ICE Detention Centers Meet the Definition of Concentration Camps, New Research Warns

A recent peer-reviewed study by international relations scholars has delivered a damning verdict on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention network. By applying a rigorous four-point test developed from a dataset of 150 historical camp systems worldwide, the researchers conclude that ICE detention centers qualify as a system of concentration camps.

This is no hyperbole. The term “concentration camp” is often associated primarily with the Nazi Holocaust, but its origins trace back to late 19th-century Spanish military tactics in Cuba. Since then, numerous regimes have employed such camps to repress targeted civilian populations through mass imprisonment, severe restrictions on movement, and routine abuse.

The study’s four defining criteria for concentration camps are:
1. Targeting groups of civilians for imprisonment based on ethnicity or political identity
2. Enclosed spaces with strict state control over entry and exit
3. Operation outside normal legal detention frameworks, denying due process
4. Systematic abuse and neglect, including torture, overcrowding, and lack of basic necessities

Applying these standards, the researchers argue ICE’s sprawling network of over 240 detention facilities meets each criterion. Migrants—often targeted based on appearance or location rather than concrete legal violations—are confined without trial or legal representation. They face overcrowded, unsanitary conditions and are pressured to self-deport under threat of indefinite detention.

Since the start of Trump’s second term, more than 34,000 habeas corpus petitions have been filed by detainees challenging their unlawful confinement. Yet, the administration’s policies have expanded and intensified these practices, embedding them further into a system that echoes some of the darkest chapters of modern history.

This analysis is a stark reminder that “never again” requires vigilance not only against overt genocide but also against the incremental normalization of mass repression and ethnic targeting. ICE detention centers are not just immigration enforcement tools—they are part of a broader pattern of authoritarian overreach and human rights abuses demanding immediate public and political accountability.