March 31 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is temporarily pausing plans to use large warehouses to detain immigrants, a Trump administration official and a second source familiar with the matter said, as its new secretary, Markwayne Mullin, reviews one of his predecessor’s most controversial policies.
Under Mullin’s predecessor, Kristi Noem, the department planned to spend $38.3 billion by the end of the year on detention centers to hold and process tens of thousands of immigrants, documents showed. The plan has sparked backlash in several communities where the centers were planned.
The Washington Post reported on Friday on an internal memo that described a slowdown in the process of issuing contracts to convert the warehouses.
DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Ted Hesson, Bhargav Acharya and Ismail Shakil; Editing by Daphne Psaledakis and Bill Berkrot)
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