Report exposes new ICE hubs near California schools, clinics — See where

LOS ANGELES - Federal documents obtained by WIRED expose an alleged campaign by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to embed hundreds of new offices across the U.S., including in California neighborhoods. 

What we know:

The "ICE surge" is fueled by an unprecedented $80 billion in funding from President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," which has enabled the agency to more than double its workforce to 22,000 officers. 

According to the publication, internal records show that to accommodate this rapid hiring, the General Services Administration (GSA) created a dedicated team to secure 250 new locations nationwide.

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To house this surge, the GSA has reportedly been instructed to fast-track leases under an "unusual or compelling urgency" statute, allowing them to skip standard competition and transparency.

Local perspective:

In California, the expansion leverages a "compelling urgency" legal loophole to bypass the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA), allowing the government to finalize leases in days without public bids or disclosure, according to WIRED.

This secretive process has allegedly placed enforcement hubs in the following densely populated areas:

• Irvine: New offices at 2020 Main Street, located directly adjacent to a childcare agency.
• Los Angeles: General expansion of existing federal office spaces.
• Sacramento: Security upgrades and expansion at the John E. Moss building, which houses a DOJ immigration court.
• San Diego: Growth at the Edward J. Schwartz Courthouse and federal building.
• Santa Ana: Expansion at the Santa Ana federal building, situated blocks from a church and a major high school football stadium.
• Van Nuys (Los Angeles): Expansion at the James C. Corman federal building.

Dig deeper:

The news comes a day after a new report revealed approximately $3.7 million in business losses occurred between July to September 2025 due to federal immigration raids in Los Angeles County.

County Supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn commissioned the report, and the action was approved by the full Board of Supervisors in June 2025, following the start of the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration in the region.

Of the survey respondents, 59% of employers expressed concern about maintaining their current workforce, 70% of businesses experienced staffing shortages following enforcement action, and 33% of employers said workers were afraid to report to work.

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The report said immigrants here without legal permission or with various legal status contribute an estimated $253.9 billion in total economic output, equivalent to 17% of the county's gross domestic product.

Trump administration officials have defended the surge in ICE activity, saying aggressive enforcement was needed after former President Joe Biden presided over a period of lax security at the U.S.-Mexico border that saw tens of thousands of people enter the country with no screening.

What they're saying:

"GSA is committed to working with all of our partner agencies, including our patriotic law enforcement partners such as ICE, to meet their workspace needs," said Marianne Copenhaver, GSA associate administrator for communications, in a statement to WIRED.

Internal memorandums from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) justify the secrecy and speed, stating: "If HSI cannot effectively obtain office space in a timely manner, HSI will be adversely impacted in accomplishing its mission—a mission that is inextricably tied to the Administration’s priority in protecting the American People Against Invasion."

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What's next:

The expansion is expected to accelerate as OPLA (ICE’s legal arm) aims to hire 3,500 attorneys in the coming months. While many leases have already been awarded, over 100 planned locations remain undisclosed.

Administration officials have reportedly signaled that California and New York are "next" for intensified fraud investigations and enforcement surges similar to those recently seen in the Midwest.