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Contracted beds

ICE contracts for bed floors. Its own population data often tells a different story.

ICE's workbook prints a contract floor for some facilities and an average population for most. Some rows sit below the floor their contract prints. That difference is counted in beds. Dollars appear here only where a government auditor published a figure.

01

The bed-floor audit

Read straight from the published ICE workbook rows. Nothing here is multiplied by a rate.

Of the 67 rows that print a contract floor, 25 fall below it under this audit's rule. Together those rows sit 9,971.1 beds under the printed floors. That is a bed count, not a dollar estimate.

Workbook rows
208
Rows printing a contract floor
67

141 rows print none

Rows below their printed floor
25

31 above, 11 within band

Combined below-floor difference (beds)
9,971.1

Beds, not dollars

A printed contract floor is not the same thing as physical capacity, actual population, or dollars paid.

How to read the contract-floor field

A printed guaranteed minimum is a contract floor recorded in ICE's workbook. It is not the facility's physical or licensed capacity, and on its own it establishes no payment.

Workbook only: the gap between the printed floor and the population average is observed. The dollars are unresolved, because the reviewed sources do not supply the current payment formula, adjustment rights or invoices.

Printed contract floor against reported population

208 workbook rows. 67 print a contract floor and are plotted; 141 print none and are excluded from the plot and its denominator. The vertical axis is ICE’s FY2026 year-to-date average daily population. Source cutoff ICE workbook data pull, 2026-07-20. A printed guaranteed minimum is a contract floor recorded in ICE's workbook. It is not the facility's physical or licensed capacity, and on its own it establishes no payment. A difference between the two axes is a difference in beds; it is not payment, physical capacity, or a dollar loss.

Both axes run 1–10,000 beds on one log scale, set to enclose every plotted value. No mark is clipped to an axis end.

Furthest below the printed floor (12 of 25)

  • ERO El Paso Camp East Montana · TX

    2,973.6 beds below the printed floor (59.5%)

    Printed floor 5,000 (diamond) · population 2,026.4 (circle) · Audit-backed dollar finding

  • Dilley Immigration Processing Center · TX

    1,574.2 beds below the printed floor (78.7%)

    Printed floor 2,000 (diamond) · population 425.8 (circle) · Contract structure published — amounts unresolved

  • California City Immigration Processing Center · CA

    1,134.4 beds below the printed floor (44.3%)

    Printed floor 2,560 (diamond) · population 1,425.6 (circle) · Payment terms unresolved

  • Midwest Regional Reception Center · KS

    912.6 beds below the printed floor (91.1%)

    Printed floor 1,002 (diamond) · population 89.4 (circle) · Contract structure published — amounts unresolved

  • Diamondback Correctional Facility · OK

    594.6 beds below the printed floor (49.5%)

    Printed floor 1,200 (diamond) · population 605.4 (circle) · Contract structure published — amounts unresolved

  • North Lake Correctional Facility · MI

    533.7 beds below the printed floor (29.7%)

    Printed floor 1,800 (diamond) · population 1,266.3 (circle) · Payment terms unresolved

  • Northwest ICE Processing Center · WA

    479.1 beds below the printed floor (29.0%)

    Printed floor 1,653 (diamond) · population 1,173.9 (circle) · Payment terms unresolved

  • Central Valley Annex · CA

    476.3 beds below the printed floor (85.1%)

    Printed floor 560 (diamond) · population 83.7 (circle) · Payment terms unresolved

  • Dilley Processing Single Adult Female · TX

    187.6 beds below the printed floor (46.9%)

    Printed floor 400 (diamond) · population 212.4 (circle) · Workbook only — dollars unresolved

  • Mccook Detention Center · NE

    176.6 beds below the printed floor (58.9%)

    Printed floor 300 (diamond) · population 123.4 (circle) · Workbook only — dollars unresolved

  • Torrance County Detention Facility · NM

    154.4 beds below the printed floor (30.6%)

    Printed floor 505 (diamond) · population 350.6 (circle) · Workbook only — dollars unresolved

  • Lafayette Parish Correctional Center · LA

    93.2 beds below the printed floor (97.1%)

    Printed floor 96 (diamond) · population 2.8 (circle) · Workbook only — dollars unresolved

Furthest above the printed floor (12 of 31)

  • Adelanto ICE Processing Center · CA

    1,046.4 beds above the printed floor (163.5%)

    Printed floor 640 (diamond) · population 1,686.4 (circle) · Workbook only — dollars unresolved

  • Moshannon Valley Processing Center · PA

    810.7 beds above the printed floor (101.3%)

    Printed floor 800 (diamond) · population 1,610.7 (circle) · Workbook only — dollars unresolved

  • Jackson Parish Correctional Center · LA

    641.4 beds above the printed floor (128.3%)

    Printed floor 500 (diamond) · population 1,141.4 (circle) · Workbook only — dollars unresolved

  • Denver Contract Detention Facility · CO

    606.5 beds above the printed floor (101.1%)

    Printed floor 600 (diamond) · population 1,206.5 (circle) · Workbook only — dollars unresolved

  • Winn Correctional Center · LA

    551.7 beds above the printed floor (58.3%)

    Printed floor 946 (diamond) · population 1,497.7 (circle) · Workbook only — dollars unresolved

  • Port Isabel SPC · TX

    501.8 beds above the printed floor (77.2%)

    Printed floor 650 (diamond) · population 1,151.8 (circle) · Workbook only — dollars unresolved

  • IAH Secure Adult Detention Facility (Polk) · TX

    492 beds above the printed floor (140.6%)

    Printed floor 350 (diamond) · population 842 (circle) · Workbook only — dollars unresolved

  • Otay Mesa Detention Center · CA

    481.5 beds above the printed floor (64.2%)

    Printed floor 750 (diamond) · population 1,231.5 (circle) · Payment terms unresolved

  • Montgomery ICE Processing Center · TX

    467.5 beds above the printed floor (62.3%)

    Printed floor 750 (diamond) · population 1,217.5 (circle) · Workbook only — dollars unresolved

  • Adams County Correctional Center · MS

    442.2 beds above the printed floor (30.8%)

    Printed floor 1,436 (diamond) · population 1,878.2 (circle) · Payment terms unresolved

  • Stewart Detention Center · GA

    409.6 beds above the printed floor (25.6%)

    Printed floor 1,600 (diamond) · population 2,009.6 (circle) · Workbook only — dollars unresolved

  • Krome North Service Processing Center · FL

    393.4 beds above the printed floor (87.4%)

    Printed floor 450 (diamond) · population 843.4 (circle) · Workbook only — dollars unresolved

Evidence depth

  • Audit-backed dollar finding
  • Workbook only — dollars unresolved
  • Payment terms unresolved
  • Contract structure published — amounts unresolved

The ten-percent band is a descriptive review threshold chosen for this audit. It is not a contractual tolerance, a legal standard, a safety rating or a score. The shaded band marks rows within ten percent of parity.

Every plotted row as a table (67)
Rows printing a contract floorICE workbook data pull, 2026-07-20

The ten-percent band is a descriptive review threshold chosen for this audit. It is not a contractual tolerance, a legal standard, a safety rating or a score. A printed guaranteed minimum is a contract floor recorded in ICE's workbook. It is not the facility's physical or licensed capacity, and on its own it establishes no payment.

Rows the workbook prints no floor for (141)

These rows are excluded from the plot and from its denominator. A blank guaranteed minimum is not a zero, and no comparison is made for them.

Reviewed case studies — 8 rows, 8,678.5 below-floor beds (87.0% of the combined difference)ICE workbook data pull, 2026-07-20

  • ERO El Paso Camp East Montana

    TX
    FY2026 YTD average population
    2,026.4
    Printed contract floor
    5,000
    Row-level difference
    2,973.6 beds
    Share of the floor
    59.5%

    Audit-backed dollar finding

    Firm-fixed-price facility contract. GAO reviewed contract line items and invoices for bounded periods.

    • up to $11,500,000.00 — August 1 to August 15, 2025. GAO calculated up to $11.5 million in waste for full services during the first half of August 2025, when no detained noncitizens were held at the facility.
    • approximately $423,000.00 — August 16 to September 30, 2025. GAO calculated approximately $423,000 in unnecessary meal costs during the initial intake period.
    • approximately $7,100,000.00 — October 1, 2025 through March 12, 2026. GAO calculated approximately $7.1 million in unnecessary meal costs through March 12, 2026.
    What this row does not establish

    The workbook gap is not itself GAO's waste calculation. GAO used contract line items, invoices and daily population data for bounded periods.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs EnforcementU.S. Government Accountability Office

  • Dilley Immigration Processing Center

    TX
    FY2026 YTD average population
    425.8
    Printed contract floor
    2,000
    Row-level difference
    1,574.2 beds
    Share of the floor
    78.7%

    Contract structure published — amounts unresolved

    Company-reported full fixed monthly payment after all five neighborhoods became operational.

    • approximately $261,000,000.00 — Through September 2016. DHS OIG reported that ICE had paid approximately $261 million under the historical arrangement by September 2016 and paid for all 2,400 beds whether occupied or not.
    What this row does not establish

    The reviewed sources do not establish the current fixed monthly amount, per diem, invoice total, or a current unused-bed dollar figure. The separate Dilley single-adult-female workbook row is a distinct row and is never merged with this one.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs EnforcementCoreCivic, Inc.Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General

  • California City Immigration Processing Center

    CA
    FY2026 YTD average population
    1,425.6
    Printed contract floor
    2,560
    Row-level difference
    1,134.4 beds
    Share of the floor
    44.3%

    Payment terms unresolved

    Current complete payment formula not established in reviewed public sources.

    What this row does not establish

    Company annual revenue guidance and the later asset sale price are not current ICE payment amounts and must not be used to monetize this workbook gap.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs EnforcementCoreCivic, Inc.

  • Midwest Regional Reception Center

    KS
    FY2026 YTD average population
    89.4
    Printed contract floor
    1,002
    Row-level difference
    912.6 beds
    Share of the floor
    91.1%

    Contract structure published — amounts unresolved

    Company-reported fixed monthly payment plus incremental per diem; both started when intake began.

    What this row does not establish

    The exact fixed monthly amount and current invoices are not established in the reviewed sources. The 1,002 printed guarantee and the 1,033 company-published capacity are different fields and are not reconciled here.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs EnforcementCoreCivic, Inc.CoreCivic, Inc.

  • Diamondback Correctional Facility

    OK
    FY2026 YTD average population
    605.4
    Printed contract floor
    1,200
    Row-level difference
    594.6 beds
    Share of the floor
    49.5%

    Contract structure published — amounts unresolved

    Company-reported fixed monthly payment plus incremental per diem.

    What this row does not establish

    The company's full-activation revenue forecast does not establish the government's current fixed monthly payment or a dollar loss from the workbook gap.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs EnforcementCoreCivic, Inc.

  • North Lake Correctional Facility

    MI
    FY2026 YTD average population
    1,266.3
    Printed contract floor
    1,800
    Row-level difference
    533.7 beds
    Share of the floor
    29.7%

    Payment terms unresolved

    Exact payment formula not established in reviewed public sources.

    What this row does not establish

    The company's full-occupancy revenue expectation cannot be converted into a per-bed or unused-bed payment without the contract.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs EnforcementThe GEO Group, Inc.

  • Northwest ICE Processing Center

    WA
    FY2026 YTD average population
    1,173.9
    Printed contract floor
    1,653
    Row-level difference
    479.1 beds
    Share of the floor
    29.0%

    Payment terms unresolved

    Not established in the reviewed sources.

    What this row does not establish

    No current dollar conclusion is authorized without the agreement and payment records.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

  • Central Valley Annex

    CA
    FY2026 YTD average population
    83.7
    Printed contract floor
    560
    Row-level difference
    476.3 beds
    Share of the floor
    85.1%

    Payment terms unresolved

    Not established in the reviewed sources.

    What this row does not establish

    No current dollar conclusion is authorized without the agreement and payment records.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

The ten-percent band is a descriptive review threshold chosen for this audit. It is not a contractual tolerance, a legal standard, a safety rating or a score. A printed guaranteed minimum is a contract floor recorded in ICE's workbook. It is not the facility's physical or licensed capacity, and on its own it establishes no payment.

Every row below its printed floor (25)
Below the printed floorICE workbook data pull, 2026-07-20

The ten-percent band is a descriptive review threshold chosen for this audit. It is not a contractual tolerance, a legal standard, a safety rating or a score. A printed guaranteed minimum is a contract floor recorded in ICE's workbook. It is not the facility's physical or licensed capacity, and on its own it establishes no payment.

Every row materially above its printed floor (31)
Above the printed floorICE workbook data pull, 2026-07-20

The ten-percent band is a descriptive review threshold chosen for this audit. It is not a contractual tolerance, a legal standard, a safety rating or a score. A printed guaranteed minimum is a contract floor recorded in ICE's workbook. It is not the facility's physical or licensed capacity, and on its own it establishes no payment.

02

Where auditors documented dollars

Each figure below comes from a named government audit with its own period, scope and accounting basis. They are listed side by side and deliberately not added together.

  • System-wide contracts and agreements

    ICE spent $20,500,000.00

    May 2020 · Invoice-backed unused-bed payment

    GAO found ICE spent $20.5 million in May 2020 for more than 12,000 unused beds per day, on average.

    Average unused beds per day: 12,000

    What this finding does not establish

    The amount cannot be projected to July 2026 or allocated to current facilities from the workbook alone.

    U.S. Government Accountability Office

  • Camp East Montana

    up to $11,500,000.00

    August 1 to August 15, 2025 · Invoice-backed waste

    GAO calculated up to $11.5 million in waste for full services during the first half of August 2025, when no detained noncitizens were held at the facility.

    What this finding does not establish

    This bounded calculation does not equal the current workbook floor gap.

    U.S. Government Accountability Office

  • Camp East Montana

    approximately $423,000.00

    August 16 to September 30, 2025 · Invoice-backed unneeded meals

    GAO calculated approximately $423,000 in unnecessary meal costs during the initial intake period.

    What this finding does not establish

    This period-specific meal calculation does not establish a general per-diem loss rate.

    U.S. Government Accountability Office

  • Camp East Montana

    approximately $7,100,000.00

    October 1, 2025 through March 12, 2026 · Invoice-backed unneeded meals

    GAO calculated approximately $7.1 million in unnecessary meal costs through March 12, 2026.

    What this finding does not establish

    This does not establish current waste after the contractor change or under the replacement contract.

    U.S. Government Accountability Office

  • Otay Mesa Detention Center

    more than $22,000,000.00

    Historical inspector general review period · Unused bed-space payment

    DHS OIG reported that ICE paid more than $22 million for unused bed space under the facility's guaranteed-minimum arrangement.

    What this finding does not establish

    The amount predates the July 2026 federal purchase and does not establish current management compensation.

    Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General

  • Adams County Correctional Center

    more than $17,000,000.00

    Historical inspector general review period · Unused bed-space payment

    DHS OIG reported that ICE paid more than $17 million for unused bed space.

    What this finding does not establish

    The amount is historical and not a July 2026 payment estimate.

    DHS Office of Inspector General

  • Historical South Texas Family Residential Center arrangement

    approximately $261,000,000.00

    Through September 2016 · Historical agreement payment

    DHS OIG reported that ICE had paid approximately $261 million under the historical arrangement by September 2016 and paid for all 2,400 beds whether occupied or not.

    What this finding does not establish

    This is not an unused-bed-only dollar amount and it does not describe the current City of Dilley arrangement.

    Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General

These findings cover different periods, contracts, cost categories and accounting bases. They are shown as separate records and are never summed into one waste total.

03

Public ownership, private management

The federal government bought four detention facilities in 2026. For these four, ownership moved to the government and the private operator stayed.

  • California City Detention Facility

    July 2, 2026
    Sale price (company-reported, rounded)
    $732,600,000.00
    Exact agreement price
    $732,571,392.00acquisition audit
    Beds as published
    2,560
    Price per bed
    $286,172.00 (Derived arithmetic, not appraisal)
    Owner after sale
    United States of America and its assigns, by and through the Department of Homeland Security
    Management
    CoreCivic, Inc. — expected to continue, contract horizon 2027-08. Attributed, forward-looking
    What this transaction does not establish

    The derived per-bed figure is descriptive arithmetic, not an appraisal or a finding of overpayment. Expected continued management is forward-looking.

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission / CoreCivic, Inc.CoreCivic, Inc.

  • Otay Mesa Detention Center

    July 2, 2026
    Sale price (company-reported, rounded)
    $739,200,000.00
    Exact agreement price
    $739,208,496.00acquisition audit
    Beds as published
    1,994
    Price per bed
    $370,712.00 (Derived arithmetic, not appraisal)
    Owner after sale
    United States of America and its assigns, by and through the Department of Homeland Security
    Management
    CoreCivic, Inc. — expected to continue, contract horizon 2029-12, extension option five years. Attributed, forward-looking
    What this transaction does not establish

    The derived per-bed figure is descriptive arithmetic, not an appraisal or a finding of overpayment. Expected continued management is forward-looking.

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission / CoreCivic, Inc.CoreCivic, Inc.

  • Prairie Correctional Facility

    August 4, 2026
    Sale price (company-reported, rounded)
    $495,600,000.00
    Exact agreement price
    $495,639,588.00acquisition audit
    Beds as published
    1,600
    Price per bed
    $309,750.00 (Derived arithmetic, not appraisal)
    Owner after sale
    United States of America and its assigns, by and through the Department of Homeland Security
    Management
    CoreCivic, Inc. — expected to continue, contract horizon 2031-08. Attributed, forward-looking
    What this transaction does not establish

    The derived per-bed figure is descriptive arithmetic, not an appraisal or a finding of overpayment. The contract award, the asset sale and the contract commencement are separate events. This facility does not appear in the July 20, 2026 ICE workbook: no population had been established at the packet cutoff.

    CoreCivic, Inc.CoreCivic, Inc.CoreCivic, Inc.

  • Midwest Regional Reception Center

    August 4, 2026
    Sale price (company-reported, rounded)
    $238,400,000.00
    Exact agreement price
    $238,409,354.00acquisition audit
    Beds as published
    1,033
    Price per bed
    $230,784.00 (Derived arithmetic, not appraisal)
    Owner after sale
    United States of America and its assigns, by and through the Department of Homeland Security
    Management
    CoreCivic, Inc. — expected to continue, contract horizon 2027-09. Attributed, forward-looking
    What this transaction does not establish

    The derived per-bed figure is descriptive arithmetic, not an appraisal or a finding of overpayment. Expected continued management is forward-looking, and the 1,033 published beds are a company capacity figure, not the printed workbook guarantee.

    CoreCivic, Inc.CoreCivic, Inc.
Gross price, four sales
$2,205,800,000.00
Beds as published
7,187
Average price per bed
$306,915.00

Derived arithmetic, not appraisal

Company-reported expected gain / net proceeds
$1,800,000,000.00 / $1,600,000,000.00

Attributed, company-reported

These four transactions changed who owns the real property. They did not by themselves end private management: CoreCivic says it expects to continue managing each site under ICE contracts, with terms potentially modified for the ownership change. No reviewed source establishes a leaseback, an appraisal, a fair-value opinion, or overpayment. Purchase prices are never added to federal award values, obligations, outlays, company revenue, lobbying totals, or political-transaction totals.

Prairie: award, sale, commencement

These events happened in this order. The timeline alone does not show that one caused the next.

  1. August 3, 2026

    ICE management contract awarded

    CoreCivic announced a new ICE contract award at the Prairie Correctional Facility.

    CoreCivic, Inc.

  2. August 4, 2026

    Property sold to the Department of Homeland Security

    CoreCivic reported the sale of the facility to the United States and its assigns, by and through DHS, for $495.6 million.

    CoreCivic, Inc.CoreCivic, Inc.

  3. August 11, 2026

    Five-year management contract begins

    CoreCivic reported that the five-year management contract commenced.

    CoreCivic, Inc.CoreCivic, Inc.

Three separately sourced institutional events in the order the records print them. Sequence is not causation: no reviewed source establishes that any one of these events caused or was exchanged for another.

Capital allocation, in date order

The company reported these transactions on the same calendar. The records reviewed here do not trace a specific sale dollar into a repurchase.

  1. July 2, 2026

    Attributed finding

    Expected asset-sale net proceeds

    $1,100,000,000.00

    approximately, expected after taxes and transaction costs

    CoreCivic said it expected approximately $1.1 billion in net proceeds from the California City and Otay Mesa asset sales.

    What this event does not establish

    Expected net proceeds are not an audited final cash-flow trace and do not establish how each dollar was later used.

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission / CoreCivic, Inc.CoreCivic, Inc.

  2. August 4, 2026

    Observed / verified

    Repurchase authorization increase (not a repurchase)

    $500,000,000.00

    additional authorization

    The board increased CoreCivic's share-repurchase authorization by $500 million, bringing the aggregate authorization to $1.2 billion and leaving $755.8 million available.

    What this event does not establish

    An authorization does not require the company to repurchase the full amount and is not a completed repurchase.

    CoreCivic, Inc.

  3. August 5, 2026

    Attributed finding

    Company-reported debt repayment

    $370,000,000.00

    company-reported repayment from a portion of July net proceeds

    CoreCivic said it used a portion of the July facility-sale net proceeds to repay $270 million on its revolver and $100 million on an incremental term loan.

    What this event does not establish

    This is company-reported capital allocation and not a federal expenditure category.

    CoreCivic, Inc.

  4. August 10, 2026

    Observed / verified

    Accelerated share repurchase

    $500,000,000.00

    contractual payment to dealer

    CoreCivic entered a $500 million accelerated share repurchase and said it would make the payment on August 10, 2026, with an initial delivery of approximately 12.4 million shares.

    What this event does not establish

    The public records do not trace specific DHS purchase dollars into the repurchase. This is a capital-allocation chronology, not transaction-level source-of-funds tracing.

    CoreCivic, Inc.

The facility sales and capital-allocation events are shown in chronological proximity. The reviewed public records do not trace specific government purchase dollars into the share repurchase.

04

What the records do not establish

These are the conclusions a reader might reasonably reach from the figures above. The reviewed records do not support them. Open each one to see why it was withheld.

  • The combined below-floor bed gap represents a national dollar loss.

    No reviewed source supplies the current payment formula, adjustment rights or invoices for those rows. A bed gap is not a payment.

  • A row's bed gap can be multiplied by a per diem, a revenue figure or a sale price per bed.

    Per diems, company revenue and asset prices answer different questions from contract payment terms and are never multiplied against a workbook gap here.

  • The printed guaranteed minimum is the facility's physical or licensed capacity.

    Thirty-one workbook rows materially exceed their printed floor, demonstrating that the two fields answer different questions.

  • DHS overpaid for the four facilities.

    No independent appraisal or comparable-transaction valuation was reviewed. Per-bed arithmetic is descriptive only.

  • Government facility-purchase dollars funded the share repurchase.

    The reviewed public record does not trace specific dollars through the company's accounts into the repurchase.

  • The asset sales or management contracts were exchanged for political contributions or lobbying.

    No reviewed source establishes exchange, causation or quid pro quo.

  • The two Dilley workbook rows are one financial or operational unit and may be summed.

    This project deliberately preserves the two official workbook rows separately; a shared address does not establish accounting identity.

05

Sources and export

Every figure on this page traces to one of these records.