As of Jan. 1, the agency was detaining more than 48,000 individuals, which is 8,000 more than the levels that had been provided for by the now-expired congressional funding. But nearly three weeks after its funding lapsed because of the shutdown, ICE has likely run out of money to pay contractors for the detention space it uses.

And while ICE has some non-appropriated funds it can lean on, those are not enough to pay for the overall detention space for more than a few weeks, said Kevin Landy, who was appointed during the Obama administration to run ICE’s Office of Detention Policy and Planning, a position he held for more than six years, up until 2017.

“It’s just a matter of time before ICE runs out of money to pay for detention beds, if it hasn’t already,” Landy said. Already, some county governments, like in Tulsa, Oklahoma, have told BuzzFeed News that ICE has notified them that its monthly payment for the individuals in their custody will not be made on time.