The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is aggressively scouting approximately 300 new office sites across the country to accommodate over 10,000 additional enforcement officers and lawyers, as the Trump administration ramps up deportation operations with a tripling of its $29.9 billion enforcement budget, according to federal officials and records obtained by The Washington Post yesterday.

The General Services Administration (GSA), tasked with federal real estate, has assembled "ICE Surge" teams and convened urgent meetings to expedite leases for furnished spaces in cities spanning Alabama, Idaho, South Carolina, Florida, Wisconsin, and beyond—prioritizing red states and urban centers for rapid deployment.

High-level ICE staffers pressed GSA for immediate action, with one internal message noting efforts to "pack an hour’s worth of material into 30 mins," underscoring the breakneck pace amid no signed leases yet.

Recruitment has drawn 150,000 applications, offering $50,000 bonuses, relaxed age caps, and re-hires from retirees, though experts warn of past pitfalls like post-9/11 corruption spikes.

ICE's Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) will anchor the growth, handling arrests, detentions, and removals.

The expansion, including Pentagon civilians volunteering for ICE details (up to 180 days), has drawn fire from sheriffs like Florida's Wayne Ivey for poaching locals, and immigrant advocates for rights erosion.