Friday, March 6, 2026

ICE detention centers cost what?

Plus: Parent leave for teachers ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌  ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ 
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This is America

Stories of justice and action across America

Fri Mar 6 2026

 

Just before the president fired Department of Homeland Security Secretary  Kristi Noem she was being grilled by Congress about the "eye-popping" price of detention centers.

Hi there, This is America readers, I'm Phillip M. Bailey, chief political correspondent at USA TODAY.

One feature of President Donald Trump 's strict immigration enforcement campaign has been converting commercial warehouses into massive holding cites for undocumented immigrants captured by ICE.

One such facility in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, for instance sold for $57.5 million two years ago but under Noem's leadership the department paid $87.4 million for it. Just last month DHS bought an empty warehouse in Social Circle, Georgia, for $128.5 million when its value is listed at $29.7 million.

Experts says the feds might be overpaying in order to compel developers and lure commercial landowners to sell, and thanks to Congress the agency has billions more in tax dollars at its disposal to buy those properties.

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The Aurora (Colorado) contract ICE immigration detention processing center run by GEO Group. as seen on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.

Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY

For more on ICE and homeland security, check out USA TODAY's coverage:

Georgia town planning for 'worst case scenario' ahead of ICE facility: Officials are troubled after learning a 10,000-bed detention center is coming with a $2 million cost

Kristi Noem fired as homeland secretary : The White House official charged with overseeing President Donald Trump's promise of mass deportations, was fired March 5 

Trump's immigration stumbles in the spotlight as Noem ousted: The ouster adds to the turmoil to the administration's signature second-term initiative

Teachers aren't guaranteed parental leave in most states

When 33-year-old Josette Cordell, an elementary school music teacher, gave birth she didn't have access to paid maternity leave and was forced to use about a month's worth of sick days.

It's a surprisingly common dilemma for America's educators and spotlights a gap in the caregiving economy.

Only 15 states and Washington, D.C. require districts to offer paid parental leave and that's stunning when considering 77% of K-12 instructors are women with more being in child-bearing age compared to other other U.S. workers.

A Gallup survey found that 59% of American teachers who had a child or adopted a child during their career did not receive any amount of paid parental leave, and 17% didn't take any time off.

When teachers do become new parents often have to do what Cordell did and pull from their sick days, vacation time and other unpaid leave for critical bonding months with their newborns. Some report feeling guilty when choosing between their students and their own children, too.

A "Now Hiring" sign is reflected through the window of Intuition Career staffing agency in Greenville, Alabama, U.S., December 4, 2022. REUTERS/Cheney Orr

The U.S. economy shed 92,000 jobs in February, a sign the labor market is still in low-hire mode as employers navigate economic and geopolitical uncertainty.

Fog hangs over the U.S. Capitol on March 5, 2026 in Washington, DC.
 

Congress won't halt Iran war after resolution fails in House

Republicans in the House of Representatives blocked a war powers resolution that would've immediately stopped U.S. hostilities against Iran.

Marjorie Taylor Greene backed Tucker Carlson for a 2028 presidential bid.
 

MTG calls for Tucker Carlson to run for president in 2028

Marjorie Taylor Greene is putting her support behind Tucker Carlson after the former Fox News host appeared to draw ire from the president.

Aricca Wallace during her treatment time
 

She was told she had less than a year to live. This experimental treatment changed everything.

Aricca Wallace had a tumor the size of a baby's head. She likely had less than a year to live. This cervical cancer clinical trial changed everything.

An evening view of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, DC.
 

Capitol rioter pardoned by Trump gets life for child sex abuse

A Florida man who was pardoned for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack was sentenced to life in prison for molesting two children, prosecutors said.

 

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