Human Impact Project

A man who lost one eye and has severe glaucoma in the other, requiring twice-daily drops to maintain his remaining vision, was frequently denied his prescribed eye drops while in ICE detention. He wrote in a court declaration that his vision has deteriorated significantly, appearing "like seeing through gauze," and expressed fear that he will permanently lose his remaining sight. He is terrified he will not be able to watch his infant son grow up. His attorney characterized the denial of such obvious medical care as "brazen indifference to really obvious problems."

A Russian man saw a gastroenterologist while detained in Texas about his painful gallstones and scheduled a surgical appointment. However, he was moved to various detention centers before the appointment could occur, preventing him from receiving the necessary specialist care. His case illustrates how frequent transfers across the detention system interrupt medical treatment.

An El Salvadoran woman missed an entire week of HIV medication when she was transferred from a Colorado detention facility to a county jail in Wyoming without adequate coordination of her medical care. Detainees are frequently moved across the country without warning, interrupting critical treatment. Her case exemplifies the systemic failure to maintain continuity of medical care during transfers across ICE's sprawling detention system.

A Venezuelan man detained at a Vermont immigration facility developed a severe infection from flesh-eating bacteria on his leg after staff failed to bring him to a scheduled doctor's appointment. His leg became purple and swollen as a result of the missed care. His case is among hundreds documented across at least 33 states where detainees allege medical neglect in ICE facilities.

A Honduran mother of two was hospitalized for a heart problem after being denied blood pressure medications while detained in a Florida immigration facility. Her case is among hundreds documented across at least 33 states where detainees allege medical neglect in ICE custody.

An Albanian man held for months in a New Mexico immigration detention center experienced unbearable tooth pain that was left untreated, ultimately leading him to pull out his own tooth. His case is documented among hundreds of detainees across at least 33 states who allege severe medical neglect in ICE custody, including denied medications for chronic conditions and requests for help that go unanswered for weeks.

Vardan Gukasian, a political dissident and former paramedic from Armenia, was detained in Henderson, Nevada for over 13 months despite serious health problems including uncontrolled high blood pressure. In June 2025, while experiencing dizziness, a nosebleed, and severe headache, his cellmate and then an entire cell block banged on doors requesting medical help; assistance did not arrive until he was hospitalized that day. In a court declaration filed in March 2026, Gukasian, who spent years imprisoned in Armenia, wrote he had never witnessed such medical neglect anywhere. The city of Henderson stated medical care was always available and that no court orders for care changes had been issued.

Jose-Antonio Segismundo, 48, was detained for over seven months at the Alligator Alcatraz facility in Florida and the Folkston D Ray ICE Processing Center in Georgia with untreated abdominal cancer. He was arrested approximately five weeks before a scheduled appointment with a cancer specialist, and despite his wife providing medical records and explaining his condition to officials, he received no cancer treatment—only Tylenol for severe stomach pain. In spring 2026, he was deported to Mexico, a country he had left nearly 30 years prior. He must now restart his cancer care search in Oaxaca.

Edison Sinchi Taipe, 19, an Ecuadorian student at Framingham High School, was arrested by ICE while working a roofing job in New Hampshire to earn money for graduation expenses. He was detained and feared deportation to Ecuador, but was released in time to walk across the stage and receive his diploma on June 5, 2026. His community rallied to secure legal representation, and he now awaits an immigration hearing scheduled for July 15.

Gordo was detained by ICE on June 5. He arrived in the United States at age 13 and has been married to his sister for 8 years. The family now faces financial hardship and emotional trauma as his wife, a stay-at-home mother, cares for their four young children alone, including one recently diagnosed with autism.

Avelino Lage was detained by ICE for five months at Alligator Alcatraz facility. While he was detained, his apartment was robbed and he lost all his belongings. He also lost access to his bank accounts during detention, resulting in his car being repossessed. He is now rebuilding his life from scratch.

A husband was detained by ICE while traveling to work, leaving his wife and children without immediate answers about his whereabouts. His wife discovered his detention through a Facebook post after hours of unsuccessful phone calls and searching. The family is now facing legal expenses, household bills, and childcare costs while navigating the immigration legal process to reunite.

Enrique Martínez Chávez, a 32-year-old former Mexican military officer, was detained by ICE in Hawthorne, California on June 4, 2026, during an immigration enforcement operation. Martínez Chávez is wanted in Mexico for enforced disappearance in connection with the 2014 disappearance of 43 student teachers from Ayotzinapa, Guerrero. Mexican authorities have an active arrest warrant against him for forced disappearance charges. He is being held at a processing center in Adelanto, California, pending immigration proceedings and potential extradition to Mexico. Mexican President Sheinbaum clarified that he was arrested during a routine ICE immigration enforcement operation rather than a specific operation targeting him for the Ayotzinapa case.

Diego Armando Gonzalez-Rosales, a kitchen manager at Zipps Sports Grill, was sentenced to five months in prison after pleading guilty to providing fraudulent identification documents to undocumented employees. He entered the country illegally in 2006 and used fake identification himself to obtain employment. Following his sentence, he faces potential deportation upon release from prison.

A 48-year-old Guatemalan man detained at Stewart Detention Center suffered a severe E. coli infection in his leg after being injured while shackled in a transport vehicle and forced to sleep on a dirty concrete floor with leaking toilets. Medical staff did not adequately respond to his requests for help until he collapsed and required hospitalization; a doctor told him he narrowly escaped amputation. He was released in October 2025 as a legal permanent resident but struggles with lingering pain that prevents him from returning to construction work. The case is one of hundreds documented across at least 33 states where detainees allege medical neglect in ICE custody.

On June 3, 2026, ICE detained 48 workers during a raid on Burnstein Von Seelen Precision Casting in Abbeville County, South Carolina, in an operation called Operation Ghost Story. Two company managers, Christopher Douglas Ramey and Sandy Lynn Willis, were arrested and indicted for failing to verify employee identities and facilitating the use of forged identity documents. Four additional defendants, including Xavier Martinez Adorno of Horry County, were indicted for providing and selling fraudulent identification documents including forged driver's licenses, Social Security cards, and counterfeit green cards—some using the identities of real U.S. citizens. The investigation involved local, state, and federal agencies including SLED, Homeland Security Investigations, and ICE.

Andrea Pedro-Francisco, a 23-year-old Guatemalan asylum seeker who fled to the U.S. with her mother in 2019, was arrested on February 5, 2026, by federal agents during a traffic stop while driving to work in Minnesota. She was immediately transferred to Camp East Montana, a tent detention facility at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, where she was held for nearly four months in crowded conditions. Pedro-Francisco had a golf-ball-sized ovarian cyst that required surgery before her arrest; nine independent physicians concluded the procedure was medically necessary to prevent serious complications including infertility and potential death. ICE repeatedly denied approval for the surgery and provided only over-the-counter pain relief despite a doctor's opioid prescription. Her mother, who has two younger U.S. citizen children, was released at the scene. Following legal motions, advocacy by U.S. Representatives Angie Craig, Greg Casar, and Veronica Escobar, Senator Tina Smith's intervention with DHS, and sustained efforts by lawyers and organizers, Pedro-Francisco was released in early June 2026 with GPS monitoring and her case transferred back to Minnesota for a July hearing.

A non-citizen man was stopped based on an alleged traffic violation on June 4, 2026, and subsequently detained by ICE. He is currently being held at the Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana. Proceeding pro se, he filed a Petition for Temporary Restraining Order asking to be immediately released under appropriate conditions of supervision and asking that respondents be enjoined from 're-detaining' him. The court found that the bare allegations he raised were insufficient to show a substantial likelihood of success on the merits. Accordingly, the court denied his Petition for Temporary Restraining Order.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard rescued 240 Haitian migrants from an overcrowded vessel taking on water in the Caribbean. CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott stated the operation prevented a potential catastrophic loss of life while stopping a maritime migration attempt. The rescues occur amid an ongoing humanitarian crisis in Haiti, where gang violence has displaced over 1.4 million people according to UN estimates.

ICE agents arrested two members of a roofing crew on June 4, 2026, in the parking lot of Sabores Latinos, an Ecuadorian restaurant on North Main Street in Brockton, Massachusetts. At least six ICE vehicles surrounded the crew's van as they arrived to pick up coworkers for a job in Boston. Tony Heredia, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen and member of the crew, was handcuffed and punched three times in the face by an agent after he demanded badge numbers. ICE accused Heredia of spitting at an agent, which he denied, saying saliva flew while he was yelling. Heredia said his wrists were left swollen from the cuffs. ICE said the two arrested men had previous arrests for driving violations but did not list any convictions. One man was subject to a final order of removal. Heredia said he saw three crew members taken, though ICE confirmed only two. ICE characterized the arrests as part of "targeted operations."

Charles González, a 28-year-old Venezuelan father, was detained by ICE on June 1, 2024, after a traffic stop in Farmington, Utah, where state police discovered his driver's license had expired. González entered the U.S. on a tourist visa four years ago and has been working full-time at a restaurant while doing gig work in his spare time to support his family. He holds Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and has no criminal record. His wife, Elimar Romero said their 4-year-old son is asking for his father and the family is struggling emotionally and financially during the separation. González was transferred to Davis County Jail after the traffic stop, where ICE placed a hold on him, and he remains in ICE custody. His family is raising funds to cover legal defense costs and bail to allow him to continue his case while with his family.

A Nicaraguan national was arrested and re-detained on June 4, 2026, while attending a routine ICE check-in in Los Angeles. He had been released on supervised release in 2024 after the Immigration Court granted him withholding of removal to Nicaragua, but was arrested without prior notice explaining the basis for revocation. ICE indicated he could not be removed to Nicaragua but would be sent to an unspecified third country. The court issued a temporary restraining order on June 13, 2026, blocking his removal from the United States pending resolution of his habeas corpus petition challenging the legality of third-country removal.

Victor San Shing Kwok, a 50-year-old native of the People's Republic of China, is facing denaturalization after being accused of using multiple identities and concealing prior immigration denials. In September 1994, Kwok sought admission under the identity Xin Cheng Guo. After an immigration judge denied his application, Kwok married a U.S. citizen and applied to adjust his resident status. He failed to disclose the prior denial of his application and his pending order of removal. There is no record that Kwok departed the United States as ordered by the immigration judge. The Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia filed a civil denaturalization complaint on June 4, 2026.

Maria Lourdes Montoya, a 63-year-old Mexican national, is facing denaturalization after fraudulently obtaining permanent residence and citizenship. Montoya misrepresented her husband's identity in both her permanent residence and naturalization applications, claiming to be married to Gilberto Montoya, a U.S. citizen who had actually died decades earlier. In reality, Montoya was married to Ernesto Orozco-Viramontes, a Mexican national who assumed the identity of Gilberto Montoya. Montoya knowingly leveraged this deception to obtain immigration benefits. The Department of Justice filed a five-count complaint seeking to cancel her naturalized citizenship.

Laura Yinneth Molano Luque, a 33-year-old Colombian woman, has been detained at Delaney Hall ICE detention center in Newark and has become severely and violently ill. Despite making multiple requests for medical help over several days, her pleas went unanswered until she fainted and was transferred to the hospital; she fainted again the next day after returning to the facility. According to her attorney's emergency court filing, Molano Luque has since vomited blood, experienced severe and unrelenting pain, and has at times been unable to speak, yet has received no medical assistance beyond antibiotics and has largely been unable to eat. Her case is among over 70 detainees who have filed federal lawsuits alleging medical neglect and deficiencies at Delaney Hall, a 1,000-person facility operated by private prison contractor GEO Group.

ICE agents attempted to arrest Freidrich Castillo-Ormeno, a Peruvian national, on Route 72 near Mermaid Drive in Stafford on Monday morning. The vehicle struck an ICE agent during the encounter, and the agent fired shots at the fleeing car. Castillo-Ormeno remained at large as of Monday evening. The FBI is investigating the incident.

ICE agents detained Elias Cruz-Zarate on June 4, 2026, during a targeted enforcement operation in Oakhurst. According to ICE, Cruz-Zarate is from Mexico and had voluntarily left the United States in 2020 before re-entering. ICE stated he has prior convictions for simple assault.

Alessandro was detained by ICE agents on June 4 while on the streets of Northeast Philadelphia. He was held in federal detention in Philadelphia and was expected to be transferred to Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania before deportation to Brazil. His family launched a fundraiser to support deportation costs and lost household income.

ICE agents conducted a targeted enforcement operation outside a Danbury, Connecticut courthouse on June 4, 2026, detaining at least six people. Local law enforcement and officials, including the police chief and mayor's office, received no advance notice of the operation. DHS stated those arrested faced criminal charges including sexual assault of a minor, child abuse, kidnapping, and assault on police officers, though specific names and detailed charges were not provided. The raid sparked protests and condemnation from Connecticut Democratic officials, who criticized the use of armed and masked agents in the enforcement action.

Christian Espinosa-Sarango, 33, an Ecuadorian national, was arrested by ICE on February 13 after being released on bond by North Haven police. Espinosa-Sarango had been arrested in December as part of a child sexual exploitation sting and charged with enticing a minor and attempted sexual assault. ICE had lodged a detainer, but Connecticut's Trust Act prevented local police from holding him without a judicial warrant. During his ICE arrest, he allegedly resisted and attempted to flee, leading officers to break his vehicle window.

Mamuka Artmeladze, a 43-year-old man from Georgia, died on June 4, 2026, after being found unresponsive in his cell at Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana. He was rushed to Winn Parish Medical Center, where staff were unable to resuscitate him and he was pronounced dead about an hour later. Artmeladze had been in ICE custody since February 2026, detained during an enforcement operation inspecting commercial vehicle drivers, and had not yet had a court date. His death followed that of Alejandro Cabrera Clemente at the same facility on April 11, and came after a Department of Homeland Security inspection documented insanitary conditions, inadequate medical care, and use-of-force violations at Winn, including an officer using a banned chokehold and another stabbing a detainee's thumb with a pen. He was reported to be the 50th person to die in ICE custody during the Trump administration's second term. An autopsy was pending to determine the official cause of death.

Ederson Galicia Alva, 11, was first separated from his mother in 2018 as a toddler under Trump's first-term family separation policy. After legal intervention and reunification, the family rebuilt their life in Florida. In June 2025, federal agents arrested his mother Mirsy Maricela Alva López during an immigration enforcement action, and she was deported to Guatemala while Ederson and his sister were separated again. After approximately 11 months, a federal judge ordered the family's return to Florida in late May 2026. An Associated Press investigation found that dozens of children covered by the Ms. L v. ICE settlement—a 2018 agreement meant to prevent family separations and protect over 11,800 family members—have been re-separated from their families during the second Trump administration despite legal protections.

Geremy Arteaga Cruz, a 19-year-old Lamar High School junior, was detained by ICE in January 2026 after the Trump administration reversed his asylum application approval, which had been granted by USCIS in June 2025. Arteaga Cruz arrived in the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor in 2023 with his twin sister. He was arrested at a convenience store on a misdemeanor public intoxication charge, pleaded guilty, and paid fines, but was transferred to ICE custody while in Harris County jail instead of being released. Before his detention, he was a student at Lamar High School, volunteered at an English literacy program at the University of St. Thomas, and worked as a barber. He has also been identified as a victim of human trafficking and has a pending T visa application. As of June 2026, Arteaga Cruz has been held at Polk Adult Detention Facility for four months. His attorneys contend that had USCIS issued a timely notice of its asylum decision, he would not have been detained. His asylum case is scheduled to be heard by an immigration judge on June 23, 2026.

Emanuel Rodrigues, a Brazilian man with a rare life-threatening condition restricting his mobility, was held in solitary confinement for five months at Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey. During his detention, Rodrigues became seriously ill and unable to walk after a fall that he says occurred when a guard prevented him from using crutches. His wife was unable to visit the facility. He was released on June 4, 2026, following advocacy from Rep. Rob Menendez's office, with assistance from a journalist.

Lucas Gustavo Brajak De Almeida Di Benedetto, 41, a Brazilian-born chef, drove the wrong way on Route 1 early Sunday morning and collided head-on with a Massachusetts State Police cruiser. He told authorities he had consumed two beers before the crash and was unfamiliar with the interchange. After posting bail, he appeared at Peabody District Court on June 3, 2026, for his arraignment on charges of operating under the influence, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and driving the wrong way. ICE agents arrested him outside the courthouse, taking him into custody for visa overstay—he had entered the U.S. nearly 20 years ago but was authorized to stay only three months and remained in the country illegally. He was held pending removal proceedings.

Luis, a roofer with no criminal record, was arrested during an ICE raid in Arkansas while working. He was transferred through multiple facilities—a local jail, a Texas prison, and ultimately the Torrance County Detention Facility in New Mexico—where he has been held for over a year without criminal charges and with limited legal assistance or clarity on his status.

ICE agents and Butler County Sheriff's office took at least one person into custody at the intersection of Route 228 and Heritage Creek Drive in Adams Township. Video on social media documented the operation. The arrest is part of ongoing ICE enforcement in Butler County, where nearly 40 people have been detained since operations began over a year ago.

On June 3-4, 2026, ICE and state law enforcement conducted a coordinated raid at Burnstein Von Seelen Precision Casting in Abbeville County, South Carolina, as part of Operation Ghost Story, a two-year investigation that began in October 2024. The operation detained 48 workers, primarily from Mexico and Guatemala, on immigration violations. None of the 48 detained workers were criminally charged. At least one detainee who was eight months pregnant was released but faces deportation proceedings and must wear an ankle monitor, while others remained in custody.

Connor Michael Read, 29, a British national who came to the U.S. at age 9 and was a DACA recipient, was detained by ICE on June 3, 2026, during a green card interview in Tampa, Florida. Read, who runs a pressure-washing business called Refresh Florida and has lived in the country for over 20 years, was separated from his American wife Jaelin and their three-year-old twin sons Ryder and Ozzie during what agents described as a private interview. Read reported that agents bound his hands and tied his ankles during transport to a local jail, then to the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center. He described detention conditions as "horrible" and "dirty," and reported becoming ill with headaches, chills, and fever. His wife discovered their I-130 petition for permanent residency had been approved the same day he was detained. His wife told media they are considering relocating the family to the United Kingdom if he is deported. An ICE spokesperson cited a 2011 removal order and stated Read violated the terms of his F-2 dependent visa after his parent's F-1 student status ended.

A Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. in July 2015 and resided here for nearly 11 years without interacting with immigration authorities was arrested by local police during a routine traffic stop on June 3, 2026, and transferred to ICE custody. He was held at Central Valley Annex Detention Facility and challenged his detention without a pre-deprivation hearing. The court granted his habeas corpus petition, finding his detention violated due process rights, and ordered respondents to conduct an initial custody determination within 48 hours and provide a substantive bond hearing within 10 days if continued detention was deemed appropriate.

Abdikadir Ali Kadiye, a 54-year-old Somali national, is facing denaturalization after being accused of seeking admission to the United States under two separate identities. Beginning in April 1997, Kadiye first applied under the identity Liban M. Degel, claiming to be married with no children. After an immigration judge denied his application, Kadiye submitted a second application under the identity Abdikadir Ali Kadiye. After naturalizing, Kadiye admitted to a customs and border patrol agent that he had previously used two identities for admission. The Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota filed a civil denaturalization complaint on June 3, 2026.

Alisson is currently in ICE custody and facing deportation. She arrived in the United States at age 9 and has built a life here. Her family is fundraising for legal fees and travel costs to support her case and maintain family connections.

An unnamed mother was detained by ICE officers on the morning of June 3, 2026, while dropping her child off at Scarlett Middle School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. As of June 6, the school community had raised nearly $5,000 in support. ICE issued no public comment on the arrest.

Mohammad "Daniel" Hussain Ahmadi, a former Afghan army intelligence officer and member of the Hazara ethnic minority, was paroled into the U.S. in May 2024 and complied with all immigration conditions for nearly two years. On March 2, 2026, he was detained by ICE after appearing for a routine immigration check-in, with the government claiming his original parole was an error. On June 3, 2026, Chief Judge Peter Welte granted Ahmadi's habeas corpus petition, finding the detention violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights and ordering his release unless an immigration court granted him a bond hearing within one week.

ICE agents detained a man in Albany Park on Tuesday morning, using a Taser on him while he was already handcuffed on the ground near the intersection of Kedzie and Lawrence avenues. During the arrest, a black Nissan SUV believed to be driven by an ICE agent struck a woman's sedan stuck in traffic; the SUV driver fled the scene. Witnesses reported agents chased and arrested the shirtless man in what neighbors described as a chaotic operation. About 12 neighbors and at least one journalist gathered at the scene, blowing whistles and filming federal agents. One federal agent pointed what appeared to be a Taser at the group of bystanders and the journalist while shouting at them to move back. During the operation, agents also dropped a loaded magazine clip. Following the incident, organizers announced an emergency protest for Wednesday evening at Horner Park to oppose what they characterized as aggressive and reckless federal immigration enforcement tactics.

On June 2, 2026, ICE agents detained seven employees from Indian Heritage restaurant in Lake Placid during a traffic stop near Fowler's Crossing on State Route 86 as they traveled to work. According to North Country Immigrant Allies and other advocacy groups, all seven detainees possessed work authorization and legal status to live and work in the United States. The detainees were transported to a detention facility in Batavia, approximately 300 miles away. Local law enforcement was not aware of the operation.

ICE arrested five men during enforcement operations in New Jersey on June 1-2, 2026, amid protests outside the Delaney Hall ICE detention center in Newark. The arrestees were: Marcos Delacruz from El Salvador, arrested on Friday with prior convictions for sex assault and fraud and an arrest for assault; Success Bounte from Ghana, arrested on Thursday with prior convictions for robbery, burglary, identity theft, and fraud related to illegal use of credit cards; Jose Manuel Rivera-Mes from Guatemala, arrested on Thursday with a prior conviction for voluntary manslaughter and arrests for weapon offenses and possession of a weapon; Ismael Antonio Moreno-Javier from the Dominican Republic, arrested on Thursday with prior arrests for terroristic threats, assault, child neglect, and fraud; and Carlos Javier Llano-Batista from the Dominican Republic, arrested on Thursday with prior arrests for fraud, larceny, burglary, and robbery. All five arrests occurred during the same enforcement operation at the Newark facility.

A Honduran national who entered the U.S. as a minor in June 2023 seeking asylum was arrested by ICE on June 2, 2026, after reporting to the ERO Dallas Office for a routine check-in. He was transferred to Central Valley Annex Detention Facility in McFarland, California. The court found his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause and ordered his immediate release, enjoining respondents from re-detaining him without seven days' notice and a bond hearing before a neutral arbiter.

Domer Jesus Martinez-Sifontes, a Venezuelan national who entered the United States in 2023, was arrested by ICE agents in unmarked vehicles on June 2 in the Albany Park residential neighborhood. The arrest resulted in a collision involving a civilian vehicle. According to ICE, Martinez-Sifontes assaulted officers while resisting arrest and attempted to flee on foot. During the confrontation, dozens of neighbors gathered in the street with whistles and cameras. Martinez-Sifontes remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

ICE conducted raids at a metal casting plant in Abbeville, South Carolina and worksites in Lake Placid, New York in late May and early June 2026, detaining 48 workers at Burnstein von Seelen Precision Castings and 21 workers in New York. According to activist groups, many of the detained workers had legal permission to work in the U.S. and were not given the opportunity to provide documentation. The plant manager and HR director were also detained on charges of knowingly hiring undocumented workers.