How many sexual‑abuse allegations against ICE staff were substantiated by ICE between 2018 and 2024?
Executive summary
Available, peer‑reviewed and investigative reporting does not provide a single, agency‑verified tally for “substantiated” sexual‑abuse allegations by ICE staff covering the entire 2018–2024 window; the best publicly reported figures cover sub‑periods — for example, a study of ICE facility reports found 118 substantiated sexual‑assault allegations reported to facility administrations from September 2018 through April 2022 [1], while contemporaneous reporting cited ICE’s own 2018 snapshot of 48 substantiated allegations that year [2].
1. What the published counts actually cover
A 2024 analysis that digitized ICE Facility Significant Incident Reports from September 2018 to April 2022 identified 922 sexual‑assault allegations reported to facility administration and classified 118 (12.8%) of those as substantiated; that study counted perpetrators of all types (staff, other detainees, nondetainee inmates) and reported that 272 allegations named facility staff [1]. Separate investigative reporting cited ICE’s 2018 numbers — 374 formal sexual‑assault accusations with 48 listed as substantiated and 29 pending that year — but that 2018 figure is a single‑year snapshot and likely overlaps with the broader 2018–2022 dataset [2].
2. Why a single 2018–2024 number is not available from these sources
None of the provided sources publishes a continuous, public ICE dataset that explicitly tallies “substantiated” staff sexual‑abuse findings covering January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2024; the peer‑reviewed paper covers Sept 2018–Apr 2022 [1], ProPublica’s reporting cites ICE’s 2018 report [2], and other documents and advocacy reports present earlier or partial timeframes or aggregated allegations without a consistent substantiation metric that can be reliably summed across 2018–2024 [3] [4].
3. Why aggregating partial figures risks double‑counting or omission
Adding the 48 substantiated cases ICE reported in 2018 to the 118 substantiated cases from Sept 2018–Apr 2022 would likely double‑count incidents from 2018 because the larger study includes late‑2018 reports; the studies also differ in which reporting channel they analyzed (facility administration entries versus ICE headquarters tallies), meaning their denominators and classification practices are not identical and cannot be algebraically combined without the raw, de‑duplicated agency dataset [1] [2].
4. What the numbers imply about investigations and oversight
Both academic and investigative reporting emphasize low substantiation rates compared with allegations and flag systemic problems in reporting and investigation: the peer‑reviewed analysis found a relatively low overall substantiation proportion (12.8% of allegations reported to facility administration) and an increase in allegations against staff that could reflect either more incidents or increased reporting, while prior watchdog and advocacy work documents many allegations that were never investigated or were classified as unsubstantiated or unfounded, raising questions about oversight rigor [1] [3] [4].
5. Limitations, alternative interpretations and the bottom line
The bottom line is that a precise, authoritative count of how many sexual‑abuse allegations against ICE staff were substantiated by ICE between 2018 and 2024 cannot be produced from the sources provided: the most rigorous peer‑reviewed count available in these documents is 118 substantiated sexual‑assault allegations reported to facility administration from September 2018 through April 2022 [1], and ICE’s own 2018 report identified 48 substantiated allegations in that single year [2]; because of overlapping periods, differing data collection channels, and gaps after April 2022 through 2024, a validated total for the full 2018–2024 span would require ICE’s de‑duplicated, year‑by‑year substantiation records or a comprehensive FOIA release covering 2018–2024 [1] [2] [3].