ICE Wasted Millions In Taxpayer Dollars To Boost Immigrant Detention: Watchdog

The Trump administration’s efforts to boost detention capacity for immigrants wasted millions of dollars in taxpayer money due to poor planning and execution, according to a from the Government Accountability Office, the independent congressional watchdog.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement spent roughly $1 billion on 11 industrial warehouses meant to house and process immigrants, but it now plans to sell seven of those after walking back its plan.

Though some of that money will presumably be recouped through property sales, ICE dished out about $20 million in “nonrecoverable costs” related to those warehouses, such as for security and zoning assessments.

ICE could also lose additional money if it unloads the warehouses for less than it paid to purchase them.

“Waste, which occurs when agencies spend government resources carelessly or extravagantly, is also evident in other initiatives,” the GAO found.

The Defense Department spent nearly $3 million to erect tents that would hold 5,000 beds for immigrants, but that makeshift housing ended up not being used, according to the GAO.

The administration also misspent money on the infamous and now-shuttered detention facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” The Department of Homeland Security is reimbursing the state of Florida for running that facility and one other through a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant, paying a rate 171% higher per bed than what ICE normally pays.

The report paints a picture of an administration that was plowing ahead with its immigration crackdown without giving any thought to how wasteful it was.

“ICE pursued these detention expansion initiatives without developing a comprehensive strategic plan to guide its efforts,” the report states.

The agency failed to develop “consistent goals or objectives” for its detention space, it goes on, and didn’t bother to assess “the risks and benefits” of using high-cost facilities as opposed to its existing space.

The Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, did not immediately respond to a HuffPost request for comment.

The warehouse boondoggle was spearheaded by former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, whom Trump ousted earlier this year. Her successor, former Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), said his administration would be reevaluating the project and selling several of the facilities.

The proposed facilities, known as “ICE warehouses,” have drawn bipartisan pushback in communities across the country, with residents voicing concerns about their impacts on public health and the environment. Many have also likened them to “concentration camps” and urged local officials not to abet the administration’s deportation campaign.