ROMULUS — The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is reversing a plan to use warehouses to house up to 10,000 people in a single site. The federal government informed a judge on Monday that it will sell a warehouse acquired in Romulus, Michigan.

Plans for detention centers are being abandoned in Social Circle, Georgia, and Socorro, a suburb of El Paso, Texas. Federal immigration officials plan to dispose of seven of the 11 warehouses by transferring them to other federal agencies or selling them directly. A DHS spokesperson stated the agency is "acting rapidly to utilize existing detention space in collaboration with our state and county partners."

Michigan and a suburb of Detroit filed a lawsuit against the federal government regarding the detention centers. The Romulus warehouse is 249,000 square feet and was acquired for $34.7 million. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said, "The ICE warehouse proposal was as misguided as it was cruel and unnecessary, and I am relieved that this chapter is coming to an end."

Social Circle, Georgia, announced it received notification from U.S. Representative Mike Collins that the DHS no longer plans to establish an ICE detention center there. The DHS paid nearly five times the appraised value for the warehouse in Social Circle. Acting ICE Director David Venturella informed El Paso area authorities that the agency has modified its plans for three warehouses acquired in Socorro for $122 million. The ICE will convert the Socorro property into an operational complex with offices and training spaces, housing an unspecified smaller number of detainees.

The federal government spent a combined total of $1.074 billion on warehouses in 11 cities. The state of Pennsylvania denied permits for two warehouses due to concerns that water and sewer services were insufficient for thousands of people. The DHS paid double the recorded tax value for a warehouse in New Jersey. The warehouse in Salt Lake City was purchased for $145.4 million. In a federal lawsuit, ICE officials communicated to the mayor of Salt Lake City the potential need to transport water and wastewater by truck from the facilities as a "provisional solution."

Former ICE official Claire Trickler-McNulty said, "Facilities with capacity for more than 2,000 people simply collapse. It is very difficult to manage such a large center, keep it staffed, and make everything work." Markwayne Mullin suspended the purchase of new warehouses after succeeding Kristi Noem.