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Nationwide surge in ICE detentions sparks safety concerns as Milwaukee builds new processing center Immigration advocates, local officials and former federal staffers are sounding alarms over the rapid expansion of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities after 2025 became the deadliest year in ICE custody in more than two decades. Construction crews are racing to finish a 36,000-square-foot detention and processing hub on Milwaukee’s Northwest Side that will funnel immigrants from across southeastern Wisconsin for booking, short-term holding and deportation transfers. On Saturday, dozens of protesters from groups such as Voces de la Frontera, Never Again Action–Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression marched outside the site, accusing ICE of “building trauma into the neighborhood without community consent.” Ald. Larresa Taylor, who represents the district, told the crowd, “You may be here, but you are not welcome here” as chanting demonstrators encircled construction fencing. Why the backlash matters • Record deaths: At least 20 people have died in ICE custody this year, the highest toll since 2004, even as the agency detains nearly 60,000 people — a population spike driven by interior “street arrests” rather than border transfers. • Medical staffing shortages: A 2021 DHS inspector-general report flagged chronic difficulty hiring doctors and nurses at remote detention centers, a gap former officials warn could worsen as new sites open. • Local transparency gaps: Milwaukee activists say the project advanced quietly through a private landlord, Milwaukee Governmental LLC, leaving residents unaware that the building will process thousands of immigrants annually. What’s inside the new Milwaukee site – 36,000 sq ft retrofit of a former office complex at 11900 W Lake Park Dr. – Holding cells, interview rooms and biometric-capture stations for daily check-ins and arrests. – Capacity to detain individuals for up to 72 hours before transfer to facilities in Illinois or Minnesota, according to project documents reviewed by organizers. National context The Trump administration’s $70 billion funding boost to ICE this summer earmarked money for detention-bed expansion, additional deportation officers and contract security guards. Yet the agency’s medical corps remains understaffed, and several oversight offices were hit by government-shutdown furloughs, delaying investigations into in-custody deaths. Former ICE Civil Rights official Peter Mina warns the gap “places risk all across the system” as older or medically fragile detainees arrive from interior raids rather than the historically younger border population. Local repercussions Wisconsin immigrant families already report courthouse arrests and workplace raids; activists fear a permanent processing hub will normalize surveillance in Latino and Black neighborhoods. Black Leaders Organizing Communities (BLOC) director Angela Lang linked immigrant detention to the broader criminal-justice system, saying, “We are not free until we are all free.” What happens next • Ald. Taylor is pressing the city attorney’s office to examine zoning levers that could restrict expansion. • Voces de la Frontera plans weekly canvasses and “whistle-kit” trainings to document future ICE activity. • A federal lawsuit filed by immigrant-rights groups earlier this month seeks a nationwide injunction requiring independent medical reviews within 24 hours of detention; a hearing is set for December in the Seventh Circuit. SEO takeaway Readers searching for “ICE detention deaths 2025,” “new ICE facility Milwaukee,” “record fatalities in ICE custody” and “immigration protest Wisconsin” will find the latest numbers, local impact and next steps in a single report that ties national data to fast-developing Midwest construction plans.