Stop Ice Detainers
One year after Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg changed city policy to allow the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections to honor 48-hour Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests, Louisville has moved from exercising local judgment to functioning as a dependable entry point into federal immigration detention and deportation.
The ACLU of Kentucky is calling on Mayor Greenberg to reverse the 48-hour ICE detainer policy and provide a complete public accounting of:
- The number of ICE detainers Louisville has received and honored.
- The number of people held beyond their scheduled release
- The number transferred into ICE custody
- The additional jail time created by the policy
- The financial cost of the policy to Louisville taxpayers.
Detainer Hold Requests
From January 1, 2024, to August 1, 2025, ICE filed 326 detainer requests in Louisville, averaging 17.2 per month.
From August 1, 2025, to March 1, 2026, ICE filed 344 detainer requests, averaging 49.1 per month.
That means the average monthly number of detainer requests was nearly three times as high after Mayor Greenberg changed the ICE policy.
ICE Detention Stints
From January 1, 2024, to August 1, 2025, there were 225 ICE detention stints in Louisville.
From August 1, 2025, to March 1, 2026, there were 286 ICE detention stints.
That means the average monthly number of ICE detention stints increased by approximately 245% after Mayor Greenberg changed the ICE policy.
ICE Arrests
From January 1, 2024, to August 1, 2025, there were 388 non-custodial ICE arrests in the Louisville area.
From August 1, 2025, to March 1, 2026, there were 231 non-custodial ICE arrests.
The average number of monthly non-custodial ICE arrests was approximately 62% higher after Mayor Greenberg changed the ICE policy.
ICE Deportations (Originating from Louisville Holds)
Federal records show that in the months after Mayor Greenberg changed the policy, 157 people who received detainer holds in Louisville were later removed from the United States by ICE.
Data Methodology
This reporting is based on data the Deportation Data Project obtained from ICE via public record request. Detainer requests refer to requests by ICE to hold someone in jail for 48 hours beyond their ordinary release time to allow ICE the chance to arrest them.
Detention stints refer to the time that an individual spends in a facility during their time in ICE custody. A person can serve detention stints at multiple facilities during the period of a single incarceration. The arrest data includes all arrests conducted by ICE, whether or not ICE decided to detain the individual arrested.
Data Sources
Deportation Data Project, ICE Detainers Data Explorer
https://ice-detainers.apps.deportationdata.org/
This is the underlying ICE detainer dataset used for the Louisville analysis. It covers detainer requests through March 10, 2026.
Deportation Data Project, ICE Data Source Page
https://deportationdata.org/data/ice.html
Explains that the project obtains and publishes ICE enforcement data, including detainers, arrests, detention, and removals.
Deportation Data Project, ICE Data Documentation
https://deportationdata.org/docs/ice.html
Provides documentation and downloadable ICE data files used for analysis.
Deportation Data Project, ICE Data Release, March 30, 2026
https://deportationdata.org/news/2026-03-30-ICE-release.html
Confirms the release includes every ICE detainer request, detention book-in and removal in the dataset through March 10, 2026.
Deportation Data Project, ICE Codebook
https://deportationdata.org/docs/ice/codebook.html
Defines the fields and structure of the ICE datasets used to calculate the Louisville-specific figures.