ICE uses 230+ contracted detention facilities (2019); public lists undercount due to varied custody arrangements

| Importance: 5/10 | Status: confirmed

Public dashboards and FOIA releases often show fewer sites than ICE’s full contracting footprint. GAO documented ‘over 230’ facilities for 72‑hour‑plus detention in FY2019. TRAC’s 2025 analysis shows ~181 authorized detention facilities and ~63k contractual capacity nationwide.

Key Actors

ICE Vera Institute Government investigators

Tags

hidden-detention government-deception detention-expansion transparency-failure

Sources (3)

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