Trump Policy Drives Record‑Long ICE Detention Despite Supreme Court Cap

Associated Press reporting details how a new Trump administration policy that generally bars immigration judges from releasing detainees while cases are pending has driven a sharp rise in prolonged ICE detention, even as the Supreme Court’s 2001 ruling says six months is a reasonable limit. ICE’s detained population has topped 70,000 for the first time, and agency data show 7,252 people were held at least six months in mid‑January 2026, including 79 for more than two years — more than double the December 2024 figure under Biden. Migrants describe dire conditions at facilities such as Florida’s 'Alligator Alcatraz' and the Fort Bliss Army base in Texas, where human‑rights groups say food is infested with worms, toilets overflow and at least two detainees died in January, leading some asylum‑seekers to beg for deportation but still be told they cannot leave until they see a judge. Lawyers and advocates say they are now seeing many more clients who signed paperwork agreeing to depart yet remain locked up for months, and DHS declined to explain why so many are being held beyond six months. The story underscores how the second‑term Trump crackdown is colliding with existing Supreme Court limits and straining an already backlogged immigration‑court system, while fueling new legal and political challenges over mass detention.