Detention
New ICE Arrest Statistics Shed Light on Who the Agency is Targeting in American Communities
President Donald Trump came into office with a promise to carry out mass deportations, with the aim to hit one million deportations per year. While he often claims his administration focuses on “the worst of the worst,” new ICE data released by U.C. Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project reveals the… Read More
ICE’s Private Bounty Hunters Use AI to Track Immigrants
The federal government’s hunt for immigrants is ramping up. Each month, private contractors receive tens of thousands of names from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and are asked to locate those individuals as quickly as possible so that ICE can conduct targeted enforcement operations to arrest and detain… Read More
What A DHS Funding Deal Should Include
As the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown stretches into its 40th day, the pressure to reach a funding agreement is intensifying. Airport security lines are growing longer and thousands of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel have missed paychecks. With new DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin stepping in… Read More
ICE’s Warehouse Purchases Herald New Model for Immigration Detention
ICE is rapidly reshaping the U.S. immigration detention system by purchasing and converting commercial warehouses into large-scale detention facilities. Backed by an unprecedented $45 billion funding boost, this new “reengineered” model aims to dramatically expand capacity and centralize operations—raising significant concerns about mass detention, oversight, and the future of immigration enforcement. Read More
DOJ Moves to End Administrative Immigration Appeals to Speed Up Mass Deportations
The Department of Justice (DOJ), which oversees the immigration court and administrative appeals system, published an interim final rule on February 6 that will effectively end appellate review of many immigration judge decisions. The rule goes into effect March 9, and, while it won’t impact the close to… Read More
6 Deaths in ICE Custody and 2 Fatal Shootings: A Horrific Start to 2026
January 2026 saw a shocking number of deaths tied to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This includes fatalities inside immigration detention centers as well as deadly shootings involving ICE agents in public spaces. The deaths of eight people last month come on top of a record number of… Read More
Trump’s Radical Mandatory Immigration Detention Policy Upheld by US Appeals Court
Late on February 6, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a decision with staggering ramifications: it subjects millions of noncitizens in this country to the possibility of mandatory immigration detention without any opportunity for a bond hearing. The court’s decision… Read More
Amicus Briefs Argue Overbroad Application of Mandatory Detention Under INA 235(b)(2) Results in Cruel, Arbitrary, and Unnecessary Detention
Multiple U.S. courts of appeals are considering the government’s sudden about-face on the meaning of two detention statutes, resulting in a radical expansion of mandatory immigration detention. Rejecting three decades of agency and judicial interpretation, the government now maintains that 8 U.S.C. §1225(b)(2) requires the no-bond detention of each… Read More
New Report Details ICE’s Expanding and Increasingly Unaccountable Detention System
Key Takeaways When President Trump took office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was holding roughly 40,000 people in a national network of detention centers on any given day. In just one year, this number has increased by over 75%, with a record 73,000 people being held in… Read More
Immigration Detention Expansion in Trump’s Second Term
Immigration detention in the United States has expanded dramatically in recent years, driven by aggressive enforcement policies and historic funding increases. Our report highlights how thousands of individuals—many without criminal records—are held in a rapidly growing network of detention facilities, often with limited access to legal support or avenues for release. Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
