Texas is holding more immigrant detainees than any other state
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No state is holding more immigrant detainees than Texas, and many are in facilities near San Antonio, according to newly released federal data.
The big picture: The data sheds light on the housing arrangements federal officials have made for detainees at a time when the U.S. government's immigration centers are at near capacity — and the Trump administration is pushing for dramatically more arrests.
By the numbers: The South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, about 55 miles southwest of San Antonio, has the second-most detainees (1,680 a day), according to the data collected by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) and reviewed by Axios.
- The Adams County Detention Center in Natchez, Miss., is holding the largest number of detainees, averaging 2,154 a day.
- The Karnes County Immigration Processing Center, about 55 miles southeast of San Antonio, is holding about 1,130 people a day.
Zoom in: Eight detention centers in Texas were among the nation's top 20 facilities that each are holding at least 800 people for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to an Axios review of the data, which runs through Feb. 8.
Zoom out: Overall, ICE was holding 41,169 in detention at the various locations. Nearly 55% of those have no criminal record, and many more have committed minor offenses such as traffic violations, TRAC found.
- TRAC said the ICE detention statistics update has missing and incorrect data. It did not report the number of detainees at the U.S. naval facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Between the lines: Holding immigrants in detention is by far the largest cost of the deportation process.