The Guardian reviewed federal booking data from September 2023 through late July and found that ICE has used at least 170 holding sites nationwide, including inside 25 field offices. These sites are typically bare concrete rooms without beds and are meant for short-term processing.

Until June, ICE’s own rules limited confinement in such rooms to 12 hours. A June memo increased the limit to three days, but the investigation found people continued to be held for longer — in some cases, much longer.