GAO Report Exposes ICE’s Reckless Waste and Inhumane Detention Expansion
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A Government Accountability Office review has uncovered egregious mismanagement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including millions squandered on unused facilities and exorbitant contracts, highlighting the agency’s disregard for both fiscal responsibility and human rights.
The Government Accountability Office reported Thursday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has squandered tens of millions of taxpayer dollars in its relentless drive to expand detention capacity—an expansion that perpetuates the criminalization of migrants. The audit revealed shocking expenditures, such as nearly $3 million wasted on tents at Guantanamo Bay that were never used, $20 million thrown away on warehouses that were bought but never occupied, and inflated daily rates paid for detaining people in Florida, all while ICE continues to operate without a comprehensive plan.
Congress handed ICE a staggering $45 billion last year for detention expansion, yet the agency’s lack of strategic planning has led to rampant waste. Detainee numbers surged from about 39,000 in January to roughly 67,000 by July, reflecting the government’s obsession with mass incarceration of vulnerable people. The GAO warned that without adopting basic management practices, ICE will continue to make reckless decisions that squander public resources and harm communities.
The Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s parent agency, told the GAO it will develop a detention-expansion plan by August 2027—an unacceptable delay that enables further abuses and inefficiencies. ICE and DHS offered no meaningful response to these damning findings.
The audit also exposed a failed scheme to use Guantanamo Bay for mass immigrant detention. After the White House ordered the use of the infamous base in January 2025, the Department of Defense spent $2.85 million on tents for 5,000 people, only for them to be removed after failing to meet even minimal detention standards—yet another example of ICE’s disregard for people’s dignity and taxpayer money.
Earlier this year, ICE purchased 11 massive warehouses for $1.07 billion to cage more people, but public outrage forced the agency to abandon the plan. Seven of these facilities are now up for sale, with $20 million already wasted on related services, and ICE must sell them for $707 million just to avoid further losses. Renovations on four more warehouses, including a $426 million outlay in Arizona and Maryland, are on hold due to legal challenges from communities resisting ICE’s expansion.
ICE also spent $1.5 billion to acquire two privately owned detention facilities in July and may buy more, even though the GAO found ICE has not considered whether owning these sites is sustainable in the long term—further proof of the agency’s reckless disregard for accountability.
Other findings include the cancellation of a contract with Florida for the notorious “Alligator Alcatraz” facility after only a year, following reports of inhumane conditions, and the use of a $608 million FEMA grant that reimburses the state at an outrageous $249 per detainee per day—far above ICE’s typical $92 rate. A separate agreement with the Bureau of Prisons requires ICE to pay exorbitant daily rates up to $182 for detainee housing at eight facilities.
The GAO concluded that without a clear strategic framework, ICE’s detention-expansion spending will only lead to more waste and suffering. This report is a damning indictment of an agency that prioritizes incarceration and profit over human rights and fiscal responsibility.