Immigrant detention surges nearly 70% as deaths, shootings draw scrutiny
April 7, 2026

A report using ICE data obtained through a FOIA lawsuit found interior immigration arrests rose 11-fold in the first year of the second Trump administration, with detention beds used for interior enforcement more than quadrupling. ICE increasingly arrested people without criminal convictions, raising the overall chance of deportation within 60 days from 56 to 63 percent, while voluntary departures rose 28-fold. A more recent CNN analysis found that overall immigrant detention has climbed nearly 70 percent since early 2025, the pace of deportations has intensified, and the death rate in detention has reached its highest level since the pandemic. The analysis also noted a growing number of shootings by federal immigration agents are drawing scrutiny.
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