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Immigration Enforcement and Detention
Combatting the violent, inhumane treatment of immigrants and refugees
Immigrant enforcement and detention have reached unprecedented levels of violence and inhumanity in the United States.
The United States is experiencing one of the most significant shifts in immigration enforcement in decades. Federal policy changes implemented throughout 2025 and 2026 have expanded detention, increased interior enforcement actions, and sharply restricted long‑standing pathways that families, workers, and humanitarian populations rely on.
Enforcement actions have broadened beyond individuals with criminal histories, resulting in a substantial rise in non‑criminal arrests and more mixed‑status families facing separation. ICE and CBP have carried out more than 580,000 arrests — the clearest available measure of the scale of immigration enforcement under the current administration.
Since early 2025, 52 people have died in ICE custody, and at least 11 people have been fatally shot by ICE or CBP agents. These deaths reflect a system under immense strain — one where enforcement actions have expanded faster than oversight, transparency, or basic safeguards. At the same time, detention levels have reached record highs, with more than 73,000 people detained — a 75% increase over prior years.
Inside DHS detention facilities, conditions remain deeply concerning. Reports document rotten food, unpaid labor, unhygienic environments, inadequate medical care, and the detention of people who lawfully entered the United States — including pregnant women and children. These conditions undermine safety, dignity, and the integrity of the immigration system.
In June, ICE released its long‑awaited 2026 detention‑standards guidance. While the updates include required language interpretation, mental‑health evaluations, and clearer release procedures, they fall far short of what is needed for just, humane, and rights‑based enforcement. The new standards still allow the detention of children and families, exposing them to harsh, prison‑like conditions and even indefinite confinement.
Despite widespread public concern, Congress has approved $70 billion in new enforcement funding for ICE and CBP — and is considering even more — without the guardrails needed to keep people safe. There are no independent inspections, no public reporting, and no meaningful oversight of the private companies that operate many detention facilities.
At the same time, new vetting requirements and processing slowdowns have created prolonged uncertainty for people seeking lawful status, work authorization, or case resolution. Many applicants now face repeated interviews, extended background checks, and months‑long delays that disrupt employment, housing stability, and family unity.
These shifts have real consequences for families and communities across the country. Employers face workforce disruptions, congregations and service providers are supporting more families in crisis, and immigrants already living in the U.S. are navigating new barriers to stability and safety.
Global Refuge continues to advocate for immigration enforcement policy and practice that upholds human rights, protects families and communities, and reflects the values of fairness and compassion.
We are advocating for critical reforms in U.S. immigration policy to ensure:
- Protection of sensitive locations – including schools, churches, hospitals, and courthouses – from immigration enforcement actions.
- Prevention of discriminatory targeting based on race, language, national origin, or perceived immigration status.
- A bar on all DHS detention of children and families and strengthened standards mandating humane and dignified treatment of detained individuals, including access to essential health services, nutritious food, faith and worship needs, and legal assistance.
- Prohibition on the use of any appropriated funding to arrest and detain lawfully present refugees and a rescission of the February 2026 USCIS/ICE Refugee Detention Memo.
- Adequate staffing and adjudications capacity at USCIS to rapidly reduce backlogs of pending green card, work permit, and other applications.
- Full staffing and resourcing of the CIS Ombudsman, Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO), and DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
Frequently Asked Questions
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In June 2026, ICE released its long‑awaited 2026 detention standards guidance. While there are small steps forward — including requiring language interpretation, mental‑health evaluations, and clearer release procedures — these updates fall far short of what is needed for just, humane, and rights‑based enforcement.
The new standards still allow the detention of children and families, leaving them vulnerable to harsh, prison‑like conditions and even indefinite confinement. They also permit solitary confinement for people with severe mental illness — an inhumane practice that isolates those who need care, not punishment. And medical care remains dangerously inadequate: sick detainees are denied treatment, pregnant women lack guaranteed access to specialists, and emergencies often go unanswered.
You can read the standards here.
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have received an unprecedented wave of funding through recent legislative bills.
Most recently, on June 9, 2026, Congress passed a major budget reconciliation package—the Secure America Act, which handed nearly $70 billion in new funding to these agencies. This funding package comes on top of the massive $170 billion provided less than a year prior under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025
These funds have all been appropriated without the legislative guardrails needed to keep people safe.
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On February 18, 2026, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a new memo that requires federal officers to arrest and detain lawfully admitted refugees who have not yet obtained a green card within one year of arrival, and to hold them for an additional “inspection and examination” for an unspecified amount of time. This is a significant shift from long‑standing DHS practice and could impact tens of thousands of people.
Detaining refugees who have already undergone extensive security screening is inefficient, harmful and a costly misallocation of resources. USCIS can instead expand outreach and help refugees complete their green card applications with their legal representatives to achieve the same outcome.
Beyond individual harm, the policy undermines the significant contributions refugees make in local communities, and nationwide. Federal data show refugees and asylees contributed nearly $124 billion more in tax revenue than they received in services between 2005–2019. Refugees also generate more than $80 billion in annual purchasing power and have high rates of entrepreneurship.
Refugees admitted through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program undergo some of the most rigorous security vetting of any entrant to the United States. Unnecessary detention can destabilize families, employers, and local communities without improving public safety. Detaining refugees during their green card process could separate parents from their children and elderly refugees from their caretakers.