Jalandhar-Satnam Singh Chahal, Executive Director of the North American Punjabi Association (NAPA), has raised concerns over the latest immigration detention data provided by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). According to TRAC, as of February 9, 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was holding a total of 41,169 individuals in detention facilities across the United States.
A key finding from the data reveals that 22,538 detainees—comprising 54.7% of those in ICE custody—have no criminal record. Many others have been detained for only minor offenses, including traffic violations, raising concerns about the broad use of detention for non-violent and low-level infractions.
Texas has been identified as the state housing the highest number of ICE detainees during Fiscal Year 2025, according to data current as of February 8, 2025. Furthermore, ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) collectively arrested 21,959 individuals in January 2025 alone, with ICE accounting for 11,758 arrests and CBP responsible for 10,201 bookings into detention.
The Adams County Detention Center in Natchez, Mississippi, has emerged as the largest detention facility for ICE detainees in FY 2025, with an average daily population of 2,154 individuals as of February 2025.
Additionally, ICE’s Alternatives to Detention (ATD) programs are currently monitoring 188,304 families and single individuals, as per data recorded on January 11, 2025. The San Francisco area office oversees the highest number of individuals enrolled in ATD monitoring programs.
Satnam Singh Chahal emphasized the importance of transparency and fair treatment in immigration enforcement, urging policymakers to re-evaluate the effectiveness and necessity of mass detention, particularly for individuals with no criminal history or only minor infractions.