Human Impact Project

Billy Bassikissa Bounguiena, a corrections officer at Cumberland County Sheriff's Office, was detained by ICE on Tuesday at his home in South Portland. He held a valid work permit and had no criminal history, according to county officials. ICE alleged he had a criminal record based on a 2019 domestic violence arrest in which no charges were filed; county officials dispute this characterization as false. He is being held at Wyatt Detention Facility in Rhode Island.

Jesus Acevedo-Sanchez was detained by ICE agents on June 11, 2026, at Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School in Southeast Baltimore during a preschool graduation ceremony. When agents attempted to arrest him, Acevedo-Sanchez refused lawful commands and violently resisted, using his vehicle to evade law enforcement and dragging an ICE officer in the process. He faces federal charges for resisting and impeding federal officers and destruction of government property. Children who were in the vehicle were removed and cared for by family members, while school staff secured other children in the building. Acevedo-Sanchez has a history of evading ICE, including a prior collision with an ICE vehicle in April 2026. He is being held at a Baltimore detention facility. Two undocumented immigrants were detained by ICE agents at Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School during a school graduation ceremony on June 11, 2026. The individuals were pursued by ICE agents and drove into the school parking lot with children in the vehicle. During the detention, one individual punched federal officers and faces federal charges for assaulting a federal officer. The arrests resulted in children being separated from their parents and caused distress among those present. School officials and state leaders condemned the enforcement action at the sensitive location.

A Guatemalan man was arrested in a Bonita Springs park after a Florida Fish and Wildlife officer falsely claimed the man's dog had bitten him, though the officer never exited his vehicle. The man was held for approximately 40 minutes before ICE officers arrived and took him into custody. His wife, who witnessed the incident, said both are pending asylum cases and spoke anonymously to avoid jeopardizing their immigration status.

Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban migrant and father of four, died on January 3, 2026, at Camp East Montana, an ICE detention facility at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, during a physical restraint by guards. Witnesses in nearby cells said guards shoved him into his cell after he asked for medication during nurse rounds, then heard punching and slamming sounds as he screamed 'I can't breathe!' and 'You're suffocating me,' with his last words being 'I cannot breathe, may God bless me.' The El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide from asphyxia due to neck and torso compression, citing neck and petechial hemorrhages and abrasions on his chest and knees. DHS initially claimed he was attempting suicide and that staff intervened, while ICE's account changed multiple times, first citing medical distress before acknowledging staff used force. A federal GAO report found the facility's contractor failed to provide required use-of-force and death reports to ICE and that evidence tied to the incident was missing or destroyed. ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility investigation is on hold pending a criminal investigation by the FBI.

Beginning May 27, 2026, hundreds of detainees at Delaney Hall, a 1,000-bed private immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey operated by GEO Group under contract to ICE, initiated a hunger and labor strike protesting conditions including expired and contaminated food infested with worms, forced labor at wages as low as $1 per day, stiflingly hot conditions due to ventilation problems, and reports that female detainees had been groped by a guard. Federal data showed that of 591 detainees held at the facility, only 76 (about 13 percent) had criminal convictions and 123 (about 21 percent) had pending criminal charges. Organizer Martin Soto led the strike and was transferred to another facility during escalation. Some detainees had been held for 8 to 12 months. Outside the facility, protesters gathered nightly and clashed with federal police and state troopers in riot gear. ICE responded with chemical agents including pepper spray and pepper balls, armored vehicles, and batons against both detainees and external protesters, with at least 90 arrests of external protesters since May 26. Detainees involved in the strike faced retaliation including solitary confinement and transfers to other facilities. The action was part of at least six concurrent hunger strikes at immigration detention facilities nationwide.

ICE conducted a raid on Glenn Valley Foods meatpacking plant in Omaha, Nebraska on June 10, 2025, detaining approximately 76 undocumented workers. The operation involved roughly 80 federal and local agents. One year after the raid, community leaders reported ongoing negative economic and social impacts in South Omaha's business district, including loss of business activity, reduced consumer traffic, and increased fear among immigrants. Of the detainees, close to 10 self-deported, others were granted bond and temporary work permits while facing immigration proceedings.

A noncitizen woman was detained at the Aurora Contract Detention Facility and received a removal order on March 11, 2026. The immigration judge ordered deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture. She sought immediate release via habeas corpus petition and Rehabilitation Act claim, arguing she needed release to meaningfully participate in immigration proceedings. The district court denied her petition, finding her removal order became final on April 11, 2026, placing her within the permissible 90-day removal period, and that immediate release is not a proper remedy under the Rehabilitation Act.

An immigration detainee filed a habeas corpus petition challenging ICE's mandatory detention without bond at Baker Correctional Institution. An immigration judge conducted a bond hearing on June 18, 2026, and ordered the detainee's release on a $10,000 bond. The federal court dismissed the case as moot on July 2, 2026, after the bond determination was made.

Nikolas De Bremaeker, a 38-year-old immigration attorney at Centro Legal de la Raza in Oakland, was pulled aside for enhanced screening by TSA at San Francisco International Airport on June 10, 2026. During a 45-minute search, agents examined his belongings, phones, and laptops. When De Bremaeker asked why, a TSA agent stated it was "not random" and that he was on a "watch list" but provided no further details. De Bremaeker was ultimately allowed to board his flight to Boston. The incident prompted him to cancel a planned trip to Belgium and raised questions about federal surveillance of immigration attorneys.

ICE agents arrested Mosiah Wright, a Jamaican national, during enforcement operations in the New York City metropolitan area targeting what the agency described as noncitizens with criminal records and immigration fugitives. Wright had been previously removed from the country and was convicted of murder in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. ICE said he was also arrested for carrying a concealed weapon, drug possession, resisting arrest, and probation violations. Several other noncitizens from El Salvador, Ecuador, and Honduras were also apprehended during the operation.

Leo's parents, ages 60 and 62, were detained by ICE and held separately at facilities within an hour of Palatka, Florida. The parents have lived in the United States since the 1990s and operated Palatka Buffet for nearly 20 years before their son Leo took over the family business with Leo's Fine Sushi. They are facing deportation to China. Their son has launched a fundraiser to support legal fees and family expenses during their detention.

Three teenagers from Collinsville, Illinois—16-year-old Jesus Alexis Cruz and 19-year-olds Hector Cruz Sanchez and Jonathan Godoy—were detained by ICE on June 9, 2026, after a traffic stop by Morrisonville Police for a vehicle licensing violation. After the vehicle was towed and the teens left at a gas station, ICE agents took them into custody. Cruz was transported to a juvenile detention facility in Texas; Sanchez and Godoy were sent to Ste. Genevieve Detention Center in Missouri. Illinois state officials, including the Attorney General's office, State Rep. Katie Stuart, Rep. Nikki Budzinski, and candidate Marsie Geldert-Murphey, have begun investigating whether the police's involvement violated the state's TRUST Act, which prohibits local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration enforcement.

ICE Boston arrested José Paula de Souza Neto, a Brazilian national, in Hyannis, Massachusetts on June 10, 2026. Neto was wanted in Brazil on an arrest warrant for drug trafficking and association with drug trafficking following his conviction in that country. He had fled Brazil after receiving house arrest during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently failing to return to prison. His arrest followed a wanted poster released by Minas Gerais civil police in January 2026.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement partnered with South Carolina law enforcement agencies, including the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, State Transit Police, and Duncan Police Department, to conduct two coordinated highway enforcement operations named Operation Safe Drive and Operation Rubber Duck. The operations took place along Interstate 26 and Interstate 85 from May 12 to May 14, 2026, targeting commercial vehicles, fraudulent truck drivers, invalid operator licenses, and immigration violations. The operations resulted in 114 arrests for immigration and criminal violations. Authorities conducted 145 vehicle stops, performed 77 vehicle inspections, issued 89 traffic citations, and removed 22 drivers and vehicles from service. Seizures included approximately 10 kilograms of cocaine valued at $200,000 and cash. According to advocacy groups and the ACLU, undocumented immigrants traveling in work trucks and vans, including construction and landscaping workers, were disproportionately affected by the stops and arrests. The operations are part of expanded immigration enforcement cooperation in South Carolina under a 287(g) agreement between state and local law enforcement and ICE.

On June 9, 2026, three teenagers were stopped by Morrisonville police in Christian County, Illinois while traveling together to work. Police determined the vehicle lacked proper licensing and towed it. While waiting at a nearby gas station, ICE agents took the teens into custody. Hector Cruz Sanchez, 19, and Jonathan Godoy, 19, were among those detained and subsequently transferred to Ste. Genevieve County Jail in southeastern Missouri, which holds ICE detainees under contract.

Ubaidullah Abdulrashid Radiowala, an Indian national, was detained by ICE in Newark, New Jersey as part of enforcement operations targeting non-citizens with serious criminal histories. He faced allegations related to attempted murder and extortion and was placed in removal proceedings.

Elipidia Aguirre-Romero, a Mexican national, was arrested by ICE in Fresno, CA. She has a prior criminal conviction in California. Jose Alfredo Patino-Avelino, a Mexican national, was arrested by ICE in Santa Barbara, CA. He has prior criminal convictions in California. Saul Alberto Garay-Amaya, a Salvadoran national, was arrested by ICE in Fairfax, VA. He has prior criminal convictions in Virginia. Fidel Larreta-Boltor, a Mexican national, was arrested by ICE in Forsyth County, NC. He has a prior criminal conviction in North Carolina. Yeison Beltran-Avila, a Colombian national, was arrested by ICE. He has a prior criminal conviction.

Jesus Alexis Cruz, 16, was detained by ICE following a traffic stop in Morrisonville, Illinois on June 9, 2026. Local police towed his vehicle, and ICE agents subsequently picked him up at a nearby gas station. Cruz's family, which includes documented relatives, requested his release to their custody, but ICE denied the request. He was transferred to a juvenile detention facility in Texas without family involvement in the transport. Representative Nikki Budzinski's office became involved to seek answers regarding his detention and transfer.

Yi-Han Liou, a Taiwanese national, was detained by ICE in New Hampshire after fleeing Taiwan on drug trafficking charges. She was accused of trafficking cocaine and marijuana from the United States and Canada to Taiwan by air freight, including shipping over 630 grams of cocaine hidden in candlesticks. She had overstayed her entry in the United States. Liou was deported to Taiwan on June 5, 2026.

A federal immigration detention center in Texas built by the Trump administration failed to issue use-of-force reports and did not provide medicine to seriously ill detainees. The facility wasted tens of millions in taxpayer dollars through rushed spending. Protesters have opposed the facility's operations at Fort Bliss.