Trump Vs Biden: ICE Detentions By Administration (2019-2025)

Since January 2023, the number of people held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention has more than doubled.

This increase has accelerated notably during the early months of Donald Trump’s second term, compared to the final stretch of Joe Biden’s presidency.

As Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti shows in the chart below, the data behind this trend offers a revealing look at how immigration enforcement priorities and political leadership can rapidly reshape the size and scope of ICE’s detainee population.

The figures for this analysis come from TRAC Reports, a long-running research project tracking U.S. immigration enforcement metrics. The data reflects weekly totals of ICE detainees, categorized by criminal background or immigration status.

ICE Detentions Have Surged in 2025

On January 1, 2023, there were just over 20,500 people in ICE custody. By June 15, 2025, that number had jumped to over 56,000—a 175% increase. This steep rise coincides with Trump’s return to office and his campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration.

Date
Convicted Criminal
Pending Criminal Charges
Other Violations
Total
06/15/2025
15,964
14,263
26,170
56,397
06/01/2025
15,193
13,671
22,438
51,302
05/18/2025
14,909
12,920
21,041
48,870
05/04/2025
15,025
12,730
21,250
49,005
04/20/2025
15,190
11,997
21,997
49,184
04/06/2025
14,614
11,065
22,249
47,928
03/23/2025
14,369
10,509
23,014
47,892
03/09/2025
13,751
9,437
23,081
46,269
02/23/2025
12,804
8,158
22,797
43,759
02/09/2025
11,917
6,714
22,538
41,169
01/26/2025
10,703
5,429
23,106
39,238
01/12/2025
10,494
5,360
23,849
39,703
12/29/2024
10,278
5,271
23,603
39,152
12/15/2024
10,355
5,204
22,847
38,406
12/01/2024
10,283
5,084
23,361
38,728
11/03/2024
10,308
4,967
23,588
38,863
09/08/2024
10,050
4,874
22,471
37,395
08/25/2024
10,078
4,818
21,327
36,223
08/11/2024
10,142
4,752
21,432
36,326
07/14/2024
10,380
4,605
22,019
37,004
06/30/2024
10,053
4,459
22,997
37,509
06/16/2024
10,158
4,452
23,915
38,525
06/02/2024
9,803
4,311
23,246
37,360
05/19/2024
9,748
4,303
22,520
36,571
05/05/2024
9,882
4,146
22,575
36,603
04/21/2024
9,560
3,961
20,852
34,373
04/07/2024
9,549
3,830
21,201
34,580
03/24/2024
9,465
3,721
23,745
36,931
03/10/2024
9,285
3,646
26,180
39,111
02/25/2024
9,288
3,548
26,339
39,175
02/11/2024
9,319
3,468
25,471
38,258
01/28/2024
9,114
3,412
25,972
38,498
01/13/2024
9,005
3,355
25,422
37,782
12/31/2023
9,003
3,332
24,796
37,131
12/17/2023
8,936
3,115
24,212
36,263
12/03/2023
8,838
3,074
24,843
36,755
11/19/2023
8,682
2,979
27,352
39,013
11/05/2023
8,426
3,008
28,314
39,748
10/03/2023
8,198
3,013
25,634
36,845
09/24/2023
8,074
2,966
24,249
35,289
09/10/2023
8,012
2,942
24,635
35,589
08/27/2023
8,105
2,994
21,644
32,743
08/13/2023
8,238
3,121
18,825
30,184
07/30/2023
8,422
3,325
18,691
30,438
07/16/2023
8,504
3,230
19,330
31,064
07/02/2023
8,032
3,022
18,949
30,003
06/18/2023
8,014
2,913
18,686
29,613
06/04/2023
7,839
2,751
19,324
29,914
05/21/2023
7,932
2,693
16,705
27,330
05/07/2023
7,840
2,509
10,944
21,293
04/23/2023
8,123
2,667
14,154
24,944
04/09/2023
8,289
2,580
14,884
25,753
03/26/2023
8,050
2,563
16,285
26,898
03/12/2023
7,952
2,579
17,192
27,723
02/26/2023
7,656
2,515
16,839
27,010
02/12/2023
7,281
2,434
16,695
26,410
01/29/2023
7,147
2,291
14,732
24,170
01/15/2023
7,010
2,172
11,710
20,892
01/01/2023
7,030
2,259
11,217
20,506
12/18/2022
7,041
2,301
13,718
23,060
12/04/2022
6,966
2,413
19,647
29,026
11/20/2022
6,886
2,385
20,730
30,001
10/31/2022
6,813
2,395
20,776
29,984
09/25/2022
6,430
2,040
16,664
25,134
09/10/2022
6,152
1,991
17,633
25,776
08/15/2022
5,903
1,778
16,446
24,127
07/31/2022
5,615
1,606
16,169
23,390
07/17/2022
5,550
1,538
15,798
22,886
07/05/2022
5,434
1,402
16,320
23,156
06/19/2022
5,505
1,343
16,542
23,390
06/05/2022
5,353
1,327
17,911
24,591
05/07/2022
5,021
1,226
16,034
22,281
04/24/2022
4,880
1,177
13,445
19,502
04/11/2022
4,629
1,082
13,135
18,846
03/27/2022
4,621
1,079
15,033
20,733
03/13/2022
4,692
1,049
14,405
20,146
02/27/2022
4,666
982
12,336
17,984
02/13/2022
4,727
999
14,222
19,948
01/16/2022
4,534
850
15,502
20,886
01/02/2022
4,471
860
16,737
22,068
12/19/2021
4,436
795
15,392
20,623
12/05/2021
4,559
931
16,462
21,952
11/21/2021
4,466
852
17,120
22,438
10/01/2021
4,537
852
16,740
22,129
09/16/2021
4,553
771
16,242
21,566
09/13/2021
4,443
808
17,763
23,014
08/24/2021
4,495
835
19,832
25,162
08/06/2021
4,502
971
20,053
25,526
07/22/2021
4,439
1,078
21,254
26,771
07/08/2021
4,433
1,117
21,667
27,217
06/24/2021
4,399
1,100
20,723
26,222
06/11/2021
4,338
1,037
19,088
24,463
05/28/2021
4,382
971
16,166
21,519
05/13/2021
4,490
686
13,865
19,041
05/03/2021
4,524
696
10,477
15,697
04/14/2021
4,765
826
9,545
15,136
03/31/2021
5,177
919
7,818
13,914
03/17/2021
5,857
1,252
6,943
14,052
02/25/2021
6,746
1,890
4,622
13,258
02/11/2021
7,362
2,306
4,427
14,095
01/22/2021
7,598
2,544
4,053
14,195
01/07/2021
8,189
2,864
4,391
15,444
12/30/2020
8,272
2,810
4,268
15,350
12/10/2020
8,448
2,948
4,376
15,772
11/26/2020
8,632
2,966
4,477
16,075
11/14/2020
8,931
2,974
4,729
16,634
09/18/2020
10,773
3,351
5,894
20,018
09/04/2020
11,149
3,236
6,104
20,489
08/21/2020
11,372
3,187
6,448
21,007
08/08/2020
11,321
3,113
6,684
21,118
08/01/2020
11,450
3,082
7,014
21,546
07/25/2020
11,510
3,114
7,260
21,884
07/18/2020
11,391
3,085
7,666
22,142
07/11/2020
11,492
3,071
7,777
22,340
07/04/2020
11,592
3,031
7,956
22,579
06/27/2020
11,632
3,096
8,077
22,805
06/20/2020
11,777
3,160
8,492
23,429
06/13/2020
11,986
3,244
8,811
24,041
06/06/2020
12,130
3,306
9,277
24,713
05/30/2020
12,279
3,373
9,769
25,421
05/23/2020
12,435
3,408
10,068
25,911
05/16/2020
12,599
3,454
10,607
26,660
05/09/2020
13,068
3,639
11,201
27,908
05/02/2020
13,183
3,779
11,903
28,865
04/25/2020
13,218
3,897
12,560
29,675
04/18/2020
13,380
4,070
13,287
30,737
04/11/2020
13,774
4,406
14,129
32,309
03/21/2020
14,782
5,264
18,012
38,058
02/29/2020
14,469
5,229
18,839
38,537
02/08/2020
14,464
5,184
19,774
39,422
01/04/2020
14,371
5,173
22,087
41,631
12/21/2019
14,295
4,993
22,645
41,933
11/30/2019
14,639
5,135
25,086
44,860
10/26/2019
15,594
5,203
28,622
49,419
09/30/2019
16,120
5,359
29,443
50,922
09/21/2019
15,695
5,341
30,266
51,302
08/31/2019
16,197
5,315
31,418
52,930
08/03/2019
16,676
5,493
33,485
55,654
06/01/2019
17,225
5,573
29,667
52,465
05/04/2019
17,537
5,686
26,422
49,645

The growth has been steady and sharp: detention numbers rose by over 5,000 in just the last two weeks of the data series alone.

Non-Criminal Immigration Violators Drive Growth

The largest category of detainees by far is “Other Immigration Violator”, meaning individuals with no pending or prior criminal charges. This group jumped from 11,217 in early 2023 to over 26,000 by mid-2025, more than doubling in that timeframe.

While criminal detainee categories also rose, the sheer volume of non-criminal detentions is the clearest signal of changing enforcement tactics under the Trump administration.

Comparing the Two Administrations

Biden-era figures remained relatively stable, with total detentions hovering between 20,000 and 40,000. Under Trump, however, ICE has rapidly expanded its detainee population, particularly since January 2025.

This policy shift echoes Trump’s first term, when detention levels frequently surpassed 50,000, peaking in mid-2019. The current trajectory suggests a return to those levels or  possibly beyond.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The Top 25 Nationalities of US Immigrants on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.