A recent report reveals that the Trump administration’s immigration detention system has expanded significantly, targeting individuals without criminal records and lacking accountability.
Washington, D.C., January 14 — A new report from the American Immigration Council highlights the alarming expansion of the immigration detention system under the Trump administration, which has resulted in the incarceration of hundreds of thousands of individuals, most of whom have no criminal records. This harsh system makes it increasingly difficult for detainees to contest their cases or secure their release.
The report, titled Immigration Detention Expansion in Trump’s Second Term, outlines how historic funding increases and aggressive enforcement tactics have driven immigration detention to unprecedented levels in the United States. Rather than addressing genuine public safety concerns, the government is allocating billions of dollars to mass detention, pressuring individuals who pose no threat to abandon their legal cases and accept deportation.
As the Trump administration intensifies its mass deportation agenda, the repercussions extend beyond detention facilities. The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) aggressive tactics during large-scale enforcement actions in neighborhoods across the country have led to tragic, preventable deaths, underscoring the human cost of an immigration enforcement system that operates with minimal oversight and accountability.
“This has absolutely nothing to do with law and order. Under mass deportation, we’re witnessing the construction of a mass immigration detention system on a scale the United States has never seen, where individuals with no criminal records are routinely locked up without a clear path to release,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council. “Over the next three years, billions more dollars will be funneled into a detention system that is on track to rival the entire federal criminal prison system. The goal is not public safety, but to pressure individuals into relinquishing their rights and accepting deportation.”
According to the report, the number of individuals held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention surged nearly 75 percent in 2025, increasing from approximately 40,000 at the beginning of the year to 66,000 by early December, marking the highest level ever recorded. With Congress authorizing $45 billion in new detention funding, the report warns that the system could more than triple in size over the next four years.
Key findings from the report reveal a dramatic shift in the demographics of those being detained. Arrests of individuals with no criminal records skyrocketed by 2,450 percent in Trump’s first year, driven by tactics such as “at-large” arrests, roving patrols, worksite raids, and re-arrests of individuals attending immigration court hearings or ICE check-ins. The percentage of individuals arrested by ICE and held in detention without a criminal record rose from 6 percent in January to 41 percent by December.
The rapid expansion of the detention system has exacerbated already poor conditions. By early December, ICE was utilizing over 100 more facilities to detain immigrants compared to the start of the year. For the first time, thousands of immigrants arrested in the interior of the country are being held in hastily constructed tent camps, where conditions are described as brutal. More individuals died in ICE detention in 2025 than in the previous four years combined.
Furthermore, new policies have stripped detainees of their ability to request a judge for release. Prolonged, indefinite detention has become the norm, as the Trump administration pursues policies that deny millions the right to a bond hearing, even for those who have lived in the United States for decades.
The administration is also using detention as a means to increase deportations. By November 2025, for every individual released from ICE detention, more than fourteen were deported directly from custody, a stark contrast to the one-to-two ratio from the previous year.
As the administration expands detention, it simultaneously undermines oversight. The rapid growth of the detention system has coincided with significant cuts to internal watchdogs and new restrictions on congressional inspections. This erosion of oversight has serious implications beyond detention facilities; as ICE operates with fewer checks on its authority, aggressive enforcement actions in cities have resulted in preventable harm and deaths, highlighting the risks associated with a lack of accountability.
“The Trump administration continues to falsely claim it’s targeting the ‘worst of the worst,’ but public safety is merely a pretext for detaining immigrants and coercing them into abandoning their cases,” said Nayna Gupta, policy director at the American Immigration Council. “Horrific conditions inside detention facilities compel individuals to accept deportation, which fuels the administration’s inhumane deportation quotas and goals.”
The report profiles the experiences of three individuals that illustrate the real-world impact of this historic expansion of detention. One case involves a green card holder and father of two who was detained by ICE at an airport due to a past conviction that he was assured would not jeopardize his legal status. During his detention, ICE neglected his medical issues for months.
Another case features an asylum seeker granted humanitarian protection by an immigration judge, yet remains detained months later without explanation, as ICE attempts to deport her to a third country. She has stated that her treatment in federal prison for an immigration offense was better than her current conditions.
Lastly, a DACA recipient was detained following a criminal arrest and transferred repeatedly across the country as ICE searched for available bed space, witnessing consistently poor conditions in various detention centers.
With billions of additional dollars already approved, the report warns that immigration detention is set to grow even larger, exacerbating the human, legal, and financial costs for families, communities, and the nation as a whole.
“This is a system built to produce deportations, not justice,” said Reichlin-Melnick. “When detention becomes the default response to immigration cases, the costs are borne by everyone. Families are torn apart, due process is set aside, and billions of taxpayer dollars are wasted on these unnecessary and cruel policies that do nothing to enhance public safety,” according to American Immigration Council.