Sponsors (6)
The bill increases local control, transparency, and infrastructure review for new ICE processing/detention sites at the cost of added federal compliance costs, potential delays or blocks to facility openings, and no limitation on ICE's ability to detain people (and a risk that broad definitions could expand detention capacity).
Local and state elected officials gain clear legal authority and a defined trigger for consultation/consent (including negotiated agreements) before new ICE processing or detention sites are established in their jurisdictions, giving them more control over whether and how such facilities are located.
Communities (residents, local governments, and immigrant advocates) receive at least 30 days to review and comment on proposed ICE sites, increasing public input and transparency in decisions that affect them.
Federal agencies must assess economic and infrastructure impacts (waste, water, electrical demand), which helps localities and taxpayers anticipate and potentially reduce unanticipated local costs and environmental strain from new facilities.
Immigrants who would be held in ICE facilities remain subject to detention because the bill's definitions and procedures do not limit ICE's authority to open or operate detention sites.
ICE could use the bill's definitions to designate many types of facilities as 'processing sites' or detention centers, potentially expanding detention capacity without adding substantive safeguards.
Local consent, review windows, and potential opposition can delay or block construction/opening of ICE facilities, slowing DHS's ability to expand detention capacity when operational needs arise and possibly shifting burdens elsewhere.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Bars federal agencies from starting new ICE processing or detention facilities until they publish notice, address comments, sign a local/state agreement, and wait 30 days after reporting to Congress.
Prevents the Department of Homeland Security or any federal agency from beginning construction, acquisition, renovation, operation, or other real‑property acquisition for any new ICE processing site or detention center that will be used on or after enactment until the agency completes three procedural steps. Those steps require a public Federal Register notice with analyses and documentation, formal responses to public comments and a signed written agreement with local elected officials and the state governor, and a 30‑day waiting period after Congress and Executive Branch officials receive a report with the executed agreement. The bill defines who counts as "appropriate local government officials" (the mayor or county executive or equivalent and a majority of the local legislative body) and what counts as a "new processing site or detention center" (ICE-operated or contracted facilities, including those under the Detention Reengineering Initiative, used to temporarily hold people pending immigration processes).
Introduced February 23, 2026 by Jeanne Shaheen · Last progress February 23, 2026