Newly released data released after a long delay shows immigration detention numbers have fallen to their lowest levels since last fall, which the Department of Homeland Security blames on a partial government shutdown pending funding negotiations.
The data, released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on April 9, provides a glimpse into the agency’s enforcement operations amid mounting public pressure following the shooting deaths of two Americans, a leadership shakeup and a growing number of court losses.
Experts said it was too early to tell whether the changes would stick, but noted that there are several possible explanations for the decline in early April.
Detention numbers have reached historic highs since President Donald Trump took office in 2025, according to ICE data. Although there has been a recent decline, it is still significantly higher than at any point during the Biden administration.
Trump campaigned for a second term on a promise of mass deportations, but that came with serious logistical challenges. As the number of people booked into detention each month increased, the number of people released could no longer maintain the same pace, resulting in more people being held in facilities.
According to ICE data analyzed by USA TODAY, the surge in the number of people detained by ICE arrests is primarily due to an increase in the number of people without criminal records. Recent releases show that its population is decreasing, but it remains the largest group.
Experts noted a recent increase in court cases questioning the lack of due process following some detentions. Experts said there may be efforts by ICE to release some people ahead of challenge to avoid having to make more permanent adjustments to policy based on these rulings.
“They’re spending a lot of money to detain people who can’t be easily removed, so there’s a question of whether they’re getting the most bang for their buck. So it may reflect a shift in focus,” said David Beer, head of immigration research at the Cato Institute.
According to ICE’s most recent detention data, there were 46 court-ordered releases as of the start of the fiscal year in October. That number jumped to 1,005 by March, the most recent full month.
“If they don’t have the resources to defend what they’re doing and defend putting people in jail, they’re going to release them or not bring them in in the first place,” Beer said.
In a statement to USA TODAY, DHS claimed that “nearly 70% of ICE arrests” are of immigrants who have been charged or convicted of a crime in the United States.
But the agency’s own data tells a more complicated story. As of April 4, 32% of detainees in ICE arrests had been convicted of a crime. 33% had pending claims. Meanwhile, 35%, the largest single group, had no criminal history.
DHS also said that “more than 3 million” immigrants are “out of the country.” The agency previously included more than 2 million voluntarily deported people in its tally. CNN reported in March that internal DHS documents indicated the number was closer to 72,000.
The decline in overall detention numbers coincides with a change in immigration leadership following the shooting deaths of two Americans in Minneapolis. After growing backlash, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino, who also oversaw operations in Chicago, took a step back as White House Border Patrol chief Tom Homan was sent to Minnesota and later announced a reduction in operations.
“I think this and the public attention is putting more pressure on us to take a more targeted approach,” said Ariel Luis Soto, senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute.
Luis Soto also added that more time is needed to see if this trend continues.
“A few months from now, if this decline continues into early summer, May or June, this could be a defining moment for the administration’s immigration enforcement,” Luis Soto said.
ICE is partially shut down as budget negotiations extend for two months, but the agency still has plenty of funding. The agency received nearly $75 billion in the 2025 funding bill signed by President Trump, which was used to hire staff and expand detention facility infrastructure.
“I think it’s more about a change in optics and tactics than an inability to detain or arrest more people,” Luis Soto said.
Although DHS has not made the entire cached data public as the previous administration did, these limited datasets can still help immigration researchers, lawyers, and advocates track immigration enforcement insights, such as who is being targeted and how many are being detained.
So far in 2026, it has taken ICE an average of 27 days to update detention data, according to a USA TODAY analysis. Congress requires the data to be released every two weeks, but it’s unclear how that mandate stands during the government shutdown.
Still, Luis Soto said data is being released slower and more inconsistently, making it difficult to pinpoint the impact of changes in policy or administration or leadership.
“For example, attributing the judge’s order to a particular week’s decline might have been helpful. All we can do at this point is a monthly average, but we would not be able to identify timelines for different policy decisions,” Luis Soto noted.
