Number of People In ICE Detention Hits Record High, Data Shows

U.S. immigration detention has climbed to its highest level on record, according to newly released figures from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The agency’s biweekly data shows that as of December 14, 2025, more than 68,400 people were being held in immigration custody across the country.

That figure surpasses all previous totals and edges past the prior record set just days earlier in early December, marking a rapid acceleration in detention levels.

Using ICE’s publicly available data, The Guardian has continued its independent tracking of immigration enforcement activity. Its most recent analysis, published December 22, examined the period from October 1 through December 14, 2025, and built on calculations the outlet has been compiling since the start of the year.

Based on that analysis, the administration has carried out more than 328,000 arrests since January 2025 and has deported nearly 327,000 people during the same period.

Despite repeated messaging from the administration that enforcement efforts would focus on “the worst of the worst” offenders, the data shows that people without criminal records still make up the largest share of those in immigration detention. Under U.S. law, being in the country without legal status is a civil violation, not a criminal offense.

At the same time, the Trump administration has taken steps to roll back or invalidate legal protections that previously allowed many immigrants to remain in the United States lawfully, further expanding the pool of people vulnerable to detention and removal.

Together, the figures underscore a sweeping shift in immigration enforcement, with record detention numbers and broad-based arrests extending well beyond individuals convicted of crimes.

{Matzav.com}