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ICE Detains Thousands of Migrants Over Six Months Amid Court Backlogs
More than 7,200 migrants have been detained for six months or longer due to court backlogs and restrictive policies, doubling the number from December 2024, agency data shows.
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported that by mid-January 2026, 7,252 people had been in custody at least six months, with detention topping 70,000 and 79 held over two years.
- Court records and scheduling show a new policy generally prohibits immigration judges from releasing detainees while deportation cases proceed amid backlogged courts and an Oct. 9 hearing cancellation.
- Advocates and detainees describe infestations and overflowing sewage at Alligator Alcatraz and Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, while Sui Chung says, `The conditions are so poor and so bad that people say, 'I'm going to give up'`.
- Legal advocates warn that despite the U.S. Supreme Court's 2001 ruling capping detention at six months, people with United Nations Convention Against Torture protections remain detained and attorneys requesting release every 90 days are repeatedly denied.
- Compared with December 2024 data, the figure more than doubled the 2,849 in ICE custody six months, while the Trump administration offers plane fare and $2,600 amid deportation refusals by Cuba, Nicaragua, Colombia and Venezuela.
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Migrants languish in U.S. detention centers facing dire conditions and prolonged waits
Felipe Hernandez Espinosa spent 45 days at " Alligator Alcatraz," an immigration holding center in Florida where detainees have reported worms in their food, toilets that don't flush and overflowing sewage. Mosquitoes and other insects are everywhere.
·United States
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Associated Press News+21 Reposted by 21 other sources
Migrants languish in US detention centers amid dire conditions and prolonged waits
Prolonged detention has become more common in President Donald Trump’s second term, at least partly because a new policy generally prohibits immigration judges from releasing detainees while their deportation cases wind through backlogged courts.
·United States
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Total News Sources61
Leaning Left12Leaning Right7Center33Last UpdatedBias Distribution63% Center
Bias Distribution
- 63% of the sources are Center
63% Center
L 23%
C 63%
14%
Factuality
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