How many cases of wrongful detention by ICE have resulted in lawsuits in 2024?

1. No single tally in these documents — reporting highlights lawsuits, not a nationwide count

None of the provided items attempts to compile or state a nationwide numeric total of “wrongful detention” lawsuits against ICE in 2024; the pieces are case-focused reporting (for example, Law360’s wrongful-detention feature and advocacy group press releases) and legal commentary about litigation strategies rather than statistical inventories ^{[3] [1] [2]}.

2. Examples from 2024: a Virginia federal suit and a Virginia class-action settlement

Law360 covered an individual federal lawsuit arising from alleged prolonged wrongful detention that was pending in Virginia and described a 2019 detention lasting months as the basis for suit (reported April 19, 2024) ^{[1] [3]}. Separately, a class-action settlement announced in July 2024 led to the release of multiple immigrants in Virginia who had won their immigration cases and required ICE to consider releases for dozens more—a litigation outcome rather than a new count of suits ^[2].

3. Litigation types vary: individual claims, class actions, and FOIA suits

The sources show several litigation forms used to challenge ICE detention: individual federal lawsuits alleging wrongful detention or unconstitutional conditions (Law360 summary), class actions seeking systemic relief or settlements (Amica/ACLU settlement in Virginia), and FOIA litigation to obtain records about deportation infrastructure—each addressing detention issues through different legal avenues ^{[3] [2] [4]}.

4. Broader litigation context: conditions and agency practices prompting suits

Reporting and analysis indicate lawsuits arise not only from mistaken identity or wrongful arrests but also from alleged inhumane conditions (e.g., litigation about holding cells or a detention center’s inspection report) and from practices like detainers and courthouse arrests that advocates say extend detention unlawfully ^{[5] [6] [7]}. The Urban Institute piece notes a 2023 suit about conditions at a New Mexico facility, showing litigation often traces to operational failures ^[6].

5. Legal obstacles and doctrines shape whether suits proceed and succeed

Legal commentary explains that plaintiffs face doctrinal hurdles—sovereign immunity, the Federal Tort Claims Act’s exceptions, and circuit-specific rules that limit suits against federal agents—which affects how many wrongful-detention incidents can realistically become successful lawsuits ^[8]. The sources suggest litigation strategy matters (FTCA claims, class action framing, FOIA demands) and courts’ interpretations shape remedies ^[8].

6. Advocacy groups and plaintiffs’ organizations are prominent plaintiffs or counsel

Many of the cited lawsuits or settlements involve civil-rights and immigrant-advocacy organizations such as the ACLU, Amica Center, National Immigration Project, and local nonprofit partners; these groups file or coordinate class actions and impact litigation challenging ICE detention practices ^{[2] [5] [4]}.

7. What the sources don’t say — no comprehensive 2024 count or database cited

Available sources do not mention (and therefore do not provide) a consolidated count of wrongful-detention lawsuits filed against ICE in 2024 nationwide; there is no single dataset or statement in the provided reporting that enumerates all such suits for that year (not found in current reporting). The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) detention population figure is cited in the settlement piece but not a lawsuit tally ^[2].

8. How to get a reliable numeric answer if you need one

To produce a defensible numeric total you would need either (a) a legal-database search (PACER or Lexis/Westlaw) for 2024 filings with keywords like “wrongful detention,” “unlawful detention,” “ICE,” and relevant FTCA or constitutional claims, or (b) a compiled dataset from litigation trackers at organizations such as ACLU, Amica Center, or TRAC—none of which is provided among the current sources (available sources do not mention a compiled 2024 total) ^{[2] [4]}.

If you want, I can: ^[9] list every lawsuit named in these sources with their basic facts; or ^[10] draft search terms and a plan you could use to query PACER or legal databases to build a 2024 count. Which would you prefer?