Analysis

Third in a Three-Part Series

This resource is part of a series that explores the various avenues for massive detention expansion. Here, we discuss plans to expand ICE detention through Intergovernmental Service Agreements (IGSAs). The Trump administration has used IGSA’s as a key tool to expand immigration detention. IGSAs are contracts between ICE and state or local governments that authorize facilities—usually county jails—to detain people under civil immigration custody. Local governments often subcontract the operation of facilities to private prison companies. These complex arrangements provide profit incentives to both local governments and private companies, obscure accountability and oversight, and allow ICE to bypass the direct federal bidding process, making it more difficult to know exactly how many of these contracts exist. It is estimated that ICE’s use of county jails since President Trump’s inauguration has at least doubled.