Yellow Jacket InitiativeBy E. Lawrence Anderson, Yellow Jacket Initiative
Update, Saturday, November 7, 2026. After this post was published, the federal spending record for one of the four orders it tracks changed.
When we wrote on November 1, USAspending showed the San Antonio order (70CDCR26FR0000103) at $61,829,037.54 obligated. That included a modification, P00001, dated Tuesday, September 29, 2026, carrying +$44,495,339.04. We noted at the time that P00001 was coded "Other Administrative Action" and described as an update to the contracting officer's representative and a facility-address correction, which did not describe a $44.5 million obligation, and that a coding or description error was one ordinary explanation.
The record now reads differently. As of our pulls on Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7, 2026, USAspending shows P00001 dated Wednesday, September 30, 2026, with an obligation of $0.00, the same "administrative updates" description, and a total obligation for the order of $17,333,698.50. The award record was last modified Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
Both values came from the same public source; neither was our arithmetic. With the current record, the four orders we track total $462,307,636.74 obligated (as of November 7, 2026), not the $506,802,975.78 we reported on November 1 (as of that date). The difference is exactly $44,495,339.04.
What this is not: the record does not show money being taken back. There is no deobligating modification. The order's scope and its period of performance, through Thursday, August 26, 2027, are unchanged. The record does not say why the figure changed or who changed it. Federal procurement data can be revised after the fact. The original text below is unchanged.
In July, The Contract Came First looked at the federal award record behind ICE's detention buildout and concluded: "The program was not cancelled. It was concentrated." A program is cancelled when the money stops, not when the press conference happens. This is a follow-up from the same record, for the four ICE orders we track, as of Sunday, November 1, 2026.
All figures are from USAspending, pulled November 1, 2026. Outlays are reported by fiscal period and lag obligations; the newest outlay data runs through August (fiscal 2026 period 11).
Hagerstown, Maryland (70CDCR26FR0000035)
The Hagerstown order was due to end on Saturday, October 31. It did not lapse. On Thursday, October 29, ICE signed modification P00005, which the record codes as a change order and describes in one line: "MODIFICATION P00005 EXTENDS THE PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE THROUGH 01/15/2027." That is Friday, January 15, 2027. It is the second extension in a row, and like the first (P00004, July 31) it added no money. The order, awarded to KVG LLC, still describes the work as "renovation of existing, ICE-owned permanent structure in Hagerstown, MD and full detention services." (Our paper calls this the Williamsport order, after the warehouse's location outside Williamsport; the award record names Hagerstown.)
- Obligated: $113,052,115.78, unchanged since the March 6 award.
- Paid out: $28,471,646.01 cumulative through fiscal 2026 period 11 (August), up from $24,422,330.55 through period 10. No newer outlay figure has posted as of November 1.
- The record shows the full sequence: a stop-work order on April 2 (P00001), partially lifted May 18 (P00002), an updated performance work statement on June 18 that describes "full detention services" (P00003), an extension to October 31 signed July 31 (P00004), and the extension to January 15, 2027 signed October 29 (P00005).
The record does not say why the order was extended, what work remains, or whether the facility holds anyone. A $0 extension is routine contract administration. It is consistent with continued activity; it is not proof of it.
San Antonio, Texas (70CDCR26FR0000103)
- Base award, August 27: $17,333,698.50 to GardaWorld Federal Services LLC for renovation of an ICE-owned structure as a processing and detention facility, with wraparound services. Competed full and open; 8 offers.
- Modification P00001, September 29: +$44,495,339.04.
- Obligated now: $61,829,037.54. No outlays reported yet.
A caution belongs with that number. P00001 is coded "Other Administrative Action," and its description mentions only administrative updates to the contracting officer's representative and a corrected facility address. Neither describes a $44.5 million obligation. Several ordinary explanations fit: incremental funding of an awarded order with a terse description, a coding or description error in the federal procurement record, or a funded option exercised in the same action. We have not established which. The record shows the money was obligated; it does not show what it pays for.
Appleton (Prairie), Minnesota (70CDCR26FR0000110)
- Base order, August 10: $15,884,130.00 to CoreCivic, Inc. for "contract detention facility services" at Appleton (Prairie).
- Modification P00001, September 18, a funding-only action: +$2,680,080.00 "for continued detention and transportation services."
- Obligated now: $18,564,210.00. The record codes it as not competed; it is an order under an existing ICE contract. No outlays reported yet.
Prairie's period of performance also ended Saturday, October 31. As of November 1, the record shows no extension or replacement. Contract reporting often lags by several days, so the absence is not yet a finding. We will report what the record shows once it has had time to catch up.
Surprise, Arizona (70CDCR26FR0000043)
- Obligated: $313,357,612.46, unchanged since the March 6 award.
- Paid out: $3,863,852.98, flat from fiscal 2026 period 7 (April) through period 11 (August).
- Period of performance ends March 5, 2027.
Flat outlays are a finding too. Surprise is the one tracked site where the record shows no new spending since spring.
What this adds up to
Across the four orders, $506,802,975.78 is obligated and $32,335,498.99 has been paid out, as of November 1, 2026 (latest contract action on record: October 29), with outlay data through August. The two newer orders have not yet reported outlays.
That is what a concentrated program looks like in the record: one original site extended twice and drawing down steadily, one flat, and two orders that did not exist when the paper was published.
The strongest innocent reading. Outlays on an already-awarded renovation contract are expected. Extending an order before it lapses, with no new money, is routine and may reflect schedule slip, the earlier stop-work period, or pending review rather than any expansion. The San Antonio increase may be ordinary incremental funding or a coding quirk.
What this does not show
It does not show what the San Antonio modification funds. It does not show how many people are held at any site. It does not say why the Hagerstown order was extended. And it does not support any claim about why these decisions were made. The record answers whether money moved. It does.
For the scoreboard. Our Prediction 2 score (October 22) said we would report from the record whether the October 31 date was extended, lapsed, or was replaced. It was extended. That outcome is now recorded on the predictions page. It does not score any other prediction: Prediction 1 (no termination of the Hagerstown or Surprise orders before December 31, 2026) remains open.
The detention tracker at yellowjacketinitiative.com/trackers updates from the same record.
Sources: USAspending.gov award records and transaction histories, pulled November 1, 2026: 70CDCR26FR0000035 (Hagerstown), including modification P00005 (October 29, 2026); 70CDCR26FR0000103 (San Antonio); 70CDCR26FR0000110 (Appleton/Prairie); 70CDCR26FR0000043 (Surprise). The Contract Came First, version 1.0 (July 2026): https://yellowjacketinitiative.com/papers/the-contract-came-first-v1.pdf.
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