Ice puts more than 10,000 people in solitary in a year – and figures are rising under Trump

Study shines light on growing numbers of vulnerable people being placed in solitary confinement in migrant jails

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) put more than 10,500 people in solitary confinement between April 2024 and May 2025, and use of the practice has quickly increased under Donald Trump’s administration, according to new research.

A report from Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), the Peeler Immigration Lab, and Harvard Law School experts, published on Wednesday, sheds light on what’s happening inside US immigrant detention facilities and how increasing numbers of vulnerable people are being subjected to solitary confinement for longer periods of time.