Immigration detention: What you should know

On any given day, up to 34,000 undocumented immigrants are held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers.

ICE says its mission is to "find and remove illegal aliens who are criminals, fugitives or recent arrivals." However, 61 percent of undocumented immigrants who are detained and deported are not criminals. What’s more, 50 percent of those who do have criminal records were convicted of non-violent crimes — like traffic offenses.

So why does ICE lock people up if they’re not criminals? And under what types of conditions are they held? AJ+’s Francesca Fiorentini examines the issue.