How long were people detained by ice in 2009
Executive summary
Official ICE reporting for fiscal 2009 put the average length of detention at about 30 days, but that one-number summary concealed wide variation: many detainees were held one day or less while others — especially those in formal removal proceedings — faced months of detention, with a 2009 snapshot showing an average of 81 days for that group and 13 percent detained six months or more [1] [2]. Independent researchers and watchdogs warn that agency averages and reporting practices mask long tails, transfers, and methodological choices that materially change the picture [2] [3] [4].
1. Official headline: roughly 30 days on average
ICE’s own FY2009 materials reported that “on average, an alien is detained 30 days,” and the agency detained roughly 380,000 people over the fiscal year while maintaining an average daily population in the tens of thousands [1]. That 30‑day figure is the standard, oft‑repeated stat in government summaries and media accounts covering detention volumes for 2009 [1].
2. The distribution beneath the average: many short stays, some very long stays
The average hid a bifurcated reality: DHS reported that 25 percent of detainees were released within one day, 38 percent within one week and 71 percent within one month, indicating a large concentration of very short stays alongside a minority held for far longer [2]. Complementing that, a one‑day FOIA snapshot analyzed by the Center for Migration Studies found that people in formal removal proceedings experienced much longer detention — an average of 81 days — and that 13 percent of the detained population had already been held at least six months [2].
3. Methodology matters: midnight counts, book‑ins, transfers and exclusions
Detention metrics are sensitive to how agencies count people: ICE typically reports “midnight population” averages that omit many book‑ins and book‑outs over a 24‑hour period, whereas other tools capture full 24‑hour populations and longitudinal custody histories; Vera’s data tools demonstrate that daily snapshots and longitudinal views can tell very different stories [4]. The Government Accountability Office has explicitly found ICE’s public reporting understates the total number detained because the agency excludes people initially booked into temporary facilities before transfer, an exclusion that can amount to tens of thousands of individuals [3].
4. Advocacy, litigation and outliers: long detentions and their human cost
Advocacy groups and litigation records document extreme outliers and systemic problems: ACLU and other organizations cite cases and data showing people held for years in immigration custody, and analyses prepared for litigation (e.g., Rodriguez v. Robbins and other compilations) identified individuals detained for multiple years and average detention lengths far beyond agency averages for certain subgroups [5] [6]. These findings reinforce that while the fiscal‑year average was 30 days, subsets of the detained population — legally complex cases, mandatory detention, or contested asylum claims — frequently faced substantially longer confinement [2] [6].
5. How to read the 2009 numbers today: context and competing narratives
The 30‑day official average is factually accurate as a simple metric for fiscal 2009 but incomplete as a summary of experience; independent researchers (CMS, Vera) and GAO caution that averages obscure important heterogeneity and that ICE’s counting rules and facility network complexity shape reported durations [1] [2] [3] [4]. Proponents of ICE’s reporting emphasize operational constraints and the utility of headline metrics for resource planning [1] [7], while critics point to FOIA snapshots and litigation data to argue the system produces prolonged detention for substantial minorities with serious consequences [2] [5].
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