How long can ICE hold someone in detention?

This is information, not legal advice.

This guide explains the general rules. What they mean for your family member depends on their circumstances. Answer a few questions to check their situation.

The time limits that do exist

• 48 hours on a jail detainer. If local police arrested the person, an ICE detainer asks the jail to keep them up to 48 hours past their release time, not counting weekends and holidays (8 C.F.R. § 287.7(d)). It is a request, not a warrant.
• 48 hours to decide. After an arrest without a warrant, ICE is supposed to decide within 48 hours whether to keep holding someone and whether to charge them, except in an emergency (8 C.F.R. § 287.3(d)).
• No fixed limit while the case is open. The Supreme Court held in Jennings v. Rodriguez (2018) that the immigration statutes themselves do not cap detention during removal proceedings or require periodic bond hearings. It left open the constitutional question, and many courts since have ordered hearings after prolonged detention on due-process grounds.
• 90 days after a final order. Once a removal order is final, ICE has a 90-day “removal period” to carry it out, and detention during it is required (8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)).
• Six months after a final order. Past the removal period, Zadvydas v. Davis (2001) treats six months as presumptively reasonable. After that, if removal is not significantly likely in the reasonably foreseeable future, the government must justify continued detention or release the person on conditions.

What the numbers show

ICE publishes detention statistics, including the average length of stay, on its detention management page. In 2025 those figures put the average at roughly 46 to 52 days (Journalist’s Resource). The spread is wide:

• Days: people in expedited removal or who accept removal or voluntary departure.
• Weeks: people released on bond, parole or conditions early in their case.
• Months: people fighting their case on the detained docket, especially with no bond.
• Years: people in mandatory detention through appeals, and people with final orders whose countries will not take them back.

Why one person is held longer than another

• The detention statute. Under section 236(a) a judge can set bond. Under mandatory detention, or ICE’s 2025 no-bond policy where it stands, they cannot. See did ICE end bond hearings?
• The state. Whether bond is possible for people who entered without inspection depends on the federal circuit.
• Whether anyone asks. A bond hearing, a parole request or a habeas petition has to be requested. Detention often lasts until someone does.
• Fighting the case. Asylum and other claims take months on the detained docket, and appeals add more.
• The home country. After a final order, removal waits on travel documents. Some countries are slow or refuse.

How to shorten it

• Ask for a bond hearing now if bond is possible where they are held. See what is a bond hearing?
• Ask ICE directly to release them on recognizance, parole or conditions, especially with a medical condition, young children or a long life here.
• File a habeas petition if an immigration judge cannot set bond, if detention has stretched for months without a hearing, or if a final order is past six months with no removal in sight. See habeas corpus for ICE detention.
• Keep the dates. Arrest, every transfer, every hearing, the final order. The length of detention is itself evidence.

Questions people also ask

How long can ICE hold you in detention?

During a deportation case there is no fixed maximum, though prolonged detention without a hearing can violate due process. After a final removal order, ICE has a 90-day removal period, and detention past about six months has to be justified if removal is not likely soon.

How long do people stay in ICE detention centers on average?

In 2025 ICE’s figures put the average at roughly 46 to 52 days, about seven weeks. People who accept removal quickly leave in days; people fighting their case while detained can stay many months. ICE posts updated figures on its detention statistics page.

How long can a jail hold someone for ICE?

An ICE detainer asks a local jail to hold someone up to 48 hours past their release time, not counting weekends and holidays. It is a request, not a court order.

What is the six-month rule for ICE detention?

After a final removal order, the Supreme Court in Zadvydas v. Davis treated six months as presumptively reasonable. After that, if the person shows removal is not significantly likely in the reasonably foreseeable future, the government must justify continued detention or release them on conditions.

See what could shorten their detention

Check your family member’s situation to see which release options may apply, what to do next, and which documents to gather.