Data Source: Prison Policy Initiative analysis of ICE, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Attorneys Office, Bureau of Prisons, and Texas and ACLU records from 2025, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics' 2019 Census of Jails. (Graph: Wendy Sawyer, 2025)
This graph originally appeared in Hiding in Plain Sight: How local jails obscure and facilitate mass deportation under Trump.
ICE official statistics understate the number of people currently detained. A fuller accounting of the crimmigration system is 45% higher than previously reported. We estimate that the largest share of uncounted people are held in federal pretrial detention or prison due to immigration charges. Additionally, thousands are held in local jails on ICE detainers or "holds."
Events
- February 25, 2026:
On February 25, 2026 at 1 p.m. EST, join the Prison Policy Initiative and guests James Kilgore and Mon Mohapatra to discuss ways to push back on “carceral humanist” reforms that don’t change the underlying dehumanization of the criminal legal system.
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