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By Dan Gooding
Associate News Editor
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While Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has touted an increase in illegal immigrant arrests under President Donald Trump, the agency reportedly still does not have enough space to hold the extra detainees and has been releasing them back into communities.
Around 8,000 people have been arrested by immigration officers since Trump returned to the White House on January 20, a marked increase on daily averages under former President Joe Biden. However, NBC News reported that some have been let go under supervision orders.
Why It Matters
On his return to office, Trump and his border czar, Tom Homan, promised ICE raids across the country, targeting known illegal immigrant criminals who posed a threat to American citizens. The policy, which voters showed they wanted in polling before and after Election Day, has also met resistance from Democrat-run sanctuary cities and immigrant advocacy groups.
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What To Know
While NBC News did not cite exact numbers, officials told the outlet that some of those detained in the past two weeks had been released under monitoring programs, including using GPS tags, which the president has been vocal in his disapproval of.
Alongside the targeted ICE operations inside the country, Trump's order to end so-called "catch-and-release" at the border means more detainees arriving from Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The Laken Riley Act, passed last week, will require ICE to hold all immigrants accused of or charged with theft and burglary offenses or for assaulting law enforcement.
Congress only funded ICE to have 41,500 beds, costing around $3.4 billion annually. In its December 2024 annual report, the agency stated it had "relatively static bedspace," which "forces the agency to carefully prioritize whom it detains." The latest figures, up until January 26, showed ICE holding 39,238 immigrants at its facilities.
In January, which spanned both the Biden and Trump administrations, 15,202 people were booked into ICE custody, while 15,637 detainees were released. While over 9,000 left detention for removal from the country, 442 were allowed out under supervision orders, another 841 were released with conditions to report to authorities regularly, and over 4,000 were paroled.
At least 1,400 of those released back into the U.S. either had criminal convictions or had pending criminal charges.
Last month was not too different from the previous three, but with extra pressure on the new administration to deliver on its immigration promises and no extra capacity imminent, it is unclear where the additional detainees could be held.
In October, data analyzed by the Cato Institute showed Trump's first administration released more immigrants charged with or convicted of a crime than his successor had, despite assertions during the election campaign that the Biden administration had allowed a flood of violent migrant criminals into the country.
An ICE spokesperson said the agency must release some immigrants, partly down to time limits imposed by the Supreme Court's 2001 decision in Zadvydas v. Davis.
What People Are Saying
A spokesperson for ICE told Newsweek: "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement priorities are public safety and national security, and the agency's federal law enforcement officers do everything they can to keep our communities safe. The immigration process is governed by various U.S. laws — including the Immigration and Nationality Act— and our federal law enforcement personnel act in accordance with them."
David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, said on X, formerly Twitter: "After 4 years of nonstop lies about Biden, Trump does exactly what Biden is doing. MAGA will have all the excuses about how it's really the Democrats' fault. But the facts will remain the facts!"
John Fabbricatore, a retired ICE field office director in Colorado, told Newsweek last week: "ICE daily arrests have risen since Trump reentered the White House. Once ICE gets their feet under them after having not really enforced the law for the last four years, I think that the numbers will be better."
Austin Kocher, an immigration professor at Syracuse University, wrote in an analysis of January's numbers: "I'm not saying that ICE hasn't been doing more enforcement. I'm just saying that...it's not as if all of these people are going to be indefinitely detained and deported. That's just not how the deportation process works."
What Happens Next
If more illegal immigrants are to be kept in detention centers, the Trump administration will need to expand that capacity. According to a December 2024 ICE memo, the agency would need an extra $3.2 billion from Congress to add another 60,000 beds.
Trump also announced last week that Guantánamo Bay will be used to house around 30,000 immigrants.
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