The Quiet Shift: Who Is Really Filling U.S. Immigration Detention Centers In 2026?

By News Americas Now Staff

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. Jan. 12, 2026: As deaths in U.S. immigration detention reach their highest level in two decades, a quieter but more consequential shift is underway inside the nation’s detention centers – one that challenges the core justification used to defend its rapid expansion.

Demonstrators protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and demanding the closure of the immigrant detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” outside the center at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida, on January 11, 2026. A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good on the streets of Minneapolis on January 7, leading to huge protests and outrage from local leaders who rejected White House claims she was a domestic terrorist. (Photo by Giorgio VIERA / AFP via Getty Images)

New data shows that the majority of people now being held in U.S. immigration detention are not criminals, nor individuals deemed serious public safety threats. Instead, they are overwhelmingly immigrants detained for civil immigration violations, many awaiting hearings, asylum decisions, or deportation proceedings.

On January 7, 2026, nearly 69,000 people were held in 212 immigration detention facilities across the United States, according to the latest figures from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That number marks a new high, surpassing the previous peak recorded in mid-December.

The scale alone is striking. But the composition of the detained population is more revealing.

Detention growth driven by non-criminal immigrants

ICE data shows that 72 percent of the recent increase in detention is made up of non-criminal detainees – people with no criminal convictions. Another 20 percent involves individuals with pending charges, not convictions. Only 8 percent of the growth this fiscal year is attributed to immigrants with criminal records, and numerous analyses indicate that only a small fraction of those convictions involve serious violent offenses.

This data complicates the long-standing argument, frequently advanced by federal officials, that detention is primarily a public safety tool. Instead, it suggests a system increasingly used to hold people whose cases remain unresolved in civil immigration court.

Advocates say this represents a fundamental shift.

“What we’re seeing is detention being normalized as a default step in immigration processing,” said Setareh Ghandehari, advocacy director at Detention Watch Network. “Not because people are dangerous, but because the system has expanded faster than alternatives like parole, supervision, or community-based case management.”

Oversight strained as deaths rise

The expansion of detention comes amid mounting concern over conditions inside facilities. In the past week alone, four immigrants died in ICE custody, according to Reuters. The migrants died while in custody of U.S. immigration authorities over the first 10 days of 2026, according to government press releases, a loss of life that followed record detention of 30 deaths last year the Donald Trump administration.

The deaths included two migrants from Honduras, one from Cuba and another from Cambodia with ICE citing medical emergencies or natural causes while investigations continue. Those deaths bring the total number of people who died in ICE custody in 2025 to at least 30, the highest annual toll in two decades.

ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security maintain that the death rate remains consistent with historical averages when adjusted for population size. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the rise reflects a larger detained population rather than deteriorating conditions.

Advocates and Democratic lawmakers dispute that framing. “ICE has a responsibility to take care of these people, something they are clearly disregarding,” said U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington state. “This is beyond horrifying.”

Courts step in as Congress seeks access

Concerns about transparency escalated further when Democratic lawmakers accused the administration of blocking unannounced congressional visits to detention centers. A federal judge ruled last week that the administration could not bar members of Congress from conducting such inspections, citing long-standing legal protections for oversight.

Following the ruling, Representative Dan Goldman of New York visited an ICE holding facility in Lower Manhattan, underscoring growing pressure on the administration to open detention operations to scrutiny. The timing is notable: oversight restrictions were challenged just as detention numbers surged and deaths reached historic levels.

A system stretched beyond its original purpose

For critics, the convergence of record detention, rising deaths, and constrained oversight reveals a system under strain – and increasingly disconnected from its stated mission.

Immigration detention was originally framed as a tool to ensure court appearances and removals. Yet, research has repeatedly shown that non-detained immigrants enrolled in community supervision programs attend court at high rates, often exceeding 90 percent.

Despite this, detention capacity continues to expand. Analysts say part of the explanation lies in structural inertia. Once detention beds are funded and facilities opened, political and financial incentives favor keeping them full. The result, critics argue, is a system that relies on confinement even when less restrictive – and less costly – alternatives exist.

What the data reveals

The numbers tell a clear story:
• Detention is growing rapidly.
• Growth is driven primarily by non-criminal cases.
• Oversight mechanisms are being tested.
• Human costs are mounting.

For Caribbean, Black, and Global South immigrants—who are disproportionately represented in detention statistics—the implications are profound. Many are asylum seekers or long-term U.S. residents caught in backlogged systems, now spending months in confinement for civil violations.

A turning point or a warning?

As 2026 unfolds, the question facing policymakers is not only how many people the system can hold, but whether detention has quietly shifted from a last resort to a routine response.

The recent deaths serve as a stark reminder that detention is not a neutral administrative step. It carries real risks, especially as facilities fill and resources are stretched thin.

Whether the administration recalibrates its approach – or continues expanding a system increasingly populated by non-criminal detainees – may define the next phase of U.S. immigration enforcement. For now, the data suggests that the most significant change inside U.S. immigration detention is not who has died, but who is being held and why.

By the Numbers: U.S. Immigration Detention in 2025–2026

Deaths in ICE Custody (2025):

• At least 30 deaths, the highest annual total in 20 years

Who Is Being Detained

Total Detained (Jan. 7, 2026):
• 68,990 people
• Held across 212 ICE detention facilities nationwide
• Does not include short-term border holding sites or ICE field offices

Growth in Detention Population (Single-Day Increase):
• +11,296 detainees compared to earlier baseline data

Composition of Recent Detention Growth:
• 72% – Non-criminal immigrants
• 20% – Individuals with pending criminal charges (not convicted)
• 8% – Immigrants with criminal convictions

Only a small fraction involve serious violent offenses.