ICE published draft detention contracts declaring state law 'shall not apply' at four facilities

On July 10, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement published draft procurement materials for four new detention-facility contracts declaring that state and local laws "shall not apply" to the facilities' operations, according to federal documents reviewed by WIRED. The draft terms cover roughly 5,500 beds at facilities near Denver, Colorado; Miami, Florida; Seattle, Washington; and in central Pennsylvania -- locations matching four detention centers GEO Group already operates, in Aurora, Pompano Beach, Tacoma, and Philipsburg respectively. Contractors had one week to respond, and the notice required awarded facilities to begin housing detainees within 30 days of an award, a timeline that all but limited eligible bidders to those four existing sites.

The filing came one day after U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle ordered GEO Group to admit Washington state health inspectors to its Tacoma detention center, rejecting the company's argument -- advanced in a federal contract GEO had signed in the middle of that litigation -- that its agreement with ICE placed the facility beyond state law. "Preemption requires Congressional intent, not a contract," Settle wrote, adding that GEO's new contract "cannot preempt state law, even if it purports to." The language ICE published the next day for the three additional facilities mirrors the clause Settle had just rejected.

Washington had spent three years and roughly ten rejected inspection attempts trying to gain access to the Tacoma facility, after more than 3,500 detainee complaints about conditions including contaminated food, poor sanitation, and inadequate medical care. Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor GEO Group responded to WIRED's request for comment on the new contract language.