Human Impact Project

Uber and Lyft drivers in Central Florida report feeling at risk during their work, even those with proper documentation. One female driver was released after being taken into ICE custody in Orlando.

M, a mother of six children and asylum seeker, is struggling to support her family after her husband and brother—the household's primary income earners—were apprehended by ICE without a warrant while traveling to a job site. Both men are detained and facing deportation. M is caring for her children alone, including three infants and one child with a complex blood disorder requiring regular medical care. M and her two school-age children are asylum seekers living in fear of their own detention. After three months, the family faces mounting bills with no income and M has exhausted her resources.

Miguel Rosas Ruiz, a 50-year-old widowed father of four U.S. citizen children in Michigan, was detained by ICE on March 10, 2026, after being intercepted near Carpenter Road in Ypsilanti while allegedly on his way to his painting business. His oldest daughter, Morelia Rosas Martinez, 22, had postponed her college plans to care for her three younger siblings during his detention. Over the following month, Morelia advocated for his release through community support and legal assistance, with a GoFundMe campaign raising over $20,000. Rosas Ruiz was released on bond on April 15 and reunited with his family on April 16. His case is one of more than 100 identified by CNN involving U.S. citizen children separated from parents through ICE enforcement actions in 2025.

Octavio Daniel Cabrera Valdez was detained by ICE on April 16, 2026, while at work. He held a valid work permit at the time of his detention. His detention has forced his partner and two children (ages 8 and 4) out of their apartment. Cabrera Valdez was the sole provider for his family and also cared for his mother and father, both U.S. citizens, prior to his detention.

Mixan Javier Gonzalez-Rivas, a Nicaraguan citizen who entered the U.S. in December 2022 and was initially released on parole, was re-detained on April 16, 2026 during a routine ICE check-in in Los Angeles. He had been complying with all supervision requirements for over three years, was employed as a caregiver for Los Angeles County, and had a pending asylum application. The court ordered his release within 24 hours, finding his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated due process.

Willian Yacelga Benalcazar fled criminal gang threats in Ecuador and sought asylum in the U.S. after crossing the border in August 2023. He was detained for five months across multiple ICE facilities, where he reported catching a virus, poor conditions including contaminated water, and difficulty accessing food. Under the Trump administration's third-country deportation policy, he faced deportation to Honduras rather than Ecuador. After learning he could face three to four additional months in detention, he abandoned his asylum case and agreed to voluntary departure to Ecuador on April 16, 2026.

José and his family from Venezuela entered the U.S. legally in 2024 using the CBP One app and received parole to live and work while their asylum cases were pending. After their immigration court hearing in June 2025 was dismissed under a Trump administration order, they were arrested outside the courtroom and detained for a month at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley. Following their release, the family decided to abandon the asylum process and purchased one-way plane tickets back to Venezuela.

Dipakkumar Ghelani, a 34-year-old Indian national, was arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol on April 16, 2026, on felony charges for trafficking cannabis with an estimated street value of $13 million. Ghelani entered the United States on a B-2 visa in March 2016 that expired in May 2019, and he remained in the country without valid immigration status. He is being held at the Duval County Pre-Trial Detention Facility, where ICE encountered him and initiated immigration proceedings. ICE will make a custody determination following the resolution of his state and local criminal charges.

ICE detained five Myanmar nationals in Buffalo, New York during an enforcement operation targeting undocumented migrants. One person was arrested while waiting to deliver packages at a warehouse in Pembroke. Community members identified the detainees as asylum seekers.

A police chief and officer from Gratis, Ohio, attempted to enter three Cincinnati Public Schools on April 15, claiming to conduct wellness checks on behalf of ICE. School officials denied them entry without warrants or specific student requests. The officers, from a department with an ICE partnership agreement, were outside their jurisdiction. Cincinnati officials, including the mayor, condemned the visit, stating the officers intimidated children and families.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained two Bhutanese refugees from Central Pennsylvania over the weekend. Both men are permanent residents on a path to U.S. citizenship. The detentions are part of an ongoing pattern where the Trump administration is deporting Bhutanese refugees back to Bhutan, which then re-deports them to India without travel documents, leaving them stateless.

Camden County commissioners passed a resolution on April 16, 2026, prohibiting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from entering county-owned or leased buildings without a judicial warrant. The decision, which applies to parks, correctional facilities, county college, technical schools, and administrative buildings, was based on concerns about ICE's enforcement tactics and commitment to the health, safety, and welfare of all county residents. County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. stated the agency has operated far from its homeland security mission and employed oppressive tactics reminiscent of the Gestapo.

Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., an ICE agent, was charged with two counts of second-degree assault following an incident on February 5, 2026, on a Minnesota highway near the Crosstown at Minnesota 62 and Interstate 35W. Morgan allegedly pointed his duty weapon at occupants of another vehicle after claiming the other driver cut him off while he was driving illegally on the shoulder. The occupants of the other vehicle were unaware Morgan was a law enforcement officer, as he was not in uniform and his vehicle had no law enforcement markings. The criminal charges were formally filed against Morgan in connection with the alleged assault.

Security camera footage captured immigration agents detaining a person at a gas station in Easton, Maryland while the person was fueling a vehicle. The detention occurred in broad daylight in a public space.

A former international student from Bangladesh self-deported from the United States after spending months in immigration detention, which he described as inhumane conditions.

Venezuelan physician Rubeliz "Bibi" Bolívar and her 5-year-old daughter Milena were detained by ICE while Bolívar was en route to an asylum interview. Bolívar held a valid work permit (EAD) and an approved I-485 employment-based visa petition. The organization Médicos Unidos Venezuela demanded their immediate release. A Venezuelan physician was detained by immigration authorities in Nashville while attending an official asylum appointment. The detention followed an administrative change to his case after it was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. He is currently held in custody in Louisiana and has health concerns including hypertension, severe scoliosis, and recent respiratory symptoms. Dr. Rubeliz Bolivar, an emergency medicine resident in McAllen, Texas, was detained by ICE at McAllen International Airport on April 11, 2026, while traveling with her five-year-old U.S. citizen daughter to a scheduled asylum interview in California. Dr. Bolivar held a valid work permit and had pending asylum and green card applications. She was released from custody the same night.

ICE nearly doubled its use of ankle monitors on people in its Alternatives to Detention program following a June 2025 internal memo, growing from approximately 24,000 to 42,000 people by February 2026. Legal advocates and experts argue the devices impose psychological, economic, and physical harms on wearers and often result in job loss. They contend the monitors may be used to pressure immigrants into self-deportation rather than ensure compliance. Research shows 98% of immigrants released without ankle monitors attended all court hearings and ICE check-ins, compared with 93% of those wearing devices, suggesting the devices do not improve compliance rates.

Four Wyoming towns — Wheatland, Shoshoni, Pine Bluffs, and Moorcroft — along with seven counties and the Wyoming Highway Patrol signed 287(g) agreements with ICE in April 2026, adopting the Task Force Model that allows local law enforcement to perform immigration enforcement duties during routine policing. The expansion reflects a nationwide trend following the Trump administration's 2025 revival of the Task Force Model, which the Obama administration had discontinued in 2012 due to concerns about racial profiling and community trust. The agreements have sparked protests in Rock Springs and Cheyenne, with immigration advocates warning that local law enforcement risks losing community trust, though some Wyoming sheriffs view the partnerships as necessary oversight of federal immigration enforcement.

Ashish Kumar, an asylum seeker from India who entered the U.S. in September 2023, was initially released on recognizance with supervision conditions. ICE arrested him on April 15, 2026, and detained him at Golden State Annex Detention Facility. The federal court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release, finding his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated due process.

Tania Cordova, a community advocate and member of the Transformative Justice Law Project, was detained by ICE on April 15, 2026. She is being held in a detention facility. The organization has launched a fundraising effort to support her legal defense.

Edna Lizeth Medina Martinez, a Colombian citizen who entered the U.S. without inspection in March 2023, was initially released on an Alternatives to Detention program. After being arrested for driving under the influence in April 2026, she was detained by ICE during a scheduled check-in for violating ATD program guidelines. The court granted her habeas corpus petition and ordered ICE to provide her with a bond hearing within 14 days.

Michelle Mendoza, a U.S. citizen and mother of two young children, was detained by ICE agents on April 15, 2026, during a school drop-off at the intersection of Main Street and Bangs Avenue in Asbury Park, Monmouth County, New Jersey. Agents took her to the ground, causing visible bruising, and handcuffed her in front of her children (ages 9 and 1). Some ICE agents covered their faces during the arrest, allegedly violating New Jersey state law prohibiting masked officers during enforcement actions. Mendoza was released without charges after eight hours at the Newark ICE detention center (Delaney Hall), though her husband remained in ICE custody. The incident prompted community protests and statements from city officials and state legislators.

A lawyer for two detainees at a Florida immigration detention facility known as "Alligator Alcatraz" reported that guards allegedly beat and pepper-sprayed several detainees who had complained about lack of phone access needed to contact family and attorneys. The incident follows a pattern of reports documenting inhumane conditions at the facility.

Bastrop County Jail booked 55 people with ICE immigration detainers during the first three months of 2026. Detainees were booked with various charges including DWI, drug possession, and driving without a license, along with more serious offenses. Local law enforcement agencies reported limited interaction with ICE and no advance notification of federal operations.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported 442,637 individuals between October 2024 and September 2025, according to federal data released in the DHS fiscal year 2027 budget justification. This represented an increase of approximately 171,000 deportations compared to the previous fiscal year, with roughly 38 percent of those deported having criminal records. The figure fell significantly short of President Trump's campaign goal of one million deportations annually. ICE stated it aims to deport 1 million people in the next fiscal year, though the agency requested reduced funding for detention and transportation operations.

Bloomberg Law reporters observed 55 bond hearings across five states in February and March 2026, documenting an overwhelmed immigration court system handling three times more bond requests than the previous year. Immigration judges approved bond in only 15 of 55 cases. Legal reinterpretations by the Trump administration and recent appeals court decisions made it significantly harder for detainees to secure release, with judges citing lack of jurisdiction and setting historically high bond amounts ranging from legal minimums to $40,000. ICE was holding at least 60,000 people monthly. Many detainees had deep U.S. ties including citizen children and spouses, yet faced months or years in custody while awaiting case adjudication.

A Santa Maria man's five-year-old daughter was released after 20 hours in ICE detention at a Texas airport. The child's mother, Dr. Rubilez Bolivar, a Venezuelan national with valid work visas and a pending asylum case who was in medical residency in southern Texas, remains in ICE custody after an immigration official declared her documents invalid.

Ezequiel Vélez Cáceres, a 32-year-old Venezuelan physician, was detained by ICE at a Border Patrol checkpoint in Sarita, Texas on April 9, 2026, while traveling with his U.S. citizen spouse after his Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was cancelled. Vélez entered the U.S. legally in 2018 on a student visa to revalidate his medical credentials and had been working at a hospital in McAllen before resigning after losing TPS eligibility. He was in the process of obtaining a work visa when detained. On April 15, 2026, his immigration attorney appeared before a federal court judge arguing for his release. His attorney described him as "an example of the type of migrant our country should have," and the court ordered his release from the McAllen immigration detention center, despite prosecution arguments citing flight risk.

Since January 2025, at least 68 habeas corpus petitions have been filed on behalf of trafficking survivors detained by ICE, representing a dramatic increase from prior years and reflecting the Trump administration's rescission of protective policies for crime victims. The detentions include survivors with legal status, valid T visas, and those who were minors when they arrived in the U.S. Many were apprehended at mandatory check-ins with immigration authorities, domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, and courthouses. The administration ended a long-standing ICE policy protecting trafficking victims from detention and a Biden-era policy banning enforcement actions in sensitive locations, creating what advocacy organizations describe as a heightened-risk environment that is deterring survivors from reporting crimes and seeking legal help.

María Alejandra Rivas Martínez, a 19-year-old Venezuelan, was detained by ICE after a traffic accident in Miami. She had legally entered the U.S. in 2019 at age 13 with a tourist visa, holds a valid Florida driver's license and work permit, and has a pending asylum case. A state officer notified ICE after reviewing her identification during the accident report. She is currently held at Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach awaiting immigration court.

Brayan Alexander Lopez-Rivas, a native of El Salvador with CAT protection, was re-detained by ICE on April 14, 2026, during a routine check-in after complying with supervision conditions for nearly seven years. He had been released on supervision in 2019 after an immigration judge granted him withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring his immediate release and prohibiting his removal to a third country without proper procedural protections.

Daniel Torres, a Chicago-area man, self-deported to Mexico due to concerns about his immigration status and federal enforcement. He left behind his dog, Coffee, who was brought to animal control in February. Animal rescue organizations, including Microchip Hunters and Border Tails Rescue, used the dog's microchip to locate Torres through social media and coordinated the transportation of Coffee to Mexico, where the two were reunited.

Over 429 immigrants in San Francisco have sought voluntary departure between January 2025 and February 2026, many after the Department of Homeland Security filed "pretermit motions" to deport them to third countries where they have no ties. Victoria Hernandez, a Colombian asylum-seeker who fled armed group threats, chose voluntary departure rather than face potential removal to Honduras or Ecuador and the costly appeal process. Immigration advocates report that judges increasingly present voluntary departure as an option, while asylum-seekers face uncertainty about travel reimbursement and fear of danger upon return to their countries of origin.

Deisy Fidelina Rivera Ortega, wife of active-duty U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Jose Serrano stationed at Fort Bliss, was detained by ICE agents on April 14, 2026, while attending a USCIS appointment in El Paso, Texas to apply for Parole in Place. Despite holding valid work authorization and legal protections against deportation—including withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture protection granted in 2019—ICE arrested her without a warrant based on a December 2019 removal order for illegal entry. After approximately one month in custody at the El Paso Service Processing Center, she was released following media reporting and intervention by Senator Tammy Duckworth. Rivera Ortega remains subject to ankle monitoring, home visits, and travel restrictions while facing potential deportation to Mexico, where she has no family ties.

Miguel Lopez, who lived in the U.S. for over 27 years, was deported to Mexico in 2025 after appearing at a San Francisco courthouse for a routine immigration check-in. A federal judge dismissed his civil case on April 3, 2026, finding it time-barred under the six-year statute of limitations, but Lopez's attorney plans to appeal to the Ninth Circuit. Judge Trina Thompson acknowledged in her decision the "bureaucratic labyrinth" of immigration law and the "generational trauma" the ruling will cause Lopez's family. The appeal represents his remaining legal pathway to return to his wife and three children.

ICE agents conducted a high-risk traffic stop around 9 a.m. on April 14, 2026, near Beakes Street and North Fifth Avenue outside a children's daycare in downtown Ann Arbor, taking the driver into custody. Agents surrounded the vehicle with multiple cars, approached with guns drawn, and left the scene before local police arrived, abandoning the suspect's vehicle in a bike lane. Ann Arbor's mayor and police chief say the arrest occurred without their knowledge or participation, with the mayor criticizing the tactics as designed to intimidate the community. The identity and current location of the arrested individual remain unknown as federal authorities have not responded to requests for information.

ICE detained Rafael Zaga Tawil, a Mexican businessman, at Glades County Detention Center in Florida on April 13, 2026. Mexican authorities are seeking him in connection with a $294 million housing fraud scheme involving the National Workers' Housing Fund Institute (Infonavit), along with allegations of organized crime and money laundering. The fraud involved contracts signed in 2014 with the private company Telra Realty that were terminated in 2017, after which the institute authorized an illegal indemnity payment of over 5 billion pesos. Mexican prosecutors may request his extradition for prosecution.

Alexandre Ramagem, 53, former head of Brazilian intelligence, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on April 14, 2026, following his flight from Brazil. Ramagem was convicted in September 2024 for his role in a coup conspiracy with former President Jair Bolsonaro, including charges of armed criminal association, attempted coup d'état, and attempted violent abolition of the rule of law, and was sentenced to 16 years in prison. He had entered the United States using a diplomatic passport and was living in exile in Florida when taken into custody following a traffic stop. Brazilian authorities formally requested his extradition in December 2024, and the arrest resulted from collaboration between U.S. and Brazilian law enforcement. He reportedly has a pending asylum request under review.

ProPublica and FRONTLINE investigated more than 300 arrests of protesters and bystanders during Trump administration immigration enforcement sweeps in Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Charlotte. Over one-third of cases were dismissed, acquitted at trial, or never prosecuted. Video evidence and other documentation repeatedly contradicted officer statements, and prosecutors struggled to substantiate charges such as assaulting federal officers or interfering with law enforcement. Federal agents, largely inexperienced in crowd control, made widespread arrests that ultimately failed legal scrutiny.

Gilbert, an Immokalee high school graduate, was unlawfully detained in LaBelle, Florida. Community members are organizing a support action scheduled for Friday at 8:20 AM.

ICE arrests in upstate New York quadrupled to 3,722 between January 2025 and January 2026, compared to 787 in 2024. Less than one-third of those arrested had criminal records, with the spike largely driven by policy changes that stripped legal status from asylum seekers and other immigrants living in the country legally. More than half of arrestees were in the asylum process when detained, and approximately two-thirds have since been deported.

Yelitza Perez, a 29-year-old Venezuelan mother of two, spent weeks attempting to voluntarily return to Venezuela through the CBP Home app following her husband's deportation. She initially registered for voluntary departure but faced multiple obstacles, including lack of required Venezuelan travel documentation and airline verification issues. After being denied boarding at Miami International Airport in early April, she obtained a salvoconducto (safe pass) from Venezuelan authorities. Faith-based organizations including Hermanos de la Calle and Discerning Deacons provided shelter and assistance during her stay. Perez and her daughters successfully departed for Venezuela in mid-April after obtaining the required travel documentation.

On April 4, 2026, ICE agents arrested 13 undocumented individuals from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan at a PennDOT driver's license center in Kittanning, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. A website error had directed individuals seeking commercial driver's license renewals to the facility, resulting in an unusually large crowd of over 100 people. East Franklin Police received reports of the gathering and contacted ICE. During the operation, multiple people fled the scene, some abandoning vehicles and running through residential yards to evade agents. One person resisted arrest and allegedly assaulted a law enforcement officer. PennDOT stated it follows federal law and uses the SAVE database to verify legal presence for license applicants.

Sundas Naqvi, a 28-year-old U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE agents at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on March 5, 2026, after returning from Turkey. She claimed a 43-hour ordeal involving transfer to Dodge County Jail in Wisconsin and was released early Saturday morning with a dead phone. Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt denied having any record of her at the facility, while DHS disputed her account by releasing surveillance footage showing secondary screening lasted less than an hour. In April 2026, Sheriff Schmidt filed a million-dollar defamation lawsuit against Naqvi, characterizing her detention claims as false and part of a "romantic scam" with her boyfriend. Naqvi's attorney provided location data and requested release of additional surveillance footage.

Cesar A.S., a Venezuelan citizen who entered the U.S. without inspection in September 2023 and was released on recognizance, was arrested by ICE in Lakeville, Minnesota on April 13, 2026. He challenged his mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) through a habeas corpus petition, arguing he should be eligible for bond under § 1226(a). The court denied his petition, ruling that under Eighth Circuit precedent, noncitizens present in the U.S. who have not been admitted are necessarily "seeking admission" and subject to mandatory detention.

Carlos Julio Medina Garcia, a 56-year-old Colombian citizen who had been granted withholding of removal, was detained without a warrant by ICE officers in Baltimore on March 31, 2026, when he reported for a scheduled check-in. He had been complying with supervised release and had a home visit scheduled for April 1, but ICE instructed him to report in-person on March 31 instead. The court granted his temporary restraining order motion and ordered his immediate release, finding ICE violated his due process rights. Jose Manuel Garcia Salamanca was placed in removal proceedings in August 2023 and charged with inadmissibility for entering the United States without inspection. He was released from immigration custody on an Order of Recognizance but was subsequently arrested by immigration authorities and is currently detained at the Adelanto ICE Detention Facility. The court granted his temporary restraining order requiring an individualized bond hearing within seven days.

Carlos Rodelo, a 43-year-old Colombian from Barranquilla who fled extortion in his home country, was granted Convention Against Torture (CAT) protection by a federal judge, which should have prevented his deportation to an unsafe third country. On April 13, 2026, despite his CAT protection and a pending habeas corpus challenge, Rodelo was held at Alexandria airport without food for several hours while shackled, then forcibly deported to the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of a Trump Administration third-country deportation agreement. Rodelo, who had diabetes and other medical conditions, described conditions in Congo as restrictive and felt like a prisoner despite being told he was free. He subsequently returned to Colombia through the International Organization for Migration's Assisted Voluntary Return program. The Department of Homeland Security asserted he had violated the terms of his parole. Rodelo was part of the first group of 15 Latin Americans deported to the DRC under the agreement.

Yousof Azizi, a 40-year-old Iranian PhD candidate at Virginia Tech, was detained by Homeland Security Investigations agents outside his Germantown, Maryland home on April 13 and transferred to an immigration detention facility in Arizona. His wife denies DHS allegations that he lied on his student visa application about membership in Iran's Student Basij Organization and claims his visa status issue was a pretext, asserting he was speaking publicly about U.S.-Iran relations based on his academic research.

Federal data shows a significant increase in hospitalizations of ICE detainees at U.S. hospitals under the Trump administration. Nationwide, hospital ICE detentions rose from approximately 1,300 in 2024 to 1,900 from January to mid-October 2025. In San Diego County specifically, at least 59 ICE detainees received hospital care during this period, compared to 29 for the entire previous year. The data shows that 33 people died while in ICE detention in 2024.

An immigration attorney reports that approximately 80% of his clients granted bond by a judge are held for days beyond their legal release date by ICE. The case of Deonicio Castillo, a Colorado resident detained in January 2026, exemplifies the pattern—he was held six days after a judge granted his $2,500 bond. The attorney argues the delays violate constitutional rights and represent a departure from prior practice where bond releases typically occurred within hours.