Human Impact Project

Leonardo Jose Zambrano Becerrit, a Venezuelan national who entered the U.S. in April 2024 and was granted parole, was arrested during a routine traffic stop in San Angelo, Texas on April 26, 2026. He was transferred to ICE custody and detained at facilities in Texas and California despite having no criminal history and no final removal order. The court granted his habeas petition and ordered his immediate release, finding his detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated due process.

Thovatsay Phimmoungkhoun, owner of Khao Niew Lao Street Food, a food cart operating near Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The cart, known for serving Lao street food including sticky rice to PSU students, announced permanent closure following his detention. Phimmoungkhoun was transferred to a detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, and faces deportation to Laos. His family and supporters created a GoFundMe fundraiser to assist with his case.

Community groups across Arizona organized protests against ICE detention plans, with over 250 residents demonstrating in Surprise on April 26, 2026, against a planned ICE processing facility at an industrial warehouse. The facility is designed to hold undocumented immigrants for three to seven days before transfer, with 542 beds and potential expansion to 1,500 capacity, expected to begin operations in fall 2026. Protesters raised concerns about proximity to schools and the surrounding Hispanic community. One day prior, on April 25, 2026, the Arizona Attorney General filed a lawsuit to block the project, arguing that ICE bypassed environmental reviews and community input requirements. Community organizers called for due process protections.

Rahul None was detained on April 25, 2026, after previously being released on bond or parole. The court found that the government violated due process by re-detaining him without providing a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter. The court ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he had prior to detention and required the government to provide seven days' notice and a proper hearing before any future re-detention.

The Laramie County Sheriff's Office arrested 46 people for immigration violations during a three-day commercial vehicle enforcement operation called "Truck Around And Find Out: Operation Spring Break" conducted in partnership with federal authorities on April 25, 2026. The operation resulted in 85 total criminal arrests, with one undocumented truck driver found operating without a commercial driver's license and parked illegally. The sheriff's office, whose deputies were sworn in by ICE under 287(g) authority, stated the enforcement actions aim to improve road safety.

Border Patrol agents arrested three people during a vehicle stop north of Sanderson on April 25. Two undocumented immigrants and a U.S. citizen who was attempting to smuggle them were taken into custody.

A vigil titled "Disappeared in Berks" was held at the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Reading to commemorate 75 immigrants discharged from Berks County Jail to ICE between March 2025 and March 2026. Seventy-five pairs of empty shoes were displayed to represent those taken. The event featured testimonies including a letter from Gladis Garzon about her husband Carlos Gonzalo, who has been in ICE custody for eight months after being transferred from the county jail, and has been moved between detention facilities in multiple states.

León Isauro Calderón Santana, a Dominican Republic citizen who entered Puerto Rico without inspection in 2004, was detained on April 24, 2026 during an enforcement operation on Ave. Américo Miranda while on his way to open his business. He is the sole caregiver for his U.S. citizen wife and daughter and has a pending I-130 petition filed by his daughter. A federal court granted a temporary restraining order preventing his transfer outside Puerto Rico and ordered that he receive a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge.

Alexander Jose Vizcaino Marrufo, a Venezuelan citizen, was detained by ICE and held at Buffalo Federal Detention Facility. He filed a habeas corpus petition on April 24, 2026, alleging unlawful detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225 and requesting immediate release or a bond hearing. The court granted his motion to prevent removal from the United States until an evidentiary hearing determination is made, but denied his requests for immediate release and to prevent transfer within districts.

Makka Okunchaeva, a Russian citizen, was detained by ICE on April 24, 2026, during a routine check-in after living freely in the United States for four years since her 2022 release. She had been released on parole/supervision in April 2022 after ICE determined she was not a flight risk or danger to the community, and had been attending yearly check-ins with no criminal record. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring her immediate release, finding her detention violated due process rights as she received no notice or hearing before re-detention.

A federal judge in Philadelphia ordered the Trump administration to pay nearly $40,000 in legal fees to an immigrant who sued ICE over its attempt to require him to wear an ankle monitor. U.S. District Judge Kai N. Scott found that ICE's actions were unlawful and that the agency offered no factual basis to justify requiring the monitor as the man's immigration case proceeded. The man, identified only by his initials N.N., had been released on bond by an immigration judge who determined he was neither a safety nor flight risk.

Zoila Guerra Sandoval, mother of a child whose father José Mynor López died in the 2024 Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, faces deportation proceedings under the Trump administration. López was one of six construction workers killed when a cargo vessel hit the bridge. The Biden administration had provided immigration protections to about 30 people with immediate connections to the victims, but those protections are being withdrawn under the current administration.

Yasser Jose Lopez Soza, an 18-year-old high school student at Memphis Business Academy, was detained by ICE agents on February 20, 2026, while a passenger in a vehicle during a traffic stop on the way to a soccer game. He was held at the West Tennessee Detention Facility in Mason, Tennessee, as part of enforcement actions from the Memphis Task Force established in late 2025. Tennessee State Rep. Gabby Salinas visited him and noted he was a good student with a job and college soccer prospects. On April 24, 2026, Federal Judge Sheryl Lipman ordered his immediate release, ruling that his detention without bond violated his due process rights. Lopez Soza, originally from Nicaragua, was released after approximately two months in custody.

According to a February 2026 DHS letter obtained by Documented, more than half of approximately 200 undocumented immigrants held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn have no criminal record, with fewer than 24 percent having criminal convictions. The facility, which began holding ICE detainees in 2025 as part of a DHS-Bureau of Prisons agreement, has never undergone a required ICE compliance inspection despite housing detainees for extended periods. Congressman Dan Goldman toured the facility and met three detainees, none of whom had criminal convictions—two were asylum applicants from Georgia and one had fled Ukraine.

A federal appeals court lifted a temporary injunction blocking Texas Senate Bill 4, a 2023 law authorizing state police to arrest people suspected of entering the country without authorization. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the plaintiffs—immigration advocacy groups and El Paso County—lacked legal standing to challenge the law, without addressing the underlying constitutional questions about whether states can enforce immigration law. The ruling allows the state law to take effect.

ICE activated Central Valley Annex, a 700-bed detention facility in McFarland, California, operated by GEO Group, bringing the state's total to eight ICE detention centers with nearly 10,000 beds combined. Immigrant detainees began transfers to the facility in late April 2026. The site was previously used as a private prison until California ended those contracts. The average daily population in California's immigration detention facilities has increased 72% since April 2025, reaching approximately 5,337 people.

More than 200 demonstrations took place across the United States on Saturday as part of the 'Communities Not Cages National Day of Action' to protest ICE's detention expansion. The protests targeted ICE's conversion of commercial warehouses into detention centers, with the agency having spent hundreds of millions of dollars since January to purchase at least 11 facilities across eight states. Organizers, including Detention Watch Network and other advocacy groups, called for an end to what they described as detention facilities operating under heightened cruelty and demanded the shutdown of all immigration detention facilities.

ICE arrests in Miami have reached record numbers, with the Miami office recording 41,310 arrests since January 2025, including 9,880 in 2026 alone, averaging 120 arrests per day. Miami's arrest rate is 36% higher than the second-place Dallas office, with the increase driven largely by collaboration between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities under Florida's 287(g) agreements. A UC Berkeley report found ICE arrests have quadrupled during Trump's second administration, with a 2,450% increase in detentions of people with no criminal record since January 2025. Olatunde Abiodun Olusanjo, a 53-year-old Nigerian national, was arrested by ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations unit in Los Angeles on April 21, 2026. He is being held pending immigration removal proceedings. His detention is linked to previous criminal charges including child molestation, sexual battery, and solicitation of lewd conduct. U.S. immigration authorities arrested 53-year-old Nigerian national Olatunde Olusanjo in Los Angeles on April 21, 2026. Olusanjo has previous convictions for child molestation, sexual battery, and soliciting lewd conduct. He is being held in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

A federal judge in Florida ordered the immediate release of Alejandro Osvaldo Ghysels Reales, who had been detained by ICE despite holding deferred action status under a U-1 nonimmigrant visa, which makes him ineligible for deportation. Judge Kyle Dudek ruled that ICE's detention was unlawful and violated Reales' constitutional rights, criticizing the government for failing to recognize his valid legal protection.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested five individuals on Wednesday with prior convictions for serious crimes including sexual assault, lewd acts with a child, assault by strangulation, and methamphetamine distribution, as part of enforcement actions during National Crime Victims Week. The arrested individuals were nationals from Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador. DHS noted these cases represent a small portion of overall border encounters and directed victims to the VOICE Office for assistance.

Rihan Shinwari, an 18-year-old Afghan high school senior at Cheshire High School in Connecticut, was detained by ICE on April 6, 2026, during a traffic stop. ICE detained him based on erroneous paperwork claiming his humanitarian parole had expired in October 2025, though court filings confirmed it remained valid until October 2026. His family had legally entered the U.S. on humanitarian parole in October 2024 after his father served as an interpreter for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Held at Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts for over two weeks, an immigration court judge set his bond at $1,500 and ordered his release on April 21, 2026. Rihan was released on April 22, 2026, and remains in removal proceedings; his attorneys sought reinstatement of his humanitarian parole.

An asylum seeker who entered the U.S. in September 2024 was released on parole in November 2024, then re-detained by ICE in April 2026 after reporting to a scheduled appointment. The government argued his parole was revoked for violating conditions, but provided no written notice. The court ordered his immediate release, finding the detention violated due process.

A teacher in California's Central Valley with DACA status has been placed on unpaid leave as her work authorization renewal has stalled in processing for over five months, well beyond the typical timeline. Thousands of DACA recipients nationwide, including an estimated 6,784 educators in California, face extreme renewal delays that leave schools vulnerable to sudden staffing disruptions and put individuals at risk of losing work authorization and deportation protection.

Allan Marrero, a Cayman Islands native, was detained by ICE on November 24, 2025, after arriving for a routine marriage-based green card interview at a USCIS office in Lower Manhattan. ICE discovered a prior removal order from 2022 related to an overstayed tourist visa and a missed immigration court hearing that occurred while Marrero was in alcohol rehabilitation. An immigration judge reopened his case and granted bond in January 2026, citing his clean criminal record and community support, but ICE refused to accept bond payment and used procedural mechanisms to continue his detention. Marrero was moved between multiple facilities across Arizona, Texas, Mississippi, and New York. After 150 days in custody, he was released on April 23, 2026, following a lawsuit that challenged ICE's refusal to honor the bond order. He was reunited with his husband Matthew.

Ten crew members from Disney Cruise Line were arrested by ICE agents on April 23, 2026, as the Disney Magic ship was being unloaded at the B Street Cruise Terminal in San Diego. The arrests occurred in full view of disembarking passengers, including children. Two days later on April 25, ICE returned to the same terminal and arrested four additional crew members from Holland America's MV Zandaam.

ICE agents detained a man on April 23, 2026, at the Sonoma County Jail while he was in the process of being released after a court hearing. The arrest occurred in the transportation hall between the release paperwork area and the public lobby, where his sister was waiting. The detention sparked renewed protests from immigrant rights advocates calling for the Sheriff's Office to end all cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Juan Marcos Carly, 36, was detained by ICE on April 23, 2026, at 7:00 AM while traveling on Interstate 4. His wife, Roselyn Arteaga, launched fundraising efforts on social media to raise money for his bail bond. The family arrived in the United States in 2018 and has two young children, ages 3 and 1. They have a court hearing scheduled for 2028.

U.S. District Judge Michelle Williams ordered ICE to immediately release Isaac Antonio Villegas Molina, a Pasadena resident detained during an ICE check-in while he is a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit challenging immigration raids in Los Angeles. The judge prohibited the government from redetaining him without notice and a hearing before a neutral judge, noting the government did not object to his initial release request. Villegas, originally from Panama, was arrested by ICE agents in June while waiting at a bus stop and has been under ICE surveillance since being released on bond. He is scheduled to appear before an immigration judge to file a motion to dismiss his case.

An Instagram post shows a group of people being transported by ICE in buses at what appears to be a detention facility in El Reno, Oklahoma. According to the caption, multiple women were hospitalized due to heat strokes and poor conditions during transport, and the post characterizes them as mothers forcefully separated from their families.

Ray Barraez, a 50-year-old Venezuelan Uber driver, died of a heart attack during a traffic stop in Seminole County, Florida after being stopped for a broken license plate light. According to his wife's account, Barraez had hypertension and was in an open asylum process; fear of detention by immigration authorities contributed to the cardiac event that caused his death.

Immigrant advocates in Oregon report that Hmong and Laotian people, including refugee families who assisted the U.S. military during the Secret War in Laos in the 1960s-70s, are being increasingly targeted for detention and deportation by ICE. The Trump administration deported nearly 400 Laotian individuals nationwide in the past year.

Isaac Antonio Villegas Molina, a construction worker suing ICE with ACLU support, was detained again during an ISAP check-in after the Supreme Court refused his challenge to ICE. The detention occurred following the high court's rejection of his legal challenge.

ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) agents used force against two U.S. citizen minors during an enforcement operation in the Pueblo de Palmas neighborhood of Edinburg, Texas on April 23, 2026. A 16-year-old boy was struck in the face with a closed fist by an agent, and a 14-year-old girl was detained and allegedly grabbed around the neck. The incident was documented on video and shared on social media. ICE has not issued a public statement regarding the alleged use of force.

Jorge Cubillos and Carlos Rodelo, Colombian nationals who fled armed groups and extortion, were deported to the Democratic Republic of Congo despite holding legal protections including withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture (CAT) protections that prevented their return to Colombia. Cubillos, who had built a life in the U.S. over eight years and held a work permit, was physically restrained around his waist, feet, and hands for 24 hours during the deportation flight and reported feeling imprisoned upon arrival in Kinshasa. Rodelo was arrested in August 2025 and detained for eight months across multiple ICE facilities; Cubillos was held in Florida, Louisiana, and at Alexandria airport. Both were deported without formal removal orders and without being informed of their destination, health requirements, or mandatory vaccinations. At least 15 Latin American migrants were sent to Kinshasa under a U.S. agreement with the Congolese government, with deportations costing over $130,000 per person.

Rufino Beca, a 59-year-old pastor from Angola who arrived in the U.S. in 2017, was detained by ICE agents on April 20, 2026, outside a store on St. John's Street in Portland, Maine. Beca leads two Assembly of God congregations in Biddeford and Portland. He was apprehended while collecting funds to help another congregation member held in immigration custody. DHS stated he overstayed a six-month tourist visa. His daughter disputes this claim, stating he is an asylum seeker with no criminal record. Beca remains held at Strafford County Jail in Dover, New Hampshire.

William Alexander Alfaro, a Honduran national with an active asylum case, was detained by ICE agents on March 18, 2026, while driving his three children to school in San Antonio, Texas. Alfaro held a valid work permit and driver's license and was in compliance with the asylum process. He was arrested at Crosspoint, an ICE check-in and processing facility in San Antonio, as he arrived for a scheduled appointment. During approximately one month in ICE detention, Alfaro was not treated for a knee tumor requiring emergency surgery. He was deported to Honduras without receiving the scheduled medical procedure, likely resulting in amputation. His wife, who witnessed the initial detention, now fears she will be targeted for deportation, which would leave their three U.S. citizen children in San Antonio without parents.

Jaime Nino Astudillo, a gay Mexican man who had been granted withholding of removal in 2018 based on persecution fears, was detained by ICE officers during his routine annual check-in at the Los Angeles Field Office on April 22, 2026. He had been complying with supervision requirements since 2018 and attending annual check-ins without incident. The court granted his habeas petition and ordered his immediate release from Adelanto ICE Processing Center.

Raul Arzate-Hernandez was re-detained by immigration authorities on April 22, 2026, after previously being released on bond or conditional parole. He challenged his ongoing immigration detention through a habeas corpus petition. The court ordered his immediate release, finding that the government failed to provide a constitutionally required pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter when re-detaining someone previously released.

Carlos Bejarano was detained by ICE on April 22, 2026, in Kissimmee, Florida. Described as a hardworking father and family provider, his detention has left his family struggling financially. His family is seeking donations and financial support to cover legal expenses and basic needs while he faces immigration proceedings.

ICE arrested eight people on April 22 at two Davenport restaurants—Izumi and Jiang's Hot Pot & BBQ—as part of an ongoing investigation into immigration violations. Local law enforcement was not contacted in advance of the operations.

Hector V. was detained during an ICE raid at the Allston Car Wash in November 2025 alongside eight coworkers. Though he had legal work authorization, he remained in custody due to an outstanding removal order from a 2007 hearing he missed because he is illiterate and was given incorrect information. After spending five months in the overcrowded South Texas ICE Processing Center under harsh conditions, he elected to self-deport at the end of January and was deported to El Salvador in mid-April, 11 weeks after making that choice. His attorney filed a motion to hold the government in contempt for failing to schedule a required bond hearing and a motion to reopen his case, both of which were denied.

Rajinder Kumar, a 32-year-old undocumented Indian national, was detained by ICE on April 22, 2026, after being released from Oregon jail on April 2. Kumar is accused of causing a fatal crash on November 24, 2025, on U.S. Highway 20 in Deschutes County that killed newlyweds William Micah Carter and Jennifer Lynn Lower. He is currently detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma awaiting deportation proceedings and has been charged with criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment.

This article presents aggregate statistics on Trump administration immigration enforcement since taking office in 2025, including increased ICE arrests averaging 1,300 per day in December 2025, rising deportations to 443,000 in fiscal year 2025, expanded detention capacity, termination of Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of migrants, and sharp declines in unauthorized border crossings.

Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics agents seized approximately 8,897 marijuana plants during a raid at a marijuana grow operation in Wynnewood. Three people were detained, with one taken into ICE custody.

Javier, a 76-year-old Cuban man with dementia, has been detained by ICE and is being held at a GEO facility in Aurora, Colorado. His next court appearance is scheduled for mid-May, and advocates are raising funds to cover an estimated $11,000 in legal fees for his immigration case.

Paraguay announced it will receive 25 Spanish-speaking undocumented immigrants expelled from the United States starting Thursday, as part of the Trump administration's third-country deportation scheme. Paraguay's Ministry of International Affairs stated each case was individually evaluated in accordance with national sovereignty and international law. The agreement makes Paraguay one of several nations—including Costa Rica, El Salvador, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, and South Sudan—participating in the program, which allows the US to send immigrants to countries with which they have no ties. Democratic lawmakers estimated over $40 million has been awarded to participating countries as of February 2026.

ICE agents disguised as contractors offered children $100 to perform yard work in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, then revealed themselves when the children arrived. Two minors fled and fell from a second-story balcony while being chased by agents, sustaining severe leg injuries. One minor was detained after being taken to an emergency room; the second minor, also with a leg fracture, avoided seeking medical care out of fear.

Walter Marcelino Chao was deported by the U.S. government to Lima, Peru, resulting in separation from his young daughter Ashley, who no longer recognizes him. The child, who had lived with her father in Miami Gardens, now refuses to acknowledge him during video calls and has become withdrawn. The family was unable to prevent the deportation despite pleas to authorities.

Kerrie, a transgender Guyanese asylum seeker, was detained following collusion between Nassau County Police and ICE. She is being held in a men's detention facility and is being denied gender-affirming care. Advocates are calling for her release and reunification with her community in New York City.

María de la Luz Loredo was detained at El Valle ICE Processing Center in Raymondville, Texas, when she learned her 17-year-old son had died in a shooting in Houston. After receiving this news, she reports being placed in solitary confinement and stripped of clothing, confined with only a blanket as punishment for crying. While detained, she was separated from her four children, including a 1-year-old still breastfeeding. Loredo states the only immigration check-in she missed was to be present at another son's deathbed during cancer treatment in 2020.