ICE held 67,180 people on July 30, 2026, up 71 percent since January 2025; about 7 in 10 detainees have no criminal conviction
The 30-second version
The Government Accountability Office reported on September 24, 2026 that Immigration and Customs Enforcement held 39,314 people on January 20, 2025 and 67,180 on July 30, 2026, a 71 percent increase, and that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act gave ICE $45 billion for detention capacity through fiscal year 2029 [1].
Numbers in brackets are the sources, listed at the end.
GAO reports ICE detention rose from 39,314 on January 20, 2025 to 67,180 on July 30, 2026, with $45 billion in new detention funding; TRAC's July 2026 data show 70.6 percent of detainees have no criminal conviction.
About this story Primary record · July 30, 2026 · rev. 1
- People and organizations
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Government Accountability Office (GAO), Trump administration, United States Congress
- Places
- United States
- Evidence label
- Primary record — A court filing, ruling, agency document, executive order, inspector general report, official dataset or regulator order that we opened directly. More
What happened
The Government Accountability Office reported on September 24, 2026 that Immigration and Customs Enforcement held 39,314 people on January 20, 2025 and 67,180 on July 30, 2026, a 71 percent increase, and that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act gave ICE $45 billion for detention capacity through fiscal year 2029 [1].
Why it matters
TRAC's compilation of ICE's own data shows that of 65,765 people held on July 11, 2026, 46,436, or 70.6 percent, had no criminal conviction [2]. The scale of detention, and who is in it, is the measurable side of an enforcement program that polling cited elsewhere on this site shows young voters rank among their strongest concerns.
GAO's title frames the issue as one of planning and spending, warning of "further waste of taxpayer dollars" as capacity expands [1].
The evidence
The GAO figures are point-in-time counts of detained noncitizens drawn from ICE records for the two dates [1]. TRAC reports that ICE made 39,563 arrests and Customs and Border Protection 3,575 in June 2026, which indicates where the detained population is coming from [2].
Response and counterpoints
The administration describes the expansion as enforcement of existing immigration law against people in the country without authorization, and a civil immigration violation does not require a criminal conviction for detention [2]. GAO's criticism is directed at ICE's planning for the money Congress appropriated rather than at the policy of detention itself [1].
What remains uncertain
The two counts are from different dates and sources, which is why the totals differ slightly; TRAC's percentage without a conviction is for July 11 and GAO's headline count is for July 30 [1][2]. "No criminal conviction" includes people with pending charges, which TRAC reports separately on the same page [2].
Sources cited
- [1]
Immigration Detention: Urgent Planning Needed to Avoid Further Waste of Taxpayer Dollars (GAO-26-108663) — U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2026-09-24.supports · Background: 39,314 detained noncitizens on January 20, 2025; 67,180 on July 30, 2026; 71 percent increase; One Big Beautiful Bill Act provided $45 billion for detention capacity through fiscal year 2029; report title and date September 24, 2026 · checked 2026-10-28 · source N-ice-detention-01
- [2]
Immigration Detention Quick Facts — TRAC, Syracuse University, 2026-07-11.supports · Quick Facts: 65,765 held in ICE detention as of July 11, 2026; 70.6 percent (46,436) with no criminal conviction; 39,563 arrested by ICE and 3,575 by CBP in June 2026 · checked 2026-10-28 · source N-ice-detention-02