The number of illegal immigrants in federal detention centers has risen 50% since President Donald Trump took office in January, Axios reported Saturday.
Government data shows a record 60,000 illegal immigrants are being held in long-term detention facilities, Newsmax reported. That is a substantial increase from the roughly 39,000 detainees reported at the end of the Biden administration.
The total does not include migrants held at newer facilities such as “Alligator Alcatraz,” a detention center in the Florida Everglades that has drawn criticism from Democrats.
“It’s evident that the numbers being published by ICE about people held in long-term residential facilities is severely undercounting the number of people who are in ICE custody at any given moment,” Amelia Dagen, a staff attorney at the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, told Axios.
