WIRED Report Reveals Secret ICE Office Expansion Campaign Across U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is currently executing a widespread and secretive campaign to expand its physical presence throughout the United States, according to an investigation published by WIRED. Leaked federal documents and internal records obtained by the publication indicate that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been working for months to secure over 150 new office leases and facility expansions in nearly every state.
The expansion effort, described in documents as a matter of “unusual and compelling urgency,” allows the agency to bypass standard procurement procedures that typically require public notice. By invoking national security concerns, ICE has reportedly leaned on the General Services Administration (GSA) to expedite these leases while keeping the specific locations largely hidden from public scrutiny.
The WIRED report highlights that many of these new facilities are situated in high-density metropolitan areas and commercial districts, rather than isolated government compounds. In Philadelphia, for example, plans show ICE agents sharing a building with a local Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). In other instances, the agency is moving into corporate centers that house doctors’ offices, restaurants, and private businesses.
Concerns have been raised regarding the proximity of these new enforcement hubs to sensitive locations. The records reveal that an upcoming office in Houston, Texas, is located just blocks away from a preschool, while a new site in Irvine, California, sits near a childcare facility. Other targeted locations include Birmingham, Alabama; Boise, Idaho; multiple cities in Florida (including Fort Lauderdale and Tampa); Des Moines, Iowa; Detroit, Michigan; and Raleigh, North Carolina.
The expansion is intended to house a rapidly growing workforce, including personnel for the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). The initiative aims to support the hiring of thousands of new officers and legal staff to process deportation cases and manage enforcement logistics.
In response to the lack of transparency surrounding the initiative, WIRED has published a list of dozens of these identified locations to inform communities of the agency’s growing footprint. The documents suggest that without this disclosure, many residents and local business owners would likely remain unaware that federal immigration enforcement operations were being established in their immediate vicinity.
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