Ice puts more than 10,000 people in solitary in a year and figures are rising under Trump

"US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) put more than 10,500 people in solitary confinement between April 2024 and May 2025, and use of the practice has quickly increased under Donald Trump's administration, according to new research. A report from Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), the Peeler Immigration Lab, and Harvard Law School experts, published on Wednesday, sheds light on what's happening inside US immigrant detention facilities and how increasing numbers of vulnerable people are being subjected to solitary confinement for longer periods of time."

"The United Nations has found that solitary confinement, which is defined within the report as keeping people in small cells without meaningful human contact for at least 22 hours a day, amounts to psychological torture when such placements last longer than 15 days. The report spans a period of time that includes the Biden and the second Trump administration, but shows a spike in the use of solitary confinement in recent months."

"The research reveals that in the first four months of Trump's second term, the use solitary confinement grew by an average of 6.5% each month; more than six times the average monthly increase seen during the final months of Joe Biden's administration. Meanwhile, the number of vulnerable people placed in solitary confinement, such as those with health problems or mental health conditions, rose by 56% in fiscal year 2025 when compared with 2022."

ICE placed more than 10,500 people in solitary confinement between April 2024 and May 2025, with usage rising rapidly under the Trump administration. Solitary confinement is defined as keeping people in small cells without meaningful human contact for at least 22 hours a day. The United Nations finds such placements amount to psychological torture when they exceed 15 days. Use of solitary confinement spiked in recent months and grew by an average of 6.5% per month during the first four months of Trump's second term. Vulnerable people placed in solitary rose 56% in fiscal year 2025, and placements for people with vulnerabilities lasted more than twice as long.

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