U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – ICE – reaches an all-time detention record, with nearly 59,000 undocumented immigrants in custody at detention centers nationwide, according to internal data revealed by CBS News. – ICE – reaches an all-time detention record, with nearly 59,000 undocumented immigrants in custody in detention centers nationwide, according to internal data revealed by CBS News. This number far surpasses the previous record of 55,000 detainees in 2019.
Most alarming is that only 28% of those arrested have criminal records, according to federal statistics. This indicates that the majority of those arrested have no prior criminal convictions and were detained as part of immigration raids at workplaces, private homes and city streets in the interior of the country, not at the border.
Increase in operations
ICE has intensified its actions this year, with an average of 1,200 arrests per day in June, and days with more than 2,000 arrests.
These figures are double the average recorded in the first 100 days of former President Trump’s second term.
Operations, some in conjunction with agencies such as the FBI, CBP and DEA, have resumed in areas where they were suspended during the Biden administration, such as workplace raids.
For example, actions were reported at a meat packing plant in Nebraska and at a racetrack in Louisiana.
Collaboration has also been reactivated with state and local jails, where ICE picks up non-citizens detained for common offenses.
Detention centers overflowing
With this record number of detainees, the immigration detention system is at the edge of its operational capacity.
The federal government has explored setting up military installations such as Fort Bliss (Texas) to house migrants, although without implementation to date.
ICE has intensified its actions this year
On the other hand, the state of Florida offered to build new centers, including one in the Everglades, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz”.
Federal funding has been approved, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
In addition, the administration is pushing the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which would fund up to 100,000 immigration detention beds across the country.
Concerns about rights and conditions
Experts such as Austin Kocher of Syracuse University warn of deteriorating detention conditions:
“I am concerned about ICE’s ability to meet basic civil detention standards and ensure due process for immigrants,” he said in an interview with CBS News.
The increasing use of temporary centers, the expansion of operations without clear criteria and the low percentage of detainees with criminal records have generated concern among human rights defenders and community leaders.
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