Human Impact Project

A man detained at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, Texas filed a habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. The court ordered the respondents, including named official Miguel Vergara, to respond within 7 days, addressing the date he entered the United States, whether he was previously apprehended and released by immigration authorities, and the status of his immigration or removal proceedings. The document does not specify his nationality, family ties, employment, or the circumstances of his apprehension. He is seeking relief through this habeas petition, though the specific relief requested is not detailed in this order. The court has permitted electronic notice of filing to constitute service on the Federal Respondents. He will have the opportunity to file a reply within 7 days after the response is filed.

A man is currently held in ICE custody at the McCook Detention Center in McCook, Nebraska. He filed a habeas corpus petition seeking immediate release from custody. The court issued an order to show cause requiring respondents, including DHS and ICE officials, to justify the legality of his detention. Respondents must submit a return by August 24, 2026, with affidavits, a legal memorandum, information on whether an arrest warrant was used, and any supporting documents. The petitioner may file a reply by August 27, 2026. The court also enjoined respondents from removing the petitioner from the United States or from Nebraska, and ordered his return to Nebraska if he has already been removed.

ICE agents detained a Cambodian man Tuesday morning while he was working at Veranda Asian Market in Woodfords Corner, Portland, Maine. His name has not been publicly released, but Khmer Maine, a nonprofit in contact with him, described him as "quiet, kind and a hard worker." Marpheen Chann, executive director of Khmer Maine, said the arrest has sparked fear in local Asian immigrant communities and is "hurting Maine's local economy and making our communities feel less safe." Khmer Maine says it is working with his family and immigration advocates to ensure transparency. ICE has not released statistics on its recent operations in Maine, though national ICE detention numbers reached a record high of more than 65,000 last month.

Volunteers and immigration advocates launched a 'Know Your Rights Week' campaign in Queens, going door to door to educate residents about responding to ICE encounters. The effort was inspired by volunteer Odilia Gonzalez, whose undocumented brother from Mexico was detained for months after being stopped on his way to work. Local officials said their offices have received numerous calls about ICE detentions in the community, and some also called for restoring Temporary Protected Status for Haitians after its termination.

Ana Kikabidze and her children, ages 11 and 14, were detained for months at the Dilley immigration detention facility in South Texas before an immigration judge ordered their deportation to Georgia. A federal judge found the Trump administration had repeatedly violated the Flores Settlement by detaining children far beyond legal limits, in some cases over 300 days. U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee appointed an independent monitor to oversee detention conditions for children at Dilley and other facilities.

Guillermo Gallardo Barrera, who lived in Arizona for more than 20 years with no criminal record, entered ICE detention able to walk but after more than a year at the Central Arizona ICE Detention Center can no longer stand without a cane. He reports severe pain, numbness in his hands, debilitating insomnia and an undiagnosed disability, saying ICE has only given him ibuprofen for treatment. He filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus and an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order in federal court, both of which were denied; an amended habeas petition was also denied in June 2026, allowing his detention to continue while broader legal challenges proceed. A new case against DHS Secretary Noem has since been filed on his behalf. "I'm terrified I won't make it out of here alive," he said. Advocates have launched a fundraiser to secure him an independent medical evaluation and legal support.

Kléber (also spelled Cleber) Guachilema, a 25-year-old Ecuadorian immigrant, was arrested by ICE agents during an operation in a Lawrence, Massachusetts neighborhood, with the arrest captured on video. His family describes him as the sole financial provider for the household and the father of a young child. Relatives say the arrest resulted from mistaken identification, and that his wife has recently had health problems. They say his son has been traumatized by the detention, repeatedly asking whether his father is dead.

Daysi, described as one of the top political consultants in the country, is facing an approaching deadline as her Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is set to expire. She must decide whether to self-deport or remain in the U.S. and risk the career and life she has built. A family portrait accompanying her story shows her with several relatives.

Katrina Castro-Menéndez, 41, a former municipal judge from Matanzas, Cuba, was detained by ICE agents outside her home in Cooper City, Florida, after her husband left for work and while her 15-year-old daughter slept inside. She was taken to ICE offices in Miramar and then to the Broward Transition Center, where she remains held pending removal proceedings. The Department of Homeland Security alleges she committed immigration fraud by concealing Communist Party membership on her asylum and residency applications, reasoning that her past judicial role implies such affiliation, but Katrina says a lawyer who charged her $3,000 never properly interviewed her and that mandatory Cuban civic groups she belonged to are distinct from party membership. She appeared before an immigration judge in Miami on August 5 without legal representation and testified she had never joined the Communist Party. Her husband, Deyni Rojas González, whose humanitarian parole documentation has expired, cannot visit her in person or maintain video calls, and she says she has rehearsed how to tell her daughter they may be deported to Cuba.

A man was detained by ICE agents in Newark, New Jersey, after visiting the food pantry at United Deliverance Tabernacle church. According to Iszzy Owens, who filmed the encounter, the man had signed up for food assistance and crossed the street to wait for a bus when two ICE agents surrounded him; a third agent then arrived and the man was handcuffed and taken away. Owens said the man visits the church pantry every Friday and does not bother anyone, describing him as "a good person."

José Mejía, a 45-year-old Mexican migrant, said he was detained by ICE agents on August 11 while on his way to work in Arlington, Texas. He said agents shocked him with a stun gun when he tried to flee and then physically assaulted him, leaving him with visible facial injuries. Mejía said he later woke up in a hospital in Washington, where he was admitted for three days due to the severity of his injuries. Days later, he said he still needed medical attention for his injuries but was denied permission to remove his ankle monitor so he could see a doctor.

Frander has been held in immigration detention for 250 days while his wife Maria awaits his return home to their daughters. In July, Frander won his case, giving the Department of Homeland Security 30 days to appeal the ruling. That deadline passed without any update on his status, though his family later reported possible progress toward his release.

Ambar Aguilar Gómez, a 27-year-old Venezuelan woman who is six months pregnant, was detained by Border Patrol on August 11 while riding as a passenger in her cousin's car near the Tohono O'odham reservation south of Tucson, Arizona, after agents found the vehicle lacked insurance. She remains in Border Patrol custody in Tucson, and it is unclear whether she will be transferred to an ICE detention facility. Her husband, Mevin Josué Guerra, said the couple, parents of two children with a third on the way, entered the U.S. from Venezuela in 2019 and applied for asylum. Guerra is recovering from a June car accident that left him in a 10-day coma with a tracheotomy and brain injuries, and told N+ Univisión, "She is my lifeline. We have no other family here." An immigration lawyer said her pregnancy and her husband's medical condition could be considered as evidence in the case, though the decision rests with a judge.

A Mexican national who had lived in the United States for years after entering without inspection was detained by ICE and held at a detention facility. He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention, arguing he was entitled to a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge rather than being held under mandatory detention rules. The government argued he was properly held under mandatory detention provisions as an applicant for admission. A federal district court disagreed, finding that because he had already entered and was living in the country, his detention was governed by discretionary detention provisions rather than mandatory ones. The court granted his petition, ordering that he receive a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge within seven days and barring immigration authorities from denying him bond or rearresting him except under limited circumstances.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national living in Maryland with his U.S. citizen family, was unlawfully deported to El Salvador's CECOT prison in March 2025 despite a 2019 court order protecting him from removal due to gang violence risks. The Supreme Court unanimously ordered his return, and he was brought back to the U.S. in June 2025, after which federal prosecutors indicted him on human smuggling charges in Tennessee. Costa Rica offered him refugee status in August 2025, but the administration instead pursued deporting him to African nations, including Liberia, which have resisted. A judge ordered his release from ICE custody in December 2025 after finding government lawyers misled the court, and later blocked his re-detention and deportation to Liberia. A federal judge dismissed the smuggling charges in May 2026 as vindictive retaliation for his legal challenge, but in August 2026 the Justice Department asked the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate the charges, a move his attorneys are contesting.

Keiber Alexander Esposito Martinez, a Venezuelan asylum seeker who entered the U.S. legally in 2023, was detained by ICE while driving to or from his job in Buffalo. Over three years he rose from dishwasher to sous chef at Casa Azul restaurant in the Allentown neighborhood, holding legal work authorization and a New York driver's license with no criminal record. Restaurant owner Zina Lapi called him a 'model citizen' and said his detention caused other asylum-seeking employees to quit out of fear. Martinez, who is married to a U.S. citizen, is being held at the federal detention facility in Batavia. His attorney, Matthew Borowski, filed a federal lawsuit seeking his release, saying the family received no explanation for the detention and alleging visibly Latino or Bangladeshi individuals are being targeted.

A man was detained by ICE on a Wednesday morning while on his way to work. His wife described him as a hardworking man who has been the family's main support since her father passed away seven months earlier, leaving her mother to care for two young children alone. The family started a fundraiser to help cover expenses following his detention.

A construction worker was detained by ICE agents while on the job at a construction site near Esperanza Homes in the Texas Heights area of Weslaco, Texas. A coworker told the agents he was from the area, but agents ignored him, entered the property without a warrant, and took the worker away. As the coworker filmed the encounter, agents reportedly threatened to accuse him of 'impeding' for documenting the incident.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer against Meliza Campos-Sanchez, a Cuban national, after she was arrested and booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami. Authorities allege she was involved in an incident at her Miami home on Aug. 16 that led to child neglect, child abuse, and arson charges, and she was taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation before being booked. DHS said ICE asked local officials to notify federal authorities before her release so she could potentially be taken into ICE custody, and the agency said it intends to seek her removal after her criminal case is resolved. She entered the United States through Florida without legal authorization in May 2022, according to DHS, and her criminal charges remain pending.

Wilbert Jean Baptiste was chased down and apprehended by law enforcement near a car wash at the Southern Village Shopping Center in Springfield, according to bystander videos posted to social media in which an officer identified himself as being with ICE. He is currently incarcerated at the Butler County Jail on an ICE hold, under the jail's agreement with ICE to house suspected noncitizens.

A woman posted on Instagram that her brother was pulled over near the Yakima Sundome on Fair Avenue while driving to work by a masked ICE agent who did not identify himself. She said he was handcuffed and placed in the back of a squad car without probable cause, and was released only after officials verified his identity. She shared photos of the vehicles involved and urged others to "move with caution."

Three people were allegedly detained by ICE in West Lebanon, according to the local volunteer group Upper Valley Immigration Solidarity. The detentions occurred amid a broader wave of ICE arrests across Vermont and the Upper Valley over the same weekend, which advocates said lacked centralized tracking or public disclosure.

Beaubrun Charles Ardouin, a naturalized U.S. citizen who drives for a transportation company shuttling workers, was pulled over near Topre America in Springfield, Ohio, in what DHS called a 'targeted enforcement' stop. Ardouin said he showed officers his ID and told them he was a citizen, but they demanded identification from his five Haitian passengers and threatened to break his van's windows if he didn't unlock them. All five men, who said they had pending asylum applications, were detained and booked into Butler County Jail under ICE holds; jail records identified them as Canot Monnimat, Albert Francois, Nero Adrien Toussaint, Cadet Vixama and Wislain Fenelon. The stop occurred amid broader ICE activity across Springfield, including arrests near a car wash in an area with several Haitian-owned businesses, with some detainees' mugshots showing them still in work uniforms. Butler County Jail held 17 people listing Haiti as their birth country under ICE detention as of one recent Monday, as many of Springfield's estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Haitian residents became vulnerable to detention after a federal judge lifted a stay on the revocation of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti. Legal experts questioned whether officers had reasonable suspicion for the traffic stop, and DHS said several of the detained men have since been released or transferred.

Maryam Tahmasebi, a professor at Los Angeles Pierce College; her husband Eissa Seyed Hashemi, an educator; and their 16-year-old son were detained by ICE in Los Angeles in April, and their green cards were revoked. Lawyers say the family was targeted because Eissa's mother, Masoumeh Ebtekar, was a spokesperson for the group that took Americans hostage during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, decades before Eissa or his son were born. Maryam and her son have been held at the Dilley detention center in Texas while Eissa is held at a nearby facility, with the family limited to a 10-minute phone call every two weeks; colleagues describe Maryam as dedicated to her students and community. After more than 120 days in detention, the family offered to voluntarily depart the country but was denied, and their lawyers say the teenage son has been detained far longer than facilities are meant to hold children, describing conditions including black mold and non-potable water at the facility.

ICE agents forcibly detained a person with irregular immigration status outside a Dollar Tree store in Jacksonville, Florida. During the operation, another person inside the store questioned the agents' actions and argued that they were on private property.

A man was taken into custody by federal immigration agents at Summit Avenue and 21st Street in Union City, New Jersey, according to a witness. The witness said three ICE vehicles arrived and agents detained the man while he sat on the corner with a friend; he provided identification before masked agents handcuffed him, searched his bag and pockets, and took him away. The incident follows a New Jersey law signed by Gov. Mikie Sherrill barring law enforcement from wearing masks while interacting with the public, which ICE has continued to disregard. The report is part of a series of immigration enforcement actions recently reported across Hudson County, including in West New York, Guttenberg, North Bergen, and Weehawken.

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.

Linda Wolff, a 72-year-old fashion stylist and longtime immigrant rights supporter from Manhattan, was pepper-sprayed in the face by a masked ICE agent while filming federal officers near Inwood Hill Park during what officials referred to as 'Operation Rotten Apple.' Wolff said she had learned of ICE's presence via social media and was recording from a distance, never touching or acting aggressively toward officers, when an agent approached and sprayed her without provocation. She said her eyes and skin burned afterward but continued documenting ICE activity in the neighborhood and said she would not be deterred from doing so again. DHS said agents used pepper spray to control an 'unruly, combative' crowd while recovering a vandalized government van, describing their response as appropriate and within training. Governor Kathy Hochul condemned the incident as part of a pattern of aggressive federal immigration enforcement tactics against New Yorkers, and Wolff's attorney filed a claim against ICE under New York's newly enacted Bivens Act, calling it one of the first tests of the statute and describing the pepper-spraying as 'purely punitive.'

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 masked men he didn't recognize as ICE agents approached him, prompting him to flee out of fear. He alleges he was shocked with a Taser and possibly struck by an officer's vehicle, losing consciousness and waking up in a hospital with two blackened eyes, facial lacerations requiring stitches, bruising, brain swelling and a brain hemorrhage. He was hospitalized for three days with ICE officers stationed in his room, and his attorney says he now struggles to eat, sleep, speak normally, or work. DHS disputes his account, saying he fled arrest and that agents used necessary force, citing a prior voluntary return to Mexico and a 2020 public intoxication conviction. Arlington County police have opened a criminal investigation, and Mejia Hernandez has filed a police report, is pursuing a U visa, and plans to sue the federal government. He has since been placed in deportation proceedings, with a hearing scheduled for September 14. Virginia officials 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.