Detainees in a fenced recreation area during a media tour at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Tacoma, Washington in 2019. Photo: NBC News

During federal fiscal year 2024, the Biden administration made 113,431 immigration arrests, and of those, only 28% were of people who had no criminal convictions or pending criminal charges. 

Asked for comment on the data, Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman, said immigrants without criminal records are often “far from innocent” but declined to provide further data.

The new detention data from ICE, which is a snapshot from late last week, shows that its detention centers are at the upper limits of their capacity. The number of people detained went from 39,238 in early February to 41,169 in mid-February. ICE’s detention capacity nationwide is 41,500. It’s unclear how many people who had been in detention were deported or were released through the Alternatives to Detention monitoring program during these two weeks.

NBC News previously reported that President Donald Trump was frustrated by the slow pace of immigrant arrests and deportations, and that two top ICE officials were demoted in response.

One factor in the pace has been the lack of detention space in ICE facilities. And the new data paints a much clearer picture of the dilemma that administration officials face as they try to clear out existing detainees to make room for more new arrestees.

According to the data, only 13% of those currently in ICE detention are on track for “expedited removal,” a designation indicating they can be deported without having a court hearing. The remaining 87% are facing deportation proceedings which could last for months or even years.

Immigration courts are facing a backlog of 3.6 million cases and, as a result, some pending cases may not be heard for years. At least 16,000 current ICE detainees have notices to appear in court, which means they are waiting for a court date.

To relieve space, the administration is now using new detention locations in Texas and Kentucky. It is also seeking to expand detention capacity available to its Denver field office, which includes Colorado and Wyoming, by at least 900 beds, according to new public documents.

The Trump administration has also begun transferring immigration detainees to Guantanamo Bay, where it eventually plans to hold as many as 30,000 people. It has already brought 112 detainees there, and more flights are in the works. 

The total number of detainees with criminal convictions or pending criminal charges arrested by ICE and currently in detention did rise over the last two weeks, going up 18% in the last two weeks, from about 14,000 to more than 16,500.

The administration’s public messaging continues to center around alleged criminality. ICE’s page on X highlights the arrests of people it says have been convicted of murder, domestic violence, manslaughter, theft, child pornography and other crimes.