is online here.

HOUSTON — The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Texas filed an emergency lawsuit this morning in federal court in Texas to again halt removals under the Alien Enemies Act for people within that court’s judicial district. The action follows a U.S. Supreme Court decision on Monday lifting a nationwide temporary restraining order in a challenge to President Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 wartime act the administration is trying to use to bypass immigration law. In its ruling, the Supreme Court also ordered that people targeted for removal under the act are entitled to challenge their removals and must have meaningful notice and opportunity to do so. The complaint is online here. More case details and filings are here.