| --- |
| license: mit |
| task_categories: |
| - tabular-classification |
| - tabular-regression |
| tags: |
| - immigration |
| - ice |
| - enforcement |
| - deportation |
| - detention |
| - foia |
| - duckdb |
| - legal |
| - policy |
| - government-data |
| pretty_name: ICE Enforcement Database |
| size_categories: |
| - 10M<n<100M |
| --- |
| |
| # ICE Enforcement Database |
|
|
| A clean, queryable DuckDB database built from ICE enforcement data published by the [Deportation Data Project](https://law.ucla.edu/academics/centers/center-immigration-law-and-policy/deportation-data-project) (Berkeley Law / UCLA) via FOIA litigation. |
|
|
| **23,568,538 rows** across **6 tables** covering ICE arrests, detainers, detentions, removals, and custody decisions. |
|
|
| Combines two FOIA releases: |
| - **2023 release** (FY2012-FY2023): arrests, detentions, removals, RCA decisions |
| - **2025 settlement release** (Sep 2023 - Oct 2025): arrests, detainers, detentions |
|
|
| Every row has a `data_source` column (`release_2023` or `release_2025`) so you can filter by release. Overlapping records are deduplicated, preferring the richer 2025 data. |
|
|
| Built with [ice-database](https://github.com/ian-nason/ice-database). |
|
|
| ## Quick Start |
|
|
| ### DuckDB CLI |
|
|
| ```sql |
| INSTALL httpfs; |
| LOAD httpfs; |
| ATTACH 'https://huggingface.co/datasets/Nason/ice-database/resolve/main/ice.duckdb' AS ice (READ_ONLY); |
| |
| -- Arrests by month |
| SELECT DATE_TRUNC('month', apprehension_date) AS month, COUNT(*) AS arrests |
| FROM ice.arrests |
| WHERE apprehension_date IS NOT NULL |
| GROUP BY 1 ORDER BY 1 DESC LIMIT 12; |
| ``` |
|
|
| ### Python |
|
|
| ```python |
| import duckdb |
| con = duckdb.connect() |
| con.sql("INSTALL httpfs; LOAD httpfs;") |
| con.sql(\"\"\" |
| ATTACH 'https://huggingface.co/datasets/Nason/ice-database/resolve/main/ice.duckdb' |
| AS ice (READ_ONLY) |
| \"\"\") |
| con.sql("SELECT * FROM ice._metadata").show() |
| ``` |
|
|
| DuckDB uses HTTP range requests, so only the pages needed for your query are downloaded. |
|
|
| ## Tables |
|
|
| | Table | Description | Rows | Cols | Sources | Date Range | |
| |-------|-------------|------|------|---------|------------| |
| | `detentions` | Detention stays (book-in to book-out) | 9,834,781 | 41 | release_2023, release_2026_08 | 1995-08-31 to 2026-08-06 | |
| | `removals` | Deportation/removal records | 3,868,035 | 43 | release_2023, release_2026_08 | 0001-09-10 to 2026-08-05 | |
| | `rca_decisions` | Release/custody assessment decision history | 3,543,467 | 42 | release_2023 | | |
| | `encounters` | ICE encounters with individuals | 3,065,104 | 23 | release_2026_08 | | |
| | `arrests` | ICE administrative arrests | 2,516,550 | 25 | release_2023, release_2026_08 | 2011-10-01 to 2026-08-06 | |
| | `detainers` | Detainer requests issued to jails/prisons | 740,601 | 45 | release_2026_08 | 0002-06-14 to 2026-08-05 | |
|
|
| ## Key Features |
|
|
| ### Linked Records |
| Tables share a `unique_id` field for tracing individuals across the enforcement pipeline: arrests -> detainers -> detentions -> removals. |
|
|
| ### Pre-built Views |
| - `v_arrest_to_detention` - Arrests joined to detention stays |
| - `v_enforcement_pipeline` - Full pipeline: arrest -> detention -> removal |
| - `v_daily_arrests` - Daily arrest counts by data source |
|
|
| ### Multi-release Deduplication |
| Where both releases cover the same period, records are deduplicated on key fields (unique_id + date + facility) with the richer 2025 release preferred. |
| |
| ## Data Source |
| |
| [Deportation Data Project](https://law.ucla.edu/academics/centers/center-immigration-law-and-policy/deportation-data-project) (Berkeley Law / UCLA). Data obtained through FOIA litigation against ICE. |
| |
| ## License |
| |
| Database build code: MIT. Underlying data: public domain (U.S. government records released via FOIA). |
| |
| ## GitHub |
| |
| Full source code, build instructions, and example queries: [github.com/ian-nason/ice-database](https://github.com/ian-nason/ice-database) |
| |
| |
| # Changelog |
| |
| ## 2026-09-14 — Data refresh (Deportation Data Project release of 2026-08-21) |
| |
| - Rebuilt from the DDP's August 2026 ICE release (activity 2022-10-01 through |
| 2026-08-06), which is cumulative and fully supersedes the March 2026 and |
| December 2025 releases. Total rows 22,030,619 → 23,568,538: `arrests` |
| 2,516,550 (release_2026_08 share 891,675), `detentions` 9,834,781, |
| `removals` 3,868,035, `encounters` 3,065,104, `detainers` 740,601, |
| `rca_decisions` 3,543,467 (unchanged, release_2023 only). |
| - `data_source` for the current release is now `release_2026_08`; the value |
| `release_2026` no longer appears. |
| - New in the source: `arrests.city` (and `county`) for the 2022-10+ window |
| (31% populated). ICE did not include `apprehension_type` in this release. |
| - Fix: the exact whole-row dedup of `encounters` (12,419 rows here; 12,097 in |
| July) is now part of the build instead of a one-off repair, and validation |
| asserts zero exact duplicates, view/arrest row parity, no negative |
| durations, and that no superseded release remains. |
| - Harmonization: `Anonymized Unique Identifier`, `Stay Book Out Date Time` and |
| `Detention Book In Date Time` headers now map onto `unique_id`, |
| `stay_book_out_date` and `detention_book_in_date` (the July build carried a |
| separate, mostly-null `stay_book_out_date_time` column). |
| - Builder recognises the DDP's abbreviated file names (ARS/DPR/DET/ENC/REM); |
| `scripts/download_releases.sh` fetches both releases from their box.com |
| links. DuckDB memory capped at 4 GB / 4 threads; `publish_to_hf.py --card-only`. |
| - Caveats unchanged: `unique_id` never links across releases; `detentions` is |
| facility-segment level; DDP continues to flag the removals data as less |
| reliable than the July 2025 release. |
|
|
| ## 2026-07-06 — Full refresh + data-quality audit |
|
|
| Rebuilt from the Deportation Data Project's 2026 FOIA release (data through |
| 2026-03-10) and repaired after an independent SQL-verified audit. |
|
|
| **Data changes** |
| - New `encounters` table (2,586,515 rows, release_2026 only). |
| - Release_2025 fully superseded by release_2026; release_2023 rows inside the |
| 2026 window (2022-10-01 onward) deleted to prevent double counting. |
| Detention supersede keys on *stay* book-out, removing 17,970 previously |
| double-counted boundary-spanning segments. |
| - 12,097 exact-duplicate encounters rows removed. |
| - Totals: 22,030,619 rows across 6 tables (was 17.8M across 5). |
|
|
| **Fixes** |
| - Views rewritten: `v_arrest_to_detention` and `v_enforcement_pipeline` now |
| produce one row per arrest, matching the first detention stay / removal on |
| or after the arrest within the same release (the old versions joined on |
| `unique_id` alone, fanning out 3.1x with 20-27% negative durations). New |
| `v_detention_stays` view collapses facility segments to stays. |
| - `removals.departure_date` header rename in the 2026 release handled |
| (previously would load as all-NULL). |
|
|
| **Known caveats** (see README for the full list) |
| - `unique_id` never links across releases (re-anonymized per FOIA release). |
| - Detainers and encounters exist only from Oct 2022; `rca_decisions` ends |
| Sep 2023. |
| - `arrests` demographics (citizenship, gender, birth year) exist only in |
| release_2026 rows. |
| |
