A federal watchdog is investigating a program that spent $38 billion under ex-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to convert vacant buildings into immigrant detention facilities, The Post has learned.
The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) has announced the probe “[t]o determine to what extent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] purchased and converted facilities for detention space that meets its operational need in a cost-effective manner.”
ICE’s acquisition drive — which was also championed by Noem’s top adviser Corey Lewandowski — has spent just $1 billion so far in taxpayer funds to purchase 11 empty warehouses, The Wall Street Journal first reported.
In total, up to $45 billion was appropriated “for single adult alien detention capacity and family residential center capacity” in the One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law by the President this past July.
ICE bought the warehouses from sellers like Goldman Sachs and the Carlyle Group, as opposed to leasing facilities from private prison companies, per the real-estate analytics company CoStar.
In a March report, CoStar alleged that DHS paid premiums of between 11% and 13% over the market price for similar properties.
Some companies that received federal contracts related to the building purchases had never previously worked on immigration matters, according to The Journal.
Noem’s replacement as DHS secretary, Markwayne Mullin, paused spending on the warehouse-to-detention facilities program shortly after assuming the cabinet post in late March. --->READ MORE HERE
Ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faced a slew of scandals, media snafus and ridiculous moments before President Trump finally fired her Thursday.
The 54-year-old former governor of South Dakota — nicknamed “ICE Barbie” for her perfectly coiffed tresses and TV-ready makeup — has caught heat for everything from killing her dog to running a $220 million ad campaign of herself dressed as a cowgirl.
Here’s a roundup of the most outrageous moments of her controversial year-and-change tenure.
Wearing a $60,000 Rolex to visit prison
Noem was slammed as wildly out of touch in March 2025 when she wore a $60,000 Rolex watch to tour a run-down El Salvadoran prison.
She wore the glittering gold Cosmograph Daytona timepiece — dubbed the “exotic sports car” of watches — as she shot footage next to overcrowded prisoner bunks, where hundreds of Venezuelan migrants had been deported and incarcerated.
Luxury air travel and a ‘Big Beautiful Jet’
Noem sparked criticism for using border funds to buy a fleet of private luxury aircraft — including a $70 million jet that may have been used by Noem herself.
The department spent more than $300 million on th Xree private jets, including two Gulfstream G700s purchased and a Boeing 737, nicknamed the “Big Beautiful Jet,” according to reports.
One jet features a queen-size bed, showers, a kitchen, four large flat-screen televisions — drawing accusations that she wasted agency funds.
$220 million ad boondoggle
An expensive ad campaign featuring Noem wearing a cowboy hat on a horse has irked Trump — who said he hadn’t signed off on the $220 million effort. --->READ MORE HERE
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