GAO Report Finds ICE Detention Inspections Shift Amid Facility Expansion

From April 2025 to April 2026, following a January 2025 Executive Order, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement added over 40 detention facilities that hold noncitizens for more than 72 hours. During the same period the average daily population of detained noncitizens grew by over 50 percent, reaching 61,817 individuals.

Between fiscal year 2024 and July 2026, three of the four Department of Homeland Security entities that conduct inspections changed the frequency of inspections - either decreasing or increasing - or stopped conducting inspections altogether. The agency has increased reliance on facility self-inspections, and the processes governing these inspections have been altered.

GAO found that ICE has not used evidence, such as data on deficiencies identified through inspections or performance information on contract compliance, to determine how the recent changes in inspection practices have affected facility conditions. Without such analysis, ICE cannot assess whether the current oversight approach adequately identifies problems in areas like medical care and food service.

GAO issued two recommendations to the Director of ICE: first, to use evidence to evaluate the effects of inspection changes and determine whether the collective inspections are sufficient for overseeing compliance with detention standards; second, to modify ICE-conducted inspections based on those findings. DHS has concurred with the recommendations, and both remain open.

The shift in inspection frequency and the greater reliance on self-inspections raise concerns about the agency's ability to ensure humane detention conditions and to promptly address deficiencies across an expanding network of facilities.