The Department of Homeland Security is seeking bids for detention facilities in the Seattle, Philadelphia, Miami, and Denver regions with a total capacity of 5,500 beds. The federal agency's request requires buildings to be ready to accept detainees within 30 days of contract award.

Internal ICE documents indicate plans to reopen the Rivers Correctional Institution by the end of 2026. GEO Group proposed the Rivers Correctional Institution in Winton, North Carolina, for immediate reopening as an immigration detention facility. The facility is planned to have 1,400 beds.

North Carolina Governor Josh Stein publicly criticized the effort to reopen the Rivers Correctional Institution for immigration detention. The North Carolina legislature passed a bill mandating state and local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, overriding Governor Stein's veto.

CoreCivic is expected to continue operating the two California facilities under a new contract with the Department of Homeland Security. This expansion follows earlier actions by the department, which spent $1 billion earlier in 2026 purchasing commercial warehouses for conversion into detention space.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated in June congressional testimony that due diligence checks were not fully completed regarding warehouse purchases. "Due diligence checks were not fully completed," Mullin said during his testimony.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement made more than 43,000 arrests in June 2026. The average monthly population in ICE temporary holding centers increased by roughly fivefold compared to pre-administration levels. ICE temporary holding centers typically lack beds, showers, and infirmaries.

Draft language in a DHS contract solicitation for private prisons declared that state and local laws 'shall not apply' to the facilities. A U.S. district court judge in Washington rejected contract language declaring state and local laws inapplicable in a preliminary ruling. GEO Group is appealing the U.S. district court decision regarding the applicability of state and local laws to detention facilities.

Homeland Security is United States federal executive department. The rapid acquisition of detention space occurs as research titled In Reversal, Law Enforcement, Military, and Security Advisors Urge Homeland Security to Shift Away from Private Prisons appears in Human Rights Documents Online. The 1,400 beds at the Rivers Correctional Institution are part of the 5,500 beds sought in the new regional bids.

Why It Matters

The fivefold increase in ICE holding center populations, which typically lack beds and infirmaries, drives the urgent need for 5,500 new beds within 30 days. This expansion relies on repurposed warehouses where due diligence was incomplete and facilities like Rivers Correctional Institution facing state-level legal challenges. Ongoing litigation over whether state laws apply to these private prisons determines the regulatory framework governing detainee conditions across the new network.