People held in ICE detention on a single day in January 2026 — an 84% jump from about 40,000 a year earlier, the sharpest year-over-year rise ever recorded.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice →Plain-language overview · Updated July 2026
What's happening right now?
Enforcement has escalated sharply over the past year — nationally, and two miles from here at MDC Brooklyn. This page lays out the documented facts, what our neighbors are living through, and why our response is mutual aid and solidarity, not charity. It is general educational information, not legal advice. For legal advice, consult a qualified immigration attorney or accredited legal representative.
The scale, in numbers
This is not business as usual.
People currently in ICE detention have no criminal conviction — a group that has grown over 2,000% in the past year as enforcement widened far beyond public-safety cases.
Source: TRAC Immigration →The policy keeping ICE out of schools, hospitals, churches, and courthouses stood for 14 years — until it was ended in 2025. Arrests have since happened in all four.
Source: PBS News →Children nationwide are estimated to have had a parent detained since January 2025 — including roughly 145,000 who are U.S. citizens.
Source: Brookings →The situation, in plain words
What families are facing.
Enforcement has expanded
Immigration arrests now happen not just at the border, but at homes, workplaces, courthouses, schools, hospitals, and churches — locations that were off-limits for 14 years until that protection was removed. Fear of enforcement now shapes daily life for many families.
Detention separates families
People are held for months in detention centers — including MDC in Brooklyn — often far from their families, while their cases move slowly through backlogged courts. Documented cases in multiple states show children placed in foster care when a detained parent has no one nearby to take temporary custody.
Children carry the heaviest cost
An estimated 200,000 children nationwide have had a parent detained since January 2025. Some states have since passed laws letting parents name a guardian in advance, specifically to keep kids out of foster care — a gap community coordination is built to fill.
Fear spreads wider than enforcement
Even families who are never arrested change how they live: skipping school events, medical visits, work, and church. That isolation is itself a harm — and it is one a community can fight.
Close to home
What's happening at MDC Brooklyn.
Nearly 200 people held
More than half of the people currently detained at MDC Brooklyn have no criminal record, according to a February 2026 DHS letter to Congress.
ICE's footprint has doubled
ICE began holding people at MDC in mid-2025 and expanded into a second cell block by February 2026, roughly doubling its presence inside the facility.
Conditions under scrutiny
Reporting and congressional oversight visits have documented extended lockdowns, delayed medical care, and detainees going weeks without seeing daylight.
Elected officials denied access
Members of Congress representing this district were denied entry to MDC despite seeking an oversight visit — part of why independent, sustained community presence matters.
This is exactly why our Tuesday vigil, Thursday legal clinic, and Saturday accompaniment tent exist outside MDC — so no family stands at those gates alone.
How we respond
Community. Mutual aid. Sanctuary.
None of this is fixed by one organization, one law, or one vigil. It is fixed by neighbors showing up for each other, consistently, as equals — which is the whole premise of mutual aid: solidarity, not charity.
Weekly presence at MDC
A vigil on Tuesdays, a legal clinic on Thursdays, and an accompaniment tent on Saturday mornings — so no family stands outside the detention center alone.
See the weekly schedule →Know Your Rights education
Everyone in the U.S. has constitutional rights, regardless of immigration status. Knowing them — calmly, ahead of time — protects families.
Read the rights primer →A sanctuary network
Churches, businesses, schools, and neighbors turning their spaces into safety — places where families are seen, supported, and never asked their status.
Learn about sanctuary →Trusted resources
Verified, bilingual pathways to food, legal help, health care, and community support — reviewed by trusted community partners.
Find resources →What you can do today
You don't have to fix everything. Just show up.
Public references
Credible, rights-based sources.
Every statistic on this page is drawn from public, verifiable reporting and government data — not our own estimates. We review this page regularly and update it as things change.
Know your rights
Data & reporting cited on this page
Vera Institute: ICE Detention Trends
TRAC Immigration Quick Facts
Brookings: Detained Immigrants' Children
THE CITY: ICE at MDC Brooklyn
Haitian Times: MDC Detainee Records
PBS News: Sensitive Locations Policy
Educational information, not legal advice. Reviewed by our community team. Last reviewed: July 2026.