BREAKING: ICE Detention Crosses Record 65,000, Biggest Growth Among People with No Criminal History
After over two months of no data, ICE's new detention numbers show a record 65,135 people in detention, biggest growth among immigrants with no criminal histories. GPS ankle monitors also grow to 35k.
For the first time since September, ICE published data on people held in immigration detention centers across the country. In the intervening two months, which included the end of the fiscal year and the government shut-down, ICE’s total detained population grew to a record 65,135 people—most of whom had no criminal convictions. The growth in detention was driven by more ICE arrests in October, with heavy enforcement in Chicago and other parts of the country. Read on for a breakdown and explanation of the latest ICE detention data.
During the past two months of data invisibility, the largest growth in people arrested by ICE and held in detention were people with no criminal charges and convictions—essentially only people with civil immigration violations on their record. See the light blue graph below, which shows the growth in “other immigration violators” in ICE detention since the start of the administration in January. The number of people currently held with criminal charges and convictions barely budged in two month.
The fact that this coincides with the Trump administration’s enforcement hysteria in Chicago, which Trump justified as needed to catch dangerous “illegal” criminals, continues to call into question these outrageous and inflammatory claims. As I wrote earlier this week, a subset of data from an ongoing lawsuit found that the vast majority of arrests in Chicago were for people with no criminal histories and who did not represent a national security threat or a public safety threat.
None of this is a surprise to longtime readers of this Substack newsletter. Back on February 3, I laid out the basic data-informed reasoning behind my definitive claim: “A review of the available data reveals a simple empirical reality: the only way for the Trump administration to increase all of its immigration enforcement numbers (arrests, detentions, deportations, etc.) is to target people who have no criminal convictions.” The latest data is further evidence for this earlier claim.
Remember that I typically focus here only on people arrested by ICE, because that’s where most of the enforcement action is. But when we include detainees arrested by CBP, 48 percent of all detainees in mid-November (up from 46 percent in September) had only immigration violations.
More Immigrants on Punitive GPS Ankle Monitors
Alternatives to detention (ATD) continues to hold more or less steady with an overall total of around 182,000 people on electronic monitoring. The trend in ICE’s Alternatives to Detention enrollment continues, with ICE shuffling people off of the smartphone tracking app known as SmartLINK and ramping up the number of people on the more punitive GPS ankle monitors.
With a longer look back to 2020, we can see that ankle monitor usage is on its way to reaching, or soon exceeding, the previous high in 2021 of around 35,000. GPS ankle monitors are much more physically and socially punitive compared to SmartLink and other electronic monitoring devices. While I do not endorse electronic monitoring as a practice or believe that it represents a legitimate alternative to detention, I also think that if ICE is going to use ATD, electronic ankle shackles is a dehumanizing and stigmatizing technology that should be avoided rather than expanded.
Delay in ICE Detention Data
I recently wrote about the concerning lack of detention data during a time of heavy enforcement and the government shutdown. The delay for the current data reached 56 days, which is tied for the delay last year at the end of the last full fiscal year of the Biden administration. Although delays at the end of each fiscal year are not unusual, ICE’s record budget for enforcement makes timely transparency more important than ever.
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The jump from 46k in September to over 65k detainees in November is striking, especialy when most of the growth is people without criminal records. The shift toward GPS ankle monitors over SmartLINK feels like a step backwards in terms of how punitive the system is becoming.
THE COMMON GOOD MANIFESTO
A Social Democratic Vision for a Free, Fair, and Honest America
America deserves a government that serves the people—not billionaires, corporations, lobbyists, or criminals. We can no longer pretend that democracy can survive under the weight of unchecked corruption, extreme wealth concentration, and systems deliberately designed to silence the public. The future belongs to a nation that is fair, humane, and honest. This manifesto outlines that path.
I. CLEAN GOVERNMENT AND REAL DEMOCRACY
We demand a democracy that cannot be bought.
Release the Epstein files and expose every abuser of power.
Overturn Citizens United and ban dark money in politics.
Abolish the Electoral College and protect equal representation.
Standardized, nonpartisan redistricting to end gerrymandering permanently.
Paper ballots nationwide—no unverifiable voting machines.
Two-term limits for all elected offices and mandatory retirement at 70.
No federal office for convicted felons.
Relentlessly prosecute political corruption, from the presidency downward.
Impeach, convict, and imprison Donald Trump and every handler who aided his abuses.
Democracy must belong to the people again.
II. A MORAL ECONOMY THAT SERVES EVERYONE
A just nation lifts people up rather than crushing them for profit.
Restore 1950s-era progressive tax rates, including a top bracket above 90%.
Eliminate the Social Security cap and tax capital gains for Social Security.
Establish a $25/hour minimum wage, indexed to inflation automatically.
Forgive all student loans and make university tuition-free for all.
Fund free, universal childcare for every family.
Dramatic pay increases for teachers, social workers, librarians, artists, and museum workers—the people who hold society together.
The economy should serve human beings, not the other way around.
III. UNIVERSAL RIGHTS FOR A DIGNIFIED LIFE
Healthcare, education, and family security are human rights.
Medicare for All—a single, public, universal system with no premiums, no copays, no deductibles, and no private intermediaries.
Replace the fragmented A/B/C/D alphabet soup with one simple, public plan for every American.
Abolish ICE and rebuild immigration systems around dignity, justice, and humanity. Every person deserves freedom from fear, poverty, and exploitation.
IV. A GOVERNMENT OF HONESTY, JUSTICE, AND ACCOUNTABILITY
We must rebuild a republic rooted in truth.
Government must be transparent, ethical, and relentlessly focused on the public good.
Corruption must be prosecuted, not tolerated.
Public office is a responsibility—not a path to power, wealth, or immunity.
A new political era begins when we demand nothing less than decency, fairness, and accountability.
THE PROMISE OF A NEW AMERICAN SOCIAL DEMOCRACY
We seek a nation where democracy cannot be bought, where work is valued, where families thrive, where rights are universal, and where justice reaches even the most powerful.
This is not radical. It is humane. It is moral.
It is the America we were always meant to build.