> Internment is long-term (see Wikipedia),

The Wikipedia page for Internment [1] doesn't include the words long-term when I view it.

  Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply mean imprisonment, it tends to refer to preventive confinement rather than confinement after having been convicted of some crime.

> ICE detention centers are short-term (average stay < 30 days but depends on time for deportation ).

Seamus Culleton has been held for 5 months so far [2]. I'm willing to accept this is an outlier but to my knowledge ICE isn't providing transparency on much of anything, including how long they are holding people. Do you have a source for your average 30 days claim?

E: According to AP [3] this is not an outlier:

  With the number of people in ICE detention topping 70,000 for the first time, 7,252 people had been in custody at least six months in mid-January, including 79 held for more than two years, according to agency data. That’s more than double the 2,849 who were in ICE custody at least six months in December 2024, the last full month of Joe Biden’s presidency.

This looks even worse when we consider [4]:

  Bond eligibility changed drastically in July 2025. ICE issued a memo eliminating bond hearings for most people who entered without inspection. They’re now classified as “applicants for admission” subject to mandatory detention.

  Cases moved faster before 2025. New policies have expanded mandatory detention. Court backlogs grew worse. The detained docket now averages 60-90 days for initial hearings, but stretches to years for final decisions.  

  As of November 2025, ICE held over 65,000 people. Three-quarters had no criminal convictions. Average detention length climbed from 47 days in FY2024 to over 50 days by mid-2025. Complex cases take much longer.  

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internment

[2]: https://www.irishtimes.com/world/us/2026/02/12/seamus-cullet...

[3]: https://apnews.com/article/immigration-migrants-detention-tr...

[4]: https://blog.immigrationquestion.com/ice-detention-process-e...