News from TRAC

ICE Releases Numbers on New Veriwatch Immigrant Monitoring Device

(13 Jun 2023) The latest data on immigrant detention released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) show that ICE is currently monitoring 48 immigrants using Veriwatch, a wrist-worn GPS monitor with biometric authentication, through the Denver office. ICE recently announced that it would be piloting this technology. The number of migrants in ATD otherwise continued its slow but steady decline. On June 3, a total of 224,725 immigrants were monitored by ICE, down from 242,418 on May 6. The total had reached a high of 377,980 in December 2022.

A note on updated ATD data. At the end of May, ICE released inaccurate data on Alternatives to Detention (ATD)—part of a longer trend in data fumbles related to that program. See TRAC’s announcement here. As a result, TRAC’s ATD numbers remained frozen at the prior data release even though other detention numbers were updated. ICE then fixed the errors at the beginning of June. TRAC’s updated data published today includes revised ATD numbers from the end of May as well as new ATD numbers released late last week.

Detention numbers continue to fluctuate. On June 4, 29,914 total immigrants were held in detention, up substantially from 21,293 at the start of May but still within the range of detained population seen since the start of the Biden administration. The termination of the Title 42 border policy raised concerns that detention numbers would increase substantially, but it remains too early to tell whether this will be born out.

Highlights from data updated in TRAC's Detention Quick Facts tool show that:

Immigration and Customs Enforcement held 29,914 in ICE detention according to data current as of June 4, 2023.
19,324 out of 29,914—or 64.6%—held in ICE detention have no criminal record, according to data current as of June 4, 2023. Many more have only minor offenses, including traffic violations.
ICE relied on detention facilities in Texas to house the most people during FY 2023, according to data current as of May 30, 2023.
ICE arrested 7,841 and CBP arrested 22,677 of the 30,518 people booked into detention by ICE during May 2023.
South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, Texas held the largest number of ICE detainees so far in FY 2023, averaging 1,282 per day (as of May 2023).
ICE Alternatives to Detention (ATD) programs are currently monitoring 224,725 families and single individuals, according to data current as of June 3, 2023.
Harlingen's area office has highest number in ICE's Alternatives to Detention (ATD) monitoring programs, according to data current as of June 3, 2023.

For more information, see TRAC's Quick Facts tools here or click here to learn more about TRAC's entire suite of immigration tools.

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