ICE Detention Population Falls To 58,000 Despite Push To Expand Migrant Holding Capacity

ICE is holding fewer migrants than it did earlier this year even as the agency has moved to expand detention space under the Trump administration.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detention population has declined from its January peak, with the agency now holding an average of 58,000 migrants daily despite a major federal effort to expand detention capacity, according to a new Axios report.

The drop marks a shift from the early months of the new Trump administration, when ICE detention numbers were rising quickly. Data released by ICE showed the detained population reached about 72,000 migrants in January before falling to just over 60,000 by April. The latest figure places the daily average at 58,000.

The decline comes even as the administration has pursued a $38 billion expansion of detention capacity. The agency’s current bed space now exceeds the number of migrants being held, according to officials who addressed the issue publicly this week.

“ICE actually has more capacity right now than they have people in custody,” Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott said at an event this week.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin made a similar point at a press conference a few days later, saying ICE’s only family detention center was “not even close to being at capacity.”

The lower detention numbers do not mean enforcement has returned to Biden-era levels. Arrests, detentions and deportations remain significantly higher than they were during President Biden’s term. However, the pace has still fallen short of the target set by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who called for 3,000 arrests per day.

The detention trend also follows a pullback from aggressive targeted enforcement operations in leftist-controlled cities. Those actions were abandoned after two liberal activists died in Minneapolis at the beginning of the year.

The latest figures show an agency with expanded room to hold detainees but a smaller custody population than it had at the start of the year, raising questions about how quickly the administration can meet its enforcement and detention goals.