For context, there’s a record 73,000 people in immigration detention right now. The plan would see the Trump administration add more than 75,000 NEW beds

The new sites are part of a plan to convert up to 23 of these buildings into massive detention centers. If executed, it would be the largest expansion of immigration detention in history

US Spends Millions on Warehouses in Historic Expansion of ICE Detention Plans for ‘mega centers’ and jails in nearly two dozen communities have sparked protests over suitability, proximity to homes and schools.

NEW: ICE has spent at least $172 million this month on warehouses that it plans to convert into immigration jails

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

W/ @sooophie.bsky.social

ICE Plans Detention Expansion With Deal to Design 'Mega Centers' Agency envisions up to two dozen warehouses, some of which could hold 5,000 people or more.

NEW: The Trump admin is eyeing a massive expansion of its immigration detention capacity. It’s looking to convert up to two dozen warehouses into massive detention facilities, some of which could hold more than 5,000 people.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

In response to our reporting WH Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the story is “based on a single piece of paper produced by random people within the military,” adding that the plan has not been “considered or approved” by the highest levels of the US gov’t

US Military Explores Building Base for 10,000 People ‘Near Gaza’ The US military is exploring whether to build a temporary base capable of housing 10,000 people near Gaza, according to an internal contracting document, as the US pushes for a stabilization force to ...

NEW: The US Military is laying the groundwork for a 10,000 person temporary base “near Gaza,” according to an internal contracting document obtained by @bloomberg.com

From @sooophie.bsky.social and team: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Allow Zohran Mamdani to Reintroduce Himself New York City’s mayoral frontrunner has been working to build a governing coalition by meeting with all comers, including the business community that’s been bashing his plans.

Paradoxically, Zohran Mamdani's first order of business as mayor involves shoring up his relationship with New York's business community. That work's already happening. Read @folaak.bsky.social and @lauranahmias.bsky.social on how Zohran can win over the 1%: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

He, like many who call the city home, has a thick skin. “New Yorkers deserve to have a mayor they can see, they can talk to, they can yell at.”

For @bloomberg.com with @lauranahmias.bsky.social

Allow Zohran Mamdani to Reintroduce Himself New York City’s mayoral frontrunner has been working to build a governing coalition by meeting with all comers, including the business community that’s been bashing his plans.

Caught up with Zohran Mamdani during the final stages of the NYC mayor’s race.

I saw him get heckled, talked to him about coalition building and got a sense of how he’s preparing for the general election and what’s beyond.

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

America’s Tech Right Is Obsessed With Building Giant Statues With proposals for a 450-foot statue of Prometheus on Alcatraz and a 650-foot George Washington, MAGA adherents are racing to build America’s largest statue.

Conservative-leaning tech investors are racing to build a new American colossus, and they want something much, much bigger than the Statue of Liberty. Meet the new monuments men of the tech right and their plans for statue-maxing:

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

The move to the Defense Department contracting process could be lucrative for the border czar's former clients.

In response, the White House said Homan has not crossed any ethical lines.

Trump’s Border Czar Involved in Detention Contract Talks Despite Recusal Ethics experts say Tom Homan’s participation could violate rules meant to ensure impartiality. The White House says he has not crossed that line.

Tom Homan said he was recused from anything to do with government contracts.

Turns out he wasn't. He played a role in the process to move immigration detention contracts through the Defense Department

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

With @racheladhe.bsky.social and @sooophie.bsky.social

Companies With No Detention Experience Want to Run Trump’s ICE Camps Obscure disaster-response firms have been angling to profit from the president’s mass deportation plans since before his reelection.

With $45 billion on the table, a bunch of disaster relief companies you’ve never heard of are plotting a pivot to ICE detention

They’re hoping to be the ones building the Trump administration’s tent camps. W/ @racheladhe.bsky.social and @sooophie.bsky.social

🎁: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Advocates Fear US Agents Are Using ‘Wellness Checks’ on Children as a Prelude to Arrests The Trump administration’s $45 billion for detention is raising fresh concerns over law enforcement visits to families.

The Trump admin is sending ICE, FBI, DEA and other armed agents to do “wellness checks” at the homes of immigrant children.

A lawyer for one of the kids told me that her client was “terrified” by the experience

www.bloomberg.com/news/article... w/ @racheladhe.bsky.social

As Part of a $45 Billion Push, ICE Prepares for a Vast Expansion of Detention Space The Trump administration has tapped 41 vendors to compete for lucrative federal contracts.

ICE has tapped 41 companies to compete for some of the $45 billion earmarked for a massive expansion of immigration detention space, including at least 9 that offer tent facilities w/ @sooophie.bsky.social and @folaak.bsky.social

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Hinges on Small Towns Hooked on Private Prisons Like a growing number of US communities, Torrance County, New Mexico, is convinced its financial survival depends on locking people up.

Essential reporting by @folaak.bsky.social, @pollymosendz.bsky.social and Rachel Adams-Heard on ICE towns — small communities whose economic survival depends on hosting federal detention facilities, whatever the cost www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

ICE Moves to DNA-Test Families Targeted for Deportation with New Contract Advocates worry the tests will pave the way for the Trump administration to separate children from their caregivers.

NEW w/ @folaak.bsky.social: ICE is moving to DNA-test families being targeted for deportation with a new contract worth up to $25 million

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Hinges on Small Towns Hooked on Private Prisons Like a growing number of US communities, Torrance County, New Mexico, is convinced its financial survival depends on locking people up.

These communities are convinced that their economies depend on ICE could tracks that keep these facilities open — no matter what the conditions are like inside

bloom.bg/4j28jqp

Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Hinges on Small Towns Hooked on Private Prisons Like a growing number of US communities, Torrance County, New Mexico, is convinced its financial survival depends on locking people up.

NEW: The Trump admin’s mass deportation effort hinges on a growing number of small communities that cut deals with private prison companies

Dove into one town in New Mexico w/ @racheladhe.bsky.social, @pollymosendz.bsky.social and many others for @bloomberg.com

🎁 link: bloom.bg/4j28jqp

Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Hinges on Small Towns Hooked on Private Prisons Like a growing number of US communities, Torrance County, New Mexico, is convinced its financial survival depends on locking people up.

ADDICTED TO ICE: A growing number of communities are convinced their economies depend on ICE contracts that keep private jails open for immigration detention -- no matter what happens inside

w/ @pollymosendz.bsky.social @folaak.bsky.social @elenamejia.bsky.social & many others

bloom.bg/4j28jqp

They Built a Secret Apartment in a Mall. Now the Mall Is Dying. In the new documentary “Secret Mall Apartment,” a group of artists recount how they turned a hidden nook in a Providence shopping center into a living space for 4 years.

Read @sarahholder.bsky.social's delightful review of "Secret Mall Apartment," a documentary about a secret mall apartment

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Work for an Immigration-Related Federal Contractor? Share Your Story Bloomberg wants to hear from individuals employed by companies involved in US immigration and deportation.

We’re taking a look at the money behind the US immigration system. If you work for a company or provider of services in this ecosystem, we want to hear from you.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Taken together, the moves are part of a broader shift in how this administration deals with these children, who are often fleeing violence, abuse or economic hardship

It comes as the administration is considering a roll back of legal assistance offered to those children

Trump Administration Aims to Bring Back Detention Centers for Immigrant Kids The move to use jail-like facilities to hold children comes as the administration also tries to roll back legal services offered to unaccompanied minors.

The Trump administration wants to use jail-like facilities to hold some children who cross the border without their parents

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

First post on BlueSky to share this survey for people who have experience with immigration contractors in the US!

We're talking companies that build tents, operate deportation flights, provide security, etc. We want to hear from you:

bmedia.iad1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

US Tent Facility is Holding Migrant Families Longer Than Recommended They're being kept far more than 72 hours, despite a plunge in border crossings, according to an immigration advocate and a person familiar with the matter.

Immigrant families are being held at a San Diego tent facility for far longer than federal guidelines recommend w/ @racheladhe.bsky.social

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Trump Child Refugee Agency Shares Data With Immigration Enforcers The move is expected to keep children who cross the US border alone in government custody for longer.

we wrote about a separate effort last week

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

it’s the latest in a series of changes to how the federal government deals with kids who cross the border without their parents

Child Migrant Watchdog Gutted in DOGE Cuts The move is one of several to shift how the federal government deals with kids who enter the US alone.

the trump admin froze legal services for unaccompanied immigrant kids yesterday

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...