Michael Wriston, of Project Salt Box, Has Appeared Multiple Times on CABLE Evening News in Recent Months.
“THe Blind Spot – How Oligarchs Dominate our Democracy,” by Jeffrey Winters is Available at Locala Book Stores for $30. plus Tax.
“The procurement notice surfaces as the agency’s plan to convert warehouses into detention centers has stalled in court — and as it pivots toward buying existing facilities from private operators, ” are the opening words of a May 20, 2026 issued report from Michael Wriston, of Project Salt Box, (PSB) the prolific publication that monitors the activity of ICE. (Wriston is so profilic that this blogger can’t keep up with all his reports, but will keep trying – because it is fascinating to see where and how taxpayers money is being used so recklessly.)
The report continues: “Immigration and Customs Enforcement is planning to hire a contractor to keep mothballed warehouse faciities in working order, according to a federal procurement notice posted last week — even as the agency’s broader effort to convert warehouses into detention centers has stalled in court.
The notice, filed May 8 in a federal database where the Department of Homeland Security signals upcoming contracts to potential vendors, anticipates a contract worth $10 million to $20 million for what ICE calls “Temporary Operations and Maintenance — Caretaker Status & Post Closing Services.” The contractor would handle essential repairs and keep security, electrical and fire-detection systems running at warehouses with office space at unspecified locations.
A review of other forecasts posted to the same database shows a typical widow of 60 to 90 days between a forecase and the release of a formal solicitation. In this case, ICE indicated it planned to release a solicitation within seven days of the forecast’s posting.
ICE said the contractor’s work would preserve the facilities in servicable conditio pending reactivation. Throughout the forecast, the agency refers to the properties as “warehouses” and explicity contemplates returning them to use. Which warehouses, however, the notice does not say. ICE maintains an inventory of warehouse properties that support a range of agency functions, from logistics and equipent storage to office operations and the forecast does not identify the facilities by location, type or use.
Whether the proposed caretaker work applies to the warehouses ICE has purchased for its planned detention expansion, to other decommissioned ICE properties, or to some combination is not clear from the document. A formal solitication was to be released around May 15, according to the notice; as of publication, none had appeared in the federal contracting system.
The contracating structure ICE described in is forecat — an existing unbrella contract (an “indefinite delivery vehicle, in government parlance) with preapproved vendors, under which the govrnment pays for hours worked as needs arise — suggests the work may be assidned to a contractor the government has already hired for similar jobs rather than put out to open bid. Such an arrangement would not necessarily generate a public soliciation, and might surface only on government contracting portals visible to pre-approved vendors. A contracting representative listed on the forecast did not respond to a request for clarification.
ICE’s broader warehouse program, meanwhile, has stalled amid legal and political opposition. Eleven sites the agency has purchased – in Arizone, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvaia, TExas ans Utah — cost a combined $1,074 BILLION. Five of those eight states are now suing the agency. New Jersey, Michigan, Arizona, Maryland and Georgia. None of the facilities are currently operational.
As an alternative, ICE is in discussions to purchase approximately 10 turnkey detention faciities from private operators, accordng to a person with knowlege of the matter. Eight of the facilities under consideration incude five operated by GEO Group, the Northwest ICe Processing ceter in Tacoma, WA., the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield, CA., the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe TX, the Central Louisiana Processing Center in Jena, LA. and the Aurora ICE Processing Center in Aurora, CO. Two are operated by CoreCivic, the California City Detention Center in California City, CA and the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego. The eighth is the Winn Processing Center in Winnfield, LA., operated by LaSalle Corrections.
If awarded as scheduled, the caretaer contract would run through May 25, 2027. For more information on the work of Peoject Salt Box, please visit post herein dated May 29, 2026.
This publication, PSB, is committed to transparency and accountability regarding the Department of Homeland Security’s expanding footprint. We welcome information, documents and data from sources with firsthand knowledge of agency contracts and capabilities. To better protect your identity, do not contact us from a work-issued devoce or network. We seek information of public interest, but we do not want and cannot accept classified information.