Average length of ICE detention in 2025

1. Mid‑40s is the headline number — but it’s a moving target

Multiple independent analyses and news summaries in 2025 converged on an average processing or length‑of‑stay figure in the mid‑40s of days: Journalist’s Resource reported a fall from about 52 days in January to roughly 46 days by spring 2025 and noted ICE‑booked detainees tended to remain around 40 days ^[1], while other summaries and sector trackers reported an average near 46 days and repeated the 52→46 downward trend during 2025 (p1_s7; ^[12] contains ICE data underlying such calculations).

2. Who arrests you — CBP versus ICE — changes the math

The average length of detention varies significantly by arresting agency: Migration Policy’s analysis for 2025 found those arrested by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) averaged roughly 63 days in detention compared with about 44 days for people arrested by ICE, a gap that reflects differences in processing pathways, transfers, and deportation logistics ^[6].

3. Criminal history and case type skew averages

Case characteristics matter: detainees with criminal convictions or pending criminal charges typically experience longer stays than non‑criminal immigration violators, and some categories identified in reporting show averages meaningfully above or below the overall mid‑40s figure ^{[6] [3]}. Journalists and researchers explicitly caution that aggregate averages mask these internal divergences and the backlog dynamics of immigration courts that lengthen stays for some groups ^[3].

4. Facility‑level and regional extremes widen the spread

Average lengths vary by facility and region: trackers and reporting noted outliers such as facilities with very long averages (one cited example in later 2025 reporting reached triple‑digit averages at specific sites) while some county jails listed only a few days of average stay, meaning national averages blend brief local holds with prolonged detentions elsewhere ^{[3] [7]}. ICE’s own published statistics are the base data for many analyses, but they fluctuate until year‑end “locks” and sometimes omit identifiers that prevent perfect tracking across transfers ^{[4] [5]}.

5. Data quality, oversight, and policy shifts complicate interpretation

Analysts warn the headline average is sensitive to policy pushes and data limitations: reporting documents a substantial rise in arrests and detention capacity in 2025 that both increased churn and pushed up population counts, while ICE inspection activity fell sharply even as detentions rose — a combination that impairs external verification of conditions and outcomes and makes snapshots less stable ^{[8] [9]}. Independent compilations therefore emphasize ranges and subgroup breakdowns rather than a single static number ^{[1] [5]}.

6. Human impact and advocacy perspectives shape the debate

Advocacy and human‑rights reporting underscore that even mid‑range averages of several weeks represent serious disruption — with documented use of solitary segregation and long placements that produce severe harms — and call for policy changes and greater transparency as detention expands ^{[10] [11]}. At the same time, government sources argue detention is necessary for processing and removal operations; the available public statistics are presented by ICE but require careful read‑through to account for timing, transfers, and differing detention authorities ^[4].

Conclusion: a defensible short answer

The defensible, evidence‑based answer for 2025 is that the national average length of ICE detention clustered in the mid‑40s of days (about 44–46 days), with substantial variation by arresting agency, criminal status, facility, and over time as enforcement surged and data reporting evolved ^{[1] [2] [6] [4]}. Reporting limitations and policy shifts mean any single figure should be treated as an approximate, context‑dependent metric rather than a fixed truth ^{[5] [9]}.