The system expanded by facilities and people
GAO reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement added more than 40 detention facilities between April 2025 and April 2026. Average daily population rose by more than 50% to 61,817 during the same broad expansion period.
A 50% increase ending at 61,817 implies a starting population below about 41,211; because GAO says more than 50%, the actual starting point was lower. The exact baseline should not be reverse-engineered beyond that bound without the underlying series.
| Indicator | GAO finding |
|---|---|
| Facilities added | More than 40 |
| Average daily population | Up more than 50% to 61,817 |
| Inspecting entities changing frequency or stopping | 3 of 4 |
| Review period for oversight changes | FY2024 through July 2026 |
Oversight changed during the expansion
Three of four DHS entities that inspect detention facilities changed inspection frequency or stopped conducting inspections between fiscal 2024 and July 2026, GAO found. ICE also relied more heavily on facility self-inspections.
Self-inspection can surface operational information quickly, but it is not equivalent to independent review. A facility evaluating itself faces different incentives and may apply standards differently from an external inspector.
ICE lacked evidence about the effect of the changes
GAO concluded ICE was not using evidence to assess how the oversight changes affected its ability to identify and correct deficiencies. The gap is analytical: the agency could not demonstrate whether the revised mix preserved, improved or weakened assurance as the network grew.
The Department of Homeland Security concurred with GAO’s two recommendations. Both remained open on the public record reviewed, so agreement is not the same as completed corrective action.
Method and limits
What’s the Scoop With Broach compared the system-growth and inspection-governance findings and calculated only a defensible upper bound for the implied starting population. The newsroom did not treat an inspection change as proof of a specific abuse.
GAO’s report establishes an oversight-design weakness, not that every facility is noncompliant. Individual conditions require facility-level records, complaints, inspections and corrective-action evidence.
Sources and further reading
GAO-27-109299, Immigration detention oversight review, November 5, 2026 ↗
Federal immigration facility photograph and public-domain record ↗