The Department of Homeland Security confirmed it is moving forward with the previously announced expansion of the Batavia, NY detention facility, adding up to 100 beds to house women after New York barred local jails from contracting with ICE to hold detainees. In a Sept. 29 letter to U.S. Rep. Timothy Kennedy, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the expansion follows a statewide enforcement operation that led to nearly 2,200 arrests, pushing the previously all-male, 650-bed facility beyond capacity. Kennedy had urged ICE to halt the project over health and safety concerns, but Mullin said the roughly $17 million expansion contract, awarded to facility operator Akima Global Services and funded through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, will proceed. DHS has also said it plans to add medical staff, including a dentist and nurses, after detainees complained of inadequate care.