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Latest Analysis
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New Report Details ICE’s Expanding and Increasingly Unaccountable Detention System [[link removed]]
When President Trump took office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was holding roughly 40,000 people in a national network of detention centers on any given day. In just one year, this number has increased by over 75%, with a record 73,000 people being held in detention as of mid-January.
Facts You Should Know
On Thursday, seven House Democrats joined nearly all Republicans to approve a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), amidst rising tensions over immigration enforcement’s increasingly dangerous and at times deadly tactics in American cities.
The bill provides roughly $10 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for the 2026 fiscal year, following an already unprecedented increase in funding provided by Congress in President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025. The bill now heads to the Senate where it could be voted on as early as next week.
This new report from the American Immigration Council examines how ICE’s yearly budget, combined with the unprecedented infusion of cash from last year, is allowing the U.S. immigration detention system to expand dramatically, putting it on track to rival the entire federal criminal prison system.
Read more: Immigration Detention Expansion in Trump’s Second Term [[link removed]]
The Trump administration claims that ICE is targeting "the worst of the worst." But 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, taken from his home last week with only a Spider-Man backpack and bunny hat, was never a threat. But under Trump’s mass deportation agenda, everyone is a target. The result: a 2,450% increase in the number of people with no criminal record held in ICE detention on any given day.
Our nation's children pay a steep price, too. In communities with ICE activity, children are more likely to suffer from anxiety, suicidal thoughts, educational difficulties, and long-term economic instability.
Read more: U.S. Citizen Children Impacted by Immigration Enforcement [[link removed].]
Across the Nation
The Trump administration is rapidly expanding immigration detention—with virtually no transparency or accountability. This growth has come with devastating consequences. Detention conditions are getting worse, and we are seeing the highest number of deaths in detention in two decades.
Members of Congress have a critical role to play right now. They have the authority to conduct in-person oversight visits to detention centers. When they do, they help expose the reality of these facilities to their constituents and the public at large.
We’ve made it easy to ask your members of Congress to visit detention centers and oppose the expansion of immigration detention.
Take Action: Urge Congress to Hold the Growing and Harsh Immigration Detention System A ccountable [[link removed]]
Watch Now
In this conversation with Council experts, you’ll learn more about Trump’s first year of mass detention. You'll also hear from Congressman Seth Moulton (MA-06) about his work to conduct oversight of ICE detention, and Marcelo Gomes, a Boston teen who was detained by ICE for months and came out of his experience with a passion to educate the world about what he went through.
Watch now: ICE Detention Expansion in Trump’s Second Term: What’s Happening Now and Where the System Is Heading [[link removed]]
Quote of the Week
“‘Mass deportation’ isn’t possible with any kind of targeted approach. Their promises to deport people en masse by going after ‘criminals’ were a lie from the start.”
— Jorge Loweree, managing director of programs [[link removed]]
Further Reading
CNN - US expected to deport dozens of Iranians as Trump threatens regime over crackdown [[link removed]]
North Texas NPR - Immigrant deaths intensify scrutiny of detention camp as El Paso becomes deportation hub [[link removed]]
Reuters - US judge 'worried' about immigration courts not complying with rulings requiring bond hearings [[link removed]]
USA Today - How the Supreme Court made it hard to sue ICE agent in Renee Good case [[link removed]]
Washington Post - What ICE is doing that’s so controversial [[link removed]]
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