Top Senate Republican Urges Noem To Halt ICE Detention Facility Acquisition in His State

A top Senate Republican, Senator Roger Wicker, is urging Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to abandon plans to convert a warehouse in his state to a new, 8,500-bed ICE detention center, citing the necessity of keeping the facility available for economic development. He is also asking her to keep him informed if she plans to open additional ICE facilities in his state. Mr. Wicker, who serves as chairman of the Armed Services Committee, has represented Mississippi in the Senate for nearly two decades. His letter to Ms. Noem on Wednesday marks the first real pushback she has received from a Republican about an ongoing expansion of the agency’s network of detention facilities.“This site is currently positioned for economic development purposes,” Mr. Wicker writes to Ms. Noem. “Converting this industrial asset into an ICE detention center forecloses economic growth opportunities and replaces them with a use that does not generate comparable economic returns or community benefits.”The 440,000-square-foot facility is located at Byhalia, Mississippi, which has a population of just over 1,300. He says the specialized infrastructure it would take to turn the facility into a detention center would put unnecessary burdens on his constituents. “Detention facilities impose substantial and specialized infrastructure demands — including transportation access, water, sewer and energy costs, staffing, medical care, and emergency services,” Mr. Wicker writes. “Establishing a detention center at this site would place significant strain on local resources.”He also asked Ms. Noem to keep him “informed of this acquisition and any future ICE contracting proposals affecting the state of Mississippi.” If the facility were to be acquired and filled to full capacity, the Byhalia detention center would house more migrants than the total number of migrants currently detained in every state, except Texas, according to the migrant data tracking website TRACImmigration. Mr. Wicker’s letter marks the first pushback Ms. Noem has received from a powerful Republican on Capitol Hill with respect to enhanced deportation operations. In 2025, the White House fell far below the 1 million annual deportation quota set by deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. Public data from the Department of Homeland Security shows 675,000 people were deported from the United States in 2025. The Department of Homeland Security is engaged in an aggressive effort to build out new infrastructure for the mass deportation operation, which is expected to ramp up this year given an influx of new ICE agents who are completing their training. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed by President Trump last year allocated $45 billion for its detention capacities. According to a document made public in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, DHS is not only searching for new potential facilities, but it is actively considering reopening detention centers in Virginia and North Carolina which were closed during the Biden administration. Several Democrats have been opposed to detention centers in their backyards, though they have little power to stop Ms. Noem. One is Congressman Pat Ryan, who represents the Hudson Valley in New York. A proposed ICE detention facility in Orange County, in Mr. Ryan’s district, has elicited fierce opposition from the community. So far, Mr. Ryan has garnered 20,000 signatures on a petition to block the construction of the ICE detention center. “It’s shameful, un-American, and the exact opposite of everything our community stands for,” Mr. Ryan said of the administration’s deportation operations. “The President promised to focus on deporting violent criminals, but instead we’re seeing innocent civilians harassed, detained, and even killed. Now they’re claiming they can enter Americans’ homes without warrants — a blatant violation of the Constitution.”Congress is currently debating what could be substantial reforms at ICE and Border Patrol around issues like use of force, warrants, and identification of agents. Several Republicans have said they are open to negotiating such reforms before DHS funding lapses next Friday, though Democrats have so far not put out specific legislative language. Senator Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that he plans to release Democrats’ DHS reform bill on Thursday.

Top Senate Republican Urges Noem To Halt ICE Detention Facility Acquisition in His State

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