ICE Detention Numbers Soar

According to official Department of Homeland Security data acquired by CBS News, the number of detainees in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody rose to 66,000 this week, hitting a new record high as President Trump steps up his crackdown on illegal immigration. According to authorities, historical statistics, and immigration policy experts, ICE has never kept so many inmates pending deportation at one time. Since Mr. Trump assumed office a second time in January, the number of detainees at ICE has increased by over 70%.

At that time, the agency was housing around 39,000 people. According to federal data obtained by Syracuse University academics, ICE detained over 56,000 prisoners at one time during Mr. Trump’s first term in 2019, which was the previous high before his second administration.

County jails and for-profit prisons have historically made up the majority of the agency’s incarceration system. However, military outposts and institutions in Republican-led states that have been transformed into immigration holding centers have been added to that network of detention facilities during the second Trump administration. According to a U.S. official who spoke to CBS News, ICE’s detention capacity has increased from 41,500 beds at the start of the second Trump administration to 70,000 beds at any given moment.

Given that ICE acquired $45 billion in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act specifically to increase incarceration levels, it is anticipated that capacity will continue to grow. Officials have discussed operating 100,000 jail beds with the enormous funding inflow.

According to internal Department of Homeland Security data, little over half, or about 33,000, of the people detained by ICE as of Thursday morning had no criminal charges or convictions and were only being held for civil immigration offenses. They are referred to by ICE as “immigration violators.” The statistics showed that over 33,000 inmates, or the other half, had criminal accusations or convictions.