Texas Detains More Immigrants Than Any State Despite Record Low Border Crossings

Under President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, unauthorized border crossings have plummeted to near-record lows. But Texas remains the nation’s leader in immigrant detention, holding more than one in four of all detained immigrants in the United States. As of early April, nearly 18,000 people were locked up daily in Texas detention centers — more than double Louisiana’s count, the second-highest state.

This surge in detentions is not due to more border crossings. Instead, it stems from Texas’ large network of detention facilities and recent court rulings that make it easier for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hold immigrants for longer periods. In February, a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Trump administration’s mandatory detention policy, rejecting challenges to holding immigrants until their removal proceedings conclude. A similar ruling followed in the 8th Circuit.

“The 5th Circuit is not immigrant-friendly, and it’s easier to remove people who are detained in the Texas facilities,” said Zenobia Lai, executive director of the Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative.

Texas’ Republican leadership has also helped create a detention-friendly environment. Since 2017, state laws require local jails to cooperate with ICE and prohibit “sanctuary” policies that might protect immigrants from detention. This political backing ensures ample jail space and cooperation with federal authorities, according to Suchi Mathur, senior attorney at the American Immigration Council.

The detention population in Texas has rebounded to or exceeded pre-pandemic levels after a dip in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Trump administration’s Title 42 rule, which blocked most asylum seekers from entering. In Houston alone, about 4,160 immigrants are detained daily across five facilities, with some centers exceeding their 2019 detainee counts.

One of the largest facilities, Camp East Montana in El Paso, detains around 2,500 people daily. Opened in 2025 on a military base, it has been plagued by allegations of poor oversight and mismanagement, including three detainee deaths since opening.

Despite the large numbers, fewer than 20% of detained immigrants in Texas are classified as criminals — a significant drop from 31% in 2019. Many detainees are asylum seekers or people caught up in broad immigration enforcement sweeps rather than serious offenders. For example, a teenage high school soccer co-captain from Honduras was detained in Conroe, Texas, illustrating the dragnet’s wide reach.

The Department of Homeland Security defends these policies, claiming detained immigrants can request release by accepting a government-paid flight home plus a $2,600 exit bonus. But advocates argue these policies represent a punitive system that prioritizes detention over humane treatment or fair immigration processes.

Texas’ outsized role in immigrant detention exposes the Trump administration’s aggressive, punitive approach to immigration enforcement—one that continues to detain thousands despite fewer people crossing the border. The state’s legal and political environment ensures it remains the nation’s immigrant lockup capital, raising urgent questions about civil rights, oversight, and accountability in these sprawling detention centers.