How many people are in ICE detention?

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is at the center of a national conversation due to recent deportations and detentions. The agency, which was established in 2002 as division of the Department of Homeland Security, enforces US customs and trade laws. It also manages programs to identify, arrest, and remove people who are in the country unlawfully. How many immigrants does ICE detain, where do they come from, and where are they held? Here's what the data says:

• Between October 2014 and November 2024, ICE made 3.62 million detention book-ins, meaning physically transferring people to detention facilities. Book-ins were highest in 2019 at 510,850. They were at a 10-year low in 2020 — the first year of the pandemic — at 182,870. 
• Mexican citizens comprised the largest share of people booked (31.1%), followed by Guatemalans (17.1%) and Hondurans (12.8%).
• There are 122 detainee holding centers nationwide, a quarter of which are in states along the US-Mexico border. The most populated centers include the Adams County Detention Center in Natchez, Mississippi (2,148 average daily detainees in February 2025); the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, Texas (1,666); and the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia (1,559). 
• Approximately 29.0% of detainees booked between October 2018 and November 2024 had a US criminal record. Last year, 43.8% of detainees with criminal records had been convicted of misdemeanors, 35.2% of felonies, and 17.0% of aggravated felonies.