Immigration detention is the policy and practice of incarcerating both foreign national asylum seekers/refugees and immigrants — whether suspected of unauthorized arrival, illegal entry, visa violations, as well as those subject to deportation and removal — in detention centers for the purpose of immigration control, until a decision is made by immigration authorities to grant a visa and release them into the community, or to repatriate them to their country of departure. Mandatory detention refers to the practice of compulsorily detaining or imprisoning people who are considered to be illegal immigrants or unauthorized arrivals into a country. Some countries have set a maximum period of detention, while others permit indefinite detention.
Americas
Canada In Canada, immigration detainees are held in Immigration Holding Centres (IHCs), known as (CSI) in French, under the auspices of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), who are granted such authority through the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). Immigration detainees may also be kept in provincial jails, either because the IHCs are full, there is no centres in their region, or the detainee's file has a link to criminality.
As of 2020, Canada has three IHCs, each facility with different ownership and operations: Laval IHC (Laval, Quebec): Opened in 1999,"CBSA Laval Immigration Holding Centre." Global Detention Project. 2020. Retrieved 2020 November 16. the Laval IHC operates under a Memorandum of Understanding between CBSA and the Correctional Services of Canada, the latter of whom owns the facility. The facility, known as in French, is located approximately from the Montréal-Trudeau International Airport, and includes three buildings and a capacity of holding up to 109 detainees. Greater Toronto Area IHC (Toronto, Ontario): Opened in 2003,"CBSA Immigration Holding Centre." Global Detention Project. 2020. GTA IHC is provided to the CBSA under a third-party service contract with a vendor. The facility is located around from Pearson International Airport, containing three stories, with an accommodation capacity of up to 183 detainees. British Columbia IHC (Surrey, British Columbia): Opened in 2020, BC IHC facility is owned by the CBSA. The facility is located about from Vancouver International Airport, and able to accommodate up to 70 detainees.
There is no maximum limit to the length of detention, and children may be "housed" in IHCs to prevent the separation of families."Canada Immigration Detention Profile." Global Detention Project. 2020. Retrieved 2020 November 16. Detainees can include: asylum seekers without sufficient amount of necessary identification papers, foreign workers whose visas had expired, and people awaiting deportation. In 2017, Canada received the highest number of asylum claims in its history; between 2017 and 2018, 6609 people were detained in holding centres, compared to 4,248 a year prior.Bensadoun, Emerald. 2019 July 7. "'Could be 48 hours ... or five years': Five things to know about Canadian immigration detention centres." National Post. The Canadian Press.
Between April 2019 and March 2020, CBSA detained 8,825 people, including 138 minors (mostly with a detained parent)—almost 2,000 of these detainees were kept in provincial jails. However, as of November 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were only 94 immigration detainees in provincial jails, 12 in Laval IHC, 18 in Greater Toronto IHC, and 11 in British Columbia IHC.Bureau, Brigitte. 10 November 2020. "Immigration detention centres emptied over fear of possible COVID-19 outbreaks." CBC Investigates. Montreal: CBC/Radio-Canada. Retrieved 2020 November 16.
United States
In the United States, a similar practice began in the early 1980s with Haitians and Cubans detained at Guantanamo Bay, and other groups such as Chinese in jails and detention centres on the mainland. The practice was made mandatory by legislation passed in 1996 in response to the Oklahoma City bombing, and has come under criticism from organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, all of whom have released major studies of the subject, and the American Civil Liberties Union.Immigrant's Rights . American Civil Liberties Union (2020). As of 2010, about 31,000 non-citizens were held in immigration detention on any given day, including children, in over 200 detention centres, jails, and prisons nationwide.
The T. Don Hutto Residential Center opened in 2006 specifically to house non-criminal families. There are other significant facilities in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Oakdale, Louisiana, Florence, Arizona, Miami, Florida, Seattle, York, Pennsylvania, Batavia, New York, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, and all along the Texas–Mexico border.
During the five years between 2003 and 2008, about 104Saine, Cindy. 2009. "US Immigration Officials Announce 10 Previously Unreported Deaths of Detainees." Voice of America News. mostly young individuals died in detention of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or shortly afterwards, and medical neglect may have contributed to 30 of those deaths. For example, on 6 August 2008, 34-year-old New Yorker Hiu Lui Ng died in the detention of ICE. Editors at The New York Times condemned the death and urged that the system must be fixed. ICE has stated that the number of deaths per capita in detention is dramatically lower for ICE detainees than for US prison and jail populations, that they provide "the best possible healthcare" and that the nation as a whole is "experiencing severe shortages of qualified health professionals." In May 2008 Congress began considering a bill to set new standards for immigrant detainee healthcare.
In 2009, the Obama Administration pledged to overhaul the current immigration detention system and transform it into one that is less punitive and subject to greater federal oversight. Immigrants' rights advocates expressed concern over Obama's reform efforts. Immigrants' rights advocates believe the all current immigration policies "have been undermined by the Immigration agency's continued overreliance on penal incarceration practices and by the pervasive anti-reform culture at local ICE field offices."
President Donald Trump and his administration have pursued a deportation policy characterized as "hardline".Walters, Joanna (May 28, 2025). "Denied, detained, deported: the faces of Trump's immigration crackdown". The Guardian. Retrieved September 22, 2025. "The administration has torn up the rulebook as it seeks to implement a hardline agenda to expel people from the US." Reuters reported that thousands of federal court petitions were filed challenging detention, with more than 20,200 Habeas corpus cases since 2025. From October 2025 to February 2026, 400 federal judges had ruled that ICE had illegally detained people a total of 4,421 times.
Asia-Pacific Many Asian states imprison immigrants on visa violations or for alleged trafficking, including the victims of human trafficking and smuggling. These include Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Australia
Australian immigration law requires the detention of all non-citizens who are in Australia without a valid visa. Immigration officials are obligated to detain people who arrive in Australia without a visa, or people who arrive with a visa and subsequently become unlawful because their visa has expired or been cancelled. Australian immigration law makes no distinction between the detention of children and adults. In 2004, the High Court of Australia had confirmed, by majority, the constitutionality of indefinite mandatory detention for unlawful non-citizens.Al-Kateb v Godwin (2004) 219 CLR 562 This was subsequently overturned in 2023, with the High Court ruling that the Constitution limits detention where there is no prospect of a persons removal in the foreseeable future.
Australia has also sub-contracted with other nations to detain would-be immigrants offshore, including Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Nauru. Australia also maintains an offshore detention facility on Christmas Island. In July 2008, the Australian government announced it was ending its policy of automatic detention for asylum seekers who arrive in the country without visas. However, by September 2012, offshore detention was reinstated. Following the 2013 Australian federal election policies have been toughened and Operation Sovereign Borders has been launched.
India The first immigration detention centre in Assam state had come up in 2008 when the Indian National Congress (INC) government was in power. In 2011 the Congress government set up three more camps. In 2018 and onwards the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) government has plans to build more camps across India.
Japan Japanese immigration law permits indefinite detention without a court order including for those that overstay and those who seek asylum. Three immigration detention centers are maintained by immigration bureau for long-term detainees:
Higashi Nihon Nyukoku Kanri Center (Ushiku, Ibaraki, East Japan) – capacity: 700 Nishi Nihon Nyukoku Kanri Center (Ibaraki, Osaka, West Japan) Omura Nyukoku Kanri Center (Omura, Nagasaki) – capacity: 800
In 2013, 16 regional detention houses were managed for short-term detention. Many of the long-term detainees have been detained in regional short-term detention houses that lack facilities such as common rooms and recreational area. Some detainees spend significant time, up to 13 days, in isolation due to disciplinary measures. Practices of immigration bureau has been criticized for the "lack of transparency", "indefinite detention" and its "arbitrary" nature.
Europe Austria The largest facility in Austria is the Federal care center east in Traiskirchen.
Greece In late 2019, Greece's liberal-conservative government of New Democracy, led by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, announced the creation of five closed, pre-departure detention centers for refugees and immigrants, located on the Aegean islands of Leros, Chios, Lesvos, Kos, and Samos."Greece announces plans to set up five closed pre-departure centers. " Kathimerini English Edition. Athens: The Trust Project (2019). Retrieved 28 April 2020. Hosting over 20,000 immigrants, the islands will be compensated with a 30% VAT reduction. Ten other closed detention camps were planned as of 2019. In October 2026 Greece urged the EU to permit temporary suspensions of asylum applications during sudden mass migration surges.
Italy Since 6 March 1998 (law n.40/1998, aka the Turco-Napolitano law), irregular immigrants whose asylum requests have been denied are held in "Provisional Stay Centers" (, CPT) while awaiting expulsion from Italy.
Since 30 July 2002, the Bossi-Fini law (law n. 189/2002) made illegal entry and stay in Italian territory a criminal offence. The centers interned both individuals already sanctioned to expulsion, as before, and other irregular immigrants awaiting proper identification and evaluation of their asylum claims. Accordingly, since 23 May 2008 (law n.125/2008), they were renamed as "Identification and Expulsion Centers" (, CIE).
From 13 April 2017, the Minniti-Orlando law (law n. 46/2017) renamed the centers again, as "Permanence Centers for Repatriations" (, CPR). 20 CPRs were planned, but by 2018, only the following were operational:
Rome, for 125 female inmates. Bari, for 90 male inmates. Brindisi, for 48 male inmates. Turin, for 175 male inmates. Potenza, for 100 male inmates.
The facility of Caltanissetta (for 96 male inmates) was provisionally inoperative, pending extensive repairs after an inmates’ revolt. Works were undergoing to open further centers at Gradisca d'Isonzo, Modena, Macomer, Oppido Mamertina and Montichiari.
Besides the CPRs, Italy operates two further types of not-detention centers for migrants: