Overview

• ICE custody levels climbed to 55,568 by mid-July, a 49% increase since January, prompting the use of 150 local jails to house migrants.
• DHS eliminated the 21-to-40 age cap for ICE applicants, and more than 80,000 people have applied for the 10,000 new positions Congress funded.
• Construction has begun on a 5,000-bed detention center at Fort Bliss, Texas, with an initial 1,000-bed section expected to open by late August.
• At least 70 migrants have died in ICE custody since 2018 and recent investigations document abuses against pregnant women and minors in detention facilities.
• Officials report that over one million undocumented migrants have departed voluntarily under self-deportation protocols, though critics question the accuracy of those figures.