The U.S. immigration detention system reached a new all-time high. On January 24, 2026, 70,766 people were being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 225 countries. detention centers of immigrants distributed throughout the country, according official data published in February.
This is the first time since ICE's creation that the detained population has exceeded 70,000. This threshold marks a unprecedented expansion of the federal immigration control apparatus.
Growth continues to be driven by people without criminal records
As in the data published at the end of 2025The new information confirms that the growth in arrests during fiscal year 2026 is driven primarily by people without criminal records.
So far this fiscal year, the total number of single-day arrests has increased by 13,629. Of that increase, 70% were immigrants without criminal charges or convictions, 20% were individuals with pending criminal charges, and only 10% were immigrants with criminal convictions.
Austin Kocher, an immigration specialist and professor at Syracuse University, explained Even within that latter group, only a very small fraction corresponds to serious violent crimes or real threats to public safety.
A trend that has been sustained since the summer
According to Kocher, the data shows a clear trend that has become established in recent months.
“Since the summer, almost all of the growth in ICE arrests has been of people with no criminal record, an area of huge sustained growth that contradicts the Trump administration’s narrative that they are focusing on the worst of the worst,” he said.
The analysis reinforces a recurring criticism from experts and civil organizations: that the expansion of the immigration detention system is not primarily aimed at dangerous people, but at immigrants whose only conflict with the law is of an immigration nature.
Stalled arrests, stagnant population on the rise
Another striking finding from the new report is that ICE arrests have remained relatively stable over the past four months, averaging close to 36,000 arrests per month between October 2025 and January 2026.
The combination of stagnant arrests and a growing detention population suggests longer periods of detention, which directly contributes to the growth of the immigration jail system, even without a significant increase in the number of people arrested.
There is also increasing control outside of detention centers
The increase is not limited to incarcerated individuals. ICE also reached a record high in the use of electronic monitoring, with more than 40,000 people subjected to ankle trackers, the highest number ever recorded by the agency.
This type of monitoring is part of what are called “alternatives to detention.” Adding up all these alternatives, beyond ankle monitors, the number remains stable at around 180,000.
Civil rights advocates warn that, in practice, these kinds of measures expand the reach of immigration control over the daily lives of thousands of immigrants, even when they are not deprived of their liberty.
Related: Are you observing an immigration operation? Know what you can and cannot do according to the law.
A system that is increasingly broad and less focused
The new record of arrested persons And the unprecedented use of electronic monitoring shows that federal immigration control continues to expand both inside and outside detention centers. At the same time, the data reinforce an uncomfortable conclusion for the official narrative: most of the growth is not associated with violent crime or threats to public safety.
In contrast, the expansion of the system primarily affects people without criminal records, many of whom have strong community ties, family connections, and years of residency in the United States. This trend, experts warn, is redefining the objectives and scope of current immigration policy.
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