Trump Admin Holds 66,000 in ICE Custody as Detention Network Expands

(UNITED STATES) The Trump administration is holding 66,000 people in ICE custody, a record high reached in November 2025 as federal officials push a broad detention expansion powered by new funding and an aggressive ramp-up in immigration enforcement. The total represents a 70% jump from about 39,000 people in detention at the start of President Trump’s second term in January 2025, according to figures first reported by CBS News and reviewed against internal Department of Homeland Security data. The surge underlines a sweeping shift in how the government is responding to migration, with tens of thousands of beds added and more facilities brought online across the country.

“CBS News is the first to report the number of people in ICE custody is now at 66,000. That is a new record as President Trump ramps up immigration enforcement. That number is up from about 39,000 at the beginning of Trump’s second term,” said Camilo Montoya-Galvez, an immigration reporter for CBS News.

He added in a separate assessment: “That is a new record as President Trump ramps up immigration enforcement… ICE is building a massive and unprecedented detention system.” The government’s capacity now stands at about 70,000 beds on any given day, up from 41,500 at the start of 2025, with a stated goal of reaching 100,000 beds as new contracts and sites are finalized.

The expansion is fueled by a $45 billion allocation for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement approved as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Trump signed in the summer of 2025. That money has been steered into detention expansion, with tens of thousands of beds added in recently opened sites on military installations and in Republican-led states that have welcomed new contracts. The package also supports transport, personnel, and the conversion of temporary holding locations into longer-term detention centers, according to officials briefed on the rollout and contracting documents cited by reporters.

Internal DHS figures show that about half of those in ICE detention do not have criminal charges or convictions and are being held for civil immigration violations such as unauthorized entry or overstaying a visa. “The data we obtained indicates that roughly half of the people currently in ICE detention do not have a criminal record or pending criminal charges,” Montoya-Galvez said. A CBS News review cited roughly 33,000 detainees without criminal charges or convictions out of the 66,000 people in ICE custody, while the other half have criminal histories or pending charges. A separate analysis by the Vera Institute found that only about 30% of people in detention had criminal convictions at all, with just 8.5% of those convictions for violent offenses.

That breakdown is shaping who ends up in federal facilities as enforcement widens beyond people with criminal records to large numbers arrested for civil immigration violations. Immigrant advocates say the change is drawing in workers, parents, and long-settled residents with no criminal history, while local officials and federal contractors prepare for further growth as ICE moves to reach the 100,000-bed target. The government has not released its own detailed public breakdown of detainees by offense category or length of stay under the new system, though congressional briefings and internal tallies describe a mix of border apprehensions, interior arrests, and transfers from local jails.

ICE currently relies on a network of more than 400 facilities that range from large private prisons to county jails and temporary holding spaces in hotels, hospitals, airports, and military bases. Reporters and advocates say the roster also includes undisclosed holding sites used to stage people for transport or to relieve crowding at main hubs. Some detainees have reported being kept for days or weeks in small, bare concrete rooms without beds, despite internal rules that limit such confinement to a matter of hours, according to records and interviews compiled during recent investigations. The Guardian, which reviewed federal booking data and usage logs, said ICE used at least 170 holding sites nationwide, including 25 field offices, often with minimal oversight.

“Findings indicate widespread violations of agency policy, minimal oversight, and conditions that advocates say raise serious safety and due-process concerns,” the newspaper reported.

In June 2025, ICE was detaining people across all 50 states and in U.S. territories and outposts including Puerto Rico, Guantanamo Bay, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Texas had the largest number of facilities at 69, followed by Florida with 40 and California with 27, according to a review of internal location lists and contracting records. As the detention expansion gathers pace, more counties are signing agreements to house immigrants in local jails, and private prison operators are adding capacity in new or previously mothballed units.

The reliance on large, for‑profit detention centers has grown sharply. In early June 2025, 17 private facilities across nine states each held more than 1,000 people per day, an operational scale rarely seen in the past for civil immigration detention. Two sites — the Adams County Correctional Center in Mississippi and the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia — exceeded 2,000 detainees per day, placing them among the biggest immigrant detention facilities in U.S. history. These mega-centers have become prime engines of the detention expansion, drawing steady flows from Border Patrol transfers, interior arrests led by Enforcement and Removal Operations, and court-ordered holds.

The record tally of 66,000 people in ICE custody marks a defining moment for the administration’s approach to immigration enforcement. Supporters say the system allows for swift removal after final orders and deters irregular crossings by ensuring people are not released into the country. Critics argue it creates vast risks of wrongful detention, due-process gaps, and harsh conditions for those with no criminal record, adding that families and asylum seekers are swept up without clear timelines for release or hearings. Legal groups say they are documenting prolonged stays in short-term facilities, where people should only be held for hours under agency policy, and are preparing challenges that focus on detention conditions and access to counsel.

Officially, ICE says detention is a civil process meant to ensure people appear for immigration court and comply with removal orders. The agency has not publicly disputed the overall numbers reported by CBS News and others, and its own enforcement bulletins project continued growth in bed space as contracts mature. For clarity on ICE’s stated mission and detention framework, readers can consult U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which posts policy updates and contact information for field offices. But the latest findings add pressure on oversight bodies to assess how the rapid build-out is being managed, especially as ICE moves people through dozens of temporary holding locations that may not have the same standards or monitoring as long-term facilities.

For people inside the system, the expansion reshapes daily life in detention and the odds of release. Attorneys describe rising caseloads in remote sites far from major cities, where detainees struggle to find counsel and, at times, appear by video with limited access to case files or translation. Families report scrambling to track loved ones moved across state lines with little notice as ICE balances bed space day to day. Some detainees say they arrived at larger hubs after days in spartan rooms at field offices, where internal limits on short-term confinement appeared to be set aside during heavy intake periods, according to accounts shared with journalists and rights groups.

The numbers also underscore the political stakes. The $45 billion injection under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act offers a rare window into how Congress and the White House are reshaping federal detention. Contracts for new beds in Republican-led states reflect a clear strategy to expand capacity where local partners are willing and where new or reopened facilities can be staffed quickly. Critics in those states say local services and courts are already strained, while supporters point to jobs and federal funding tied to the expansion. Either way, the administration’s target of 100,000 beds signals more growth, with construction timelines and retrofits likely to push operational capacity higher into 2026.

Within the 66,000 people in ICE custody, internal DHS figures indicate the government is detaining a wide mix of people: recent border crossers, long-term residents with final orders of removal, people transferred from state or local custody after serving sentences, and immigrants arrested away from the border who face civil proceedings. While about half have no criminal charges or convictions, the system still includes many with pending criminal cases or past convictions. Yet the Vera Institute’s estimate that only about 30% have criminal convictions — and that just 8.5% of those involve violent offenses — highlights the civil nature of most ICE holds and feeds debate over whether detention is being used too broadly for people with pending asylum claims or other relief.

Geography shapes outcomes as well. The concentration of facilities in Texas, Florida, and California means many people are booked far from where they were living or apprehended, placed into court backlogs that vary by region. Large private sites like Adams County and Stewart operate at a scale that enables daily transfers in the hundreds, helping ICE manage space but adding confusion for families and attorneys trying to keep pace. Advocates say the fast-moving transfers complicate efforts to gather documents, secure witnesses, or file bond requests, especially when detainees are moved between remote county jails and mega-centers.

The Guardian’s review of federal booking data points to gaps in oversight across the 170-plus holding sites and 25 field offices where ICE stages people before moving them into longer-term custody. Reporters described an ecosystem where people can spend days or weeks in holding rooms that were designed for brief stays, with few beds and limited amenities, in apparent violation of the agency’s own rules.

“Findings indicate widespread violations of agency policy, minimal oversight, and conditions that advocates say raise serious safety and due-process concerns,” the outlet wrote, citing interviews and official records.

Those claims, combined with the rising count and limited public reporting of conditions, are drawing scrutiny from legal groups that have filed records requests and are preparing complaints to inspectors general.

Backed by more funding and more beds, ICE has widened its footprint into every state and several territories and outposts. In June 2025, field data showed people detained not only in the continental United States but also on Puerto Rico and at sites including Guantanamo Bay, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The spreading map broadens the detention expansion from the border into deep interior regions, adding stops in smaller county jails and new private contracts that knit together a sprawling network. For detainees, it can mean long-distance transfers, fragmented medical care as records lag behind moves, and longer waits to see a judge where dockets are backed up.

CBS News’ reporting crystallized the scale in a single snapshot:

“CBS News is the first to report the number of people in ICE custody is now at 66,000. That is a new record as President Trump ramps up immigration enforcement. That number is up from about 39,000 at the beginning of Trump’s second term.”

The rise has been steady through 2025, driven by large border intakes and stepped-up interior operations, according to officials who track arrests and removals. The spending package signed in the summer of 2025 gave ICE room to secure new space quickly, and the target of 100,000 beds sets expectations for further growth into next year.

So far, the administration has not released a comprehensive, facility-by-facility accounting of conditions, despite the record numbers. In the absence of uniform public data, reporters and researchers have pieced together a picture from internal ledgers and contractor reports: a system that now reaches into more than 400 sites, has used at least 170 holding locations, and increasingly relies on large private hubs where daily populations exceed 1,000 and, in two cases, 2,000 people. Whether the buildup will meet its stated aims — faster case processing, higher court appearance rates, and more removals after final orders — is unclear. What is clear is the present scale: 66,000 people in ICE custody today, the product of a rapid detention expansion and a transformed approach to immigration enforcement that has reshaped the map of federal detention in less than a year.