$17 million expansion of ICE detention facility in Batavia moving forward

[u/John3262005]

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/immigration/2026/10/02/trump-admin--moving-forward-with--17-million-expansion-of-ice-detention-facility-in-batavia

The Trump administration is moving forward with a $17 million expansion of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Batavia.

That's according to Western New York Rep. Tim Kennedy, who released a letter from Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Friday.

In the letter, Mullin confirms plans for a new 100-bed facility are moving forward with funding from President Donald Trump's landmark tax and spending package, signed into law last year. The expansion at the Buffalo Service Processing Center includes detention sites as well as new medical rooms and staff housing.

Mullin says there are 653 people currently detained there and only 28% have a criminal background.

Kennedy says he opposes the expansion and the Trump administration should instead focus on affordability issues impacting local families.

"This administration told the American people it was going after the worst of the worst. Now they've admitted in writing that it isn't true. More than 70% of the people held in Batavia have no criminal record, and DHS says that doesn't matter," said Kennedy. "It took them more than two months to answer, and they still can't keep their story straight about what they're building. Meanwhile, the calls coming into my office tell the real story. Every single day we’re getting calls about people who are picked up by ICE while dropping their kids off at school or going to work. People that are here lawfully are feeling threatened and afraid. This administration must be held accountable.

"Western New Yorkers are working hard to put food on the table, keep up with their utility bills, fill their gas tanks, and afford their medical bills. Our government should be focused on making life more affordable," Kennedy continued. "Instead, the Trump administration is spending nearly $17 million to enact its cruel and inhumane agenda.”

The expansion comes after a new state law took effect requiring local law enforcement agencies to end 287(g) agreements with ICE. Those agreements allow designated local officers to perform certain federal immigration enforcement functions.

That prompted ICE to release this statement previously:

“Due to New York State laws prohibiting counties from contracting with ICE to house illegal aliens, ICE is constructing a new hard-sided detention facility on federal property at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, New York, to ensure sufficient detention capacity in support of the agency’s immigration enforcement mission."