News from TRAC

Increased ATD Enrollment in Some ICE Offices, Decreases in Others

(19 Dec 2024) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) now monitors nearly 185,000 people under its Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program, the highest number since February 2024 but still below the total monitored at this time last year. Enrollment trends vary by ICE’s regional offices. Chicago’s office monitors over 19,000 people under ATD, 4,600 more people than the office did in December 2023. Other offices that have assigned more people to the program include the Los Angeles office (increase of 3,700), New York (3,100), and Seattle (2,800). By contrast, Harlingen and San Antonio ICE offices have cut their ATD monitoring activity in half over the last 12 months, monitoring 9,000 and 7,900 fewer individuals in each of their respective regional offices.

The recent update reported a total of 38,728 people in ICE custody, an increase of about 2,000 people compared to early December 2023. The data also suggests a continuation of shifting arresting authority numbers between ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). ICE arrested 36 percent of current detainees compared to CBP’s 64 percent. At this time last year, ICE was reported as the arresting authority behind 28 percent of people held in ICE detention facilities, whereas CBP had arrested 72 percent of individuals.

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

Immigration and Customs Enforcement held 38,728 in ICE detention according to data current as of December 1, 2024.

23,361 out of 38,728—or 60.3%—held in ICE detention have no criminal record, according to data current as of December 1, 2024. Many more have only minor offenses, including traffic violations.

ICE relied on detention facilities in Texas to house the most people during FY 2025, according to data current as of November 25, 2024.

ICE arrested 7,546 and CBP arrested 13,495 of the 21,041 people booked into detention by ICE during November 2024.

Adams County Det Center in Natchez, Mississippi held the largest number of ICE detainees so far in FY 2025, averaging 2,092 per day (as of November 2024).

ICE Alternatives to Detention (ATD) programs are currently monitoring 184,747 families and single individuals, according to data current as of November 30, 2024.

San Francisco's area office has highest number in ICE's Alternatives to Detention (ATD) monitoring programs, according to data current as of November 30, 2024.

TRAC’s Immigration Quick Facts provides the latest data on immigrant detention, immigration court cases, and immigration prosecutions in federal court. Each page includes several key data points alongside a graphic or table, a short description for context, and a link to more data. Click here to see more about TRAC's entire suite of immigration tools.

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TRAC is a self-supporting, nonpartisan, and independent research organization specializing in data collection and analysis on federal enforcement, staffing, and spending. We produce multiple reports every month on critical issues, and we also provide comprehensive data analysis tools.

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