TransparencyOversight & ethics enforcement

ICE excluded tens of thousands of people from its own public detention numbers, GAO found.

Confidence: Confirmed · 1 sourceUnited States · Oct 12, 2026

Subject of this story

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Also named

Oversight

U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)

What happened

A GAO review of ICE detention data from calendar years 2019 through 2022 found that ICE's public reporting on how many people it detains substantially understates the real total. ICE excludes individuals who were first booked into certain temporary ICE or CBP facilities before being transferred into an ICE detention facility, an exclusion GAO said amounts to tens of thousands of people. GAO recommended ICE report complete detention data for everyone held in its facilities and fully explain its exclusions; DHS initially did not concur, stating ICE already provides sufficient information, and as of GAO's most recent update ICE had not fully implemented either recommendation.

Sources (1)

U.S. Government Accountability OfficeICE's public reporting understates the total number of individuals detained... it excludes individuals who were first booked into certain temporary facilities but were subsequently detained in an ICE immigration detention facility, an exclusion amounting to tens of thousands of individuals.

Response

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Not yet contacted

Not yet contacted for this story.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Statement given

Contacted and responded — exact wording not on record.

What happened next (0)

No outcome recorded yet.

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