U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is holding around 59,000 detainees in facilities across the country, likely setting a record high as the Trump administration aggressively expands nationwide immigration arrests, according to internal government data obtained by CBS News.
On Monday, June 23, ICE’s detention level was — on paper at least — at over 140% capacity, since Congress last allocated 41,500 detainee beds for the agency, the figures show.
The federal statistics show nearly half — or 47% — of those currently detained by ICE lack a criminal record and fewer than 30% have been convicted of crimes, a sign of the widening scope of President Trump’s escalating crackdown on illegal immigration. On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump vowed to expel dangerous criminal migrants, though top officials in his administration have said no one in the U.S. illegally will be immune from deportation.
ICE can detain immigrants suspected of being in the U.S. illegally — as well as foreigners whose legal status is under review for potential revocation, including in cases involving criminal offenses — while the agency attempts to deport them.
As the agency spearheading federal efforts to carry out Mr. Trump’s promised mass deportation campaign, ICE has garnered national headlines in recent weeks, as its operations have become more visible, expansive and, in the eyes of critics, aggressive. High-profile ICE operations at workplaces and other locations in the Los Angeles area earlier this month triggered large-scale protests, including some instances of violence, which Mr. Trump cited to activate National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to protect federal property and officers.
Internal agency figures show ICE has averaged around 1,200 daily arrests so far in June, with arrests surpassing 2,000 on two days. That’s nearly double the 660 daily arrest average during the first 100 days of President Trump’s second administration, but it’s still far below the 3,000 arrests top White House adviser Stephen Miller has said ICE should conduct every day.
The 59,000 detainee population tops the previous peak in 2019, when the first Trump administration held as many as 55,000 immigrants in ICE detention, according to agency data compiled by researchers at Syracuse University. Historical data gathered by the Marshall Project suggests the 59,000 figure is the highest in the history of U.S. immigration detention. Two former senior ICE officials said they had never seen the agency holding that many detainees.
“If ICE is holding 59,000 immigrants in civil detention across the country, it would be the highest number on record that I’m aware of,” said Austin Kocher, a professor at Syracuse University who studies the U.S. immigration system.
The current detention level is a 50% increase from the last days of the Biden administration, when ICE was holding around 39,000 detainees. Figures show it has mainly been driven by ICE arrests in the interior of the country, as opposed to transfers of migrants who just crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, where illegal crossings have dropped to historic lows.
Over 70% of the detainees in ICE custody were arrested in the U.S. interior, the government figures show, up from fewer than 40% when the Biden administration left office.
ICE has been able to increase its arrest rate through various means, including through large-scale operations in locations across the U.S. supported by Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal law enforcement agencies. In addition, many of those arrested by ICE are inmates picked up at local and state jails as part of a longstanding program targeting noncitizens with criminal records.
But the Trump administration has also vastly expanded who is subject to being detained by ICE, reversing limits placed by previous administration that largely required the agency to focus on arresting serious criminals, national security threats and recent arrivals. The administration also lifted a Biden-era pause on immigration roundups at worksites, launching arrest operations at a meat processing plant in Nebraska and a horse racetrack in Louisiana.
It’s unclear how the Trump administration has expanded ICE’s detention capacity beyond the beds funded by Congress. Representatives for DHS and ICE did not respond to a series of questions, including whether some facilities are over capacity.
Officials have been looking into converting some military bases, like Fort Bliss in Texas, into temporary immigration holding centers, though those plans have not fully materialized. The administration has also asked Congress for billions of dollars in extra funds for ICE, including to expand detention levels by tens of thousands of beds.
Recently, Florida state officials offered to build several immigration detention sites to support the Trump administration, including one in the Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Florida would receive federal funds to set up those facilities.
Kocher, the Syracuse University professor, said he’s worried about conditions in ICE detention deteriorating amid the rapid expansion in the detainee population.
“I am concerned about ICE’s ability to comply with the basic standards of civil detention or provide appropriate due process to immigrants — both of which the administration has so far treated as optional rather than required by law,” Kocher said.
