ICE has been open about its aggressive detention and deportation targets. And now, the agency has its sights set on a new kind of facility to house the people it arrests: converted warehouses that could detain 5,000 or more people.

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg reporters Fola Akinnibi and Sophie Alexander take host Sarah Holder inside their team’s reporting on the agency’s latest push to expand its detention capacity, the lucrative government contracts that companies are vying for and mounting concerns around safety for detainees.

Read more: 
ICE Plans Detention Expansion With Deal to Design ‘Mega Centers’
Companies With No Detention Experience Want to Run Trump’s ICE Camps

Further listening: Why Small Towns Are Hooked on ICE Detention

Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by Julia Press; Reported by Sophie Alexander and Fola Akinnibi; Edited by Aaron Edwards; Fact-checking by Rachael Lewis-Krisky and David Fox; Engineering by Katie McMurran; Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

ICE has been open about its aggressive detention and deportation targets. And now, the agency has its sights set on a new kind of facility to house the people it arrests: converted warehouses that could detain 5,000 or more people.
On today&rsquo;s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg reporters Fola Akinnibi and Sophie Alexander take host Sarah Holder inside their team&rsquo;s reporting on the agency&rsquo;s latest push to expand its detention capacity, the lucrative government contracts that companies are vying for and mounting concerns around safety for detainees.
Read more:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-18/ice-plans-to-greatly-expand-detention-capacity">ICE Plans Detention Expansion With Deal to Design &lsquo;Mega Centers&rsquo;</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-08-15/trump-s-ice-camps-turn-to-contractors-with-no-detention-experience">Companies With No Detention Experience Want to Run Trump&rsquo;s ICE Camps</a></li>
</ul>
Further listening:&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/small-towns-are-getting-hooked-on-ice-detention/id1578096201?i=1000708502921">Why Small Towns Are Hooked on ICE Detention</a>
Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by Julia Press; Reported by Sophie Alexander and Fola Akinnibi; Edited by Aaron Edwards; Fact-checking by Rachael Lewis-Krisky and David Fox; Engineering by Katie McMurran; Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

The Big Take from Bloomberg News brings you inside what’s shaping the world's economies with the smartest and most informed business reporters around the world. The context you need on the stories that can move markets. Every afternoon.

The Big Take from Bloomberg News brings you inside what’s shaping the world's economies with the smartest and most informed business reporters around the world. The context you need on the stories that can move markets. Every afternoon.

Big Take

Inside ICE’s Plan to Build Detention ‘Mega Centers’

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/ec8bf090-199c-4057-a604-b3d8016e731d/transcript