ICE Wants to Build a Shadow Deportation Network in Texas

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is exploring plans to launch a privately operated, statewide transportation system. Texas. D organization Envisions a nonstop operation, funneling detained immigrants to 254 counties ICE facility and staging locations across the state.

Early planning documents reviewed by WIRED describe a statewide transportation grid designed for steady detainee transfers across Texas, with ICE estimating an average of 100 miles per trip. Each county will have its own small, around-the-clock team of contractors who will collect immigrants from local authorities appointed by ICE. It’s a subtle handover of the physical custody process to a private security firm—authorized to carry firearms and perform transportation duties “to any and all local, county, state and ICE locations.”

The proposal comes amid a renewed drive by the Trump administration to expand domestic immigration enforcement. Over the past year, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has poured billions into detention contracts. Cross-deputation agreement reactivated with local police, and directed ICE to increase removals within the United States. The plan fits nicely into that strategy; A logistical framework for a system designed to move prisoners faster and farther, with fewer federal agents seen in public.

The proposed system was revealed this week after ICE issued a market inquiry titled “Transportation Assistance for Texas.” The list includes draft operational requirements outlining staffing levels, vehicle readiness rates and response times, along with detailed questions for vendors about cost structures, regional coverage and command-and-control capabilities.

According to the document, ICE envisions 254 transportation centers statewide—one for each Texas county—each staffed by armed contractor personnel. Vehicles must be able to respond within 30 minutes, maintaining an 80-percent readiness rate across three daily shifts. ICE’s staffing model adds a 50-percent cushion for leave and turnover, increasing staffing needs by half the baseline needed to keep the system running smoothly.

WIRED calculates that it requires more than 2,000 full-time employees, and a fleet of hundreds of SUVs constantly moving around the state.

DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

What the plan describes is a shadow logistics network built under the 287(g) program under contract with local police departments. These once symbolic gestures of cooperation are today a pipeline for real-time biometric checks and arrest notifications. Transportation is merely the next logical step. For ICE, this will create a closed loop: Local authorities Arresting immigrants. Private contractor Deliver them either to a local jail (house arrests are paid) or to a detention site run by a private corporation. The plan even specifies that contractors must maintain their own dispatch and command-and-control systems to manage statewide movements.