56,397 People Now Detained by ICE, Possibly Highest in History
Largest growth in detention numbers comes from people with no criminal histories, who now make up a third of ICE detention amid dangerous overcrowding and lucrative contracts for private contractors.
According to the latest data published by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Friday, the number of immigrants held in detention on June 15 reached 56,397.1 This might be the largest detained population on record. It is certainly the largest detained population since ICE began reporting detention data during the first Trump administration. The previous high was 55,654 in August 2019—and I have used that number as the benchmark high in the past to put ICE’s detention numbers in context.
The biggest growth in recent weeks has been the number of people in civil detention with nothing more than civil immigration violations on their record. The chart and table below focus only on people in detention as a result of ICE arrests. This number increased from 7,781 to 11,763. The increases for people with pending criminal charges or criminal convictions increased much less.
In fact, nearly a third of all people held in ICE detention now have no criminal history, up from 6 percent in January. The percent of immigrants held with criminal convictions has actually decreased from 62 percent to 37 percent. See the previous post in January for my prediction that this would take place and a detailed description explaining why.
To put the growth of detained people with no criminal histories in context, we can compare the current totals with the totals at the start of the Trump administration to visualize their relative growth over the past six months. There has been nearly a 14x growth in the number of people detained at any one time without criminal histories.
The majority of ICE detainees were arrested by ICE, rather than CBP—an indication that most of the immigration enforcement happening in the country right now is happening throughout the interior while the border is less active as a site of enforcement. That said, I encourage you to listen to my conversation with Reece Jones about the expansive enforcement geography of Border Patrol. They are not only operating at the border, but also in places across the country.
For more great reporting about immigrant detention, here are some suggested articles:
ICE is using no-bid contracts, boosting big firms, to get more detention beds
Trump’s ICE arrests non-criminals despite crime-focused message
Immigrants sleep on floors as Trump crackdown strains detention centers
In recorded calls, reports of overcrowding and lack of food at ICE detention centers
If you want to learn more about the controversial world of private immigration detention, register now for my upcoming conversation with Nancy Hiemstra and Deirdre Conlon about their new book: Immigration Detention, Inc.
Event Announcement: "Immigration Detention, Inc.", a Live Conversation with Nancy Hiemstra and Deirdre Conlon about the Big Business of Locking Up Migrants
I’m thrilled to invite you to a special virtual event featuring my colleagues—and fellow geographers—Nancy Hiemstra and Deirdre Conlon, whose new book Immigration Detention Inc.: The Big Business of Locking Up Migrants offers one of the most thorough, urgent, and critical accounts of the immigrant detention system to be published in years.
Support public scholarship.
This newsletter is only possible because of your support. If you believe in keeping this work un-paywalled and freely open to the public, consider becoming a paid subscriber. You can read more about the mission of this newsletter, why I finally decided to offer a paid option, and the impact of this work in 2025 so far.
Apologies: my initial title for the post had the old high of 55,654. This has been corrected.
This is how the U.S. creates generational cycles of poverty, populates its prisons, and keeps its lower-paid workers from complaining or sticking their heads up too much. We attack that one segment of society that can't fight back (by voting), and sentence their kids, jobs, and communities to the loss of their income, care, love and brain power. We rob ourselves of their talents and their contributions to our economy. We tell ourselves they're "taking our jobs" - when in reality they're creating MORE jobs by being willing to do the grunt work that born-in-the-U.S.A. citizens think we're too good for. They shore us up and they put money in our pockets. But sure, take that away and break the back of the small businessman That's what an oligarchy does.
Then, rather than seeing the theft of our neighbors as the horrific 'sin' it truly is, those USAmerican citizens who have just a few more rights than the current victims of the destruction - pile onto the hatred and vilify their neighbors. It gives them an outlet for the seething rage they've internalized throughout their lives from being plastered to the ground by consistent religious, societal and family messaging that tells them they have no power. "At least I'm not THAT guy," they rationalize, as they don their Confederate flag-laden wardrobes and mount their souped-up F150s with the "Trump" and "Don't Tread on me" stickers and the double gun racks in the cab.....
And, finally, when the immigrant has been deported, and his family and the community are in tatters, the oligarchs can pick and choose which communities they would like to swoop in and "save...." By building factories, businesses and mega-churches that further exploit those who are left, under-paying and over-working them, refusing them medical care and retirement income, over-charging them at every store they could possibly need, and controlling their rents and utilities so that they are never able to build up any generational wealth. Oh, and of course, the oligarchs will not build just anywhere.... They need to make sure they have tax breaks and incentives offered to them from the towns, cities and states where they want to build. Which, of course, the citizens and employees of those communities also pay for.
And that, my friends, is the U.S. American 'system.'
The highest is history, yet still far short of the "millions" claimed to be here.
I hope these people are released safely soon. Maybe then we can deport all the Maga leadership and half the people who voted for them...