From shelter to cell: U.S. redirects funds to detain migrants

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) stated that more than $600 million has been allocated to state and local agencies to detain undocumented migrants while they await transfer to federal detention centers.

This new funding comes as the Biden administration pushes for mass deportations.

FEMA says the program is intended to ease overcrowding in short-term detention facilities and to increase detention capacity at the local and state levels.

Previously, FEMA operated a shelter and services program to help states and cities support migrants released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). However, William Turner, Director of Emergency Management in Connecticut, said that program has now ended and the new funding appears to be geared toward detention infrastructure.

Some states, like Florida under Governor Ron DeSantis, have supported the White House in executing its immigration goals. According to state officials, Florida now operates a detention center called "Alligator Alcatraz" with the capacity to hold up to 2,000 individuals.

The state has also repurposed a nearly-abandoned airfield in the Florida Everglades for detention purposes. Critics have raised concerns about the inhumane conditions inside these facilities and their environmental impact.

Kristi Noem, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, stated that operating Alligator Alcatraz will cost around $450 million, funded through the now-defunct FEMA shelter and services program.

Immigrant justice organizations and human rights groups have recently published a report stating that detainees in three Florida detention centers have been subjected to abusive, degrading, and in some cases life-threatening conditions.

The number of people detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Florida has risen sharply due to federal and state policies expanding enforcement. At the Krome detention facility, the detained population in the first quarter of 2025 more than tripled, reaching nearly three times its operational capacity.

The Federal Detention Center (FDC), which had not been used for immigration detention in recent years, began holding hundreds of migrants in February.

Previously, the U.S. government had also announced plans to use a military base in New Jersey to house detained migrants—an action that sparked outrage among human rights advocates.

The Department of Defense confirmed that parts of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Burlington, NJ, will be used as temporary detention facilities for migrants.

In a letter to Democratic Congressman Herb Conaway, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote that housing undocumented migrants would not negatively affect military training, readiness, or other operational needs.

With deportations ramping up during the Trump presidency, many migrant families and individuals have grown increasingly fearful of seeking help, worrying that doing so could lead to detention or deportation. Most of them fled their home countries to escape violence, but now live in fear even in the U.S.

Deportation to third countries has also become a major concern for asylum seekers, as relocation could leave them facing an uncertain and potentially dangerous future.