Wilfredo Romero Urbana, who entered the United States in 2004 and has continuously resided here since, was detained by ICE on January 30, 2026. The petitioner has no criminal record. The federal court ordered his immediate release, finding he could not be detained under section 1225(b) but only under section 1226(a), and enjoined ICE from re-detaining him without a pre-detention hearing.
Yoandry Rafael Garcia Gali was re-detained on January 30, 2026, after previously being released on bond or conditional parole. The court found that the government violated due process by failing to provide a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter when re-detaining someone who had been previously released. The court ordered Garcia Gali's immediate release with the same conditions he had prior to detention.
Anti-ICE demonstrations at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles turned confrontational on January 30, 2026, with protesters throwing objects at federal agents. Dozens of arrests were made over the weekend as demonstrations expanded to City Hall. The protests were part of a nationwide call to end funding for ICE.
Jose Flores, 47, was arrested during an ICE operation in Oakmont. The arrest occurred while Flores was preparing for work with his wife Harriett and their 8-year-old daughter Lily. The operation disrupted the family's morning routine.
The police chief of St. Peter intervened with federal agents to prevent the detention of a local resident who was observing ICE enforcement actions. This intervention by local police in Minnesota occurred during ICE and border patrol operations in the state.
Wilmer Menjivar, an employee at Viper Auto Body with no criminal record, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in West Valley City, Utah. Menjivar believed he was being followed by unmarked vehicles as he arrived at work and ran into the locked auto body shop. CBP agents then broke through the glass door, entered the business, and detained him. His wife, Lilly, said Menjivar believes he may have been profiled based on his appearance, his low-rider truck, and skin color. Menjivar plans to return to El Salvador, and his wife and three U.S. citizen children plan to move with him to keep the family together.
Police chiefs in Minnesota have made public statements criticizing federal immigration enforcement agents regarding incidents involving an innocent man left in the snow, a 5-year-old's arrest, and deaths of U.S. citizens. Local police officials stated that federal agents' conduct affects the trust they have worked to build with their communities following years of criticism over their own use of force.
A nationwide protest called "National Shutdown" took place on January 30, 2026, with participants staying home from work and school to protest ICE immigration enforcement activities. The protest was organized in response to deaths resulting from immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, including an ICU nurse and a mother of three. Students at the University of Minnesota coordinated the effort with hundreds of organizations across 46 states.
Maryna Ishchenko, a Ukrainian asylum seeker from eastern Ukraine, was detained by ICE during a routine check-in appointment at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. She had previously been detained at the U.S.-Mexico border when she and her U.S. citizen husband, Asael Ramirez, presented her asylum case, but was released after he agreed to sponsor her. Despite being married to a U.S. citizen and complying with all required check-ins, she was detained again. She is experiencing abdominal medical issues exacerbated by anxiety and fear while in detention. Her husband has spent $15,000 on her case and is seeking a habeas corpus petition for her release.
Elena, a Venezuelan asylum seeker with a pending case and work authorization, gave birth prematurely in early January and was forced to remain at her infant daughter's hospital bedside for 13 days due to fear of encountering ICE agents during travel to and from the facility. While recovering from a C-section, she had little rest, coordinated rides from trusted community members for frequent follow-up appointments, and moved her own care to telehealth. Her husband was unable to work during this period; he later traveled to Wisconsin for two weeks to work as a rideshare driver to pay rent and afford groceries. The family continues to shelter in place and lives in fear of detention despite Elena's open asylum case and work authorization, having witnessed others with similar immigration status being detained.
Michael P.R., a non-citizen who entered the U.S. without lawful admission in December 2021, was detained by ICE on January 30, 2026 after appearing at a scheduled appointment in Los Angeles. He had previously missed an immigration court hearing on January 12, 2026, resulting in a removal order. The court granted his habeas petition and ordered he receive a bond hearing within seven days or be released.
Bradford County commissioners voted 3-2 to move forward with a proposal to convert the Douglas Warehouse in Starke into a 3,000-bed ICE detention center. The decision allows Sabot Consulting to present design plans to ICE for approval. A protest challenging the proposed facility is scheduled for Saturday at 209 S. Temple Ave. in Starke.
ICE issued an internal memo on January 29, 2026, expanding the agency's authority for warrantless arrests of suspected undocumented immigrants. Acting Director Todd M. Lyons reinterpreted a federal law to change the standard from whether individuals are unlikely to appear for immigration hearings to whether they are unlikely to remain at the scene of an encounter. The policy shift allows lower-level ICE agents greater discretion to conduct broad sweeps without supervisor approval, amid the Trump administration's intensified immigration enforcement nationwide.
Bob Peck, a U.S. citizen, filed a notice of claim seeking $7.5 million in damages against ICE after agents threatened to arrest him for observing and filming their enforcement activities. The filing documents an incident on January 22 where masked agents confronted Peck while he was following their vehicle and told him he would be arrested if he continued. The case is among multiple reports of ICE agents intimidating observers, including threats to add them to watchlists and agents driving to observers' homes.
ICE agent Christian Castro was charged with four counts of assault and falsely reporting a crime in the January 14 shooting of Venezuelan immigrant Julio Sosa-Celis in Minneapolis. Video evidence contradicted Castro's claim that Sosa-Celis was attacking him, and prosecutors dropped assault charges against Sosa-Celis. Castro is the second federal agent charged in connection with Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration's immigration-enforcement mission in Minnesota.
Francisco Chan Reyes, a 25-year-old U.S. resident with lawful status, was detained by ICE agents during a traffic stop on the west side of San Antonio on January 26, 2026, while returning home from a market with three cousins. Video shows agents breaking his car window, pepper-spraying him, and holding him facedown on the pavement without identifying themselves. Despite Reyes showing agents his Texas driver's license and work permit, they initially refused to accept these documents and told his wife he was in the country illegally. After approximately four hours in custody, including DNA swabbing and fingerprint processing, fingerprints confirmed his lawful presence and he was released. He sustained a head injury and pepper-spray burns. His three cousins were deported to Mexico the following day. Immigration attorney Marlyn Moreno noted that a Texas driver's license should have been sufficient proof of lawful presence, as the state only issues them to people who demonstrate citizenship or lawful presence. He and his wife plan legal action.
Health care providers across the Twin Cities report that pregnant immigrants are avoiding or missing prenatal care visits due to fear of ICE enforcement during Operation Metro Surge, leading to increased no-show rates and serious complications. Providers have documented cases of preterm premature rupture of membranes, gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, and depression among patients who delay or forgo care. Some patients are requesting home births without informing providers, avoiding grocery stores due to fear, and requesting fewer prenatal visits, which can result in complications going undetected—including one documented case where a patient with high-risk pregnancy history postponed a monitoring appointment and subsequently delivered at 20 weeks, resulting in pregnancy loss.
Two Azerbaijani men, Fazal and Alikhan, who immigrated legally to the U.S. and were married in Charlotte, were detained by ICE after a routine immigration appointment in January. Alikhan was moved to Stewart Detention Center in Georgia where he became ill and received inadequate medical care until a U.S. Senator intervened. Unable to face prolonged detention, Alikhan announced in February he would self-deport rather than continue fighting his case, with Fazal planning to follow.
Students at more than 10 schools across Bexar County in San Antonio held walkouts on January 30, 2026 to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions. The protests followed recent deaths of two U.S. citizens, Alex Pretti and Renée Good, who were protesting ICE operations in Minneapolis. Students marched through their communities while residents and business owners showed support.
Immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota have affected vulnerable populations. ICE agents arrested a 58-year-old McDonald's worker; according to reports, agents mocked his son's attempt to deliver heart medication to the detained father. Pregnant immigrants have avoided prenatal care, and healthcare providers report cases of preterm premature rupture of membranes, gestational diabetes, and preeclampsia going undetected. Healthcare providers report increased no-show rates and some patients resorting to home births instead of hospital care.
On January 30, Eugene Police declared a riot outside the downtown federal building during an anti-ICE protest that was part of a nationwide "National Shutdown" demonstration against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Several hundred demonstrators assembled in the plaza and courtyard areas before the situation escalated, with law enforcement ordering dispersal and staging to clear the area. The FBI subsequently listed three protesters on its most wanted list for alleged involvement in property damage, including breaking windows, spray-painting, and throwing rocks at law enforcement. The Bureau is offering up to $5,000 for information leading to arrest and conviction. This incident followed a similar anti-ICE protest at the same location on January 27 that also resulted in arrests and deployment of crowd-control measures.
Approximately 50 Cuban nationals detained by ICE accepted deportation believing they would return to Havana. Their plane landed at Guantánamo Naval Base instead. The men have been at the U.S. military facility since before Christmas. Due to Cuba's restrictions on flights from the base to the island's interior, U.S. authorities must transfer them back to U.S. territory before handing them over to Cuban authorities, extending their detention for weeks.
Dmytro Kulyk, 39, a Ukrainian who legally entered the U.S. under the Uniting 4 Ukraine program, was detained by ICE agents in a Walmart parking lot in Maple Grove, Minnesota on January 1st. He is currently held in Kandiyohi County Jail in Willmar, Minnesota, awaiting his fate while his re-parole application remains pending. His wife and daughter's applications were approved. Kulyk's attorney suggested his re-parole application may have been intentionally delayed to provide grounds for deportation.
Sithy Yi, a Cambodian Genocide survivor who arrived in the U.S. in 1981, was released from ICE detention following a federal judge's order. Yi was detained at a routine immigration check-in in Santa Ana on January 8 and held at the Adelanto Detention Facility for almost two months.
A mother was detained by ICE after going outside to warm her car. She was able to contact someone to inform them that her children would be left alone as a result of her detention.
Maher Tarabishi was detained by ICE in October 2024 during a routine check-in at the Dallas Field Office. His son Wael, 30, who has Pompe disease and requires round-the-clock care, was hospitalized twice following his father's arrest. Wael died on January 23, 2026. Despite ICE detention standards allowing for emergency-supervised release to attend funerals and the family's humanitarian requests citing Maher's 14 years of compliance with supervised release requirements, immigration officials denied his request to attend his son's burial.
Carlos Chavez, a taco vendor and undocumented immigrant, was detained by ICE agents on January 29 at North Hills United Methodist Church in Los Angeles and subsequently deported to Mexico after signing a self-deportation order. When Chavez requested medical treatment for a respiratory illness while in detention, his request was denied. His case exemplifies consequences of a 2025 policy change that rescinded the long-standing federal "sensitive locations" policy protecting houses of worship; religious organizations have filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the policy, with the D.C. Court of Appeals expected to rule in approximately two months.
ICE agents with guns approached a Korean bakery in Minneapolis, pointing weapons through the glass door at employees. A manager hid Korean immigrant coworkers in freezers during the encounter. Agents allegedly stated they did not need or care about a warrant. After an employee called 911, local police arrived and the ICE agents left the scene.
A Salem woman who is a U.S. citizen was pulled from her vehicle by federal law enforcement officers on January 29, 2026. After being boxed in by unmarked vehicles, agents broke her car window and pulled her to the ground. She suffered a concussion, torn rotator cuff, and bruised ribs.
NPR reporter Adrian Florido witnessed federal immigration agents arrest Jesús González, an undocumented fruit vendor he had been buying from for seven years in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. González was apprehended at his fruit cart stand and subsequently deported to Tijuana, Mexico after agreeing to be removed rather than face detention.
Federal immigration agents detained Thao Xiong, a community organizer and volunteer food shelf delivery driver, in the parking lot of the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center in St. Paul on city-owned property. The detainment occurred despite objections from community center staff and legal observers, and Xiong's U.S. citizenship or immigration status remained unclear. The incident occurred during Operation Metro Surge, which brought approximately 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota for immigration enforcement.
ICE agents detained multiple parents near a school bus drop-off spot in Ypsilanti while students were arriving or departing for school. Local school officials and the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office confirmed the detentions occurred near bus stops, though not on school property itself. The superintendent stated the school district does not voluntarily cooperate with ICE and described the circumstances as distressing.
Gaston Longines Garcia, a Mexican national who entered the U.S. without inspection in 1998, was arrested on January 28, 2026 in St. Joseph County on drunk driving charges. ICE issued a detainer and took custody of him on February 24 under an administrative warrant pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226. The court granted his habeas petition and ordered respondents to provide him a bond hearing or release him from custody.
Wilson Andres Hernandez De Leon was re-detained on January 28, 2026, after previously being released on bond or conditional parole under immigration law. The court found that his re-detention violated due process because the government failed to provide 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 future pre-deprivation hearings if the government seeks to re-detain him.
Multiple protesters were detained and injured during an anti-ICE demonstration at the Eugene Federal Building on January 27, 2026. Federal officers deployed tear gas, pepper balls, and flash-bangs, detaining at least nine demonstrators. Several protesters reported injuries including bruises, hyperextended limbs, and eye injuries sustained during the law enforcement response.
ICE officers conducted an immigration enforcement operation in the Eastside neighborhood of Santa Barbara on January 28, 2026. A masked ICE officer pepper-sprayed a community member who was documenting the activity, an incident captured on video. One person was detained by ICE, though the detention was reportedly unrelated to the pepper-spray incident.
Jean Wilson Brutus, a 41-year-old Haitian man, died at Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey after suffering a medical emergency less than a day after being detained. An ambulance transporting him to University Hospital was delayed by 5 minutes as officials prioritized allowing a van of new detainees into the facility. Brutus was one of 23 people to die in ICE custody during the year.
Two former detainees at the Everglades immigration detention center testified in federal court that they were punished for seeking legal advice, including having monitored calls dropped when discussing attorneys and being denied access to pen and paper. One detainee from Haiti alleged he was forced to sign self-deportation papers he did not understand without being able to consult with an attorney first. Civil rights attorneys sought a temporary injunction to ensure detainees receive the same legal access as those in federally-run facilities.
Carlos, a Venezuelan national with withholding of removal and work authorization, was detained on January 28, 2026, during a routine monthly check-in at the Kansas City ICE office where he was required to report under the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program. Despite his judge-approved protection, valid work authorization, clean six-year record, and pending permanent legal status applications with his wife, ICE detained him. After a chaotic series of transfers across Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, and Arizona—during which he was held in overcrowded conditions—Carlos was deported to Mexico on a tarmac in Arizona, where he remains separated from his wife and children.
A viral video shows dozens of detainees held in overcrowded conditions at ICE's Baltimore Field Office without adequate beds, bathrooms, or hygiene products, with individuals held for up to 10 days in a short-term processing facility. Maryland lawmakers, including U.S. Senators and Representatives, have been denied or are awaiting permission to visit the facility to observe conditions firsthand. Detainees have reported allegations of beatings and inadequate food and medical care, and the footage has reignited concerns about detention conditions amid an ongoing federal lawsuit alleging constitutional violations.
Border Patrol agents Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez fatally shot 37-year-old Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen and intensive care nurse, on January 24, 2026, in Minneapolis. The shooting occurred during Operation Metro Surge, an immigration enforcement operation. Bystander videos and witness testimony showed Pretti holding only a phone before officers tackled and shot him. Officers failed to provide immediate first aid; a pediatrician attempting to assist was initially prevented from helping. The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is investigating. This was the second fatal shooting by immigration agents in Minneapolis within a month.
Federal prosecutors charged 14 people with crimes related to alleged assaults on immigration agents during Trump's immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota. The charges include spitting, throwing objects, blocking vehicles, and resisting arrest during confrontations at Roosevelt High School, the Whipple Federal Building, and other locations. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi posted defendants' names and photos on social media before charges were unsealed, prompting concern from a federal judge who noted defendants are presumed innocent.
Anderson Tumin-Rivas, a 24-year-old Guatemalan national living in southern Arkansas, was detained by ICE after showing up for a scheduled immigration check-in appointment in Little Rock on January 22, 2026. He is now held in Winn Parish, Louisiana, awaiting deportation to Guatemala. Tumin-Rivas had been living in the U.S. under the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program and was married with a young son.
A 40-year-old man was arrested by federal agents in the lobby of the Bolingbrook Police Department on January 28, 2026, after being approached by agents conducting an immigration enforcement action at his home. The man fled the scene, allegedly ramming an agent's vehicle, and then drove to the police station to report the encounter before being arrested by federal agents in the lobby.
On January 28, 2026, ICE agents conducted an early morning enforcement operation at the intersection of Salinas and Carpinteria Streets in Santa Barbara's Eastside neighborhood, near Franklin Elementary School. During the operation, ICE agents pepper-sprayed and physically pushed multiple residents who had gathered to document the activity. Community members, including Beth Goodman who was distributing ICE resource information, witnessed and recorded the incident. At least one woman was sprayed while documenting the operation, and a man in a yellow sweatshirt escaped arrest. Santa Barbara Police Department and firefighters responded to provide medical assistance and help de-escalate the confrontation. An unknown number of individuals were detained by ICE, and no arrests were made by local police.
Two former detainees at a Florida immigration detention center testified that they faced punishment for seeking legal advice. The detainees provided accounts that they faced retaliation for attempting to access legal representation while in custody.
Hagop Chirinian, a non-citizen surfer, was released after being detained for four months following an accidental trespass onto Camp Pendleton beach. A federal judge ordered ICE to release him, ruling the agency violated its own protocols by detaining him despite knowing he could not be deported, as Lebanon refused to accept him. Chirinian had been living under an order of supervision with a work permit for nearly 30 years without additional convictions.
Rosa Barrera, an 18-year-old, began caring for her three younger siblings after ICE detained her parents at their workplace. She is fundraising for legal representation to help reunite with her parents, while also managing household bills and caring for her sister who has autism and requires medical support.
ICE agents approached and questioned a woman in a Walmart parking lot, asking if she was born in the United States, in an incident captured on video that circulated online. A Native American legal rights group alleged that the individual involved, identified as Jose Roberto Ramirez, was being retaliated against by ICE.
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