NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – As Donald Trump ramps up his plans for mass deportation, a new report reveals that local jails are a hidden but critical pillar of the federal deportation infrastructure—largely shielded from public scrutiny and operating under voluntary cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
According to Jacob Kang-Brown, author of the Prison Policy Initiative report “Hiding in Plain Sight: How Local Jails Obscure and Facilitate Mass Deportation under Trump,” county jails play a central role in the federal detention strategy. The federal government relies on their voluntary cooperation to arrest and detain people for breaking federal laws. However, Kang-Brown writes, “The state and local governments hold the power to meaningfully support or oppose the Trump administration’s agenda.”
The Trump administration seeks to expand its use of “uncrowded” county jails, defined as those operating at less than 85 percent capacity. The Federal Budget 2025–2029, citing Bureau of Justice Statistics data, allocates funding for ICE to detain up to 100,000 individuals. In contrast, local jails have an unused capacity of 252,000 beds—making them a key asset for immigration enforcement.
States have responded differently to the administration’s efforts. In Georgia, Louisiana, Florida, and Texas, officials have moved to force local agreements with ICE, requiring law enforcement to hold individuals who would otherwise be released. Meanwhile, California has sought to restrict ICE’s access to local jails. After protests in early June, the Glendale City Council canceled its contract with ICE that allowed use of the local jail.
In August 2025, Vermont faces a key decision over whether to renew its expiring contract with ICE. Kang-Brown stresses the importance of local community pressure, noting that states “can do more to oppose their public resources being used this way by also cancelling U.S. Marshals contracts.”
Federal officials have expanded their reach by classifying many immigration matters as criminal cases and exploiting loopholes through contracts with the U.S. Marshals Service. “Every county with a U.S. Marshal’s contract is effectively signed up for his [Trump’s] mass detention and deportation agenda,” Kang-Brown said. This practice, he noted, has distorted “the true scale of immigrant detention from public view,” since most public data includes only those in ICE custody and not those detained through other federal channels.
The result is widespread public underestimation of the system’s size. According to ICE data cited in the report, there were 57,200 people in custody on average in June 2025. But Kang-Brown notes the broader “crimmigration” system is about 45 percent larger, encompassing around 83,400 people.
The administration’s strategy also criminalizes civil immigration violations. Federal prosecutors have discouraged migrants from asserting their rights or pursuing asylum claims, threatening them with years in prison and heavy fines.
Local jails are deeply embedded in this machinery. According to the report, 45 percent of undocumented immigrants in custody were arrested with help from local jails. Kang-Brown expressed concern that many of those individuals have not been convicted of any crime. “Over 80% of people in jails have not been convicted and are legally presumed innocent. Additionally, most are held for low-level offenses like loitering and public intoxication, not violent crimes,” he said.
This collaboration creates logistical and legal challenges for local governments. Holding immigrants on behalf of ICE can overcrowd facilities and place strain on local staff. “The federal contracts do not cover legal expenses, nor do they indemnify local staff,” Kang-Brown said. “Further, local facilities may have to jump through hoops to accommodate people held for federal agencies, at the expense of locals.”
The report ultimately serves as a call to action. Kang-Brown argues that denying ICE access to local jails would “cause significant problems for the Trump administration,” potentially slowing or disrupting its mass deportation plans.
