{"id":8004,"date":"2026-03-31T18:55:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T01:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/news\/7599571\/dhs-pauses-new-immigrant-warehouse-purchases-amid-review-of-noem-era-contracts\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T06:45:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T13:45:09","slug":"dhs-pauses-new-immigrant-warehouse-purchases-amid-review-of-noem-era-contracts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/8004\/dhs-pauses-new-immigrant-warehouse-purchases-amid-review-of-noem-era-contracts\/","title":{"rendered":"DHS pauses new immigrant warehouse purchases amid review of Noem-era contracts"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The Department of Homeland Security is pausing the purchase of new warehouses<\/a> intended to house immigrants as it scrutinizes all contracts signed under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem<\/a>, according to a senior Homeland Security official.<\/p>\n

The development comes just days after the new Homeland Security Secretary, Markwayne Mullin<\/a>, was sworn in last week to lead a department that was steeped in controversy during Noem’s tenure but also central to President Trump’s mass deportation agenda. <\/p>\n

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. News of the pause was first reported by NBC News.<\/p>\n

The official also said that warehouse purchases that were already made are also being scrutinized.<\/p>\n

When asked about reports of the pause, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that \u201cas with any transition, we are reviewing agency policies and proposals.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Department also noted that Mullin said during his confirmation hearing that he wanted to \u201cwork with community leaders” and \u201cbe good partners.\u201d <\/p>\n

Mullin<\/a> inherited a $38.3 billion plan to boost detention capacity to 92,000<\/a> beds by acquiring eight large-scale detention centers, capable of housing 7,000 to 10,000 detainees each, and 16 smaller regional processing centers.<\/p>\n

The plan was hatched during Noem’<\/a> s tenure but immediately ran into intense opposition around the country by residents and communities opposed to such large Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in their neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

Many objected on moral grounds to ICE’s presence in their neighborhoods, while others questioned whether the facilities would be a drain on local resources, such as sewer and water systems.<\/p>\n

So far, 11 warehouses have been purchased in Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah, with the federal government spending a combined $1.074 billion. <\/p>\n

But lawsuits are pending in three of the states. Meanwhile, the capacity of at least one warehouse has been scaled back. Plans initially called for a warehouse in the Phoenix suburb of Surprise to be used as a 1,500-bed processing site, but Homeland Security now plans to cap occupied beds at 542, Surprise Mayor Kevin Sartor said during a news conference on Monday.<\/p>\n

In many cases, mayors, county commissioners, governors and members of Congress learned about ICE\u2019s ambitions only after the agency bought or leased space for detainees, leading to shock and frustration even in areas that have backed Trump.<\/p>\n

The warehouse plan ran into challenges from the start. Eight deals were scuttled in places like Kansas City, Missouri, when owners decided not to sell. <\/p>\n

Pressed on the lack of information during his confirmation hearing, Mullin acknowledged there had been issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to protect the homeland and we\u2019re going to do that,\u201d Mullin said. \u201cBut obviously we want to work with community leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mullin, who took over and expanded his family\u2019s plumbing business before representing Oklahoma in the U.S House and Senate, said that \u201cone thing I do know is construction.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted that most municipalities don\u2019t have the capacity in their infrastructure for waste and water.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, it\u2019s important that we\u2019re talking to the communities and if we\u2019re having additional needs, we can work with the cities,” he said at his confirmation hearing earlier this month.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

This story was first published on March 31, 2026. It was published again on April 1, 2026, to correct the last name of the mayor of Surprise, Arizona, is Sartor, not Sarter.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Hollingsworth reported from Kansas City, Missouri.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The Department of Homeland Security is pausing the purchase of new warehouses intended to house immigrants as it scrutinizes all contracts signed under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, according to a senior Homeland Security official. The development comes just days after the new Homeland Security Secretary, Markwayne Mullin, was sworn in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":8005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"guid":"0304ab6b-7ff8-4822-9750-2e35169f75a9","source":"The Associated Press","byline":"Rebecca Santana And Heather Hollingsworth","published":"2026-03-31 18:55:20","updated":"2026-04-01 06:37:24","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1737,1684,1738],"tags":[],"region":[],"class_list":["post-8004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-politics","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/8004\/dhs-pauses-new-immigrant-warehouse-purchases-amid-review-of-noem-era-contracts\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"DHS pauses new immigrant warehouse purchases amid review of Noem-era contracts","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/8004\/dhs-pauses-new-immigrant-warehouse-purchases-amid-review-of-noem-era-contracts\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/8004\/dhs-pauses-new-immigrant-warehouse-purchases-amid-review-of-noem-era-contracts\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/inhome-48bb4556fa2bf2888f79cbcc21f4b3e9a002ce2f872b64e054f09231a7420143.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/inhome-48bb4556fa2bf2888f79cbcc21f4b3e9a002ce2f872b64e054f09231a7420143.jpg"},"articleSection":"International","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Associated Press"}],"creator":["The Associated Press"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNhome","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-04-01T01:55:20Z","datePublished":"2026-04-01T01:55:20Z","dateModified":"2026-04-01T13:45:09Z"},"rendered":"