Guest Blog post: ICE detained 10,000 people in five-day span before 4th of July by Matthew Boles, Esq.
Guest Blog post: ICE detained 10,000 people in five-day span before 4th of July by Matthew Boles, Esq., immigration attorney in Georgia who specializes in removal defense, detention work, and litigation
Multiple outlets, including ABC News, The New York Times, and the Associated Press, report that ICE detained 10,000 noncitizens over a five-day span toward the end of June. Consequently, more than 63,000 noncitizens were in ICE detention, as of June 30. The same month, the city of Social Circle, GA, announced that DHS was no longer pursuing a facility there, which would have converted a warehouse to a facility with 10,000 beds. Also, as the FIFA World Cup began in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, a Somali referee with a visa and diplomatic passport was denied entry into the U.S. after arriving in Miami.
This push of arresting 2,000 noncitizens a day as part of its quota comes at a time when the Supreme Court issued three decisions related to immigration over a two-week span, two major earthquakes in Venezuela, and a decision from the Fifth Circuit about custody redetermination (“bond”) hearings for noncitizens in ICE custody.
Around this time last year (July 8, 2025), ICE began to take the position that all noncitizens who entered the U.S. without inspection and are inadmissible under section 212 of the INA are arriving, and thus ineligible for bond. The BIA later adopted this argument two months later in Matter of Yajure Hurtado. As a result of this decision, more than 45,000 habeas corpus petitions have been filed in district courts, challenging detention.
What’s happening to those in detention? There is an increase in voluntary departure, either a stipulation from ICE (form I-210) or as a form of relief in removal proceedings, allegations of medical neglect, and a nearly 94% denial rate of asylum cases.
Undoubtedly, immigration will be an issue in the mid-term elections this November. To be sure, other issues, such as the economy, will also be an issue. With that said, as about 10% of eligible voters are immigrants, expect for immigration to continue to be in the news as politicians campaign.