BRAVE MAG

A look at some of the locations:

Arizona

Local officials were told nothing before ICE purchased a 418,000-square-foot (38,833-square-meter) warehouse in the Phoenix suburb of Surprise for $70 million, the state's top prosecutor, Kris Mayes, said in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Documentslater provided by ICE said the Department of Homeland Security estimates it will spend $150 million retrofitting the facility into a 1,500-bed processing site.

Florida

ATV reporterin Orlando spotted private contractors and federal officials last month touring a 439,945-square-foot (40,872-square-meter) industrial warehouse. ICE senior adviser David Venturella told a WFTV reporter the tour was "exploratory."

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said in a statement that the city hasn't been contacted by the federal government and that it has no legal options to stop a possible ICE facility.

Georgia

ICE bought a massive warehouse in Social Circle for $128.6 million. The citysaidit has been informed that the facility is expected to house from 7,500 to 10,000 detainees and will be constructed using a modular design so that capacity can be scaled up or down as needed.

Plans also are in the works to convert a warehouse in Oakwood into an ICE processing facility, Republican U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde said in a statement, although no deed has been filed. City Manager B.R. White said his first inkling that a deal was imminent came when a warehouse supervisor told a city inspector he'd been instructed to clear the job site to make way for the new owners — the federal government.

Indiana

After the town of Merrillville raised concerns about ICE touring a new 275,000-square-foot (25,548-square-meter) warehouse, owner Opus Holding LLC sent a letter statingit isn't negotiatingwith federal officials for the property. The letter said Opus was limited in what it could share because of legal issues.

Maryland

ICE purchased a warehouse about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Baltimore for $102.4 million, a deed signed last month shows. The deed was unearthed byProject Salt Box, a Maryland ICE watchdog.Officials in Washington County said in a Facebookpostthat DHS notified them beforehand that it was considering purchasing the warehouse for use as a "new ICE Baltimore Processing Facility." County commissioners later passeda resolutionin support of ICE activities.

ICE purchased a warehouse about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Baltimore for $102.4 million, a deed signed last month shows. The deed was unearthed byProject Salt Box, a Maryland ICE watchdog.

Officials in Washington County said in a Facebookpostthat DHS notified them beforehand that it was considering purchasing the warehouse for use as a "new ICE Baltimore Processing Facility." County commissioners later passeda resolutionin support of ICE activities.

Michigan

ICE announced its purchase of a facility in Romulus after the deal was completed. The city responded in aFacebookpost that officials were concerned about the "lack of prior notification."

Minnesota

The owners of warehouses in the Minneapolis suburbs of Woodbury and Shakopee pulled out of possible ICE deals after public outcry, according to local officials.

Mississippi

Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wickerpostedthat Noem agreed to look elsewhere after local elected and zoning officials opposed a possible detention center in the town of Byhalia.

Missouri

After weeks of public pressure, development company Platform Ventures announced it would not move forward with the sale of a massive warehouse in Kansas City.

After weeks of public pressure, development company Platform Ventures announced it would not move forward with the sale of a massive warehouse in Kansas City.

New Hampshire

Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte sparred with federal officials after ICE disclosed plans to spend $158 million to convert a warehouse in Merrimack into a 500-bed processing center.

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The issue came to a head when interim ICE Director Todd Lyons testified that DHS "has worked with Gov. Ayotte" and provided her with an economic impact summary.

Ayottesaidthe assertion was "simply not true." She said the summary was sent hours after Lyons testified. The document erroneously refers to the "ripple effects to the Oklahoma economy" and revenue generated by state sales and income taxes, neither of which exist in New Hampshire.

New Jersey

Roxbury said Friday that ICE had closed on the sale of a warehouse despite it offering tax abatements to the owner to stop the purchase.

No property documents were yet available online showing the price of the sale. The announcement came just two days after ICE said it had made a "mistake" when it previously announced the purchase.

"Let us be clear: Roxbury Township will not passively accept this outcome," the mayor and city council wrote in a news release.

New York

ICE said Tuesday it made a mistake when it announced the purchase of a vacant warehouse in Chester. New York state Assemblyman Brian Maher said Friday that ICE is no longer considering the facility.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City Mayor David Holtannouncedlast month that property owners had informed him they are no longer engaged with DHS about a potential acquisition or lease of a warehouse.

Pennsylvania

DHS purchased a warehouse in Tremont Township for $119.5 million and one in Upper Bern Township for $87.4 million. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has said his administration will fight DHS' plans to convert the warehouses in rural parts of eastern Pennsylvania into immigrant detention and processing centers.

Texas

In the El Paso suburb of Socorro, ICE paid $122.8 million for a trio of warehouses that span 826,780 square feet (76,810 square meters). ICE also paid $66.1 million for a 639,595-square-foot (59,420-square-meter) warehouse in San Antonio. The mayors of both cities are opposed.

However, another deal in the state was scuttled following community backlash. In the Dallas suburb of Hutchins, a real estate company confirmed that it was contacted about one of its properties but wouldn't sell or lease any buildings to DHS for use as a detention facility. California-based Majestic Realty Co. provided no explanation in its statement.

Utah

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall expressed gratitude in her State of the Cityaddressthat the owners of a warehouse that ICE was eying as a detention facility had announced plans not to sell or lease the property to the federal government.

Virginia

Jim Pattison Developments said in a statement last month that it became aware of the intended use of a warehouse in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia, after agreeing to sell to a U.S. government contractor. Following boycott threats, the Vancouver-based company announced that the transaction "will not be proceeding."

Associated Press reporters Holly Ramer, Isabella Volmert and Marc Levy contributed to this report.

Trump hasfor weeks warnedof potential for military strikes on the Middle Eastern nation, as his negotiators held mediated talks with their Iranian counterparts to discuss a deal. The White House says an agreement would avert military action, and the administration was waiting for a proposal from Tehran, heading into the weekend.

The president acknowledged on Feb. 20 that a limited strike on Iran is currently on the table. "I guess I am considering that," he said in response to a question.

After a Situation Room discussion on Iran on Feb. 18, a senior administration official told USA TODAY that Trump could decide to strike Iran as soon as this weekend. He could also strike Iran next weekend — or never — the official said of the president's options. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic.

Anti-government protests in Iran appeared to accelerate on Jan. 9, sparked by anger over the collapse of the country's currency and a broader sense of hopelessness and disillusionment with Tehran's clerical leaders.

The uptick in unrest also comes as President Donald Trump warned Iran's authorities against killing peaceful protesters, saying Washington "will come to their rescue."

See the scenes in Iran, beginning here on the streets amid anti-government unrest in Tehran, Iran, in this still image obtained from social media video released on January 8, 2026. Witnesses told Reuters protesters gathered in the streets on Thursday, January 8, however this video's date taken has not been verified.

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See Iran's anti-government protests, huge crowds, unrest in photos

Anti-government protests in Iranappeared to accelerate on Jan. 9, sparked by anger over the collapse of the country's currency and a broader sense of hopelessness and disillusionment with Tehran's clerical leaders.

The uptick in unrest also comes as PresidentDonald Trumpwarned Iran's authorities against killing peaceful protesters, sayingWashington "will come to their rescue."See the scenes in Iran, beginning here on the streets amid anti-government unrest in Tehran, Iran, in this still image obtained from social media video released on January 8, 2026. Witnesses told Reuters protesters gathered in the streets on Thursday, January 8, however this video's date taken has not been verified.

More:Trump says Iran has 10 days to reach nuclear deal to avoid military action

The following day,during a Feb. 19 meetingof his Board of Peace for Gaza, Trump told attendees he would know whether a deal was possible within the next 10 days.

"We may have to take it a step further or we may not," Trump said.

He said later in the day that 15 days was his maximum.

The senior official who spoke to USA TODAY said earlier on Feb. 19 that the U.S. was waiting on a proposal from the Iranians, and it should arrive within the next two weeks.

White House says 'all options' at Trump's disposal

Trump's administration is currentlylocked in negotiationswith Iran to curb itsnuclear program, and the White House has repeatedly emphasized that Trump prefers the diplomatic route. But the mediated talks have not yet produced a deal. Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahuhas pushed to include Iran's ballistic missile program and funding for its proxy forces in the region in the deal – conditions that experts say the Iranians arehighly unlikely to accept.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to meet in Israel with Netanyahu on the evening Feb. 28. Trump has typically consulted close ally Israel on his actions in the region and worked in close coordination with Israel when it bombed Iran's nuclear siteslast June.Netanyahu also visited Trump in Washington this month.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a"Morning Joe" interviewon Feb. 20 on MSNOW that "there is no military solution for Iran's nuclear program."

"The only solution is diplomacy. This is why the U.S. is back on the table of negotiation and is seeking a deal," he said.

But the Iranian diplomat said his country was prepared for negotiation, "as much as we are prepared for war," if an agreement cannot be reached.

Several news outletshave reported in recent days that Trump is considering a limited initial strike, but that an operation to decapitate Iran's government ortake out leadershipis also on the table.

The Pentagon and U.S. Central Command referred USA TODAY's request for comment to the White House.

A White House official told USA TODAY in a statement, "President Trump's first instinct is always diplomacy, and he has been clear that the Iranian regime should make a deal. Of course, the president ultimately has all options at his disposal."

Trump renewed his threats in recent months as the largest protests in decades broke out in the country, prompting the Iranian regime to carry out a brutal crackdown that hasreportedly killed thousands.Trump previously sent amessage to protestersin a Truth Social post that "help is on its way," but has since shifted the goal of negotiations – and a possible military operation – to Iran's nuclear program.

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Experts said Trump could launch an initial strike and expand as circumstances required.

"I think the idea of limited, and expanding [strikes] is something that is definitely on the table," said Brian Carter, an Iran-focused research manager at the American Enterprise Institute's Critical Threats Project.

Even a limited strike, though, could send both nations down an escalatory path, said Jennifer Kavanagh, the director of military analysis at Defense Priorities.

A limited strike is "something the military could try, but the idea that Iran isn't going to retaliate, to me, seems unlikely."

Iran has threatened to unleash attacks on U.S. troops in the region if Trump. On any given day, there are between 30,000 and 40,000 troops in the region, according to Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command.

"They've made it clear they will retaliate, and then once they retaliate, the U.S. will have to retaliate," said Kavanagh. "Then we're into a cycle of strikes."

State of the Union looms over Trump threats

Trump is set to deliver his State of the Union address to Congress on Feb. 24.

After coming under criticismfrom MAGA Republicansfor his frequent meetings with foreign leaders at the White House and overall focus on waging war and forging peace deals, the president has increased his domestic travel ahead of the midterm electionsand held moreeconomic events. He has mostly kept his meetings with visiting leaders behind closed doors after publicly broadcasting many of them in his first year in office.

The optics ofTrump hitting Iran for a second time, just as he's due to barnstorm the country coming out of the address as part of an affordability-focused tourin battleground areashis party needs to win to retain control of the House of Representatives, would not be ideal.

Trumpfirst attacked Iran in June2025, when U.S. military planes at his direction dropped more than a dozen penetrating bombs on Iran's nuclear facilities. Now, he has dispatched a growing bevvy of military assets to the region to bolster his threats.

An aircraft carrier and a dozen warships are currently deployed in the region, and dozens of fighter jets, including F-22s and F-16s,headedtowards U.S. bases in the Middle East in the last week, according to open source accounts and news reports. They were accompanied by air tankers used to refuel planes while in flight. Another aircraft carrier is on the way to the region, with more naval destroyers in tow.

The entirety of the Gerald Ford carrier strike group and full U.S. military assets are not expected to arrive in the region in mid-March, the senior administration official said.

Allies have reportedly signaled they aren't willing to back up the United States if Trump launches an attack. The London Timesreportedon Feb. 19 that the United Kingdom will not allow Trump to use its military bases for an attack, followingsimilar statementsfrom Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Given the massive amount of U.S. military firepower in the region, anything is possible, Carter said.

"The U.S. military has broad enough assets to do basically anything from a relatively limited strike that would intend to push Iran in the right direction on negotiations, all the way up to a strike that intends to actually topple the regime itself," he said.

The more pressing question, Kavanagh said, is the "day after strategy."

"There is no short, limited campaign here," she said.

(This story was updated to add a video.)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Is an Iran attack coming? Trump says limited strike is on the table

Native American Women Sterilization

Decades later, the state of New Mexico is set to investigate that troubling history and its lasting harm.

New Mexico legislators approved a measure this week to have the state Indian Affairs Department and the Commission on the Status of Women examine the history, scope and continuing impact of forced and coerced sterilizations of women of color by the Indian Health Service and other providers. The findings are expected to be reported to the governor by the end of 2027.

"It's important for New Mexico to understand the atrocities that took place within the borders of our state," said state Sen. Linda Lopez, one of the legislation's sponsors.

It's not the first state to confront its past. In 2023, Vermont launched atruth and reconciliation commissionto study forced sterilization of marginalized groups including Native Americans. In 2024, California beganpaying reparationsto people who had been sterilized without their consent in state-run prisons and hospitals.

The New Mexico Legislature also laid the groundwork to create a separate healing commission and for a formal acknowledgment of a little known piece of history that haunts Native families

Sarah Deer, a professor at the University of Kansas School of Law, said it's long overdue.

"The women in these communities carry these stories," she said.

Outside of a 1976 U.S. Government Accountability Office report, the federal government has never acknowledged what Deer calls a campaign of "systemic" sterilizations in Native American communities.

The Indian Health Service and its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, did not respond to multiple emails requesting comment on New Mexico's investigation.

A troubling history

In 1972, Jean Whitehorse was admitted to an Indian Health Service hospital in Gallup, New Mexico, with a ruptured appendix. Just 22 and a new mother, Whitehorse said she remembers experiencing "extreme pain" as providers presented her with a flurry of consent forms before rushing her into emergency surgery.

"The nurse held the pen in my hand. I just signed on the line," said Whitehorse, a Navajo Nation citizen.

A few years later when she was struggling to conceive a second child, Whitehorse said she returned to the hospital and learned she had received a tubal ligation. The news devastated Whitehorse, contributed to the breakdown of her relationship and sent her spiraling into alcoholism, she said.

Advocates already were sounding the alarm about women like Whitehorse who were entering IHS clinics and hospitals to give birth or for other procedures and later finding themselves unable to conceive. The activist group Women of All Red Nations, or WARN — an offshoot of the American Indian Movement — was formed in part to expose the practice.

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In 1974, Choctaw and Cherokee physician Connie Redbird Uri reviewed IHS records and alleged that the federal agency had sterilized as many as 25% of its female patients of childbearing age. Some of the women Uri interviewed were unaware they had been sterilized. Others said they were bullied into consenting or misled to believe the procedure was reversible.

Uri's allegations helped prompt the GAO audit, which found that the Indian Health Service sterilized 3,406 women in four of the agency's 12 service areas between 1973 and 1976, including in Albuquerque. The agency found that some patients were under the age of 21 and most had signed forms that didn't comply with federal regulations meant to ensure informed consent.

GAO researchers determined that interviewing women who had undergone sterilizations "would not be productive," citing a single study of cardiac surgical patients in New York who struggled to recall past conversations with doctors. Because of the lack of patient interviews and the narrow purview of the GAO's audit, advocates say the full scope and impact remains unaccounted for.

A venue to tell their stories

Whitehorse didn't share her experience for nearly 40 years, she said. First, she told her daughter. Then, other family.

"Each time I tell my story, it relieves the shame, the guilt," Whitehorse said. "Now I think, why should I be ashamed? It's the government that should be ashamed of what they did to us."

Whitehorse now advocates publicly for victims of forced sterilization. In 2025, she testified about the practice to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and called for the United States to formally apologize.

Whitehorse hopes New Mexico's investigation will offer more victims a venue to tell their stories. But advocates like Rachael Lorenzo, executive director of the Albuquerque-based sexual and reproductive health organization Indigenous Women Rising, say the commission must be careful to avoid re-traumatizing survivors across generations.

"It's such a taboo topic. There's a lot of support that needs to happen when we tell these traumatic stories," said Lorenzo.

In a New Mexico legislative hearing earlier this month, retired Indian Health Service physician Dr. Donald Clark testified that he has seen patients in their 20s and 30s "seeking contraception but not trusting that they will not be irreversibly sterilized" because of stories quietly passed down by their grandmothers, mothers and aunts.

"It's still an issue that is affecting women's choice of birth control today," Clark said.

A pattern of disenfranchisement

A 1927 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Buck v. Bell upheld states' rights to sterilize people it considered "unfit" to reproduce, paving the way for the forced sterilization of immigrants, people of color, disabled people and other disenfranchised groups throughout the 20th century.

According to Lorenzo and Deer, the sterilization of Native American women fits into a pattern of federal policies meant to disrupt Native people's reproductive autonomy, from the systemic removal of Indigenous children into government boarding schools and non-Native foster homes to the 1976 Hyde Amendment, which prevents tribal clinics and hospitals that receive federal funding from performing abortions in almost all cases.

In Canada, doctors have beensanctionedas recently as 2023 for sterilizing Indigenous women without their consent.

Deer said New Mexico's investigation could pave the way for accountability. But without cooperation from the federal government, Deer said the commission's fact-finding abilities would be limited.