What are the capacities of major ICE detention centers in 2024?
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Executive summary
ICE’s detained population and the system’s contractual bed capacity diverged in 2024: reporting and advocacy groups put the average daily population around the high 30,000s (ICE reported 39,062 on Dec. 8, 2024 and 39,703 on Jan. 22, 2025) while some estimates and budget lines reference planning for much larger capacity and funding to support up to tens of thousands more beds (Congress funded an average daily population target of 41,500 for FY2024) [1] [2] [3]. Independent analyses show many individual facilities routinely exceed their contractual capacities and that capacity is concentrated in a relatively small number of very large facilities [4] [3].
1. Big-picture numbers: detainees vs. funded beds
Public reporting and advocacy groups converge on a system holding roughly 37,000–40,000 people by the end of FY2024 into early 2025: one compilation places detention levels “over 37,000” by end of FY2024 and 39,703 on Jan. 12, 2025; ICE’s own biweekly numbers cited in reporting list 39,062 on Dec. 8, 2024 and 39,703 on Jan. 22, 2025 [3] [1]. Congress appropriated funding in FY2024 intended to support an average daily detained population of about 41,500 [2].
2. Contractual capacity and overcrowding: a fractured picture
A targeted analysis found that 84 of 181 facilities exceeded their contractual capacity at least once between October 2024 and mid-April 2025, with some sites — including Krome North Service Processing Center — exceeding contract capacity by hundreds to nearly 1,200 on a single night [4]. That report cautions that contractual capacity differs from “intended” design capacity and that ICE can and does pay for additional beds, muddying headline capacity figures [4].
3. Concentration: most detainees are in a handful of big sites
Research shows detention is geographically concentrated. One tracker found that roughly 20 facilities hold about 59% of ICE’s daily population, with a number of single sites regularly holding 1,500+ people (for example Adams County, South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, and Stewart Detention Center) [3]. This concentration matters because capacity strains, policy shifts, or local political opposition at a few facilities can disproportionately affect national detention numbers [3].
4. Expansion plans and political context
Documents obtained through litigation and reporting indicate proposals and planning for a large expansion of bed space: contracting proposals, modular camp layouts, and industry bids were disclosed as part of FOIA litigation and reporting that the administration sought proposals for far-reaching expansion, including sites in multiple states [5]. Advocates interpret these documents as signaling “massive expansion,” while ICE framed operational measures in 2024 as actions to “increase overall capacity of enforcement resources” including detention capacity to implement new expedited removal policy [6] [5].
5. Funding and stated targets versus operational reality
Advocacy and legal groups note that budget lines and memos show attempts to finance and plan for substantially more beds: a December 2024 ICE memo referenced that increasing capacity by “more than 60,000 beds” would require an additional funding increase, while other briefings cite $3.4 billion in FY2024 funding aligned with an average daily population target of 41,500 [1] [2]. At the same time, independent monitoring highlights that many facilities already operate over contractual limits on particular days, indicating mismatch between nominal funding/planning targets and on-the-ground crowding [4] [2].
6. Local examples underscore statewide and facility capacity figures
State-level reporting illustrates how capacity aggregates: California’s six ICE facilities run by private firms have a combined contractual capacity of up to 7,188 beds, a concrete example of how regional capacities add up to national totals and how state politics and contractors shape capacity availability [7]. Local disputes and municipal ordinances, protests, and litigation are already shaping whether particular facilities can be opened or expanded [8] [9].
7. What’s missing from available reporting and why it matters
Available sources do not provide a single, authoritative public list in 2024 that maps every facility to an up-to-date contractual and design capacity number alongside daily populations. Analysts therefore rely on a patchwork: ICE’s public statistics, independent trackers (Vera, TRAC), FOIA disclosures, and state reporting [10] [11] [4] [5]. That absence allows competing claims — from agency statements about the ability to “add capacity” to advocacy warnings of a planned massive expansion — to coexist without a single reconciled dataset [6] [5].
Conclusion — context and stakes
The question “what are the capacities of major ICE detention centers in 2024?” cannot be answered with one definitive roster from the sources available: ICE publishes overall custody numbers and field-level lists, watchdogs document facility-level surges and contractual exceedances, and FOIA releases show industry proposals to expand bed space widely [1] [4] [5]. The result is a system whose funded targets, contractual capacities, and actual nightly populations diverge — and where capacity is concentrated in a relatively small number of very large facilities, making local politics and contractor decisions decisive for national detention levels [3] [4].