The latest detention data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shows that 49,184 immigrants were held in detention as of April 20, 2025. This represents modest growth from the previous detention totals of 47,928 on April 6, and much slower growth overall than the first few weeks of the Trump administration.

This trend suggests that ICE may have run into funding or facility barriers after the agency’s initial rapid expansion of detention space. As I emphasized previously, even with the growth in total numbers slowing down, ICE is still putting people through the churn of the detention system in ways that are not necessarily reflected in the single-day population total. In any case, ICE’s capacity limitations may not last forever as ICE seeks more funding for detention beds from Congress and possibly begins to delegate detention duties to local sheriffs through 287(g) agreements.

ICE released these data after an uncomfortable delay, which I noted yesterday in a blog post and live explanation. Although we don’t know exactly why ICE was a week late updating the data, we can infer that the reason had to do with the someone not posting the data online rather than the agency not exporting the data on time to begin with. How do we know this? The precise 14-day interval between the previous two dates of data extraction were on schedule. But it took 19 days, almost three weeks, to get the data the rest of the way to ICE’s public website. (Dear ICE, please just publish the data right away rather than letting it sit around on someone’s computer.)

ICE arrests continue to drive detention numbers; over 60% of all current detainees were arrested by ICE and less than 40% were taken into custody by CBP. In March, the most recent data released by CBP, the agency recorded just 11,000 encounters. April numbers for CBP should be out any day now (they tend to be more reliable than ICE).

I previously found that the initial growth in ICE’s detained population reflected significant growth among immigrants without criminal histories—but that trend has tapered off for now. The graph and table below show two perspectives on the breakdown on this trend. No major story here, but I want to update the data consistently so you can see it for yourself.

If you want to look at the data for yourself, you can download the spreadsheet from ICE’s detention website. Let me know below if you have questions or comments about this data, I would love to hear from you.

Leave a comment

For more information

In other immigrant detention news, family detention is back. TIME reported on the long-term effects of family detention on children and families and Maanvi Singh, one of my favorite (sorry, favourite) writers at the Guardian these days reported on one family’s distressing story of going through family detention in Texas. Finally, PBS reported on the expansion of for-profit detention facilities under the Trump administration.

This newsletter is only possible because of your support.

If you believe in keeping this work free and open to the public, consider becoming a paid subscriber. You can read more about the mission and focus of this newsletter and learn why, after three years, I finally decided to offer a paid option. If you already support this newsletter financially, thank you.