ICE’s Detention Operations – and the Agency’s Future — Under Scrutiny

Written By Vince Thompson

This is the third in a series of three blogs on ICE’s operations and current immigration policy.

Photo: Exterior of detention facility in Newark, NJ, photo in public domain

By Jo-Ann Johnston 

The manner in which the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement currently houses people detained over immigration matters is another controversy embedded in the issues around ICE.

ICE sometimes needs to hold people if they are wanted in immigration court for an appearance, if they are judged a threat to others, or if they are under deportation orders but have yet to be shipped out of the country. Sometimes an individual will be held in the jail of a local facility that is cooperating with ICE if there is not an ICE officer nearby to take the person to either an ICE-owned facility or a privately owned and operated facility that detains people under a contract with ICE.

The big expansion in ICE enforcement has prompted follow-on demand for more detention space. The expensive business of acquiring more space – through purchase – in itself has been subject to public questioning this year. The matter was extensively covered in a three-part series of previous We Are NEXT blogs that ran from July 20 - July 23, 2026. You can read them starting with this entry.

Detention facilities and operations challenged

More questions have arisen about how people are treated in the facilities. 

Are they transferred to places far away from home, beyond the easy reach of family members and attorneys? Are the operations kept clean and sanitary, or are they overcrowded and unclean? Is treatment by staff just and professional? 

Is there adequate medical care and food? There are standards of care in the general field of corrections (the analogy to detention facilities), developed through best practices and upon due process rights.

Government rebuttals

The Department of Homeland Security complained in 2025 that ICE was getting bad press, unfairly, over the conditions detainees face. ICE representatives asserted in a statement that there was no overcrowding and no substandard conditions in ICE facilities. The statement also said ICE provides proper food and medical treatment, plus opportunities for detainees to speak with family members and attorneys.

A similar assertion — that ICE is doing all the right things medically and psychologically for those in custody — appears as a standard paragraph included in the required report ICE issues when someone dies in custody. 

(If a detainee dies outside of custody –- for example, if they have been sent to a hospital emergency room –-  ICE no longer makes a public release, as was the prior policy.)

Government watchdog reports emerge

But a couple of exceptions to the official narrative – that all has been well managed – emerged just within the past few days. Major news media announced that a report released Sept. 11, 2026, by the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security said the Florida ICE detention facility famous for its nickname, Alligator Alcatraz, had put some detainees in small, upright metal cages to control behavior, even though the enclosures posed “significant risks” to the health and safety of the detainees.(1)

The report from the inspector general also found, in an unannounced inspection, a lack of clean drinking water, insects, and other problems related to provisions for space, food, hygiene, medical care and recreation, in relation to federal corrections standards. (2) The facility was closed June 25, 2026, which went by the formal name South Florida Detention Facility/Florida Soft Sided Facility South. The public has not often heard about oversight reports of this kind (3) since the start of the second Trump Administration.

(Inspectors general at many other federal agencies have been forced out and not replaced. The inspectors have independent positions so they can report up the chain, and to Congress, on waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct.) (4)

Still, another report came out from the inspector general at the Department of Homeland Security on the same day, Sept. 11, 2026, about a different ICE Florida detention facility, the Krome North Processing Center in Miami. Krome was found to be 25% over capacity (5) during an unannounced visit in May. It is still open.

The inspector general said the Krome facility needed more operating sinks, showers, and toilets; better food-handling; better use of de-escalation techniques to avoid using too much force; a faster response time in addressing detainee requests; and an improved system for tracking medical grievances.(6) 

Outside advocates weigh in on detention conditions

Outside groups including Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), an ally of  PHR called Human Rights Watch, the National Immigration Project, and others, have been saying some of the same things. They have released their own audits of the treatment and care they have witnessed and heard of at various ICE locations. (See the sidebar list for links to publications.) Family members of detainees and legal advocates have also spoken individually of the same conditions mentioned in the reports, at times. 

The American Civil Liberties Union, the legal advocacy group, said in August that affiliate groups filed 54 federal claims on behalf of people and families who had been harmed by federal immigration agents. “Some were seriously injured, while others were unlawfully detained, denied medical care, or targeted simply for speaking out or recording what they saw,” the release said.(7)

The claims come from 17 different states and the District of Columbia.

The Hispanic Federation, another nationwide advocacy organization, has also taken a high-profile position in this realm with partner groups. It has so far hosted (with allies) six “people’s hearings”(8) to gather specific testimony about detention conditions, in addition to harms felt across communities during raids and aggressive enforcement and observation. 

They have been held so far in six cities: Dallas, San Antonio, Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Paul and most recently, Charlotte, NC. Just as in Congressional hearings, but with sympathetic hearing officers, people came to tell their experiences at jobs, school, on the way to work, in traffic, and with neighbors. Identities were protected for witnesses afraid of retaliation.

All the hearings were livestreamed and recorded, available on the federation’s website. Additionally, the testimony from the first hearing in Minnesota has been compiled into one downloadable report. 

One more hearing is still to be held, and is coming up in New York City.

In addition to generating media attention, the forums, and some of the other activities being conducted by advocates, may produce improvements for certain detainees now, and improved policies in the future. 

Any visibility such groups can add may be even more vital for today’s detainees, in fact.  In spite of the $171 billion government dollars spent on immigration enforcement in the past four years, it turns out that budget cuts have shut down some of the internal ICE avenues that detainees could once use to try to rectify difficult or even unsafe conditions they encountered inside.  

Reporting by NPR found that it is no longer possible to file a grievance about unhealthy conditions or ill treatment, even abuse, directly to an office at an ICE facility. Further, staffing at two other offices within DHS that could hear complaints or conduct inspections -– an ombudsman office and detention oversight office — were reduced so much they were basically shut down, (9) NPR journalist Vanessa Romo reported in August. 

And the functioning of another office that dealt with civil rights issues ended in 2025, according to Romo’s reporting and according to the ACLU.(10)

These oversight-related positions are ones that are distinct from the inspector general reports mentioned above. And they are lower on organizational charts. But because the professionals who occupied the roles were closer to detainees, their employment in the system gave advocates for detainees some hope of assistance.

Photo: ICE arrest on a suburban street

Oversight, alliances, and elections

It seems that essentially, the Trump administration has not wanted to keep the same breadth and number of internal controls that previously existed for ICE detention and operations. The president does not necessarily like “watchdogs” if he considers them partisan adversaries or  likely to stunt efficiency of his goals.

But people who have been hurt by the recent ICE buildup, or are skeptical about its stated benefits, note that the money could be better spent somewhere else, such as local schools, better road maintenance, or on the employees to run a better immigration system.

Alliances and elections

While working to help immigrants cope with existing conditions, immigrant advocacy groups and political candidates favoring broader immigrant protections are starting to describe in more detail what the future could and should look like. That’s if they can win a majority at the midterms, at least in the House of Representatives.

A better path to citizenship is a familiar phrase, widely uttered, as it has been for decades. The ACLU offered a new description, tailored for the second Trump term, in a 2025 report: 

“Above all, our nation must prioritize a path to citizenship for the millions of people in this country who lack legal status or who face de-legalization. Without a path to citizenship for millions, our democracy is just a thin veneer for an unequal system where rights exist only for those who are currently deemed to ‘belong.’ We must avoid a future where a permanent underclass provides the labor upon which the country depends, but is at the perpetual mercy of an internal security force and an authoritarian ruler’s whims.”(11)

As for politicians, moderate and progressive Democrats have already started talking about their differing points of view, according to recent reporting by the Associated Press. To be clear, overall Democratic opposition to Trump’s crackdown on immigration is “sharp,” according to the AP.(12)

But moderate Democrats want “reforms” that put guardrails around the actions of agents. ICE agents would have to work more like other law enforcement and get judicial warrants before entering homes, for instance. People would be able to sue individual ICE agents for harm that officers allegedly inflicted, whereas now, immigration agents are protected by law.

That’s one school of thought.

More dramatic rethinking

But there’s also been a call since 2018 to abolish ICE, and it’s stronger now among progressive Democrats (13) and others who say these ideas about fixing ICE are too little and too late; that the agency cannot be redeemed. They would prefer to replace it with other people and other philosophies.

Rep. Tonko, of upstate New York said, in an email to We Are NEXT that he has been in favor of abolishing ICE since the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and that he continues to hold that position. Abolishing ICE is necessary “to restore safety and trust in our communities," Tonko wrote.

Democratic party leadership still has not decided what the party’s formal position on ICE will be in the 2028 platform, according to the Associated Press.(14) Individual candidates and legislators can also adopt their own positions, the news service added.

And of course, it’s not just Democrats who have a say in what should come next.

Groups such as the Hispanic Federation and ACLU and others have detailed policy recommendations. A number of demographic groups have been caught up in the aggressive enforcement campaign, and there may be more voices to be heard. They include community groups, some business groups with employment issues at stake, and certain faith communities (although not white Christian nationalists who have been aligned with Trump on immigration and are sympathetic to ICE officers, according to independent polling). (15)

Individual voters, who may identify simply as people who do not like where the immigration crackdown has led, are a potential factor as well.

Ongoing work at We Are NEXT

We Are NEXT’s policy team has published a detailed set of recommendations, which includes downsizing ICE by instituting a hiring freeze and buyouts to shrink its ranks, eliminating agreements that deputize local police as immigration agents (often referred to as 287(g) agreements), and redirecting funding toward lawful immigration processing at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Our organization also favors new executive actions to allow law-abiding migrants, depending on their circumstances, to remain here legally even if they do not have a current legal status. Pathways to residency and citizenship must be updated and streamlined, including through expanded parole in place, streamlined DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) renewals, and new deferred-action guidance, while pushing Congress to modernize the previous cutoff date (often called the registry date) for undocumented entry, and revive the Dream Act and U.S. Citizenship Act.

We Are NEXT also favors alternative to detention programs in many cases as more fitting to the circumstances and far less expensive; and ending the use of private, for-profit detention facilities entirely, which currently hold roughly 90% of ICE detainees and financially incentivize detention.

In building a new Center for Migrant Coordination with relevant stakeholders and adequately staffing additional Border Patrol Processing Coordinator positions to handle humanitarian intake, the U.S. needs to do a better job of vetting migrants and safeguarding security. 

In cases where non-violent refugees are concerned, it is time to put aside punitive actions. 

This means creating a more humanitarian approach that would include asking Mexico to create more migrant shelters near border crossings, and make it easier for those entering the U.S. to get through the immigration process and start working. Those present in the U.S. need a way to cut through red tape for their visas so they can also contribute to the American work force and tax base. 

We Are NEXT also believes the federal government needs to  again consider what kinds of refugee crises the United States might trigger elsewhere in the world through foreign policy actions that end up causing dislocation, and take proactive steps to mitigate the impact of such events.

The We Are NEXT recommendation also addresses concerns about dangerous factions — criminal groups and terrorist organizations — trying to cross borders and enter via ports. Such risks are not being ignored in our suggestions to decriminalize the treatment of migrants bearing no malicious intents.

These are some of the highlights; subsequent We Are NEXT proposals will contain additional details while addressing root causes along with economic, logistical, and climate-driven impacts that contribute to global migration.

For more information, visit the Policies section of our website. Reactions and comments are welcome at contactus@wearenext.us.


Footnotes

  1. Barr, L. 23036, Sept. 14). “ ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detainees were confined to small meta enclosures, DHS inspector general finds.” ABC News. https://abcnews.com/US/alligator-alcatraz-detainees-confined-small-metal-enclosures-inspector/story?id=136423509.

  2. Barr. Same report as above.

  3. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Office of Inspector General. Sept. 11. 2026. Final Report: OIG 26-22. “Unannounced Inspection of ICE’s Florida Soft-Sided Facility (“Alligator Alcatraz”) in Ochopee, Florida. https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2026-09/OIG-26-22-Sep26.pdf

  4. Alcindor, Y., Hillyard, V. and Strickler, L. (2025, Jan. 25). “Trump fires 18 inspectors overnight in legally murky move.” NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-fires-multiple-inspectors-general-legally-murky-overnight-move-rcna189261

  5. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Office of Inspector General. Sept. 11. 2026. Final Report: OIG: 26-29. “Results of an Unannounced Inspection of ICE’s Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami, Florida.” https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2026-09/OIG-26-29-Sep26.pdf

  6. Same report as above: Krome North.

  7. Cader, Y. (2026, Aug. 5. ). “We’ve Filed More Than 50 Legal Claims Over Abuse by Federal Immigration Agents. Here's Why.” ACLU News & Commentary https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/weve-filed-more-than-50-legal-claims-over-abuse-by-federal-immigration-agents-heres-why

  8. Hispanic Federation. (2026, Sept. 2). “People’s Hearing in Charlotte Documents the True Consequences of Federal Immigration Enforcement in North Carolina.” Hispanic Federation Press Releases. https://www.hispanicfederation.org/news/peoples-hearing-in-charlotte-documents-the-true-consequences-of-federal-immigration-enforcement-in-north-carolina/

  9. Romo, V. (2026, Aug.20). “The system meant to protect ICE detainees has collapsed.” National Public Radio: All Things Considered. https://www.npr.org/2026/08/20/nx-s1-5850361/grievance-ice-detention-immigrants

  10. ACLU. (2025). Report: “Agents of Chaos and Cruelty,” pp. 6, 33.                                                                              .https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2026/07/agents-of-chaos-report.pdf

  11. ACLU. (2025). Report: “Agents of Chaos and Cruelty,” p. 37.

  12. Catalini, M. (2026, Aug. 15). “Democrats disagree over abolishing or reforming ICE at  DNC meeting.” Associated Press.  https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/elections/2026/democrats-disagree-over-abolishing-or-reforming-ice-at-dnc-meeting/

  13. Catalini.

  14. Catalini.

  15. Public Religion Research Institute staff. (2026, March 26). Press Release: “Immigration Enforcement, ICE and Civil Liberties in the Second Trump Administration.” PRRI. htttps://prri.org/research/americans-views-on-immigration-enforcement-ice-and-civil-liberties-in-the-second-trump-administration/

 

Reports: Outside Organizations Accounts of ICE Activities 

Image: The Peoples Record - A Report on the Peoples Hearing on Immigration Enforcement in Minnesota, March 10, 2026


A variety of organizations have compiled their own reports on ICE operations. Topics covered include: Health conditions of detainees; questions about medical care; deaths, possible suicides. Some reports also discuss ICE behavior in neighborhoods, and school and economic impacts

They are listed chronologically..

Vince Thompson
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