Trump administration officials reportedly are talking to an Arizona-based shipping container company about providing temporary space to house and process illegal migrants being deported.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Phoenix-based Willscot are discussing the leasing of mobile structures to house deportees, Semafor reported Thursday.
A handful of containers also could be used for medical or administrative space at migrant detention facilities, the outlet said.
ICE could use containers to house some of the aliens at facilities along the U.S.-Mexico border or at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where President Donald Trump intends to send up to 30,000 migrants with criminal records.
The majority of the immigrants sent to Guantanamo under Trump's plan are expected to be held temporarily in tent camps before being transported to their home country or a third-party country that's agreed to take them, NBC News reported.
The first U.S. military flight to deport illegal immigrants from the United States to Guantanamo Bay was set to depart Tuesday, a U.S. official said.
DHS told Semafor that an additional flight carrying 13 "highly dangerous criminal aliens" arrived at the military base on Thursday.
Those were the first steps in what is expected to be a surge in the number of migrants held at the Navy base in Cuba, which for decades was primarily used to detain foreigners associated with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The report of ICE officials speaking with Willscot representatives came after CBS News reported detention facilities were at 109% capacity, with the agency holding close to 42,000 migrant detainees, despite having on paper a 38,521-bed capacity in its network of for-profit prisons and county jails, according to internal Department of Homeland Security data.
Willscot is one of the largest players in the modular office sector. Its products are commonly used as construction site storage and office space.
The modular offices can be outfitted with restroom facilities and functionally all support air conditioning, according to Willscot.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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