Human Impact Project

A video submitted to HudPost appears to show a federal immigration agent kicking a man during an encounter at 52nd Street and Hudson Avenue in West New York, New Jersey. The footage shows an agent making physical contact with the man, though the circumstances leading up to the moment are unclear and could not be independently verified. ICE did not comment on the incident, citing its policy of not discussing active investigations or arrests. The report follows a series of other immigration enforcement actions across Hudson County in recent weeks, including in Guttenberg, North Bergen, Weehawken, and Union City.

A Guatemalan young man has been held for more than a week in ICE custody at a facility in Miramar, Florida, that is authorized to hold detainees for up to 72 hours, according to his mother. She reports he faces overcrowding and limited access to food and water. He signed voluntary departure paperwork on a Tuesday but remains detained. An activist following the situation says his case is not isolated and that other immigrants have also been held at the facility for several days.

Angel Ivan Chavez Salas, a father of two who works as an HVAC technician in Decatur, Georgia, was arrested by ICE agents outside his home on August 16. He arrived in the U.S. lawfully on a visa in 2016 and applied for asylum after fleeing political persecution in Peru, regularly attending immigration interviews but never having had a hearing before a judge. His attorney, Peter Isbister, said Chavez Salas has no criminal history. He is currently held at the D. Ray James Processing Center in southeast Georgia awaiting a court date. Students at Decatur High School, including a friend of his son, organized an online fundraiser that raised nearly $20,000 from more than 300 donors to support his family.

L, who came to the U.S. from Honduras in 2012 to escape gun violence, was unexpectedly detained during a routine immigration check-in and later deported to Honduras, leaving behind four children ages 15, 9, 3, and 2. Her mother, M, took unpaid leave from work to care for the grandchildren and support L's case, during which time she lost her health insurance and access to care for her diabetes. A GoFundMe campaign is raising money for plane tickets to reunite the children with their mother, M's lost wages, and legal fees.

Marcos Gaspar-Da Silva, a general contractor and former attorney from Brazil living in Bridgton, Maine, was detained by ICE on January 20 after being pulled over in Portland during an enforcement operation. He had a pending asylum case, no criminal record, and a marriage-based green card petition filed by his U.S. citizen wife, Alessia. Over nearly seven months in custody, he was transferred through facilities in Massachusetts, Louisiana and Arizona, where he and his wife described overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and inadequate medical care, including going untreated for a toothache until the tooth was pulled and losing more than 26 pounds. U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree's staff supported Alessia and helped expedite his petition while pressing officials about his medical care. In August, an immigration judge granted him adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident through his wife's petition, and he was released on August 13, reuniting with his wife and 11-year-old daughter, though he described lasting emotional numbness and difficulty eating and sleeping.

Guillermo "Memo" Gallardo Barrera, a longtime Arizona resident, construction worker and welder who helped raise his two U.S.-born children, has spent over a year in ICE custody at the Florence Correctional Center following a routine traffic stop in Gilbert. His wife and family say he was healthy before detention but now relies on a cane, suffers severe numbness in his hands and worsening pain, and has not received a diagnosis or adequate treatment from facility officials. Advocates from the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and Proyecto Progreso say Gallardo has no criminal record and is being denied proper medical care. A federal court denied his attorneys' amended petition for writ of habeas corpus seeking his release. His family fears that without proper medical care or release, he will not survive in custody.

Oscar, a mechanic from the Fredericksburg area, was held under ICE custody at the Rappahannock Regional Jail before being moved through a chain of detention facilities in Virginia, Texas, and Louisiana and deported to El Salvador in 2024, despite having no felony record. He described poor conditions at the jail, being shackled throughout his deportation flight, and being accused of gang membership in El Salvador due to a paperwork error. Deportation Data Project records show 356 people were held under ICE custody at the jail and removed from the country between January 2025 and March 2026, with 67% having no criminal record beyond their immigration status. The jail's policy of querying ICE about foreign-born detainees exceeds what Virginia law requires, and a new state law, the Community Safety and Trust Act, may prohibit such cooperation without a judicial warrant.

Jaime Rodriguez, who has lived in the U.S. for over a decade, was detained by immigration officers at a checkpoint near Fort Polk military base in Louisiana while completing a delivery order with his 3-year-old daughter. His wife, Abigail Rodriguez, a U.S. citizen, said officers accepted her ID but rejected her husband's matrícula consular and asked him to step out of the vehicle before handcuffing him, despite him not driving. Abigail said she overheard an officer say to take her husband because "he's illegal," and was herself told she could be taken as well because she did not appear in their database as a citizen, though she was ultimately allowed to leave with her daughter. Family members describe Jaime as a hardworking father who has never been in trouble, and say his children are heartbroken and want him home.

A native and citizen of Georgia entered the United States without inspection in February 2023 and was briefly apprehended by CBP before being released into the country, where he resided for over three years. On August 15, 2026, he was arrested near his home in Philadelphia by ICE and transferred to the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia. The government argued he was subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A) as an 'applicant for admission' still 'seeking admission.' He filed a habeas corpus petition on August 18, 2026, arguing his detention without a bond hearing was unlawful. The court held that § 1225(b)(2)(A) applies only to newly arriving noncitizens, not those who have resided in the country for years and were arrested in the interior, and that his detention should instead be governed by § 1226(a). The court granted his petition and ordered his immediate release.

A Ukrainian national and humanitarian parolee entered the United States about two years ago under the Uniting for Ukraine humanitarian parole program, presenting himself for inspection at JFK International Airport and being paroled in. His parole was granted through May 19, 2026, and he applied to renew it before expiration, with that application still pending. He resided in the U.S. without committing any crimes during this time. On August 15, 2026, ICE arrested him near his home and transferred him to the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, where he remains detained. He filed a habeas corpus petition on August 19, 2026, arguing that his mandatory detention without a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) was unlawful because that provision applies only to newly arriving noncitizens, not those who have resided in the country for years. The court agreed, holding his detention should instead be governed by § 1226(a), and granted his petition, ordering his immediate release.

A group of U.S. citizens returning to Miami International Airport from Cuba, where they had taken part in events marking the 100th anniversary of Fidel Castro's birth, were held and questioned by U.S. officials over the weekend of August 15-16. Some travelers were required to surrender their cell phones, laptops, and other electronic devices for inspection, according to U.S. officials who spoke to The Associated Press. Everyone was later released and allowed to enter the United States, with no criminal charges filed, in what officials described as a temporary secondary screening at the border.

Federal immigration agents conducted a traffic stop and arrested three men Saturday near the Akimel Smoke Shop on Gila River Indian Community land off Interstate 10 at Riggs Road. According to the Community, the men were not enrolled tribal members or residents. Gila River Police responded to the scene but were not involved in the stop, and tribal leaders said the incident raises concerns about the community's sovereignty. Tribal leaders issued an advisory urging members to carry tribal identification and know their rights when approached by federal agents.

ICE agents entered a business near SW Sedgwick Road and Sidney Road SW in Port Orchard and attempted to arrest a person wanted on an immigration warrant, prompting the person to flee on foot with agents in pursuit. A customer called 911 reporting the incident, and Port Orchard Police Department officers responded to verify the agents' credentials but were not notified before the operation and did not assist. It is unknown whether the person was ultimately arrested.

Suspected federal immigration agents smashed the windows of a car and pointed a firearm at the driver and passenger during a forcible vehicle stop in Langley Park, Maryland. The driver indicated that ICE had just detained his father. Video of the incident, which shows the shattered windshield and an agent reaching toward the occupants with a firearm drawn, was posted on Reddit and circulated widely. The caption states it is another instance of suspected ICE agents drawing firearms on U.S. citizens.

Homero Calderón, a professional soccer player from Venezuela who played for clubs in Venezuela, Portugal, Cyprus and Italy, has been held in an ICE detention center in Folkston, Georgia for about five months. He was pulled over for speeding by the Marion County Sheriff's Office in Florida in late February 2026, arrested for driving without a valid Florida license, and transferred to ICE custody despite having two pending applications with USCIS — a tourist visa extension and an EB-1A visa for people with extraordinary abilities. He is a father of two U.S. citizen children, ages 1 and 3, and recently missed his daughter's first birthday. His wife said that in 17 years together she had 'never heard him cry or ask for help like he has.' His family says he has no criminal record, and USCIS has a backlog of 11.3 million pending cases.

The petitioner is an asylum seeker from Guatemala who entered the United States around July 27, 2023. He was previously apprehended and released on $2,000 bond under an Order of Release on Recognizance in August 2023, complying with required ICE check-ins. He has a pending asylum application, with his merits hearing scheduled for April 2029. In June 2026, he was arrested in Concord, California, and charged with DUI and driving without a valid license, his first and only criminal arrest, with the case still pending and unresolved. When he appeared for a scheduled ICE interview at the San Francisco Field Office on August 14, 2026, he was detained without notice, with ICE alleging he had violated his release conditions. He filed a habeas petition and TRO motion, arguing his detention violated substantive and procedural due process since he had not been convicted of any crime and posed no flight risk or danger. The court agreed, finding the government's justification insufficient, and ordered his release under a TRO that was converted into a preliminary injunction barring his re-detention or removal without notice and a pre-deprivation hearing before a neutral decisionmaker.

Maureen Wanjiru Ngure, a Kenyan nurse who studied nursing in the U.S. and has worked in Bay Area hospitals for eight years, was detained at a mandated appointment at the San Francisco ICE office on August 14, 2026, and served a third-country deportation order. A community volunteer on the Contra Costa County Covid Team, she never missed a DHS appointment in 20 years in the U.S.; her husband and two young children are U.S. citizens, and she had been selected for a Canadian nursing employment pathway program. Over the following days she was transferred through detention centers in California, Arizona, and Louisiana, slept on floors, and her ID, phone, and wallet were lost in transit. She was driven to an airport to be flown to an unnamed country before a last-minute deportation halt returned her to custody at Richwood Detention Center in Monroe, Louisiana, where her attorneys are seeking her immediate release. Note: the source for this incident mistakenly lists the name as Maureen Mangara, but this error was later corrected by FLPIR.

Jose Mejia Hernandez, a 45-year-old Mexican immigrant who has lived in the U.S. for 18 years, says he was walking to work along Columbia Pike in Arlington, Virginia, when he was approached by men he did not realize were ICE agents and ran out of fear. He says he was shocked with what he believes was a Taser and possibly struck by an officer's vehicle, causing him to lose consciousness; he woke up in a Washington hospital with two blackened eyes, facial lacerations requiring stitches, bruising, and a brain hemorrhage, and was hospitalized for three days with ICE officers stationed in his room. His attorney, Carlos Jurado, says he has no violent criminal history and had no removal order at the time, and that the injury has left him unable to work, eat, sleep, or speak normally. DHS disputes his account, saying he fled and that agents used necessary force, noting he had previously accepted voluntary return to Mexico and had a 2020 public intoxication conviction. He has filed a police report seeking criminal prosecution of the agents, is pursuing a U visa, and plans to sue the federal government, and has since been placed in deportation proceedings with a hearing set for September 14. Virginia lawmakers including Rep. Don Beyer, Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti, and Commonwealth's Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti have called for an investigation.

A legal permanent resident is currently detained by U.S. immigration authorities at the El Valle Detention Center in Willacy County, Texas. She filed a habeas petition along with a Verified Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction, arguing that Respondents have no legal basis to detain her and seeking her immediate release. The court ordered Respondents to file a response to the motion by August 21, 2026. A hearing on the Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction was set for August 24, 2026, to be conducted by videoconference. The document does not provide details on the circumstances of her apprehension, her family ties, or employment.

Detainees held at the Adams County Correctional Center, an ICE facility near Natchez, Mississippi operated by CoreCivic, reported smelling gas on August 8, followed by a power outage beginning August 10 that left the facility without air conditioning for about two days. Detainees said they were evacuated into afternoon heat approaching 100 degrees for hours, suffered headaches and other symptoms, and were denied medical care, with cells meant for two people holding three. One detainee's wife said detainees were also denied tablet devices during the disruption and feared retaliation, including solitary confinement, if seen as organizing. CoreCivic disputed the accounts, stating no gas leak was found, the outage lasted about two hours with generators functioning, air conditioning was never interrupted, and no one was denied medical care. A subsequent inspection found 23 use-of-force or restraint violations, resulting in a downgrade of the facility's rating.

A man was reportedly detained by ICE agents while waiting for a bus to go to work in the South Ward of Newark, New Jersey. Video footage shows officers wearing tactical vests marked "POLICE" apprehending the man near a residential street. The incident has generated concern in the local community.

Immigration agents arrived in unmarked black vans around 8 a.m. on Friday, August 14, at a food vendor corridor on Sunset Avenue and Amar Road in La Puente, California, near the Don Chilaquiles stand. Witnesses and vendors, including David González and Gabriela Hoyos, said a fellow vendor selling chicharrones spotted the agents and alerted others, allowing workers to flee to their vehicles before any arrests. Two Don Chilaquiles employees told reporters that no one was detained this time because workers received the warning in time. The same location saw Border Patrol agents detain three workers in December 2025, and vendors say fear of enforcement persists even as they continue working to support their families.

Maisa Lopes Eliaser, a 32-year-old Brazilian national married to Fort Polk Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Jaramillo, was detained by ICE on July 8, 2026, after missing an immigration appointment and overstaying a tourist visa she had used to enter the U.S. in 2019. She spent more than a month held at the ICE processing center in Basile, Louisiana, separated from the couple's five-year-old son. On August 14, she was placed on a deportation flight to Brazil, but after a stop in Bogotá, Colombia, ICE officers received a call and gave her the choice to return to the U.S., which she took, and she was released from custody. Eliaser said she struggled to sleep and felt dehumanized by the detention experience. Following media coverage and a Congressional inquiry into deportations of military family members, she has a new immigration appointment to reopen her case and pursue her green card application, while the family's appeal remains pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Multiple armed ICE agents in at least four vehicles arrived at the Morris Law Group, an immigration law firm in North Natomas, claiming to have a list from Washington, D.C. listing the building's address as a primary mailing address for numerous people. The agents requested to tour the office for beds, stating they could return at 3 a.m. to break windows and enter if they received follow-up orders. Law firm owner Raissa Morris instructed her staff to deny entry without a warrant. After approximately one hour, building manager Daniel Azurduy arrived and told the agents they were trespassing; they left shortly after. UC Davis Law Professor Kevin Johnson noted the tactic was unprecedented and questioned its legality, stating agents would need a warrant to search for evidence.

Guillermo Perez Ayala, a 52-year-old from Guanajuato, Mexico, was abandoned in Naco, Arizona during a border crossing attempt. According to his family, Perez Ayala last communicated with them on July 30, 2026, informing them he would wear camouflage clothing for the journey. He was allegedly left behind on Highway 80 in Arizona after injuring his foot and being unable to keep pace with the guides. His family is seeking information about his whereabouts.

Juan Francisco Monroy Turuy, a 54-year-old Guatemalan immigrant who has worked as a restaurant remodeler in the U.S. for more than two decades, called 911 after witnessing a man fire a gun into the air in a Home Depot parking lot on West Sam Houston Parkway South. He stayed at the scene to help identify the suspect, but before Houston police finished interviewing him, ICE agents arrived and detained him over his immigration status. Houston Police Department said it had not contacted or coordinated with ICE, and Home Depot denied cooperating with the agency. He has been held for more than three weeks at the Montgomery ICE Processing Center in Conroe, and his attorney says no one has contacted him about pursuing a U-visa. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said the detention could discourage witnesses from cooperating with police, and advocacy groups including FIEL, PSL, and CRECEN questioned how ICE located him so quickly. Monroy has long sent money home to support his wife, who suffered a stroke, and his three children; his son Wilmer said his father 'risked his own safety to help stop a criminal.'

Wendy Domingo, 18, was driving her family home from church on August 9, 2026—one day after her 18th birthday—when Border Patrol agents stopped their vehicle and detained both her parents, who are from Guatemala. The agents checked the vehicle's license plate registered to her father and took both parents into custody without arranging care for Wendy and her four younger siblings, ages 3, 11, 14, and 16. Wendy became the sole provider for her family, taking on two jobs to support her household while managing expenses and bills. She has had to pause her education due to the sudden responsibilities. Her mother was ordered deported by an immigration judge, and the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement about her father's background, though Wendy continues caring for her siblings.

Luckner Jean Louis, a Haitian immigrant, was arrested by ICE officers on the morning of August 9, 2026, in West Park while on his way to work. Video footage captured the moment officers approached, handcuffed him, and took him into custody. Details about Jean Louis' immigration status, where he was taken after arrest, and the reason ICE targeted him were not immediately available. The arrest sparked concern within the Haitian community, which includes many TPS beneficiaries, asylum seekers, and people with pending status adjustments. Community leaders and immigrant rights advocates called for increased vigilance, urging people to consult immigration attorneys and monitor developments in U.S. immigration policy.

Maria Perez, a Guatemalan asylum-seeker fleeing domestic violence, was arrested by ICE agents at her Nashville home on May 19, 2026, while preparing to take her two young children to a doctor's appointment. Attorneys said agents had come to serve a warrant on her husband but detained her instead, despite ICE policy generally barring detention of nursing mothers absent extraordinary circumstances. She was breastfeeding an infant and had a toddler with Down syndrome requiring ongoing medical care; the children were left in a neighbor's care without a formal plan, causing them to miss medical appointments. Perez, who has no criminal history, passed a credible fear interview, and had complied with immigration requirements since entering the U.S. in 2022, was held nearly 700 miles from home at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, where her sudden separation from her nursing infant compounded her diabetes. Advocacy groups including Sanctuary of the South, the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition, ACLU of Louisiana, Amnesty International, and the Kennedy Human Rights Center filed a civil rights complaint with DHS seeking her release. She was released on August 14, 2026, reunited with her children, and continues pursuing her asylum application.

Sulma Johanna Munoz-Castro, a Honduran national seeking asylum, was detained by immigration agents outside a home in South Nashville and transported to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center. The detention followed a Metro Nashville Police Department welfare check prompted by an unfounded report of child abuse; officers found the child in good health with no signs of abuse. ICE said Munoz-Castro is facing removal proceedings, alleging she entered the U.S. unlawfully in December 2021 and missed two scheduled appointments with federal agents.

A man was detained by ICE agents outside a Home Depot on Eastern Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland, while appearing to experience a stroke or seizure. Video shared on social media shows agents handcuffing him and searching his pockets despite his unsteady head and lack of bodily control. Bystanders reportedly offered him water, which agents waved away, and no medical assistance was provided by agents at the scene.

Adonys Francisco Mata Martinez, a Venezuelan freestyle rapper known as AdonysX who held Temporary Protected Status and had a pending extraordinary-talent artist visa application, was detained by ICE in late May after a traffic stop in Florida in which officers found no violation but identified his immigration status via his license plate. He said, 'We are not criminals for them to treat us this way,' describing five days sleeping on the floor at a Miramar processing center without the ability to bathe, followed by about a month at Krome Detention Center before being transferred with roughly 50 others to a facility in Louisiana. There, he said he works in the kitchen for one dollar a day amid cockroaches and insects, and reported chest pains dismissed as anxiety and a dental nerve problem he tried to self-treat after being denied a dentist. Nearly three months into his Louisiana detention, with his immigration court hearing repeatedly delayed by continuances, he alleged staff are overcrowding detainees—citing 76 people in a single cell—and reported widespread cases of tuberculosis and pink eye, saying in Spanish, 'They're trying to kill us.' ICE denied the allegations, stating that being in detention is a choice.

Isreal Cruz Gonzales, a Mexican national, was arrested by ICE agents at Denver International Airport on August 13, 2026, while attempting to board a Southwest Airlines flight to Sacramento. According to ICE, Gonzales entered the country legally on February 16, 2020, but overstayed his authorized departure date of March 16, 2020. He remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

Miguel Lorenzana Márquez, known as Mike, was detained by ICE agents after checking in for a scheduled USCIS appointment on the morning of his daughter's 8th grade graduation in Bell Gardens, California. His family had been preparing to celebrate the milestone but instead faced unexpected separation when he was taken into custody by ICE agents shortly after his appointment began.

Luis Alfredo Morales Pérez, 50, a Venezuelan pastor who leads four Seventh-day Adventist congregations in the Houston area, primarily in Pasadena, and has served the Texas Conference since January 2023, was detained by ICE agents on Aug. 6, 2026, at George Bush Intercontinental Airport as he and his wife, Karina, prepared to fly to New York to see their daughters. His wife said two agents approached the couple by name and arrested him before they passed through security. Morales entered the U.S. in 2020 and was granted Temporary Protected Status in December 2023, which ICE says was terminated in November 2025 after the Supreme Court allowed DHS's termination of TPS for Venezuelans to take effect; his wife and attorney say he has a pending asylum case and no criminal record. The Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists said he holds valid employment authorization and described his 'commitment to our mission and the families he serves' as 'unwavering,' asking congregants to pray for him and his family. He is being held at an ICE detention center in Livingston, Texas, where he has been able to speak with his family by phone while his legal team gathers documents to request bond; his case is reported to be at least the third involving a Texas pastor detained at an airport in the past month.

Armelle Bondonga, a 21-year-old who came to the U.S. from the Democratic Republic of Congo as a child under her father's asylum case, was detained by ICE agents on August 12 during her marriage-based green card interview at the USCIS field office in Louisville. Her husband, U.S. citizen Terrance Bradshaw, and their 19-month-old U.S. citizen son were present; agents separated the couple, and Bradshaw left with their son. Bondonga had a final removal order from November 2025 but was pursuing residency through marriage, with Bradshaw's I-130 petition still pending. Her attorneys, including Arianit Osmani, filed a habeas corpus petition arguing agents lacked a warrant and unlawfully detained her, while federal officials described the arrest as a lawful targeted operation. Bondonga is active in community organizations including Future Ancestors and Empower Youth; dozens of community members and elected officials, including state representative Sadiqa Reynolds, rallied on her behalf, describing her as a dedicated volunteer with no criminal record. She was held at the Clark County jail in Jeffersonville, Indiana, as attorneys sought a stay of removal and prepared for a bond hearing.

A Cuban detainee is currently held at the Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center in Pine Prairie, Louisiana. He filed a habeas petition along with an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, seeking to enjoin the government from removing him from the United States, prohibit his transfer to a facility outside the court's jurisdiction, obtain an expedited briefing schedule, and secure his immediate release or a bond hearing. The court found it lacked jurisdiction to block his removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(g), which bars claims connected to the execution of removal orders. The court also denied the request to block a facility transfer, finding no evidence a transfer was likely and noting that jurisdiction attaches upon filing and is not destroyed by transfer. The court declined to expedite briefing beyond its standard procedures. Finally, the court denied the request for immediate release, characterizing it as an improper attempt to resolve the merits of the habeas petition through injunctive relief rather than through the normal litigation process.

More than 140 detainees at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma are on a hunger strike to protest insufficient and unsanitary food, lack of medical care, and poor detention conditions. According to La Resistencia, detainees are being denied adequate meals and medical attention by GEO Group, the private company operating the facility, with meal times delayed for hours and food quality described as unacceptable. The detainees are demanding better food and medical care.

Margarita, a woman from New Jersey, was detained at the Elizabeth Detention Center for two months following what was described as a violent arrest. During her detention, she received only about a quarter of her prescribed diabetes medication, and her doctor and pharmacy were not contacted despite her family's concerns. Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-NJ) visited her and raised concerns about her treatment, with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries also expressing concern. Mejia characterized the conditions as a "slow death sentence."

Alex Pereira-Alves, a Brazilian immigrant who has lived in West Hollywood for over a decade and worked as a security guard and personal trainer, was detained by ICE agents during a sudden immigration check-in at a federal building downtown. He had previously been granted withholding of removal and was under electronic monitoring, with his next scheduled check-in not due until November before he received an unexpected call ordering him to report immediately. His attorney, Jane Oaks, and friends say DHS is now seeking to deport him to a country he has no connection to, with loved ones first told he would be sent to Guyana and later informed it would be Equatorial Guinea. His friend Jeff Markwardt said Pereira-Alves was 'terrified' and expressed concern for his wellbeing, noting his dog Bella remains in the community. Oaks is filing an emergency habeas corpus petition arguing he was denied due process.

Reny Jesús Colina Torres, a 27-year-old Venezuelan mariachi musician and trumpet player who works as a dishwasher at a Cracker Barrel, was detained by ICE agents during a vehicle stop near Culebra Road and North Navidad Street in San Antonio's Woodlawn Lake area on Monday morning while returning home from driving his brother-in-law to work. His sister said he previously applied for asylum and has work authorization while his immigration court case proceeds, with his next hearing scheduled for January. DHS stated that Colina Torres was in the country illegally and would remain in custody during removal proceedings, though his family said they entered through an official port of entry two years ago to escape dire economic conditions in Venezuela. He was sent to the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, the same facility where his friend and fellow mariachi musician Hebert Kaleth Ibarra Castro was detained in late June before being released on bond.

Carolina Molina, a U.S. citizen and licensed mental health therapist who works with immigration lawyers, was confronted at gunpoint by a masked ICE agent on August 10, 2026, in a Falls Church, Virginia parking lot. Molina was distributing business cards for immigration legal services when she witnessed ICE agents detaining two Latino men and shouted at the officers from her car. ICE vehicles boxed in her car and an agent drew his firearm, pointing it at her through the driver's-side window while accusing her of trying to run officers over. Molina denied the allegation, saying she was turning her car to avoid drawing attention to the attorney's office, and recorded the encounter on dashcam and cellphone video that she later shared publicly. DHS claimed she was 'weaponizing her vehicle,' but no charges were filed. Democratic Representatives Don Beyer and Suhas Subramanyam called for accountability, with Beyer describing Molina as a mother and citing a pattern of DHS misconduct.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 14 people during an immigration enforcement operation near Hackettstown, New Jersey on August 6, 2026. According to DHS, all 14 individuals entered the United States illegally and are now in removal proceedings or undergoing removal. Two of those arrested had prior criminal histories: Rafael Salazar, a Dominican Republic national previously arrested twice in Miami on cocaine possession charges, and Luis Rivera Guillen, a Honduran national with prior convictions in New York. DHS did not provide details about the circumstances of the operation or identify the remaining 12 people arrested.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a husband and wife outside the Cumberland County courthouse in Portland after they left the building on Tuesday. According to ICE, both are from African countries and had entered the U.S. legally approximately 10 years ago but overstayed their authorized periods of stay. One of the two had been scheduled to be arraigned that afternoon on a theft charge. The Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition said the arrests were the first it was aware of occurring outside the Cumberland County courthouse and expressed concern that such enforcement near courthouses discourages immigrants from reporting crimes, testifying as witnesses, or attending their own court proceedings.

Fabián Guarín, a Hispanic immigrant and asylum applicant with valid work authorization and a current driver's license, was detained by ICE during a traffic stop in Provo, Utah. His wife Natalia says he is the sole economic provider for their family of five, including three young children, and that he has no criminal record and proper documentation. The family is seeking financial support and assistance to secure his release.

Luis Morales, a Venezuelan-born Seventh-day Adventist pastor who has overseen four churches in the Houston area since January 2023, was detained by ICE agents at George Bush Intercontinental Airport on August 6, 2026, while traveling with his wife for vacation. According to ICE, Morales's Temporary Protected Status was revoked on November 20, 2025, and he remained in the country afterward. His wife, Karina, said the couple has a pending asylum claim. The Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists stated that Morales holds valid employment authorization and expressed concern for him and his family.

A 14-year-old girl from Guatemala was detained by ICE and deported while pregnant. She is now in a rural area of Guatemala preparing to give birth to a baby boy with a due date of August 15th. The mother and her 14-year-old boyfriend, a U.S. resident, had planned to raise their child together in the United States, but her deportation has separated the young family. The family is seeking legal assistance to establish the baby's citizenship, determine the mother's immigration options, and reunite all three in the U.S.

Jimy Samuel Godoy Alfaro, an 18-year-old Honduran man, was confronted by ICE agents in the parking lot of a market in Columbia, Maryland, after agents mistakenly linked his vehicle to another person with a deportation order. When agents ordered him out of the car and tried to break his window, he drove off, striking an ICE agent who was later treated at a hospital for trauma and abrasions. Godoy Alfaro turned himself in to Howard County Police on hit-and-run related traffic charges and is being held without bond at the Howard County Detention Center, while ICE has lodged a detainer seeking custody of him.

A 49-year-old citizen of the Dominican Republic entered Puerto Rico without inspection around 1998 and has lived in the United States for more than 28 years without any reported criminal history. He has two U.S.-citizen children, ages 20 and 12, whom he financially supports, and he also supports his U.S.-citizen mother, who has documented illnesses; his mother twice filed I-130 petitions on his behalf, both of which were approved. On August 11, 2026, seven masked ICE agents approached and detained him in San Juan, Puerto Rico while he was waiting to retrieve electrical materials for a job, and he was taken into immigration custody without prior warning. He is currently detained at the GSA Guaynabo Immigration Center. He filed a habeas corpus petition arguing his detention violates the INA and his Fifth Amendment due process rights, along with an emergency motion for a TRO seeking to block his transfer out of Puerto Rico and to obtain a bond hearing. The court found he is likely governed by the discretionary detention framework of 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) rather than mandatory detention, and granted the TRO, ordering that he not be transferred outside the District of Puerto Rico and that he receive a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge by August 25, 2026. The habeas petition itself was held in abeyance pending further briefing from the government.

A 9-year-old child with special medical needs and their parent, Adrián Espinoza De La Cruz, were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents on August 11 and are being held at the Havre Border Patrol Station, according to a petition filed in federal court by attorneys with Upper Seven Law. The petition alleges the arrest was made without a judicial warrant and that the facility lacks basic amenities such as proper bedding, despite the family's ties to Billings, where the parent has lived for four years and the child for three years while attending elementary school. The child has upcoming medical appointments, including bloodwork and an ultrasound, that took months to schedule. The U.S. Attorney's Office acknowledged the warrantless arrest but argued releasing the parent and child would not be appropriate, while attorneys are seeking their immediate release or a bond hearing as part of a broader case alleging the government is unlawfully detaining 17 people at the Cascade County Detention Center.