Overview

The United States operates the world’s largest immigration detention system, counting on beds in some 200 facilities, including privately operated detention facilities, local jails, juvenile detention centres, field offices, and “family residential centres.” The country has also supported the detention of migrants and asylum seekers in neighbouring countries and was a pioneer in offshoring detention. On any given day, it can have upwards of 50,000 non-citizens in detention; annually, it "books-in" some 300,000 people into immigration detention.