ICE’s Data on Solitary Confinement Is Incomplete and Inconsistent, Analysis Finds

A Lee Enterprises analysis found that ICE’s monthly data on solitary confinement is messy and incomplete. Until a December 2024 rule change, ICE counted only detainees deemed “vulnerable” or held in isolation for 14 days or longer — and some facilities pulled detainees out of solitary just before the 14-day reporting threshold and then returned them, resetting the clock so the placement was never reported. Researchers warn the figures are still likely an undercount, and the reporting change makes it impossible to directly compare solitary use under the Trump and Biden administrations.