Overview
- DHS confirmed that ICE’s Office of Detention Oversight is furloughed during the shutdown, halting routine inspections for roughly 60,000 people in custody.
- Fiscal 2025 logged about 21 in‑custody deaths, a tally reported as one of the deadliest on record and second only to 2004, with several suicides among the cases.
- Despite roughly $45 billion to grow capacity beyond 100,000 beds, daily detention has hovered near 60,000 and ICE arrests have fallen about 11% since June, staying below stated goals.
- Current and former officials say a new rule requiring Secretary Kristi Noem to sign contracts over $100,000 and Corey Lewandowski’s role as gatekeeper have slowed expansion; DHS counters it is securing better value from vendors.
- DHS has pursued agreements with states such as Florida and Louisiana that critics say yield fewer, costlier beds, even as new contracts like CoreCivic’s 2,160‑bed Oklahoma site move forward.