The purchases will add capacity for more than 90,000 detainees.

The Wall Street Journal reports that ICE "plans to spend $38.3 billion on a new detention model that includes acquiring warehouses and converting them into detention centers."

ICE has now bought 11 "mostly new or empty" warehouses in recent months.

There are plans to acquire at least two dozens more warehouses and turn them into detention centers and processing sites.

The Journal also reports that "ICE was told to temporarily slow down its plans while Markwayne Mullin, Trump's pick to replace Kristi Noem as Department of Homeland Security Secretary, was waiting to be confirmed by the Senate."

Mullins was confirmed on Monday.

ICE officials now believe most of the sites will be fully operational by the end of 2026.

The new centers will be able to hold between 1,500 and 8,500 detainees. Most of the 300 current facilities can only hold hundreds.

Over the last week, as the DHS shutdown continued, ICE agents have been assisting Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents at airports across the US.

The emergency measure was announced by President Trump in a post on Truth Social, last weekend.

"If the Radical Left Democrats don't immediately sign an agreement to let our Country, in particular, our Airports, be FREE and SAFE again, I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one has ever seen before," Trump wrote.

In a follow-up post, he added, "I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, 'GET READY.' NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES!"

The announcement came a day after the Senate failed, for the fifth time, to advance a funding bill that would allow TSA workers to begin being paid again.