The number of detainees at Nevada’s three main immigration detention centers has grown by more than 30 percent since September, according to the most recent data released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

ICE is holding 554 people per day in its two Southern Nevada detention centers, data released Nov. 20 revealed. The Nevada Southern Detention Center in Pahrump is holding 461 people compared with the 365 individuals it held as of Sept. 25, the last time ICE released data. The Henderson Detention Center holds 93 ICE detainees per day, compared with 78 in September.

In Washoe County, the changes are more dramatic. Since September, the number of ICE detainees at the Washoe County Jail has jumped from 16 to 46 people per day — an increase of nearly 200 percent.  

The new numbers come as ICE eyes creating a new detention facility in Nevada while the state struggles to meet capacity. At a press conference this weekend, Department of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem hinted at the possibility of expanding space in the state and, according to reporting from The Washington Post, the department is looking into constructing a “soft-side” facility — a makeshift structure composed of tents — at the Nevada Southern Detention Center.

Such a facility would double detention capacity in Nevada, adding space for about 450 people, per documents obtained by The Washington Post.

“We have some conversations that are ongoing — but I can't speak directly to details that are being finalized,” Noem told an Indy reporter at the press conference at Harry Reid International Airport. 

The growth in detainees has put additional pressure on the Nevada Southern Detention Center, already one of the most over-capacity ICE detention centers in the country. The facility — which has a capacity of more than 1,000 and also holds detainees for other federal agencies — is only contracted to hold a maximum of 250 ICE detainees per day, but it is now exceeding that limit by more than 210 people. 

Officials have previously raised concerns about adequate access to medical care and legal representation at the facility. 

Changes to accommodate increasing ICE demands are already underway in Northern Nevada. In August, Washoe County had a $430,000 federal grant approved by the state to make improvements to the county jail, including dedicated holding cells and office space for ICE — although the sheriff's office wrote online that it was not planning to expand capacity with the funding.

Rising arrests? 

Despite the dramatic increase in ICE detainees, it is harder to track down data about the number of immigration arrests in the state as most arrest data is not typically broken down on a local scale. 

It is not uncommon for ICE detainees to be transferred from facility to facility prior to deportation, meaning that the number of those detained does not precisely indicate the number arrested. Recent Los Angeles Times reporting found that 12 percent of those detained from January through July 2025 have been transferred at least four times. 

Still, the most recent information does signal that arrests are on the rise. An Indy analysis from this summer found that through the end of this June, ICE arrested about 48 people in Nevada weekly, more than four times the weekly average in the final 16 months of President Joe Biden’s administration.

Information from that data set, which derives from public records, has not been updated since July.