U.S. immigration detention facilities have reached full capacity with 47,600 detainees, a senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official told Reuters on Wednesday. The Trump administration is now seeking additional bed space to accommodate the growing number of detainees.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that ICE is expanding its capacity with assistance from the U.S. Defense Department, U.S. Marshals Service, and Bureau of Prisons to manage the overflow.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump promised voters he would drastically increase the number of illegal immigrants being arrested and then deported once he returned to the White House on January 20. ICE only has a limited capacity to accommodate illegal immigrants, however, and has come under increasing pressure to deliver on the President’s promise.
Detainees play outside during a media tour of the Port Isabel Detention Center (PIDC), hosted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Harlingen Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), in Los Fresnos, Texas, June 10, 2024.
AFP/Getty Images
What To Know
ICE has at least 7 million individuals on its non-detained docket, referring to immigrants with final orders or removal or who are going through removal proceedings, but are not seen as public safety threats.
The agency, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, had a capacity across its detention sites for around 41,000 in November, according to ICE’s 2024 annual report.
Extra beds are going to be added in the coming weeks and months, with the two main private prison companies GEO Group and CoreCivic announcing deals to add capacity at sites across the country at the end of February.
In January, Trump said Guantanamo Bay would be used to house an additional 30,000 illegal immigrants set for removal, but reports have suggested only a few hundred have passed through the facility in Cuba so far.
ICE also now has a requirement to hold more immigrants, following the passage of the Laken Riley Act. The law, named after a Georgia nursing student murdered by a Venezuelan immigrant, requires that all immigrants accused of theft, burglary, and some assault offenses be detained.
One way ICE could up its detention capacity is by deputizing local law enforcement, through powers known as 287(g) which give police and sheriff’s departments the power to enforce immigration laws. This would then mean local jail cells can be used by ICE.
What People Are Saying
Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, in a statement in February: “Time is of the essence when it comes to border security. ICE will run out of money in weeks, not months. Stalling President Trump’s border security agenda is not only bad politics, it is dangerous.”
Damon T. Hininger, CoreCivic’s Chief Executive Officer, in a February press release: “We are pleased to provide U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with this additional capacity. We have an extensive supply of available beds that provides our government partners the flexibility to satisfy their immediate and long-term needs in a cost-effective manner.”
What’s Next
Agency leads told reporters Wednesday that arrests had tripled compared to under former President Joe Biden, but until capacity is expanded, ICE will likely be forced to release many of those arrested.
Update 03/12/25 1:33 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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