The Trump administration is shopping around for private contractors who can build immigrant detention facilities across the United States, signifying plans for a massive expansion of its deportation operation.
In a newly listed request for proposals, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials asked contractors to submit plans for new facilities, security, medical support, and other services for a price tag of $45 billion over the next couple of years.
The contract request, reported by the New York Times, was listed last week and could mean a further expansion of the White House’s mission to arrest and remove millions of illegal immigrants in the U.S., a hallmark of the Trump campaign.
ICE, which had a total budget of nearly $10 billion this year, according to the outlet, does not have the funding to pay out the $45 billion total.
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However, Congress is considering a boost of $175 billion over the next decade to the committees that oversee immigration enforcement, meaning that the agency could be receiving a larger budget than previously.
ICE is well over its capacity to detain people across its facilities nationwide. Congress funded beds for 41,500 people last year, but the agency had roughly 47,900 people in custody as of late March, according to its website.
