Human Impact Project

Beginning May 25, 2026, hundreds of protesters gathered outside Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, to support detainees staging a hunger strike over poor living conditions including moldy and expired food, overcrowded cells, and lack of air conditioning. The 1,000-bed facility, operated by the GEO Group under a $1 billion contract and opened in early 2025, became the site of escalating confrontations over several days. ICE agents and New Jersey State Police deployed pepper spray, tear gas, batons, and horses against demonstrators who formed human chains and used makeshift shields. Senator Andy Kim was exposed to pepper spray, a U.S. military veteran providing medical assistance was detained, and an ICE agent supervisor was filmed pushing a photographer off a public sidewalk. At least 80 people were arrested, with some charged with rioting after authorities imposed a curfew, and Congresswoman LaMonica McIver was later charged with assaulting officers. Mayor Ras Baraka announced plans to shut down the facility and to sue the GEO Group, while the state filed a lawsuit seeking unrestricted health inspections.

During an ICE operation at the Port of Astoria on June 7, 2026, federal agents pepper sprayed Astoria resident Stefanie Collar as ICE vehicles departed. Collar, who was not part of an organized observer group, confronted the vehicles at a traffic light and shouted at the agents. Video evidence showed an agent in a minivan attempted to open his door and deploy pepper spray before driving away; two additional vehicles behind the van also sprayed Collar as they passed. An ICE officer later called local police to report that agents had used pepper spray after what they characterized as a crowd swarming their vehicles.

Marco Antonio Mendoza-Cesar, a Venezuelan national, was detained by ICE agents during an operation at the Port of Astoria's Pier 1 on June 7, 2026. ICE conducted the operation on federally controlled port property without notifying Port of Astoria officials or local law enforcement. The operation raised concerns about whether it violated Oregon's sanctuary law, which prohibits state and local agencies from participating in immigration enforcement without a judicial warrant.

The petitioner, a Cuban citizen and native of Cuba, is subject to a final order of removal entered in 2018. At that time he was detained for approximately eight months while the government unsuccessfully attempted to effect his removal, after which he was released. He was re-detained by immigration authorities on June 7, 2026 (described as June 6, 2026 in a related filing) and has remained in immigration custody since then. A petition for writ of habeas corpus was filed on his behalf by a relative acting as 'next friend,' arguing his continued detention violates the Due Process Clause under Zadvydas v. Davis and federal immigration detention regulations, and seeking his immediate release. However, the court found that the petitioner had separately filed his own pro se habeas petition in his own name one day earlier, raising the same claims and seeking the same relief against a more complete set of respondents. Because the petitioner was shown to be capable of litigating on his own behalf, the court held the 'next friend' could not establish standing and dismissed this duplicative action, along with pending motions for a temporary restraining order and for entry of judgment. The court clarified that dismissal does not limit the petitioner's ability to pursue his claims in the separately filed prior action.

Osiel Barrios Parra, a 35-year-old man from Durango, Mexico, went missing after being abandoned in the Arizona desert during a border crossing. His family last communicated with him on June 7, and a third party later informed them that he was left behind near a wash on the route toward 'la aguja,' wearing camouflage clothing. The volunteer search-and-rescue group Armadillos Ni Un Migrante Menos issued an alert seeking any information about his whereabouts.

A Guatemalan national with familial ties to the United States was taken into ICE custody on June 7, 2026, based on a reinstated 2014 removal order. Despite expressing fear of returning to Guatemala due to widespread violence, ICE failed to provide the mandatory reasonable fear interview required under 8 C.F.R. § 241.8(e) during his one month of detention. The court granted a preliminary injunction ordering ICE to immediately refer him to an asylum officer for a reasonable fear determination within three days and to file a compliance status report.

A man was detained by ICE on May 21, 2026, while taking his car for repair. He has no criminal record and worked to support his family. His wife and three children have been left to manage on a single income and are struggling with rent, utilities, groceries, and other expenses, while also seeking legal representation for his immigration case.

Gerardo Reyes Gonzalez, a 44-year-old father, was arrested on March 14, 2026, during a traffic stop in San Marcos while sitting as a passenger in his 17-year-old son's truck. Police initiated the stop based on an emergency call about a vehicle matching the truck's description, though the reported incident never occurred. He was charged with Interference with Public Duties after allegedly trying to prevent his son from being removed from the vehicle. Reyes Gonzalez was transferred to ICE custody and detained for over two months. The Hays County District Attorney dropped the criminal charge on May 11, and a federal judge granted his habeas corpus petition on June 1, ordering his release. The San Marcos Police Department was found to have committed multiple policy violations, including making inaccurate statements in court documents and failing to verify facts before arrest. His daughter Lupe Sarinana credited community activism and a petition with over 200 signatures for his release.

A Guatemalan citizen was arrested and detained on June 6, 2026, at Moshannon Valley Processing Center after entering the United States without inspection around 2012. ICE agents and local police determined he was unlawfully present and detained him under what they claimed was mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A). The court ruled that he, as a noncitizen already present in the country rather than an applicant for admission, is subject to discretionary detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) and granted his petition for a bond hearing before a neutral immigration judge within 10 days.

A noncitizen who has continuously resided in the United States since August 2023 was taken into ICE custody on June 6, 2026, and detained at the West Tennessee Detention Facility. He challenged his detention without an individualized bond hearing before an immigration judge. The court stayed his transfer and ordered the ICE respondent to respond within two business days, requiring them to either distinguish the case from Lopez-Campos v. Raycraft or consent to the issuance of the writ if detention was under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A).

Iraqi national team striker Aymen Hussein was detained and questioned for nearly seven hours by U.S. authorities upon arrival at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. During his detention, U.S. border security officials inspected his mobile phone and reviewed his documents. Hussein was eventually cleared and allowed entry to rejoin his team. However, Talal Salah, the Iraqi team's official photographer, was held for over 10 hours and ultimately denied entry to the United States.

A DHS Office of Inspector General inspection of Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana found multiple violations affecting approximately 1,500 detained immigrants. Facility staff failed to properly report use-of-force incidents including a chokehold and a pen stabbing, and did not maintain adequate sanitary conditions, proper food storage temperatures, or medical records. The facility lacked documentation of disciplinary actions or remedial training for officers involved in use-of-force incidents.

A Honduran woman who had lived in the United States for nearly three years gave birth to her U.S. citizen daughter in Brownsville, Texas in February 2026. Shortly after giving birth, she sought emergency shelter due to abuse by her partner, but was arrested on a misdemeanor charge in March 2026 (later dismissed) and separated from her five-week-old breastfeeding daughter, who was last seen with the abusive partner. She was taken into ICE custody at the Laredo Processing Center and remained detained during her ongoing removal proceedings. Her counsel submitted a humanitarian parole request in August 2026 citing her postpartum and nursing status, requesting electronic monitoring as a release condition, but received no substantive response from ICE. She filed a habeas corpus petition arguing her detention violated the Accardi Doctrine and Fifth Amendment because ICE failed to follow its own directive on detaining pregnant, postpartum, or nursing individuals. The court found she qualified as postpartum and nursing, that ICE had failed to conduct required weekly custody reevaluations, and that she was prejudiced by being unable to arrange care for her infant or continue breastfeeding, ultimately ordering her immediate release under reasonable conditions.

Yadi, a Cuban woman deported from the United States, shared a video of herself saying goodbye to her three children—Catherine, Jonathan, and Emily—at Cancún International Airport after a two-month visit. The children returned to Houston, Texas, while Yadi remained in Mexico, unable to re-enter the U.S. She described the separation as "the greatest pain imaginable" and expressed that "no family should endure such separation." Her case reflects a broader pattern: between January 2025 and March 2026, the U.S. deported nearly 13,000 third-country nationals to Mexico, with Cubans comprising 4,353 of those deportations, 26% of whom had no criminal records in the U.S.

Three noncitizens—Bruno Orlando Medina Mendoza and Jorge Manuel Escobar Quispe from Peru, and Raul Andrey Echavez Castro from Colombia—were arrested by New Britain police on June 5 as part of a sting operation targeting individuals attempting to solicit sex with minors. All three face charges including commercial sexual abuse of a minor and sexual assault. ICE lodged detainers seeking to prevent their release by Connecticut authorities.

A Romanian citizen, 52, who underwent multiple heart surgeries including an emergency triple bypass in April 2025, was arrested in July 2025 and required 16 daily medications as part of his recovery. While at an ICE field office in Baltimore, he went two days without any medication before being transferred to a New Jersey facility. Despite numerous requests from treatment providers, the detention center did not provide all 16 medications; medical records show he received only eight after his second hospital release. He was hospitalized three times while detained for chest pain related to non-compliance with his medication regimen, and in August 2025, he suffered a stroke while on a video call with his daughter.

A federal judge in California ordered the government to take a man showing signs of prostate cancer to a specialist for diagnosis and treatment. ICE lawyers told the judge that officials missed the appointment due to an "internal scheduling error." CoreCivic, which operates the facility, declined to comment on the active litigation.

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

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

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