Human Impact Project

ICE conducted an enforcement operation in Columbus and Platte County, Nebraska on June 26, 2026, targeting individuals who had failed to comply with previously issued deportation orders. One person was taken into custody during the operation.

Leonardo Santiago "Santi" Soto Uribe, a 13-year-old 9th grader, was arrested by ICE agents in June along with his father, Benjamin Lerma-Huipio, just outside San Antonio. The boy is being held in a child welfare center in San Antonio while his father is detained at T. Don Hutto Detention Facility in Taylor. Rep. Joaquin Castro reports that ICE initially told the boy he could go home but then reversed the decision, and that the child has not showered and has only been given cookies and juice.

Brady Tillett, an asylum seeker from Belize, has been detained by ICE at the California City Detention Facility in Kern County for nearly two years. In an op-ed published in The Los Angeles Times, Tillett describes inhumane conditions including forced labor, medical neglect, and retaliation for advocating for others' medical care. He has filed habeas petitions resulting in the release of several people and continues organizing with Freedom for Immigrants and the Cal City Shutdown Coalition to hold CoreCivic accountable.

Eduardo Alves, an asylum seeker living in Lewiston, Maine, was detained by ICE agents at his home on June 20, 2026, and transported to Plymouth County Correctional Center in Massachusetts despite obtaining an emergency court order that same day preventing his transfer from Maine for 72 hours. ICE transferred him within two hours of the order. Questions arose about whether ICE agents had a valid warrant for the arrest and search, and whether they improperly pressured his 15-year-old daughter to allow them entry. U.S. District Judge Stacey Neumann ordered his release from ICE custody on June 24, finding the detention violated the existing court order and rendered his continued detention unlawful.

Isabel Lopez, a 27-year-old St. Paul artist and activist, was arrested on June 3, 2025, during a federal multiagency raid on Las Cuatro Milpas restaurant on Lake Street in Minneapolis. Federal agents from the FBI, ATF, and ICE conducted the search as part of a drug and labor trafficking investigation that resulted in the seizure of 900 pounds of methamphetamine. Lopez was charged with multiple felony counts—two counts of felony assault on a federal officer, one count of felony obstruction during a civil disorder, and additional felony assault charges after a journalist interview—carrying potential sentences up to eight years. A federal judge released her from custody on June 12, 2025, with conditions including passport surrender and drug testing. On June 23, 2026, the charges were substantially reduced to a single misdemeanor charge of impeding a federal investigation, and Lopez was sentenced to time served plus a $25 administrative fine with no probation.

A Haitian asylum seeker in her 40s was detained for over six months at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility after ICE arrested her following a domestic disturbance arrest in Massachusetts. She had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and severe anxiety in a prior psychiatric hospitalization but was not provided psychiatric medication during her Vermont detention. A federal judge ordered her released, finding her prolonged detention without an individualized hearing violated her Fifth Amendment due process rights, though the judge did not rule on claims of deliberate indifference to her mental health needs.

Ayodeji Ajayi, a Nigerian national, was deported by ICE after remaining in the United States illegally for nearly two decades. Ajayi entered the U.S. in 2007 on a student visa but did not return to school and remained in the country without authorization. He accumulated multiple criminal convictions including domestic violence, trespassing, intimidation, obstruction, and charges related to kidnapping, rape, and family neglect. ICE attributed the deportation to Trump administration immigration enforcement policies.

On June 23, 2026, ICE agents and Greene County Sheriff's deputies conducted a large-scale immigration enforcement operation in Ruckersville, Virginia, near Routes 29 and 33. ICE agents rode in sheriff's vehicles and conducted numerous traffic stops targeting work trucks, resulting in dozens of arrests. Many vehicles were abandoned or towed during the operation. Detainees were processed in sheds behind the sheriff's office. An attorney attempting to observe and offer legal representation was stopped at gunpoint by ICE agents and cited for multiple violations. The operation occurred eight days before new Virginia state laws prohibiting local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration authorities were set to take effect.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted an operation at a Sheetz gas station on Freedom Road in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania on Tuesday morning, June 23, 2026. ICE officers, assisted by Butler County Sheriff's deputies, detained at least one person from a white van. Witnesses reported that ICE agents broke the vehicle's window to remove the individual within minutes. Video from the scene showed masked agents placing the person in handcuffs and loading them into a white van. Sheriff Slupe confirmed the person was wanted by ICE but did not provide details about the reason or the individual's immigration status.

A federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Trump administration policies authorizing widespread civil immigration arrests at courthouses and allowing migrants to be held in short-term detention cells for up to three days violate the Administrative Procedure Act. The decision vacates the policies on a nationwide basis. The lawsuit was brought by Carmen Aracely Pablo Sequen, a Guatemalan asylum-seeker whom ICE arrested as she was leaving a routine hearing at the San Francisco immigration court.

ICE agents detained 42-year-old Diana Socha Torres and her 8-year-old son at their home in Wisconsin Dells on June 23, 2026. Socha Torres was wearing an ankle monitor as part of her ongoing asylum case when agents arrived, claiming to conduct a monitoring system change but instead taking both into custody. A deportation order had been entered in April 2026 after Socha Torres missed an asylum hearing; she stated she never received notice of the hearing. An attorney had filed an appeal, but ICE reported having no record of it. Mother and son were taken to ICE offices in Milwaukee and subsequently transferred to Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas.

Benjamin Hanil Song, Daniel Sanchez Estrada, and six others were sentenced to 30 to 100 years in federal prison after a July 4, 2025 noise protest at Prairieland ICE Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas. Song received a 100-year sentence after conviction on attempted murder charges for allegedly firing a gun at a police officer during the demonstration. Sanchez Estrada, who was not present at the protest, received a 30-year sentence. Prosecutors charged all eight with terrorism-related offenses, including material support for terrorism, rioting, and weapons charges. The defendants and supporters characterized it as a peaceful demonstration using fireworks and noise to oppose immigrant detention, and filed motions to overturn convictions citing insufficient evidence, Brady violations, and juror misconduct.

Janeth, a 50-year-old nursing assistant from Honduras with 23 years of experience, lost her job after the Trump administration revoked Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for her country, rendering her legally without status overnight. She had lived in the U.S. for over two decades under TPS and won seven prestigious national nursing awards. The policy is straining the healthcare system as approximately one in six hospital workers involved in patient care are immigrants, creating shortages that cannot be easily replaced.

Aliaksei Shcharbachenia, a 35-year-old asylum-seeker from Belarus, has spent nearly a year at Farmville Detention Center in Virginia, where he says he is experiencing medical neglect as a tumor grows on his arm. He claims the U.S. government attempted to illegally deport him back to Belarus in a botched operation, and that despite requesting specialist care in December, he has not received a diagnosis or seen a specialist for the growth.

A federal judge ordered the immediate release of seven immigrants who were separated from family members during the Trump administration's 2018 border enforcement crackdown and were later detained again by immigration officials. Two of the seven had already been released without explanation; the remaining five were ordered freed by U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw after the ACLU argued their detention violated a 2023 court settlement.

Cameron Arnold, Savanna Batten, Zachary Evetts, Bradford Morris, and Elizabeth Soto were each sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for participating in the July 4, 2025 protest at Prairieland ICE Detention Center. All five were convicted on terrorism-related charges. Prosecutors pointed to defendants wearing black clothing and using encrypted messaging as evidence. The combined sentences for all eight defendants sentenced that day total 450 years — longer than any sentences given to January 6 Capitol assault participants.

Edvin Obdulio Barnica-Esquivel was arrested by ICE agents at Danbury Superior Court on June 22, 2026, on a federal charge of illegally reentering the United States after prior deportations. According to federal records, Barnica-Esquivel had been deported to Guatemala twice previously (in 2012 and 2019) and had recent local arrests in Danbury for assault and arson-related charges. ICE executed a judicial warrant issued by U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti on June 10, 2026.

On March 11, 2026, ICE agents conducted an enforcement operation at a Dorset Street residence in South Burlington, Vermont, targeting one person on a warrant. Over 100 community members gathered to block the operation. ICE initially considered abandoning the effort but requested assistance from Vermont State Police, South Burlington Police, and Burlington Police. State and local officers deployed riot equipment, physically confronted community members, and cleared a path for ICE agents to enter the home. Three residents were detained, none of whom were named on the warrant: Cristian Jerez and sisters Johana and Camila Patin. Community members reported being pepper sprayed, shot with pepperballs, choked, and tackled. Within a week, a federal judge ordered all three released, finding the arrests unconstitutional. Internal police reviews concluded there were no excessive force violations by state or local officers, though civil rights advocates and political leaders condemned the operation and questioned police collaboration with ICE in violation of Vermont's Fair and Impartial Policing Policy.

Mutasim Ibrahim Abdoulrahman Nour, a Sudanese citizen, has been in ICE custody for 23 months without receiving a hearing to argue for temporary release on bond. He was apprehended upon entering the U.S. on July 7, 2024, initially held in Minnesota, then transferred to Muscatine County Jail in December 2025. A federal judge has ordered the government to explain the prolonged detention. Nour's lawsuit seeks his immediate release and a court order preventing his transfer outside Iowa while his CAT asylum case is pending.

Carlos De-Los-Santos-Sosa, 25, was arrested on charges of assault and unlawful restraint after allegedly grabbing a 31-year-old woman at a Burlington Coat Factory store on Holland-Sylvania Road. An ICE detainer was issued for him. The case will be handled in Sylvania Municipal Court.

Dimitri Albert Edouard Vorbe, a 52-year-old Haitian businessman, was detained at Krome Detention Center in Miami following his ICE arrest on September 23, 2025. On May 12, 2026, U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles approved a negotiated agreement prohibiting Vorbe's deportation to Haiti and instead directing his transfer to the Dominican Republic within seven days, though Dominican authorities stated they would not allow his entry. On June 22, 2026, Vorbe was transferred to a detention facility in Mississippi as part of an emergency evacuation due to brush fires. His attorneys contend this transfer violated the federal court order prohibiting his removal from the Southern District of Florida, noting he was moved out of state without notice despite the judicial prohibition.

Seven ICE vehicles conducted an early-morning enforcement operation on Santa Barbara's Westside and Eastside on Father's Day, detaining 9 to 11 individuals on immigration-related charges. Three mariachi musicians were apprehended near San Pascual and Mulberry streets. A woman monitoring ICE activity was bear-sprayed by an agent through her car window. ICE also detained a U.S. citizen who was later released at a hospital in Oxnard after his citizenship was confirmed.

Pavel Snegir, a Russian asylum seeker, was detained at Otay Mesa ICE facility after refusing to self-deport at San Diego airport in May 2025. ICE separated him from his 11-year-old son Aleksandr during the incident, threatening deportation and stating he may never see his son again if he did not comply. Both Pavel and Aleksandr passed initial asylum screening. After 11 months in ICE custody, Pavel was released following asylum approval. However, Aleksandr remained in Office of Refugee Resettlement custody at a youth shelter over one year after separation. Pavel's sponsorship request to reunify with his son was denied due to lack of stable housing and employment documentation, citing Trump administration policies that create barriers to family reunification.

Approximately a dozen asylum seekers were deported by the U.S. to Sierra Leone in June 2026, marking the second deportation flight to the country under Trump administration third-country deportation agreements. Despite prior U.S. court orders protecting them from deportation to their home countries due to credible fears of persecution, the deportees now face being returned to those countries where they risk harm. The Trump administration has struck third-country deportation deals with at least nine African nations and multiple Latin American and Caribbean countries as a legal mechanism to circumvent asylum protections. Legal advocates argue the policy creates a loophole that indirectly forces asylum seekers back to dangerous conditions with limited U.S. oversight or legal recourse.

ICE conducted a targeted enforcement operation near Aurora Avenue and Shoreline Street in Seattle on June 20, 2026, resulting in the arrest of at least three Mexican nationals. Emmanuel Perez-Martinez, 33, was arrested and is pending voluntary departure to Mexico. Juan Ruiz-Perez, 61, and Jose Gutierrez-Diaz, 47, were both arrested and detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center pending return to Mexico.

Jander Alexander Cordero-Silva, 29, was stopped by Gainesville Police on May 18 for driving with a suspended license. He told officers a judge had told him his license was not suspended three days prior, but his license was under administrative suspension by Florida for accumulating points and financial obligations. He was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended or revoked license, a second-degree misdemeanor. On June 18, he pleaded no contest and was convicted; the judge imposed a time-served sentence but he remained in custody on an ICE hold. He was transferred to ICE custody two days later and held at Baker Correctional Institute.

The Trump administration has systematized the rapid deportation of unaccompanied children in immigration courts, with judges ordered to process cases in minutes rather than hours, waive interpretation, and rule against asylum and Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status applications. Immigration judges with favorable grant rates toward minors have been fired, and recruitment materials explicitly seek "deportation judges." The shift has increased the rate of minors ordered removed or agreeing to voluntary departure sevenfold, while reducing the backlog of unaccompanied children in custody through border closure and reduced pro-bono legal representation.

A man was arrested after ICE officers disguised as electric company workers knocked on his door and asked him to move his pickup truck under the pretense of fixing streetlights. When he stepped outside, approximately eight additional officers emerged and apprehended him.

As immigration enforcement operations accelerate under the Trump administration, pets are being left behind when their owners are detained or deported. Animal shelters across the U.S. report being overwhelmed with animals surrendered or abandoned due to immigration enforcement, with no federal protocols in place to coordinate pet care and no agency tracking the scope of pet displacement linked to immigration actions.

Franklin Humberto Coral-Garrido, a Colombian activist and lawyer aligned with President Gustavo Petro, was detained by ICE on June 16-17, 2026, in Phoenix, Arizona while walking with his 12-year-old son. Coral entered the U.S. in December 2015 on a B1/B2 tourist visa valid for six months but remained in the country for approximately ten years. Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed a memorandum authorizing his detention and deportation, citing his political activities supporting Petro and opposition to right-wing presidential candidate Abelardo De la Espriella as harmful to U.S. foreign policy interests. Colombian President Petro accused the U.S. of political persecution timed to interfere in Colombia's June 21 presidential runoff election and demanded clarification from the Trump administration. Coral had filed an asylum application in 2016 and held work authorization through 2028 granted by a federal judge, but authorities allegedly informed him the authorization was being canceled. He has been transferred between detention facilities in Phoenix, El Paso, and Louisiana pending formal deportation proceedings.

Felix Alcorta-Rodriguez, a 63-year-old Mexican national, died in ICE custody on June 19, 2026, after being found unresponsive at the Webb County Detention Center in Laredo, Texas. He had been in ICE custody for only a few days when he died. His cause of death is pending autopsy, though the Webb County medical examiner initially attributed it to natural causes. He is the 20th person to die in ICE custody in 2026.

A male from El Salvador was detained by ICE agents during a targeted vehicle stop on June 19, 2026, at 303 E. Cesar Chavez Ave. in Lansing. According to DHS, the individual admitted to unauthorized entry in 2020 and had a final judicial order of removal to Guatemala issued June 9, 2026. He is currently in ICE custody at North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan.

Two fathers were detained on their way to work on Thursday morning after recently relocating from Encinitas to San Marcos. One of their children received a Student of the Year award at elementary school graduation the same day. One mother was pregnant and due to give birth shortly after the detention, leaving two mothers together responsible for six children ages 4–11 without household breadwinners. The family faced immediate crisis with medical needs, baby supplies, food, housing, and childcare expenses.

A 10-year-old girl, Nayeli Gomez, protested outside Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, where her diabetic father has been detained for nearly a year. During her birthday visit, she was denied family visitation by ICE agents. The girl fainted and sustained injuries outside the facility during a confrontation in which a female guard cursed at and insulted her. Her visit occurred amid ongoing labor and hunger strikes by detainees protesting inhumane conditions, including rotten food, lack of medical care, and poor sanitation. Activists expressed concern that a large influx of federal immigration officers entering the facility may signal transfers of detainees to disrupt organizing efforts.

Tuan Phan, a 44-year-old Vietnamese national, was deported to South Sudan in July 2025 by the Trump administration under a third-country deportation program. Phan had immigrated to the U.S. as a child, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2000 for a gang-related killing, and was taken into ICE custody upon completing his sentence in March 2025. A federal judge initially blocked his deportation, but the Supreme Court later approved it. Phan was held in a gated, armed compound in Juba for over a year alongside seven other men with criminal convictions. He was repatriated to Vietnam on June 19, 2026, becoming the second person from the group to be returned to his home country.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and local law enforcement conducted an operation at Club Level nightclub in Texarkana, Arkansas on Saturday, June 19, 2026. The raid resulted in the detention of 21 undocumented immigrants. Local police framed the operation as a response to complaints about illegal alcohol sales to minors, though ICE involvement resulted in immigration-related detentions. The band performing at the venue and community members protested the raid.

Daniel, a man with severe intellectual disabilities (IQ of 47), was arrested by ICE agents in June 2025 while on a walk in Los Angeles gathering recyclables. He was deported to Mexico under claimed voluntary departure despite appearing unable to understand removal proceedings or consent documents presented in English, with no involvement of his conservator or judicial review. His family and legal advocates spent nine months locating him in a Mexican hospital and fighting for his return. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking ICE from detaining him if he returns to the U.S., ruling that his deportation raised serious due process concerns.

All detainees at the South Florida Detention Center, a facility in Florida's Everglades known as "Alligator Alcatraz" that opened in July 2025, were transferred to other facilities in mid-June 2026. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security cited hurricane season safety concerns as the reason for the transfers. However, immigration advocates and lawyers dispute this explanation, noting the facility operated throughout the previous hurricane season without prior closures. Approximately 800 detainees have been transferred, with families and legal representatives reporting difficulty locating them and unclear information about their current status. The facility had faced persistent criticism and lawsuits over poor conditions, including worms in food, non-functioning toilets, flooding, denial of medical care, solitary confinement, and inadequate legal access.

Montgomery County Sheriff Maxwell Uy admitted that his office improperly transferred a person to ICE custody on June 18, 2026, in violation of the Maryland Community Trust Act, which prohibits local law enforcement from transferring individuals to ICE without a judicial warrant. After receiving backlash from Montgomery County Council President Natali Fani-González, Uy stated the transfer did not meet the act's exceptions and pledged to implement additional measures to prevent similar incidents.

Salah Sarsour, a Palestinian-born legal permanent resident and president of Wisconsin's largest mosque, was detained by ICE on March 30, 2026, after being pulled over by armed plainclothes agents in unmarked vehicles. He was held for 80 days in Clay County Jail in Indiana on an administrative warrant. During detention, his unmonitored diabetes caused significant health deterioration, and he faced religious liberty restrictions and inadequate medical treatment. On June 18, 2026, U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon ordered Sarsour's immediate release, finding he had raised a substantial First Amendment claim and that ICE detained him in retaliation for his public advocacy for Palestinian rights. The judge rejected government arguments about foreign policy and national security threats, noting that immigration officials had been aware of his prior convictions from the 1990s for 25 years and had previously approved his legal permanent residency application.

Dionicio Miguel Francisco-Gutierrez was arrested by ICE during a targeted enforcement operation in North Bergen on Friday. According to federal officials, he was convicted in July 2023 of violating Pennsylvania's Controlled Substance Act and had been arrested twice previously on drug charges. His two children were present at the scene and were subsequently placed in the custody of a legal guardian.

Friedrich Castillo-Ormeno self-deported to Peru in March 2026 after receiving a final deportation order and was approved for CBP Home incentive payments ($2,600) in April verifying his departure. In June 2026, ICE mistakenly identified him as a suspect in a violent incident in Stafford Township, New Jersey, where an officer was struck by a vehicle during an enforcement operation on Route 72. Federal prosecutors later charged a different man, Eduardo Cruz Garcia, with the assault. Castillo-Ormeno expressed concern that the misidentification could harm his reputation and affect his ability to legally return to the United States, as well as his U.S.-born daughter's documentation.

Olga Perez, a 47-year-old indigenous Mam language interpreter and community leader in Palm Beach County, Florida, was arrested during a traffic stop on I-95 in November 2025 and placed in ICE custody in Arizona. After seven months in detention and nine delayed immigration hearings, an immigration judge ordered her deported to Guatemala by July 6, 2026. She was released on her own recognizance pending voluntary deportation and made a surprise visit to her family and the Guatemalan-Maya Center in Lake Worth Beach before being deported. Perez had spent 30 years in the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant, volunteering as an interpreter and translator for indigenous communities in the region. Her deportation leaves behind four U.S. citizen children, ages 13 to 21.

Mostly young Honduran men at the La72 migrant shelter in Tenosique said they are heading to Monterrey instead of the U.S., understanding they are not welcome. Some still attempt dangerous maritime crossings into the United States; others are captured, detained, and deported, only to try again weeks later. Some likely never arrive and their fates remain unknown.

On June 17, 2026, ICE agents stopped a vehicle on Highway 59 near Mobile, Alabama, and detained Alejandro Alvarado Ramírez, leaving his 5-year-old son Ericson/Erikson alone in the car at a church parking lot. An ICE agent provided the child with his father's phone to contact his mother. The child's mother called a babysitter, and when the babysitter's 20-year-old twins arrived at the parking lot to retrieve the child, ICE agents approached them, requested identification, and photographed their licenses before departing. Advocates raised concerns about the safety risks posed by leaving a young child unattended during the detention.

Michel Manuel Garcia Rojas, a 39-year-old Nicaraguan national who entered the U.S. illegally in 2023, was arrested on March 5, 2025, when Homeland Security Investigations agents attempted to detain him for deportation. During the arrest, Garcia Rojas resisted and assaulted a federal agent, striking him in the face and throwing him repeatedly into a door, causing injuries including jaw bruising and a back injury. It took six officers and a Taser to subdue him. Garcia Rojas pleaded guilty on February 9, 2026, to resisting, impeding, and assaulting a federal officer and inflicting bodily injury. He was sentenced on June 17, 2026, to 51 months in federal prison, after which he will face deportation to Nicaragua.

Fidel Ramos, 52, a previously deported registered sex offender, was captured during a forced-entry tactical raid at a residence in Grimes County, Texas on June 17, 2026. Ramos had illegally re-entered the United States after deportation and was living in the Bedias area while failing to register as required. He was taken into custody on a third-degree felony charge of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender, with an active federal immigration detainer placed against him. The operation was triggered by a newly reported sexual assault of a child case under investigation by local authorities.

In May 2026, 14-year-old Dilan Maney Paredes and his mother, Margoth Paredes-Ortiz, were detained by ICE in the Tempe area. Paredes-Ortiz was arrested at a Walmart, and her son was taken into custody outside Cecil Shamley School. Both were transferred to Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas, where they were held for approximately 20 days in conditions described as prison-like. They were released in June 2026 pursuant to the Flores Settlement Agreement, which limits child detention to 20 days. Rep. Greg Stanton's office submitted a congressional inquiry to ICE and coordinated with advocates on the case. The family returned to Arizona, where they will remain while their case proceeds before the Board of Immigration Appeals.

On June 17, 2026, ICE agents detained three people—a man, a woman, and a child—at the Bridgeview Courthouse in Illinois. The man had run through courthouse security before deputies stopped him; ICE then handcuffed and removed him, claiming to possess an arrest warrant that was never presented for inspection. The woman and child were detained earlier that morning as they attempted to enter the courthouse. State and local officials, including State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid and multiple elected representatives, characterized the detentions as violations of Illinois state law and a Cook County court order prohibiting civil immigration arrests at courthouses without judicial warrants.

Wilber Urbina Garcia, an 18-year-old honors graduate from Jordan High School in South Los Angeles, was detained by ICE on June 10, 2026, during a routine immigration check-in appointment at a federal courthouse the morning after his graduation ceremony. Garcia's family fled Nicaragua in late 2022 seeking asylum due to political persecution and were in asylum proceedings at the time of his detention. Despite obtaining a work permit and having no criminal record, DHS detained him at Adelanto Detention Facility, citing his entry to the country at age 14 and his adult status. An immigration court hearing was scheduled for the following week to determine his custody status and potential bond release.