Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is seeking hundreds of new office spaces across the U.S., as the agency looks to expand its staff. According to The Washington Post, ICE plans to hire more than 10,000 new employees in a major expansion.
According to six federal officials who spoke with the Post, the General Services Administration (GSA) — which manages federal real estate — is working to secure approximately 300 new ICE office sites “as fast as possible nationwide.”
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Rapid expansion underway
GSA’s Public Buildings Service recently posted a request for “as-is, fully-finished and furnished office space in support of administrative operations for law enforcement.”
The request lists 19 locations across the U.S. where ICE would like to have offices. Those locations are as follows: Birmingham, Alabama; Boise, Idaho; Charleston, South Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; Columbus, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa; Fort Lauderdale/Sunrise, Florida; Fort Myers/Naples, Florida; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Jacksonville, Florida; Louisville, Kentucky; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; Spokane, Washington; St. Louis, Missouri; Tampa, Florida.
According to internal records obtained by The Post, GSA has formed special planning teams to facilitate ICE’s expansion, and there are now standing meetings between ICE and the GSA to discuss the “ICE surge.”
In a statement, a GSA spokesperson told NPR that GSA is “proud to support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in fulfilling their mission to protect America. We are working closely with our agency partners to ensure they have the facilities that fit their workforce needs.”
What’s driving the surge?
Over the summer, Congress allocated more than $75 billion to ICE to expand operations — funding new hires, more detention space, and an increase in arrests and deportations.
ICE currently employs around 20,000 people but plans to add more than 10,000 new immigration officers, as well as additional attorneys to prosecute removal cases.
According to NPR, the agency is offering candidates large signing bonuses worth tens of thousands of dollars in a streamlined hiring effort. It’s also looking to increase its detention capacity in tandem with the hiring push.
Backdrop: Trump administration’s immigration push
The expansion comes amid a broader immigration crackdown by the Trump administration, including large-scale ICE operations in cities like Boston and Chicago.
The administration has faced legal challenges over its enforcement tactics. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court paused a lower court ruling that restricted ICE from conducting certain immigration stops in Los Angeles County. Plaintiffs argued that the immigration stops relied on racial profiling.
The renewed focus on deportations has also contributed to a rise in asylum seekers heading to Canada, NPR notes.
