Blight House is Buying Warehouses Across the U.S. for “Detention Centers”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is buying up warehouses across the country to build a massive network of detention centers.

Hundreds of millions of dollars have already been spent to create huge immigrant jails, often in small towns, Bloomberg reports. The agency paid $102 million for a warehouse near Hagerstown, Maryland, and $70 million in cash for a warehouse in Surprise, Arizona.

And that’s just the cost to purchase the buildings—ICE also has to pay to turn them into jails with bathrooms, beds, dining, and recreation facilities. A third warehouse purchase in El Paso, Texas, could be one of the largest jails in the United States when completed, housing 8,500 beds.

ICE plans to use up to 23 warehouses around the country to detain immigrants in even more cities, including in Minnesota, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The new strategy is a shift for ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, which has been relying on many tent camps, such as the notorious “Alligator Alcatraz” in south Florida.

People who live near the proposed jails are pushing back against the plan, with protesters showing up in Hagerstown to protest on January 20 despite freezing temperatures.

In Oklahoma City, the owners of a warehouse backed out of a deal Thursday to build an ICE facility, following local backlash to the plan. Similarly, the owners of a warehouse in Salt Lake City announced they had “no plans to sell or lease the property in question to the federal government” after protesters showed up at their offices. [MORE]