The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is set to distribute $608 million to states for the construction of immigrant detention centers, a move aligned with the Donald Trump administration’s efforts to bolster capacity for detaining migrants.

What Happened: FEMA announced the initiation of a “detention support grant program” that will cover the expenses of states in building temporary facilities, according to a CNBC report. States have until August 8 to apply for these funds.

This program is part of the administration’s strategy to encourage states to develop their facilities for detaining migrants, with FEMA partnering with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to distribute the funds.

Florida’s Republican Governor, Ron DeSantis, has already expressed the state’s intention to apply for FEMA reimbursement to fund its new immigrant detention center, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” The facility is estimated to cost $450 million annually.

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These funds will be distributed through FEMA’s shelter and services program, which was directed by Congress during the Biden administration to cover the costs of sheltering migrants for state and local governments, as well as nonprofits.

Why It Matters: This move comes in the wake of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policy, which has led to a surge in profits for private prison operators. The administration’s $45 billion immigration policy has significantly boosted the fortunes of Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) and CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW), the two largest private prison contractors.

Florida, under the Trump administration, opened its state-run immigrant detention camp, “Alligator Alcatraz,” in the Everglades, with plans to expand it to hold 10,000 detainees.

The administration’s aggressive immigration stance has also caused a financial strain on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with the agency at risk of running out of funds by next month.

However, not everyone is on board with the administration’s immigration policies. Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., has criticized the U.S.’s immigration policies, warning of potential economic vulnerabilities.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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