Follow the Money - February 2026: Warehouses Dominate ICE Spending

Project Salt Box's monthly report on ICE and CBP procurement activities

The first released floor plan of a planned warehouse detention center in Social Circle, GA (Credit: DHS)

Bottom Line Up Front

$2.3B spent in a “slow” month. February is historically a slow month for government spending. Despite that, CBP and ICE pushed more than $2.3B in contracts, which is an unusually high burn rate that signals this spending surge is only beginning.

ICE is exponentially increasing capacity. ICE’s big moves included nearly $900M in warehouse acquisitions and major IT and office build‑outs that quietly expand long-term detention and processing capacity nationwide.

Procurements are being concealed. A growing share of ICE activity is flowing through opaque contract vehicles and away from public-facing portals, making it significantly harder for communities, journalists, and advocates to track who is getting paid and for what.

February’s Biggest Contracts

ICE and CBP spent over $2 billion in the past month. Similar to January, the majority of that spending came from CBP as they continue border construction projects. The agency spent a whopping $1.45 billion on a bulk steel purchase from AMI Metals for use in “southwest border construction projects.” Additional large border wall contracts from the month included logistics support for the linear ground detection system and construction monitoring services, awarded to Sintela and the Vernadero Group, respectively.

ICE’s main purchases included another contract to Price Modern, a Baltimore-based furniture company who netted an additional $25 million as they continue supplying furniture to ICE offices nationwide — the period of performance runs from March to August. The agency also refreshed its supply of laptops and other computer accessories, through an $18 million contract with FCN, Inc, a Bethesda, Md.-based company.

Warehouse Purchases Dominate ICE Spending

Screenshot of PSB’s warehouse tracker

While border wall construction made up the bulk of CBP spending, warehouse purchases across the country were ICE’s focus in February. By the end of February, ICE spent a grand total of $900 million on warehouse acquisitions. That number is not inclusive of retrofitting, maintenance, or other operational costs. As we have highlighted in our warehouse tracker, many of those purchases came at a drastic markup from the most recently assessed value, raising questions about the factors driving such price increases.

To date, ICE has acquired ten warehouses, with six known sites still pending. We expect that new detention sites are being considered or are undergoing evaluation, given that 12 of the 24 desired warehouses were canceled - thanks to community pressure.

Signs Point to Surge in Baltimore

We’re now seeing clear signs that ICE is gearing up for a surge in the Baltimore region. As we previously reported, a five year MRE contract that nearly triples meal capacity in the area tells us that higher detention numbers are being planned. At the same time, fleets of new ICE vehicles moving into the area and reports of more frequent check-ins and home visits show the operational side of that build-up. These developments, combined with the purchase of the Hagerstown warehouse, point not just to a coming surge, but to an immigration enforcement and detention footprint around Baltimore that is being built to last.

Analysis and Trends

Procurement Trends: Our team has seen a notable decrease in publicly available ICE procurement activity. While we can still track spending based on award data, it appears that ICE is quietly moving away from public-facing procurement portals in favor of less transparent methods, including the Navy’s WEXMAC TITUS contract vehicle we reported on previously. This shift is a clear signal that the agency is prioritizing acquisition speed over transparency.

Infrastructure Spending: Infrastructure-related contracts, from border wall materials to warehouse purchases, continue to make up the bulk of recent obligations. The focus on infrastructure points to a steady investment aimed at building long-term capacity rather than meeting immediate needs. This trend also tracks with the administration’s broader push to invest in domestic production and modernize federal facilities.

About this Report

All data used in this report is from usaspending.gov and SAM.gov. This is the second monthly report from Project Salt Box. If there are specific procurements, companies, regions, or topics you would like us to cover in future monthly reports, please reach out to us and let us know.