Immigrant detention centers are at capacity, Trump admin officials say

The Department of Homeland Security says its immigrant detention centers are at capacity, housing about 47,600 individuals.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday on background, DHS officials said they are working with the Marshals Service, Department of Defense and Federal Bureau of Prisons to increase bed space as they ask Congress for more funding.

Arrested individuals are also being released from detention on a case-by-case basis using ICE’s Alternatives to Detention program based on medical or humanitarian concerns, they said.

The senior DHS and ICE officials also provided new arrest data cataloging Trump’s first 50 days back in office. According to DHS data, from Jan. 20 to March 10, 2025 ICE has arrested 32,809 individuals.

According to officials, of those, 14,111 were convicted criminals, 9,980 have pending criminal charges and 8,718 have only immigration-related violations.

“We expect these ICE arrests and removal numbers will only go up as we unleash an agency that has had its hands tied behind its back for the past four years,” said acting ICE Director Todd Lyons. “These ICE enforcement operations are not only removing criminals from the American communities, but they are also discouraging people from coming to our country illegally.”

In terms of those with suspected ties to criminal organizations using the same time frame, officials said ICE had arrested 1,155 suspected gang members and 39 known or suspected terrorists.

DHS did not say on the call how many people have been deported under the new Trump administration.

On Monday, NBC News reported that the Trump administration had deported fewer people in February than the Biden administration had during the same month a year ago, according to data obtained by NBC News.

Since being appointed as White House border czar, Tom Homan has sought cooperation from local and state governments to assist ICE in immigration-related arrests. On Wednesday, Homan visited lawmakers in Albany, New York, and slammed so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that limit cooperation with ICE.

“So sanctuary cities are going to get exactly what they don’t want, more agents in the community and more collateral arrests, because you have forced us in the community, because you have failed to let us in the jail,” Homan said.