DHS Reevaluates $1B ICE Warehouse Purchases After Mullin Cites Due Diligence Gaps
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin acknowledged before lawmakers that the department is reevaluating 11 ICE warehouse purchases made under former Secretary Kristi Noem, saying some of the facilities “probably won’t work” and that “some due diligence” may not have been completed.
The admission gives Congress a sharper oversight target: whether DHS moved too quickly to buy warehouse space for immigration detention before confirming the sites could actually serve that purpose.
Federal News Network reported that Mullin made the comments during a June 25 House Appropriations homeland security subcommittee hearing. The outlet reported that ICE purchased the 11 warehouses under Noem and that DHS is now reevaluating the purchases.
The issue is not only whether the buildings can be converted. It is whether public money was committed before DHS had completed basic checks on feasibility, infrastructure, local impact, and operational needs.
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Mullin did not abandon the broader detention goal. He told lawmakers DHS still has “not enough bed space” and said some sites are being reviewed to see whether they can be made usable. DHS is trying to expand detention capacity while also walking back parts of a purchase strategy now under scrutiny.
The policy consequence is straightforward. If some warehouses cannot be used, DHS may have to sell or repurpose properties, absorb delays, or spend more money to find alternative detention space.
A current DHS secretary publicly questioning the due diligence behind purchases made under his predecessor gives lawmakers a stronger basis to demand records, timelines, site reviews, and contracting explanations.
The central question is no longer just whether ICE will expand detention capacity. It is whether the federal government bought the right facilities before spending roughly $1 billion.
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