The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has significantly intensified its immigration enforcement efforts since the inauguration of Donald Trump. In fact, between January 20 through June 26 of 2025, ICE deported over 127,000 people. Most of these deportees were family units—notably, from the territory of the Russian Federation to that of Costa Rica—whereas male nationals from other territory were transferred to South Sudan and Eswatini. This drastic increase in deportations aligns with the president’s aggressive immigration policies and an omnibus spending bill that allocated $45 billion to expand ICE’s detention system.
This data is further corroborated by ICE as they’ve tripled their number of daily arrests just weeks after Trump’s inauguration. Sources have reported the agency as peaking at about 1,000 arrests per day in early June 2025. Consequently, the average daily population of people locked up in ICE detention peaked. By the end of June, it shot up from just under 40,000 to just below 55,000. Yet the expansion has raised concerns over the conditions detainees will face. Multiple reports have indicated severe overcrowding, deplorable unsanitary conditions, and lack of food and medical attention.
Indeed, family members and legal representatives have had difficulty locating and communicating with those in ICE custody. ICE’s behavior during the pandemic, as well as the conditions at California’s Adelanto detention center clearly tell a different story. Detainees are suffering “inhumane” treatment as many have termed it. Former detainees at the facility have said they went as long as ten days without a clean pair of underwear. This further exposes the violent and dangerous conditions they have been forced to live at the facility.
The fact is the overwhelming majority of people arrested by ICE have never been convicted of a crime. This harsh reality makes one wonder about the fairness and ethics of their enforcement actions. Critics say the focus on detaining non-criminal immigrants adds to the burden on an already clogged system. Reports suggest that the U.S. immigration system is over capacity by more than 13,500 individuals, further complicating an already challenging scenario.
Second, ICE is planning on massively increasing its detention capacity. This expansion will more than double its capacity to detain immigrants in the next several years. This expansion is quite the game changer with far reaching implications. Besides resulting in more dangerous arrests and detentions, it fosters a climate of fear and uncertainty throughout our immigrant communities.