What are the most recent ICE biweekly detention reports and how to extract state‑level counts from them?
Executive summary
The most authoritative place to find ICE’s current detention snapshots is ICE’s own statistics and Detention Management pages, which publish FY year‑to‑date detention tables and related downloads [1] [2]. Independent projects and watchdogs such as the Deportation Data Project and TRAC republish ICE releases, provide historical downloads and state‑level breakdown tools, and are indispensable when users need per‑state counts or facility mappings [3] [4].
1. What "the most recent ICE biweekly detention reports" are, and where they live
ICE maintains a public statistics portal that includes Arrests, Removal, Detention and Alternatives to Detention datasets and year‑to‑date (YTD) detention tables and footnotes; ICE explicitly states it publishes these datasets for public use and that data may fluctuate until locked at fiscal‑year close [1] [2]. ICE’s Detention Management page points users to downloadable FY 2026 and FY 2025 detention files and an accompanying footnotes PDF—these YTD files are the operative ICE releases reporters call the agency’s detention "snapshots" [2]. Independent trackers picked up those releases: the Deportation Data Project announced an ICE data release covering enforcement through Oct. 15, 2025 and offers the original ICE data for reuse, while TRAC maintains searchable detention statistics and population‑by‑agency tables suitable for cross‑checking ICE’s native files [3] [4].
2. Why third‑party totals diverge from ICE’s numbers
Multiple outlets and analysts report different headline detainee totals in late 2025–Jan 2026—examples include The Guardian’s reporting of ~68,440 detained in mid‑December 2025 and independent compilations indicating ~68,990 on Jan 7, 2026 or higher estimates around 73,000 in mid‑January 2026—but those figures derive from slightly different cutoffs, inclusion rules (short‑term border holding vs. long‑term facility counts), or third‑party aggregations rather than a single official freeze [5] [6] [7]. ICE warns that its published datasets can fluctuate until the fiscal year is locked, which explains part of the divergence among contemporaneous tallies [1].
3. How to extract state‑level counts from ICE’s releases (practical steps)
Start with ICE’s statistics page or the Detention FY YTD downloadable tables (the Detention FY 2026 YTD file and footnotes are linked on ICE’s Detention Management page); download the Excel/CSV that lists facilities and populations [1] [2]. If ICE’s file includes facility names and contractual locations, aggregate by the facility’s state column to produce state totals; if ICE’s release lacks a state field, crosswalk facility names to states using TRAC’s facility tables or the Deportation Data Project export, which preserve original ICE rows and include location metadata [4] [3]. For repeatable analysis, document the ICE file date/cutoff, apply consistent inclusion criteria (e.g., exclude short‑term border book‑ins if desired), and retain the original ICE footnotes that explain any special categories or changes in methodology [2] [1].
4. Where to go when ICE’s files aren’t enough or need verification
TRAC provides searchable, nonpartisan tools and population‑by‑agency tables that are useful for drilling down to state‑level reliance on specific facilities and for time‑series comparisons when ICE’s raw files are ambiguous [4]. The Deportation Data Project republishes ICE’s original datasets and hosts guidance and webinars for reporters and advocates wanting to use ICE data responsibly; their copy can be easier to import and query than the native ICE portal [3]. Vera Institute and advocacy reports add context and flag systemic trends—useful when state totals imply policy shifts—but they are interpretive and should be cross‑checked against ICE source files for numeric claims [8].
5. Caveats, common pitfalls and what the data do (and don’t) show
ICE’s own notice that numbers fluctuate until year‑end lock means snapshot figures can change and comparisons across different release dates can mislead unless the analyst documents cutoffs [1]. Third‑party tallies vary because of divergent inclusion of short‑term holding sites and different facility crosswalks; watchdog reports have highlighted that much of recent detention growth was among people without criminal convictions, a substantive interpretation supported by multiple analysts though requiring facility‑level breakouts to confirm [6] [9]. When publishing state totals, always attach the ICE file date, the definition used, and the provenance of any facility‑to‑state crosswalk to avoid recreating the very confusion seen in contemporaneous press coverage [1] [2].