Human Impact Project

Carlos Ernesto Guerra Cruz, who arrived in the United States four years ago with a pending asylum case, was detained by ICE on a Saturday following a local incident. He was initially taken to a detention facility in Centennial, Colorado, and after spending the weekend in custody, was told he would be released on Monday. However, as he was being released, ICE took him into custody and transferred him to the ICE detention facility in Aurora, Colorado. His wife Yorliana and their two children, ages 8 and 12, are now facing financial and emotional hardship due to his detention.

At least 12 detainees at the Aurora ICE processing center in Colorado, operated by the Geo Group, contracted tuberculosis after a single confirmed case multiplied to 12 within three days of facility-wide testing. A Mexican man in his 30s detained there reported that infected and healthy detainees were kept together under quarantine in a housing pod of 88 people while the facility's air conditioning failed during a heat advisory with outdoor temperatures near 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The man, who has pre-existing health conditions, received medication twice daily but described conditions as uncomfortable. His U.S. citizen partner expressed concern about the deteriorating situation and questioned why the for-profit operator could not repair the cooling system quickly. Staff provided only electric fans to cool the crowded pod.

Two individuals were taken into custody by ICE on the morning of July 14, 2026 at a Love's gas station in Madras. Video posted by the Latino Community Association shows two masked individuals wearing bulletproof vests and bearing Police and U.S. Border Patrol markings approaching a group of vehicles. The Latino Community Association received multiple reports of immigration enforcement activity in the area and was working to confirm whether these individuals were among those transported to Tacoma Northwest Detention Center.

On the morning of July 14, immigration agents in police vests and masks conducted enforcement operations in Arcadia, Florida. At La Placita Mexicana restaurant on U.S. Highway 17, Magi Velasquez, the restaurant manager, warned customers to flee after spotting agents asking for papers; agents chased a man who fled the parking lot. About 30 minutes later near a CVS a block away, witness J.F. observed agents arresting an elderly man close to 80 and another man in work clothes, forcibly loading them into a van. The Arcadia Police Department and DeSoto County Sheriff's Office both denied involvement, though both agencies have officers trained in immigration enforcement through 287(g) agreements. The incident occurred amid multiple ICE enforcement actions across Florida in recent days.

Juan Jairo Coronilla Durán, a 28-year-old Honduran national and father of two, was fatally struck by a tractor-trailer on State Road 16 in St. Augustine, Florida on July 14, 2026, while fleeing ICE and Homeland Security Investigations agents. Coronilla Durán had arrived in the United States three weeks earlier on a valid tourist visa to work, according to his wife Yésica Alamilla López. During an early-morning operation at a Wawa gas station parking lot near Interstate 95, federal agents stopped a vehicle with four occupants; all four fled on foot. While attempting to cross the busy highway, Coronilla Durán slipped on wet grass in the median and was struck by the semi-truck. A veterinary nurse and an off-duty firefighter among bystanders attempted to render aid and perform CPR at the scene, but he died at the location. His death occurred during a week in which at least three other fatalities were linked to immigration enforcement encounters under the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign.

A man who entered the U.S. on a valid visa and had complied with immigration appointments for seven years was arrested in the middle of his asylum interview. He faced transfer to a detention center near Bakersfield, separated from his American spouse and U.S.-born children. Attorney Elizabeth Knowles from the Bay Area Habeas Network filed an emergency habeas petition after midnight, and a federal judge ordered his immediate release within five hours.

Erick Lionel Cristal Cumes, a Guatemalan immigrant, was detained by ICE on May 28 at Don Patron Mexican Grill in Weston during a raid that also resulted in the detention of more than a dozen other employees. He has been held at Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania since his arrest. Cumes is married to Lauren, an American-born citizen whom he married in April; they have been together four years. His attorney argues ICE violated his constitutional rights by detaining him without individualized assessment of flight risk or danger to the community. A federal judge ruled Cumes is entitled to a bond hearing and that his continued detention would be unlawful if the government cannot prove he poses danger or flight risk, with a bond hearing ordered by July 14. Over 50 community members appeared in federal court on June 25 to support Cumes, testifying he is a member of the community in good standing. Lauren testified about poor detention conditions including spoiled food and lack of responsiveness to requests for help, stating she is allowed contact with her husband about once per day. His attorney also argued the case should remain in West Virginia court rather than be transferred to Pennsylvania, contending that transfer could delay resolution of his case.

U.S. District Judge Richard F. Boulware II ordered the release of immigrants detained in Nevada facilities, accusing Immigration and Customs Enforcement of defying his March 2026 ruling that the Trump administration's mandatory detention policy is unconstitutional. The detainees had been arrested without proper warrants and denied individualized determinations on whether they should be held or released on bond. Judge Boulware stated the individuals cannot be detained again until their removal proceedings are heard in immigration court, where the government must prove detention is justified by clear and convincing evidence. The judge described ICE's continued enforcement of the mandatory detention policy as "governmental lawlessness" and "rebelling" against his binding court order. Boulware warned he would consider sanctions against ICE officials who defied his orders and noted this was part of a broader pattern of ICE noncompliance with his directives in Nevada.

Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder and Columbia University graduate student of Syrian-Palestinian descent, was arrested by ICE without a warrant at his apartment building on March 8, 2025, following his pro-Palestinian activism and organizing campus protests. The Trump administration pursued deportation based on allegations he concealed prior employment with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and the British Embassy on his visa application. Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoked a rarely used immigration provision claiming his activism threatens U.S. foreign policy. Khalil was held for 104 days at LaSalle Detention Center in Louisiana before a federal judge released him on bail in June 2025. In July 2026, he filed a lawsuit against Trump administration officials and pro-Israel groups, alleging they conspired to target him and others for supporting Palestinian rights, claiming the administration coordinated with surveillance groups Betar and Canary Mission using a document called "Project Esther" as a blueprint.

Carlos Roberto Montoya Valdez, a 52-year-old day laborer from Guatemala who had lived in the U.S. about three years, died after being struck by an SUV traveling roughly 60 mph while fleeing across Interstate 210 during a federal immigration enforcement operation at a Monrovia Home Depot. He worked to support his wife of 35 years, Ana María Vásquez, their four daughters, and grandchildren in Guatemala. His daughter Ana Victoria recalled his final phone call the night before his death, in which he spoke of hoping to return to Guatemala once he had saved enough to start his own business; his wife described him as 'a light' who brought joy to everyone, especially his grandchildren. Between eight and ten other day laborers from Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras were also arrested in the operation. The Department of Homeland Security has denied that agents chased or pursued him. Community advocates, including the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, have blamed the enforcement tactics for causing the panic that led to his death and are demanding Home Depot release security footage, while state lawmakers have renewed calls for the REPAIR Act (SB 1103) requiring large retailers to disclose immigration enforcement activity on their property.

A Colombian man, a citizen of Colombia, has been in the United States since December 29, 2024, when he presented at the border, was issued a Notice to Appear charging him as removable for lacking valid entry documents, and was granted parole and released on his own recognizance. He has applied for asylum. On July 13, 2026, he was arrested and detained by ICE and has remained in custody without a bond hearing since. He has no criminal history and no final order of removal, and is detained at the Pike County Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania. On July 20, 2026, he filed a habeas corpus petition and a motion for a temporary restraining order in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, arguing that his detention under the mandatory detention provision of 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b) is unlawful because he was paroled into the country and is no longer 'seeking admission,' and that he is instead subject to the discretionary detention provision, 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), which entitles him to a bond hearing.

On July 13, 2026, Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero was fatally shot outside his Biddeford, Maine home during an ICE operation, and Jesús Manuel Arenas-Silva lost consciousness and died while being transferred between detention centers in Georgia. The next day, Juan Jairo Coronilla Durán, a 28-year-old Mexican national visiting the United States, was struck and killed by a semitruck in St. Augustine, Florida after he and three others fled on foot from federal immigration officers during an encounter at a gas station parking lot. None of the three men were ICE's intended targets.

An Iranian man who was previously arrested, suspended from university, held in solitary confinement, and threatened with death in Iran for publishing political opposition magazines was arrested by ICE during a routine check-in in February 2025 after an immigration judge canceled his bond. He had twice been granted asylum by immigration judges, but the government appealed both grants and the Board of Immigration Appeals had not yet ruled on the merits when Judge Linda Lopez of the US District Court for the Southern District of California denied his habeas petition on July 13. Lopez said her hands were tied under a Ninth Circuit ruling and that his prolonged detention, while lengthy, was not indefinite.

On a Sunday in July 2026, ICE agents set up a checkpoint on the only road leading to Wilson Creek, a popular swimming spot in Pisgah National Forest, Caldwell County, North Carolina, and detained 13 people, including Argenis Eduardo Torres Rosales, while they visited with family. Some families were separated, including one left stranded roadside without cell service after a father was taken into custody. Advocates say it was the first known ICE raid at a national forest in North Carolina.

A mother and her adult son have lived in the United States since December 2022, when they were paroled into the country. The mother worked at a laundromat and supported her son's education, while the son worked at a food-packing facility, attended school, and earned his high school equivalency diploma. Both had complied with all ICE reporting requirements and had no criminal history. On July 13, 2026, over three and a half years after entering the country, they were detained without warning at a routine ICE check-in. They were held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center and filed petitions for writs of habeas corpus arguing their re-detention without notice or a hearing violated their Fifth Amendment due process rights. The government did not oppose their claims. The federal court granted the petitions, finding their re-detention violated due process, and ordered their release within 24 hours under their prior conditions of release, with return of their personal belongings and immigration documents.

A Mexican national and noncitizen is currently held in ICE custody at Diamondback Correctional Facility in Oklahoma. He has a final order of removal and is seeking to prevent his removal to Mexico or a third country. He claims membership in the Immigration Center for Women and Children (ICWC) class of ICE detainees with pending immigration benefit applications, including U Visa petitions, and states he has a pending Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)-based petition that bears on his removability and eligibility for relief. He filed a habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 and moved for a stay of removal pending resolution of his petition, or alternatively, for a temporary restraining order (TRO). The Magistrate Judge recommended denying his motion for stay/TRO, finding the Western District of Oklahoma lacks jurisdiction to enjoin removal proceedings under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(g), which bars district courts from hearing claims arising from DHS decisions to execute removal orders.

A Chinese national admitted to the U.S. on a valid B-1/B-2 visa on April 4, 2024, was re-detained by ICE on July 13, 2026, at Los Angeles International Airport without notice, warrant, or hearing. During her two+ years in the country, she had been granted employment authorization, worked lawfully, established community ties, and maintained a clean criminal record while her asylum application was pending. The court ordered her release on her prior conditions within 24 hours, finding her re-detention without pre-deprivation process violated Fifth Amendment due process rights.

A noncitizen was re-detained on June 26, 2026, after having been previously released on bond or conditional parole. The government failed to provide him with a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter before re-detaining him, violating the Due Process Clause. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California granted his petition for writ of habeas corpus and motion for temporary restraining order, ordering his immediate release with the same conditions he was subject to prior to detention, and requiring the government to provide at least seven days' notice and a pre-deprivation bond hearing before any future re-detention.

Yeison Saúl Menjívar Portillo, a boy with Down syndrome and epilepsy who is nonverbal and hearing impaired, was detained by ICE in Bridge City, a suburb of New Orleans, Louisiana. His family says they do not know where he is or whether he is safe. His mother stated he requires specific medication for epileptic seizures and cannot survive or care for himself without her presence, and she is asking authorities to either tell her where he is or deport her with him.

Diana, a longtime community member known for her kindness and generosity, was taken into ICE custody after attending a scheduled immigration appointment. She is currently awaiting a bond hearing while her immigration case proceeds. Her family and friends are raising funds to cover legal fees, bond costs, and other case-related expenses.