Index/Topics/Detention Capacity Expansion

Detention Capacity Expansion

Policy decisions that expanded detention capacity, including reopening and adding facilities, and dramatically increasing reliance on jails.

Fact-Checks

10 results
Jan 16, 2026
Most Viewed

Has ice deported American citizens in 2026

There is no clear, verifiable evidence in the supplied reporting that ICE completed the deportation of a person proven to be a U.S. citizen in 2026; the record instead shows multiple high‑profile dete...

Jan 15, 2026
Most Viewed

How do ICE detainee counts compare to historical peaks and what drove the increases in 2024–2026?

ICE-held populations hit unprecedented levels in 2025–early 2026, surpassing prior peaks such as August 2019 and reaching daily and snapshot counts that approached the system’s expanded capacity—recor...

Jan 12, 2026
Most Viewed

What is the role of the ACLU in protecting undocumented immigrants' rights during ICE detention and deportation proceedings?

The ACLU plays a multi‑front legal and advocacy role defending undocumented immigrants in ICE detention and deportation proceedings: it files lawsuits and FOIA requests to challenge detention policies...

Jan 26, 2026

How do counts of deaths in ICE custody compare across U.S. administrations when adjusted for detention volume and reporting methods?

Counts of deaths in custody spiked to the highest absolute level in more than two decades in — roughly 30–32 deaths reported by media trackers and advocates and acknowledged in ICE notices — coincidin...

Jan 15, 2026

How has the $75 billion multi-year funding package for ICE been allocated operationally across regions and detention capacity?

Congress authorized a roughly $75 billion multi‑year infusion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with reporting and legislative text consistently showing the bulk split between expanded de...

Jan 25, 2026

What did FOIA analyses reveal about differences in ICE enforcement across field offices during the Biden administration?

FOIA-based analyses by immigrant-rights groups found that during roughly enforcement actions targeted individuals who did not meet the administration’s stated enforcement priorities, and that those ac...

Jan 24, 2026

How many us citizens are currently in ice custody

There is no publicly reported, authoritative count of how many U.S. citizens are "currently" in custody in the materials reviewed; ICE and mainstream reporting provide totals for the detained populati...

Jan 14, 2026

What components make up per-deportee cost calculations in 2025 versus 2020 and 2024?

Per-deportee cost calculations are built from a common set of operational line items — arrest, detention/monitoring, legal processing, transportation and removals — but the weight and accounting of th...

Jan 11, 2026

Are people being unfairly detained by icee?

Yes—reporting shows a broad pattern in 2025–2026 of ICE detaining large numbers of people who have no criminal convictions and imposing policies that make release harder, producing outcomes critics ca...

Jan 8, 2026

Have ICE arrest demographics (criminal vs civil) changed since 2017 and why?

ICE arrest and detention demographics have shifted since 2017: in the immediate aftermath of the 2017 executive orders a clear majority of arrests reported that year were of people with prior criminal...