Executive Summary 

This Report provides a comprehensive review and evaluation of the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) system of Immigration Detention. It relies on information gathered by Dr. Dora Schriro, most recently the Director of the Office of Detention Policy and Planning, during tours of 25 facilities, discussions with detainees and employees, meetings with over 100 non-governmental organizations and federal, state, and local officials, and the review of data and reports from governmental agencies and human rights organizations.  

The findings are based on analyses of the ICE detainee population and arrest activities conducted specifically for this review. The Report describes the policy, human capital, informational, and management challenges associated with the rapid expansion of ICE’s detention capacity from fewer than 7,500 beds in 1995 to over 30,000 today, without the benefit of tools for population forecasting, management, on-site monitoring, and central procurement.  

The Report identifies important distinctions between the characteristics of the Immigration Detention population in ICE custody and the administrative purpose of their detention—which is to hold, process, and prepare individuals for removal—as compared to the punitive purpose of the Criminal Incarceration system.  

The Report underscores the opportunity for ICE, in coordination with stakeholders, to design and implement a detention system with policies, facilities, programs, and oversight mechanisms that align with the administrative purpose of Immigration Detention. 

The Report provides a seven part framework for meeting the challenge of developing a new system of Immigration Detention. It concludes with concrete recommendations for reform in each of the seven areas of focus.