While the feds were shuttered, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) capitalized by arresting and deporting a record number of immigrants. From October 1 through November 15 of this year, approximately 56,000 people were threatened with deportation. At the same time, almost 65,000 individuals were incarcerated in centers around the country. This number is the greatest number of people in immigration detention in U.S. history.
ICE had launched an unprecedentedly brutal assault. Shortly after taking office, top officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)–which includes ICE, directed ICE to make at least 3,000 arrests a day, with a goal of one million annual arrests. These were just the two largest, but massive operations occurred nationwide. We had fantastic participation from all of the major cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and Charlotte, North Carolina.
This is the first update since September from ICE, which has only recently begun releasing new data. This update includes the full length of the federal government shut down. The statistics show a notable trend: the number of individuals arrested without a criminal record surged dramatically from 950 to nearly 22,000, reflecting a staggering 2,131% increase. This increase has alarmed advocacy organizations and lawmakers alike, and for good reason — expanding or adopting such enforcement-heavy strategies causes real harm.
The rates of these detentions and deportations is shocking. To oversee its facilities, ICE has relied more heavily on private-sector contractors. Today’s numbers indicate more than 65,000 people are detained in these industries. This untenable situation puts immense pressure on resources and poses grave concerns as to how these detainees are treated and their expansion of rights.
Austin Kocher, an assistant research professor at Syracuse University who has extensively analyzed ICE’s data, lamented the trend.
“This coincides with the Trump administration’s enforcement hysteria in Chicago, which Trump justified as needed to catch dangerous ‘illegal’ criminals,” – Austin Kocher.
ICE’s operations throughout the shutdown illustrate a key point. They illustrate how this has all occurred in the context of immigration enforcement intensifying under the Trump administration. Robust emphasis on ramping up arrests has greatly swollen the population in immigration jails. With the continued increase comes a troubling increase in overcrowding and worsening conditions these individuals experience in such facilities.
Environmental justice advocacy groups are speaking up. They ultimately cite a lack of oversight and growing pressure to detain more people as justifications for a broader reconsideration of their present policies. In practice, critics have panned the approach for targeting low-risk, innocent populations, including many with zero criminal record.
Without rapid response times, ICE works hand in hand with border patrol agents unlawfully deployed across the country. That partnership has become the beating heart of their operations. This partnership is supposed to increase enforcement efforts but has faced criticism over its effectiveness and humanitarian consequences.
Even as the government shutdown stumbled to resolution, the impact of these moves is still being felt. The data released by ICE emphasizes a concerning trend in immigration enforcement that prioritizes quantity over due process and fairness.