ICE detention hits then-record 55,000 during Trump first term amid mass enforcement push

In August 2019, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention population reached a then-historic peak of more than 55,000 people, driven by the first Trump administration mass enforcement campaigns including workplace raids and border crackdowns. The detained population had grown from roughly 34,000 when Trump took office in January 2017. Congressional investigators and civil rights groups documented deaths in custody, inadequate medical care, and overcrowding. California DOJ published its first AB 103 report in 2019, finding substandard conditions at California facilities during the peak.