ICE Detention Numbers Hit New High: 59,380 People Behind Bars
ICE's detained population is at the highest verifiable count in years. But with billions in new funding, this may be just the beginning of the Trump administration's expansion plans.
ICE's total detained population has reached its highest verifiable point in several years, with a little over 59,000 people held in detention as of August 10. This marks a significant increase over several weeks of fairly static numbers, but it's probably still nowhere close to where the Trump administration hopes to be when it finally gets its hands on the billions of dollars Congress allocated for expanding immigrant detention in the coming months and years.
According to the latest data published by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the number of immigrants held in detention on August 10 reached 59,380, up from 56,945 on July 27.
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A Note on Record Claims
Just a quick media literacy note. We continue to see headlines claiming record numbers of people in detention by very reputable reporters. For example, the New York Times reported that ICE detention reached over 60,000, while CBS News cited a figure of 59,000 a few weeks ago. The problem is that when you look closely, the articles themselves don't actually provide any evidence you can verify yourself, and instead rely solely on records that reporters viewed but could not release.
Reporters often get a chance to look at numbers either on paper or on computer screens that the agency allows them to see, and that's fine—I've been in that position before as well. Out of a commitment to rigor and transparency, I do not consider that kind of selective release without any supporting documentation to be as legitimate or verifiable as actually seeing the actual data. That's not to say those reports are wrong. ICE's daily detention population fluctuates each day, so it's possible for it to be over 60,000 one day and then under 60,000 the next.
All that to say: while it may well be true that ICE has already crossed 60,000, I would encourage the public at large—and certainly anyone doing policy or academic research—to stick to the numbers that are verifiable and that we can all examine, rather than just what makes a headline.
What ICE’s Detention Numbers Miss
These ICE numbers still exclude people held at Alligator Alcatraz, the official name of the Everglades detention facility in Florida, as well as in other detention arrangements that are not included in ICE’s data. As the Prison Policy Initiative documents, there are multiple ways immigrants are held in facilities that don't appear in official ICE data, creating an undercount of the true detention population nationwide.
For example, the U.S. Marshals Service is a pivotal player in the deportation system. When immigrants are criminally prosecuted for offenses like illegal entry or re-entry, they fall under the Marshals’ custody rather than ICE’s, and the Marshals rely almost entirely on contracts with local jails to house them. This arrangement allows the federal government to sidestep sanctuary policies, since even counties that refuse ICE detention agreements often continue to hold people for the Marshals on federal charges. Because ICE’s public detention data excludes individuals in Marshals custody, the scale of immigrant detention and incarceration is significantly undercounted.
Criminal History Breakdown Remains Steady
The number of immigrants in each of ICE's documented categories of criminal histories grew at a fairly equal rate, so there's no meaningful change in the overall composition across the country. However, as we've shown on detentionreports.com, individual facilities show wide variations in the breakdown in terms of criminal history as well as gender. See my previous deep dives into detention centers in Southern California and Louisiana for more information, and stay tuned for updated facility-specific reports in the next few days.
Continuing a long trend since January, the total number of people in detention who were arrested by CBP continues to decline. One trend I've noticed—something I'll report on next week—is how the length of stay in detention for people arrested by CBP has grown dramatically to nearly 130 days, or over four months, up from around 45 days back in October at the start of the fiscal year. At the same time, the length of stay for people arrested by ICE has declined significantly from 50 days down to 40 days.
My focus has really been on people in detention as a result of ICE enforcement rather than as a result of CBP enforcement for reasons I laid out in a post at the beginning of the year. But I do want to show the total breakdown by criminal history across people arrested by both ICE and CBP currently in detention right now. When CBP numbers are included, the total number of people without criminal history represents 45%.
GPS Ankle Shackles Continue to Grow
I've included a new graph that I first featured in my post on the last release of ICE detention data: the alternatives to detention population is shifting, not so much in terms of total numbers, but in terms of what kind of technology the agency is using. The Trump administration is emphasizing the use of GPS ankle shackles rather than SmartLINK or other types of technology. This appears to be driven by a goal of inflicting more punitive types of monitoring, not because these types of monitoring are actually more effective at ensuring people attend their court hearings and ICE check-ins.
Just the Beginning
The picture emerging from this latest detention data is one of rapid expansion and strategic shifts in how the Trump administration approaches immigration enforcement. With 59,380 people now in ICE detention—a number that excludes thousands more held in off-the-books facilities—we're witnessing the early stages of what is certainly to be the largest detention buildup in American history. Whatever happens, I will continue to provide the latest data objectively and in proper context. If you want to look at the data for yourself, download the Excel spreadsheet below and let me know if you have questions in the comments.
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Follow the money, they are bound and determined to maximize their profits by keeping those centers FULL.
This isn’t about keeping us safe, or national security, it’s about Stephen Miller’s racism and profiteering by Miller, Bondi, Thiel, Palantir, GEO Group and others who have invested in the detention system at the expense of US taxpayers.