Markwayne Mullin Says DHS Is Reviewing 11 ICE Warehouses Bought Under Kristi Noem
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told lawmakers the department is reevaluating 11 ICE warehouse purchases made under former Secretary Kristi Noem, acknowledging that some sites “probably won’t work” and that “some due diligence” may not have been completed.
The admission turns a detention-expansion plan into a federal spending and oversight issue. ICE bought the warehouses as part of a broader push to expand immigration detention capacity, but Mullin said DHS is now reviewing whether each site can actually be used.
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The stakes are practical and political. If some facilities cannot be converted, DHS may have to sell, repurpose, or abandon parts of a costly plan while still facing pressure to add detention beds.
Mullin also said DHS still has a shortage of detention space, making the review more complicated. The next question for Congress is whether the purchases reflected poor planning, rushed contracting, or a broader failure to vet expensive immigration enforcement projects before taxpayer money was committed.
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