ICE Detention Numbers Decline Slightly, Only Immigrants with No Criminal Record Grow
ICE's latest detention data shows a slight, and likely temporary, dip in population. Only detained immigrants with no criminal histories see growth over past two weeks.
According to the latest data published by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the number of immigrants held in detention on July 13 reached 56,816 — a slight dip from 57,861 two weeks prior. but still higher than during the previous Trump administration.
Notably, when looking at immigrants in detention who were arrested by ICE, the number without criminal convictions was the only group to increase in objective numbers, while immigrants with convictions or pending charges declined in absolute numbers.
As I’ve argued before, focusing on immigrants in detention who were arrested by ICE is the most effective way to represent the surge in immigration enforcement across the country and mitigate the effects of data that include CBP arrests. This matters because detentions as a result of CBP arrests, which overwhelmingly happen at or near the border, inherently include a very large percentage of people with no criminal histories because they are recent arrivals—which are at long-time lows anyway.
People in detention as a result of CBP arrests continue to decline, while ICE’s numbers stayed more or less the same. These findings mirror my observations earlier this week using data from the Deportation Data Project, which found that ICE’s surge in arrests in late May and early June declined unexpectedly at precisely the time that the Trump administration has set 3,000-arrests-per-day goals for the agency.
The total number of facilities reported by ICE dropped from 201 to 172. This is not unusual. ICE relies on a large number of facilities across the country to hold only a few people in custody at a time. According to ICE’s methodology, the agency only reports facilities with at least one person physically in custody at the time the data is pulled from its data systems, which means that facilities with very small numbers may drop in and out over the course of multiple detention spreadsheet releases.
Stay tuned for a follow-up post later this morning that highlights significant data issues with ICE’s latest facility-by-facility data.
This newsletter is only possible because of your support. If you believe in keeping this work free and open to the public, consider becoming a paid subscriber. You can read more about the mission and focus of this newsletter and learn why, after three years, I finally decided to offer a paid option. If you already support this newsletter financially, thank you.
Austin, I know it would be hard to answer with granularity, but when you write "convicted criminal," do we have a sense of what proportion of those are violent or guilty of "serious" crimes, such as sexual assault and human trafficking?