BOP confirms interagency agreement with ICE to house detainees; roughly 700 in custody under the IAA

Associate Deputy Director Kathleen Toomey told the House Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Activities Subcommittee that the Federal Bureau of Prisons has an interagency agreement (IAA) with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to house detainees at multiple BOP facilities.

Key points: Toomey said the IAA permits ICE to place detainees in five BOP facilities — Miami, Atlanta, Leavenworth, Philadelphia and "Berlin" (as listed in the agreement) — and that, "As of this morning, there are about 700" individuals housed under the arrangement. She said the IAA provides for ICE to fully reimburse BOP for costs associated with housing those individuals.

Why it matters: Members raised concerns that housing civil immigration detainees in BOP facilities could require significant additional resources, could complicate facility operations and could dilute BOP capacity for sentenced populations. Ranking Member Meng and other members asked for additional implementation details, including staffing, language access and cost projections.

Operational details the witness provided: Toomey said detainees would be housed in separate units from sentenced individuals and supervised by different BOP staff, and that language‑line assistance and other supports would be provided per the agreement. Toomey said she could not predict future ICE requests and that the agreement currently lists five facilities; she told the subcommittee the bureau is communicating regularly with ICE about potential needs.

Ending: Members asked BOP for follow‑up on funding, staffing impacts and how ICE reimbursement would be handled in practice; Toomey said the bureau would provide additional information to the committee as the arrangement is implemented.