DHS Seeks New Immigration Detention Facility in Miami Area

Yareliz Mendez Zamora, representing the American Friends Service Committee, has observed more arrivals at the Miramar Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, which she visits weekly to assist families. She was present outside the facility on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is seeking a new immigration detention facility in the Miami area. According to a recent procurement request, DHS is looking for a contractor-operated facility with a minimum of 700 detention beds within 50 miles of the ICE Miami Field Office located at 865 SW 78 Ave. in Plantation. This request is part of several across the country for housing people in ICE custody.

Besides accommodating detainees, the facility must offer medical and mental health care services, transportation, guard services, food service, and detention services. The acquisition outlines that the contractor will manage all aspects of the detention facility, including personnel, management, equipment, supplies, and services.

DHS also aims to establish facilities with at least 1,800 beds near Philadelphia and 1,500 beds each in the Seattle and Denver areas. This initiative follows the closure of Alligator Alcatraz, a hastily set-up immigration detention center in the Everglades, and as the Trump administration may increase ICE enforcement after the end of Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed DHS to proceed with plans to end TPS for over 300,000 Haitians despite ongoing legal challenges in lower courts. Immigration advocates and Haitian communities in South Florida, New York, and Springfield, Ohio, fear more ICE raids could demand additional detention space.

On Wednesday, advocates gathered outside the ICE check-in facility in Miramar. They protested the rise in arrests in South Florida and the involvement of local governments in supporting federal immigration enforcement. American Friends Service Committee activists raised concerns over increased activities near the facility.

Billy Botsch, from the American Friends Service Committee, noted that a temporary structure company’s vehicle was parked at the facility, with its occupants interacting with field office officials.

Botsch said portable toilets were positioned in the rear parking lot, suggesting insufficient indoor facilities. Changes in processing at the building were also noted, such as the absence of the usual garage for direct entry and a potential temporary processing setup.

ICE’s field office did not comment. A DHS spokesperson stated that while future operations are not discussed, enforcement is conducted nationwide daily.

Mendez Zamora mentioned that families are often transferred from the Miramar facility to hotels before deportation. She noted that these families typically cannot communicate with anyone before being deported.

Miami Herald reporter Morgan Mullings contributed to this report. Jacqueline Charles, an acclaimed journalist, has extensively covered Haiti and the Caribbean for over a decade.