The federal government is detaining more than 56,000 immigrants — the most since 2019, according to data from United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Data shows a dramatic increase in immigrant detention since President Donald Trump took office in January — when ICE detained approximately 39,000 people.
ICE releases detention data every two weeks. The latest release was June 20.
Data shows that ICE’s historic increase in detention is largely fueled by immigrants without criminal records.
For example, the number of convicted criminals in ICE detention rose from roughly 9,000 in January to 14,500 in June — a 59% increase. During that same time, the number of detained immigrants without criminal records grew from approximately 800 to more than 11,700 — an increase of 12,000%.
To determine which convicted criminals ICE considers the most dangerous, the agency assigns individuals in detention an “ICE Threat Level.”
According to the agency, the threat level is determined by someone’s criminal history including the recency and severity of their criminal behavior. Detainees are graded on a scale of one to three with one being the most severe.
Detainees with no criminal convictions are classified as, “No ICE Threat Level.”
Data shows that detainees classified as “ICE Threat Level One,” meaning the worst of the worst, make up 7% of the detention population. In comparison, people with “No ICE Threat Level,” make up more than 80% of the population.
The datasets are available for download here.
