The number of individuals in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody has surpassed 70,000, while the agency's budget has expanded to $85 billion, establishing it as the highest-funded U.S. law enforcement agency. These developments follow the enactment of the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" and reflect the Trump administration's stated goals to increase immigration detentions and deportations, aiming to hold up to 100,000 individuals daily and deport 1 million annually.
Current Detention Population
As of a recent Thursday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement held approximately 73,000 individuals. This represents an 84% increase from the same period in 2025, when the detention population was below 40,000. Separately, records from November 30 indicate 65,735 individuals were held in immigration detention.
The current population includes nearly 67,000 single adult detainees and 6,000 classified as family units, comprising parents and underage children. Individuals are detained for immigration violations, such as illegal entry or visa overstays, as well as for criminal offenses that may lead to status revocation.
Approximately 47%, or about 34,000, of current detainees have criminal charges or convictions in the U.S. The remaining detainees are classified as "immigration violators," held solely for civil immigration violations without U.S. criminal charges or convictions. The non-criminal detainee group, for those initially arrested by ICE, experienced a 2,500% increase from 945 in January 2025 to 24,644 in January 2026. During the same period, detainees with criminal convictions or charges increased by 80% and 243% respectively.
Policy Context and Strategic Goals
The Trump administration has stated an objective to detain up to 100,000 immigration detainees at any given time, as part of an effort to increase deportations, with a goal of deporting 1 million individuals annually. Former senior U.S. immigration officials have characterized the current immigration detention population as the largest in American history.
DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Tricia McLaughlin, stated that 70% of individuals arrested by ICE under the second Trump administration had criminal charges or convictions. McLaughlin also stated that "immigration violators" could have criminal histories abroad or terrorism ties.
Upon returning to the White House in 2025, President Trump announced an ICE-led crackdown aimed at quickly removing migrants. Under this administration, ICE broadened its mandate for immigration arrests and deportations, rescinding prior rules that had focused enforcement on serious offenders, national security threats, and recent illegal arrivals. In 2025, the Trump administration rescinded legal status for 1.6 million immigrants.
Budget and Funding Expansion
ICE's budget has reached $85 billion, marking an increase from less than $6 billion ten years prior and making it the highest-funded U.S. law enforcement agency. This budget expansion is largely attributed to the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," enacted last July. Lauren-Brooke Eisen, senior director of the justice program at the Brennan Center for Justice, noted that ICE's current budget exceeds the combined annual budgets of all other federal law enforcement agencies.
The 2025 law includes a $75 billion supplement for ICE, distributable over four years, in addition to its approximate $10 billion base budget, potentially providing nearly $29 billion annually. For comparison, the Trump administration's 2026 appropriations request for the entire Justice Department, which includes the FBI, totals just over $35 billion.
The "One Big Beautiful Bill" allocated $45 billion for ICE to expand its immigration detention system, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stating the agency aims to hold up to 100,000 people daily. Margy O'Herron, a senior fellow at the Brennan Center, commented that the new funding primarily targets enforcement—arrests, detentions, and deportations—rather than other aspects of the immigration system, such as funding for immigration hearings or judges.
Detention Capacity and Infrastructure
ICE has expanded its detention capacity by utilizing various facilities, including county jails, for-profit prisons, military sites such as Fort Bliss in Texas, state facilities like the "Alligator Alcatraz" detention center in the Everglades, and temporary holding at field offices in major U.S. cities. The agency has worked to secure greater detention space, citing funding for 80,000 new ICE beds.
Enforcement Operations and Personnel
ICE was established in 2003 through the merger of the U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Its funding remained modest until 2019, during the first Trump administration, coinciding with an increase in migrant encounters at the U.S. border. Migrant encounters decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the invocation of Title 42, which allowed for quicker expulsions. These numbers subsequently rose under former President Joe Biden, reaching over 3.2 million in 2023 after Title 42 was lifted. By late 2024, migrant arrivals at the border had decreased due to U.S. asylum limits and enhanced enforcement by Mexico.
ICE officers and Border Patrol agents have conducted operations in major U.S. cities, including Los Angeles and Chicago. Their tactics and use of force have drawn criticism from local leaders and some residents. Approximately 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol agents were deployed to Minneapolis and surrounding communities in an operation described by DHS as its largest in history. Clashes and protests in the area intensified following the death of Minnesota resident Renee Good during an ICE operation.
In 2025, ICE significantly increased its workforce, reporting a doubling of its officers and agents from 10,000 to 22,000 within a year. The agency received 220,000 applications in 2025, partly due to incentive packages that included signing bonuses up to $50,000 (disbursed over five years) and up to $60,000 in student loan repayment. ICE continues to seek deportation officers in at least 25 U.S. cities, with starting salaries for Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) ranging from $51,632 to $84,277. This growth in ICE personnel occurred during a period when the Trump administration reduced other federal worker numbers.
Congressional Scrutiny and Other Perspectives
With base funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE set to expire at the end of January, Democrats in Congress are advocating for operational changes following reports of increased deaths among individuals in ICE custody. Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, stated that the funding increase aligns with the agency's mission to identify and remove individuals in the country without legal authorization.