Detentions in Florida
Despite federal appropriations law requiring semimonthly publication of custody and enforcement information, ICE has not published their detention statistics since February 12, 2026, with data on individual facility populations only current through the month”s first week. After peaking officially over 70,000, and unofficially reported to have reached close to 73,000 people in detention, that last available report declared a total population down around 68,000, with all Florida facilities more or less maintaining their recent levels, possibly suggesting ongoing capacity limits in the state. After going almost the entire month without an update, though the current picture is much less clear.
Amidst the explosion in habeas petitions being filed, and releases won in federal courts in response to the administration’s unprecedented “reinterpretation” of mandatory vs. discretionary detention last year, people who were arrested after the government dismissed their cases in immigration court were being almost entirely left out and stuck in detention.
Starting mostly in February, though, at least a dozen of those from Miami (and now currently detained across the country) have begun to win their habeas petitions as well, including some of the earliest cases who have been in detention for the better part of a year at this point.
Dozens more have their cases pending in federal courts that suddenly seem much more willing to entertain their legal arguments (and give less deference to those of the government attorneys). Too many of them still sit in detention, too few with access to the lawyers that make those federal filings more attainable, but after a bleak 2025 where hundreds decided giving up their cases and accepting deportation was the only way out of detention, this spring has begun with a new bit of hope for those still fighting.