 "Undocumented immigrant Andrea, 28, cries while inside the Ecuadorian Consulate after learning the emergency passport application for her daughter Jazlyn. 6, (R), would be delayed pending further documentation on October 8, 2025 in the Queens Borough of New York City. Andrea and her cousin Jennyfer, 22, had to apply for emergency passports to be able to \"self deport\" with her children back to Ecuador. They made the decision to return to their country after their husbands were detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and later deported due to their undocumented status. (AFP)")
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is holding a record 65,000 migrants in custody, the highest number ever recorded, according to internal data released on Sunday.
The surge comes amid an aggressive crackdown on undocumented people within the US, with ICE reporting historically high levels of both arrests and removals. “ICE is shattering records for immigration enforcement, setting new high-water marks for arrests, deportations and detention,” the agency said in an official statement.
During the first 100 days of the current administration, ICE alone claimed to have made over 65,000 interior arrests, including more than 2,200 people linked to gang activity. An ICE press release hinted that the detainee population could climb even higher in the coming weeks.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials have defended the ramp-up, framing it as part of a broader effort to remove “criminal illegal aliens” and safeguard public safety.
But critics are not convinced.
According to available data, a substantial share of those detained by ICE have no criminal record.
Immigration advocates warn that the mass detention of people without convictions signals a dangerous shift in enforcement priorities. “We know that these facilities are overcrowded … it means people are sleeping on the floor, they may not be getting enough food, they’re almost certainly not getting adequate medical care,” researcher Austin Kocher of Syracuse University told The Guardian.
ICE’s capacity has also expanded rapidly to accommodate the rising numbers, with the agency reportedly working with military and civilian partners to up its bed count. A DHS spokesperson told CBS News that the agency has “worked diligently to obtain greater necessary detention space while avoiding overcrowding” as it intensifies its removal efforts.
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View AllStill, legal and humanitarian advocates argue the pace and scale of arrests risk undermining due process.
They stress that detaining large numbers of people—many without criminal histories—could strain ICE’s infrastructure and raise serious questions about conditions in its facilities.
As ICE continues its aggressive enforcement campaign, both its record-high detention levels and the profiles of those being arrested have sparked growing concern. The expansion of capacity and the speed of operations come as critics question whether migrant rights are being sidelined in favour of numerical targets.