These States Detain the Most Undocumented Immigrants in ICE Facilities

Texas is the state that has been detaining most people in ICE-funded facilities during fiscal year 2017, according to own data by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. An average of roughly 10,000 people were in ICE detention in Texas every day during that time period, up 26 percent from fiscal year 2009, the first year ICE provided data for. Out of the ten states that detained the most undocumented immigrants, Georgia has seen the biggest increase with 70 percent more people detained in the state compared to 2009.

The total number of daily average detainees rose from roughly 31,000 to roughly 38,000 between 2009 to 2017. A total of 15 states detained more than 500 undocumented people on a daily average in FY 2017, eight detained none.

The National Immigrant Justice Center, which also reviewed the report, said 51 percent of those detained were classified as non-criminal and another 23 percent were classified as having had low-level criminal convictions. Most facilities funded by ICE were operated by private companies and even included 12 hotels on the list for FY 2017.