ICE Declares State and Local Laws "Shall Not Apply" to Detention Facilities

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has published draft contract language explicitly stipulating that state and local laws "shall not apply" to its private detention network.

The regulatory maneuver targets four facilities housing 5,500 beds, seeking to shield federal immigration contractors from local health and safety oversight, according to WIRED.

Legal Conflict and Court Ruling

The procurement documents were released on July 10, coming just one day after a federal ruling directed private operator GEO Group to permit Washington state health inspectors inside its Tacoma facility.

Addressing a new contract signed between ICE and GEO Group during ongoing litigation, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle ruled that contractual language cannot override state legislation.

“Preemption requires Congressional intent, not a contract,” Settle responded, “and GEO's new contract cannot preempt state law, even if it purports to.”

Despite the court ruling, the proposed contract text seeks to establish identical conditions across facilities in Washington, Colorado, Florida, and Pennsylvania.

Operating Terms and Facility Alignment

The bidding documents mandate that facilities become operational within 30 days of contract execution, a timeline effectively limiting participation to existing structures.

Required bed capacities and geographical locations precisely correspond to existing sites operated by GEO Group, where operating agreements are set to expire in the coming months.

In Pennsylvania's Clearfield County, shifting to a direct federal agreement would completely bypass local county government approval ahead of a September 28 contract expiration.

Inspection Restrictions

The draft terms transition facilities to updated National Detention Standards issued in June, which reduce contractor compliance requirements compared to the 2011 performance standards.

Under these revised terms, external site inspections are restricted exclusively to federal personnel and ICE-approved third parties, barring local authorities from access.

The framework follows similar friction in California, where federal officials acquired two sites for $1.5 billion from CoreCivic after local authorities won inspection access in court.

DHS spokesperson Lauren Bis previously attributed federal purchasing actions to state “sanctuary politicians,” who she said, “continue to push legislation to outlaw or make private prisons financially infeasible.”

While a federal appeals court temporarily stayed the Washington inspection order on July 21, the proposed contract framework threatens to replicate similar legal battles across multiple states simultaneously.