The federal government is seeking more bed space for detained illegal immigrants.
U.S. immigration detention facilities have reached capacity at about 47,600 beds, a top-level U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official said on March 12 in a call with reporters.
The federal government is now seeking more bed space for detained illegal immigrants, added the official, who requested anonymity as a condition of the call.
ICE is now expanding its capacity with support from the Department of Defense, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Currently, ICE has funding to support an average bed space of more than 41,500 detainees, the official said, adding that ICE is working with lawmakers to obtain more funding to increase capacity.
Throughout the 2024 campaign and after taking office, President Donald Trump vowed that there would be a mass deportation of illegal immigrants. Trump said that such a move is needed after the high volume of illegal immigration under the previous administration.
Trump issued executive orders targeting illegal immigration and bolstering security along the U.S.–Mexico border. He has directed ICE agents to step up enforcement actions across major U.S. cities, with top officials including border czar Tom Homan saying they are targeting illegal immigrants with criminal histories or who are a threat to public safety.
Orders and directives that the administration has carried out include declaring a national emergency along the southern U.S. border, halting some refugee admissions, ending the previous “catch and release” policy, requiring people who are seeking asylum in the United States to remain in Mexico while waiting for court hearings, limiting the temporary protected status of people from certain countries, declining to recognize birthright citizenship, and other measures.
The number of encounters with illegal immigrants at the southern border has dropped significantly since Trump took office in January, according to recent data.
