Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), under the leadership of President Donald Trump and his administration, has now detained about 66,000 illegal aliens. 

Just the News reports that this is a new record.

The figure is probably going to continue to go up, as well.

RECORD 66,000 detainees in ICE custody — CBS

Number skyrocketed by 70% since Trump took office

Facilities' capacity now at 70,000, but expected to increase to 100,000

How many more illegals will Trump find? pic.twitter.com/HS4fjUljdW

— RT (@RT_com) November 7, 2025

The numbers

CBS News provides a breakdown of the situation.

Per the outlet:

ICE's detainee population has ballooned by nearly 70% since Mr. Trump took office for a second time in January, when ICE was holding around 39,000 individuals in its detention system. The previous high before Mr. Trump's second administration was recorded during his first term, in 2019, when ICE held about 56,000 detainees at one point, according to government figures compiled by researchers at Syracuse University.

Now, however, that figure is up to 66,000, which appears to be getting close to current capacity.

CBS reports:

ICE now has enough detention beds to hold as many as 70,000 detainees at any time, up from its 41,500 bed capacity at the beginning of the second Trump administration, a U.S. official told CBS News. That capacity is expected to continue increasing, as ICE received $45 billion in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act just to expand detention levels. Officials have talked about using the unprecedented infusion of funds to operate 100,000 detention beds.

Trump does not appear to be slowing down any time soon, so the extra room is going to be needed.

Not merely illegal aliens but...

The Trump administration has released a statement on the matter, noting that most of these detainees are not merely illegal aliens but illegal aliens with criminal records.

"Seventy percent of illegal aliens ICE has arrested have criminal convictions or pending criminal charges just in the U.S," Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said.

She added, "This statistic doesn't even account for those wanted for violent crimes in their country of origin or another country, INTERPOL notices, human rights abusers, gang members, or terrorists."

This is in line with what the Trump administration has said, namely, that it is specifically targeting illegal aliens with criminal convictions who are residing in America.

Recent reports have claimed that there is some dispute among top Trump officials as to whether this is the correct approach or whether the administration ought to be casting a broader net. Department of Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem has denied that there is such a dispute.