ICE Detains 22,000 Immigrants at Start of 2022, Monitors 157,000 on Alternatives to Detention Program

TRAC, Jan. 13, 2022

"According to new data available through TRAC's 'Quick Facts' tools, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is holding about 22,000 immigrants in civil detention centers across the country at the beginning of January. Over the past several months, the number of immigrants in detention at a single point in time has remained consistently lower than July, when ICE reported over 27,000 immigrants in detention. 

However, the number of immigrants monitored by ICE's 'alternatives to detention' program has reached 157,000. The fastest growing type of technology that ICE is using to monitor immigrants is a smartphone-based app called SmartLink. ICE also uses GPS ankle monitors and telephonic reporting, but in fewer absolute and relative numbers than a year ago.

The Transactional Research Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) a research organization at Syracuse University created "Quick Facts" tools to provide a user-friendly way to see the latest updated data available on ICE immigrant detention and the Immigration Courts. The tools include easy-to-understand data in context and provide quotable descriptions.

New data updated in TRAC's Quick Facts tools show that:

• Immigration and Customs Enforcement held 22,068 in ICE detention according to data current as of January 2, 2022.
• 16,737 out of 22,068—or 75.8%—held in ICE detention have no criminal record, according to data current as of January 2, 2022. Many more have only minor offenses, including traffic violations.
• ICE relied on detention facilities in Texas to house the most people during FY 2022, according to data current as of December 27, 2021.
• ICE arrested 3,652 and CBP arrested 30,204 of the 33,856 people booked into detention by ICE during December 2021.
• Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia held the largest number of ICE detainees so far in FY 2022, averaging 1,181 per day (as of December 2021).
• ICE Alternatives to Detention (ATD) programs are currently monitoring 157,761 families and single individuals, according to data current as of January 1, 2022.
• San Francisco's area office has highest number in ICE's Alternatives to Detention (ATD) monitoring programs, according to data current as of January 1, 2022.

For more information, see TRAC's Quick Facts tools here or click here to learn more about TRAC's entire suite of immigration tools.

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