New data contradicts the Trump administration's arguments to justify a sharp rise in violence by federal officers against migrants in detention centers.

Federal immigration authorities appear to be systematically undercounting injuries sustained by detainees during use-of-force incidents, according to internal records reviewed by the Washington Post — a finding that undermines the government's core defense of conditions inside its rapidly expanding detention network.

The discrepancy surfaced in an incident at a temporary holding facility at a Mesa, Arizona, airport, where guards deployed pepper spray against a group of 47 detainees. The facility's official report, filed through ICE's internal "Daily Detainee Assault Report" system, stated that "no injuries were reported." But a 911 call obtained by the Post through a public records request told a different story, showing an ICE officer on the recording said a man was experiencing seizures following exposure to the chemical agent.

The Department of Homeland Security denied that anyone had a seizure as a result of the incident, saying one detainee was hospitalized for an asthma episode but that there was no evidence it was caused by pepper spray exposure.

The Mesa case is not isolated. The Post found that injuries are "sometimes omitted" from the official reports across multiple facilities, meaning the agency's own count of at least 106 detainees injured in use-of-force incidents since 2024 is likely an undercount.

The finding matters because those internal reports are the primary mechanism through which ICE tracks and accounts for the treatment of detainees across 98 facilities nationwide. If the reports are incomplete, there is no reliable internal record of the scale of harm occurring inside the system.

During Trump's first year back in office, the number of people subjected to force rose 54 percent — nearly 10 percentage points faster than the 45 percent growth in the detained population itself, and that gap directly contradicts the administration's position that any increase in force incidents is simply a proportional consequence of a larger detainee population.

“Why are they resorting to this use of force in such bigger numbers?” said Jeff Schwartz, a police trainer and associate professor of law and justice at Rowan University in New Jersey. “It could be the overcrowding, it could be the lack of staff, it could be the lack of training — or a combination of all of them."

Administration officials told the Post that officers are trained to use the minimum force necessary and that the agency maintains standards of care exceeding most prisons holding American citizens.

“ICE law enforcement officers are trained to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve dangerous situations to prioritize the safety of the detainees, the public, and our officers,” said Lauren Bis, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security. “Officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use of force training.”

The Trump administration is accelerating deployment of a luxury Boeing 747-8 jet donated by Qatar for use as Air Force One, with the U.S. Air Force announcing the aircraft will be ready for presidential use this summer.

That could cut the projected timelines nearly in half and raises fresh concerns about the arrangement's ethical and political implications, wrote MS NOW columnist Steve Benen.

The shift represents a striking reversal in Trump's relationship with Qatar, which he publicly condemned in 2017 as a "funder of terrorism at a very high level," but when confronted about those comments last fall, Trump stated he "didn't really know them very well" at the time. Over the past year, however, his administration has dramatically deepened ties with the Gulf state through a series of controversial arrangements.

Beyond the Air Force One gift, the Trump administration's actions toward Qatar have included extending a NATO-like security guarantee in October, hosting a Qatari air force training facility at an Idaho air base, and storing Venezuelan oil sale revenues in a Qatari bank without full public explanation. Additionally, a Trump golf club and villa project is being developed in Qatar with investment from a Qatari government-owned company.

The modified 747 underwent a $400 million overhaul focused primarily on top-secret communications equipment enabling presidential command from the air. However, the aircraft retains luxury furnishings originally chosen for Qatari royalty — oversized leather seats, plush couches, and faux library bookcases — now bearing U.S. presidential seals. Arabic-language exit signs and Qatari artwork were removed.

Congressional members from both parties previously expressed concern that Trump would pressure the Air Force to complete security modifications prematurely. The New York Times reported last September that experts estimated the upgrade would require two years; the accelerated timeline now being announced suggests significant compression of that schedule.

Trump has stated he will not use the Qatari jet after leaving office but plans to feature it in his presidential library, but the arrangement continues drawing scrutiny regarding potential conflicts of interest and the appropriateness of accepting substantial gifts from foreign governments.

Donald Trump flew off the handle on Monday morning, attacking Van Jones, claiming the CNN personality once came to him “crying like a baby” for help, and now has deemed him a “dictator.”

Jones, who once famously praised Trump in his first term after the president honored the widow of a slain NAVY Seal during a joint session of Congress, telling his CNN colleagues, “He became President of the United States in that moment, period,” has always straddled the line between faint praise and then criticism.

On Monday morning, the president complained Jones is now calling him a “dictator” without providing a link.

On Truth Social, the president wrote that he finds Jones ungrateful.

"When a devastated (he was crying like a baby!) Van Jones of CNN came to me with a group of African American leaders, he had ‘DEAD’ in getting Criminal Justice Reform approved in Congress. Van Jones and these Black reps had been unsuccessfully fighting to get ‘Reform’ for many years. He was just wasting everyone’s time - Needed 5 Conservative Senators - there was no chance, or even hope, for a win. I liked some of the people he was with, agreed with what they were saying, and quickly rounded up the votes needed to get CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM approved,” the president claimed.

He further asserted, “It was NOT easy! Nobody else, including Obama, who tried to for years, could have done this! Now I watch this guy, Van Jones, every chance he gets, calling me a ‘Dictator,’ and far worse. He should be ashamed of himself!!! President DJT.”