Trump Administration's ICE Detains Over 610,000 Individuals in Second Term, Shifting Enforcement Focus
During President Trump's second term, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has detained over 610,000 people, a figure exceeding the populations of major U.S. cities like Atlanta or Baltimore, according to data released by the Deportation Data Project. This marks a significant increase in the number of individuals held for extended periods, with over 270,000 people detained for at least a week last year, the highest since 2012. Unlike previous administrations, the Trump administration's ICE is aggressively arresting individuals far from the border, with approximately 80% of detentions originating from the interior of the country. This represents a near-complete reversal from the previous two years under President Joe Biden, when only 30% of detentions came from within the U.S. The administration's policy is to detain almost all unauthorized immigrants, regardless of their individual circumstances, and to hold them for extended periods while their cases proceed through immigration courts. 
