Immigration News Today: ICE is Using No-Bid Contracts to Get More Detention Beds

Documented

Jun 18, 2025

ICE Dallas office opening its newest detention facility in West Texas. Photo: Charles Reed, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Public Domain.

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Just have a minute? Here are the top stories you need to know about immigration. This summary was featured in Documented’s Early Arrival newsletter. You can subscribe to receive it in your inbox three times per week here.

Around the U.S. 

ICE is using no-bid contracts to get more detention beds:

ICE issued a surge of detention center contracts without seeking competitive bids, sending profit estimates soaring for politically connected private companies. –Associated Press

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More than 600 local police agencies are partnering with ICE:

See if yours is one of them in this breakdown by state and county. –USA Today

Prominent Spanish-language journalist to be turned over to ICE after protest arrest:

El Salvador-born Mario Guevara, arrested by Georgia police on Saturday, will be transferred to ICE officers after being released on bond. –The Guardian

Press group sues L.A., alleging police abuse of reporters at ICE rallies: 

The Los Angeles Press Club and news outlet Status Coup alleged LAPD officers are routinely violating press rights at demonstrations after journalists were shot with rubber bullets. –NPR

Miami weighs ICE partnership as advocacy groups push back:

Miami is expected to decide Tuesday whether to allow its police department to partner with federal immigration authorities and empower them to enforce federal immigration laws. –Axios

Immigration raids add to absence crisis for schools:

New research shows that after recent deportation sweeps, parents kept their children home — with big impacts on how all students learn. –The New York Times

New York

Immigration police are making their presence known at NYC-area Home Depots:

ICE agents took as many as a dozen men into custody at day laborer hubs near Home Depot stores in recent weeks. –Gothamist

Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” is very ugly for NY – and the state’s immigrants: 

Analysis from groups that study health care, housing and the economy show that more than $20 billion in federal aid for New York will be lost if the bill passes. –THE CITY

Amid increased ICE raids, NY state legislature fails to act on sanctuary state bill: 

The New York for All Act, which would prevent local law enforcement from collaborating with federal immigration authorities, didn’t make it to a vote in the state Senate. –City & State New York

FBI says only one detainee of the four who escaped from New Jersey ICE facility remains at large:

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest of the man who escaped a week ago. –ABC News

Zohran Mamdani says NYC must invest in neighborhoods and protect immigrant families:

In a Q&A, the Queens assemblymember and mayoral hopeful shares his vision for affordable housing, public safety and restoring dignity to immigrant New Yorkers. –The Haitian Times

Washington D.C.

Trump administration weighs adding 36 countries to travel ban, memo says: 

The move would significantly expand the travel restrictions that Trump signed earlier this month banning the entry of citizens from 12 countries. –Reuters

Trump orders ICE to step up deportation efforts in Democrat-run cities:

He wrote on Truth Social that such cities were the “core of the Democrat Power Center” and home to “Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens.” –Axios

Trump orders ICE raids on farms and hotels after pausing them days earlier:

The reversal comes days after the president posted on Truth Social that his “very aggressive” raids were hurting farmers and hotels. –The Guardian

Trump’s move to use military for immigration enforcement was months in the making:

The White House and DHS started planning how to mobilize active-duty troops from consenting states as force protection for federal agents as early as February. –CNN

Americans have mixed to negative views of Trump administration immigration actions: 

Public opinion is evenly split over the use of local law enforcement for deportation efforts, but majorities disapprove of suspending asylum applications, according to Pew’s survey. –Pew Research Center

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