The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general has launched an audit of a controversial $38 billion program that converted commercial warehouses into immigration detention centers, a plan championed by former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and her top adviser Corey Lewandowski.
The inspector general is expected to announce an “audit of ICE’s acquisition of detention space” that will review all warehouse purchases made under the program, reported the Wall Street Journal, and the probe expands on an existing investigation into contract handling at DHS and the role of political appointees in awarding them.
Noem and Lewandowski had pushed the government to purchase its own detention facilities rather than lease space from private prison companies or local governments. Under their direction, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement purchased 11 vacant warehouses over a span of just a few months last winter, funded through the One Big Beautiful Bill passed by congressional Republicans.
Some of the facilities, which are typically purchased by Amazon or other large retailers, were designed to hold as many as 8,000 detainees at a time, but critics questioned whether the program represented sound use of taxpayer money.
A CoStar analysis found ICE paid between 11 percent and 13 percent above market value for comparable properties. Officials and lawmakers from both parties raised concerns, noting that purchasing existing jail facilities would have been faster and required far less renovation, since many warehouses lacked proper zoning and plumbing for large detainee populations.
Questions also emerged about the contractors selected for the program. Nearly 50 firms were paid a combined $1.7 billion since January 2025, including several with no prior experience in immigration detention. Four firms had never previously received any federal contracts before working on the warehouse program, with their contracts worth up to $500 million combined.
When Secretary Markwayne Mullin succeeded Noem, who was fired in early March, he immediately suspended the warehouse initiative.
The inspector general’s audit is ongoing, according to reports.
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