In North Carolina, two detention centers have appeared in the most recent official records as locations where migrants are being held in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These are the Alamance County Detention Facility in Graham and the New Hanover County Jail in Castle Hayne.
Although these are not large-scale detention centers like those that often feature in national debates, the available data allow us to profile the people housed there, their stay patterns, and the relationship between the immigration detention and criminal records.
Alamance County Detention Facility
At the Alamance County Detention Facility, reports of detentionreports.comA public tool that provides data for every ICE detention center in the country shows that, as of November 10, 2025, there were an average of 22 people in immigration custody per day.
The average stay at that detention center is just two days, which indicates that these detentions function more as a transit than as a prolonged stay.
Regarding the gender of those arrested, of these 22 people, 21 were men and only 1 was a woman.
Furthermore, 14 people had no criminal record, while only 9 did. This data is consistent with national figures, which show that The vast majority of those newly detained by ICE have no criminal record..
Related>> Record number of arrests: More than 70,000 people in ICE custody for the first time ever
New Hanover County Jail
Data from the New Hanover County Jail, updated as of January 22, 2026, shows a similar situation in terms of volume and duration. The average daily population in ICE custody was 5 people, all of them men, with an average stay of 2 days.
In that report, 2 of the people had criminal records in the ICE system and 3 did not.
The landscape of ICE detention centers in North Carolina
The comparison between the two facilities suggests that neither Alamance nor New Hanover are primary long-term detention sites under federal jurisdiction. The average stay of two days indicates that these facilities are often used to briefly hold individuals while transfers to other facilities are arranged or the continuation of the immigration process is organized.
This coincides with the information published by Enlace Latino NC In November 2025, it was noted that there were changes in detention policy at Alamance. From that date onward, The sheriff's office ended its formal agreement with ICE to house and transport immigration detainees, citing space limitations and new state laws that change how custody and classification of detainees is handled in the county.
PODCAST
After the storm
A year ago, Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina. The Latino community responded with something stronger than the storm: solidarity.
🎧 In this episode, learn how Latino organizations transformed crisis into resilience.
▶️Press play to listen!
Republish our stories for free on your website or newspaper. We follow the Creative Commons license. Click the box and follow the instructions.
