The U.S. Government Accountability Office said on September 24 that ICE and other federal agencies wasted tens of millions of dollars while rapidly expanding immigration detention in the United States, affecting detainees, taxpayers, and detention planning. The report cited nearly $3 million spent on unused tents at Guantánamo Bay, about $20 million to maintain warehouses that housed no detainees and are being sold, and a $426 million renovation plan for facilities in Arizona and Maryland that is on hold because of legal challenges; it also said ICE lacks a comprehensive plan for using the $45 billion Congress provided for detention expansion.
Why it matters: The report raises questions about how the federal government is carrying out a major increase in detention capacity and spending public money. Supporters of the expansion see detention as central to enforcement, while critics argue the findings show costly mismanagement and overreach affecting people with varying immigration status.
Guardian staff and agency
2026.09.24
100% relevant
This article centers on a distinct GAO report about nationwide ICE detention expansion spending and management, not just conditions at one facility, making it a separate trackable development.
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