Human Impact Project

Izzy Aly, a legal immigrant with an active green card application, was arrested on December 23, 2025, at Philadelphia International Airport upon returning from an approved USCIS visit to Egypt to handle his deceased father's estate. He was held for six months at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania, where he was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure three months into detention. Aly reports receiving inadequate medical care, including only two visits with a nephrologist despite his serious condition, threats of solitary confinement when reporting COVID concerns, and widespread viral infections in crowded detention pods. He was released on June 19, 2026, after advocacy efforts by civil rights groups, members of Congress, and public figures brought attention to his case. Aly now suffers from trauma, lacks health insurance, and is working to recover while advocating for closure of the detention facility.

ICE has agreed to reform measures at its Central Islip federal courthouse holding facility after a federal judge found the agency in contempt for inhumane conditions and excessive detention lasting up to 72 hours. More than 100 migrant detainees reported sleeping on floors, lacking access to showers and medical care, and being held in spaces designed only for brief detention. The agreement comes as ICE expands its nationwide detention capacity amid increased enforcement operations.

Fatima Issela Velazquez-Antonio, 23, was detained by Customs and Border Patrol agents at her job site in Raleigh in November and transferred to a Georgia federal detention facility. She was released from ICE custody and returned to North Carolina on December 23, 2025. Velazquez-Antonio, who has lived legally in the U.S. since age 14 fleeing gang violence in Honduras, has valid work authorization and no criminal record, and her case remains pending.

Donna Hughes Brown, an Irish citizen and permanent U.S. resident, was released from ICE detention after nearly five months. She had been detained in July due to two misdemeanor charges from over 10 years ago for writing bad checks. Her case gained national attention after her husband testified before Congress and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem promised a review.

Marcos Flores, bassist for local band Summer of Peril, was detained by ICE on December 23 while attempting to pick up a visitor's badge at Colorado Springs Air Force Academy. Flores, who was brought to the U.S. as a young child from Mexico, has been held at Aurora ICE Detention Center with his bond request denied despite community support and legal efforts. His case was affected by a federal policy memo reversing protections against no-bond detentions.

A Russian citizen on parole through the CBP One program was arrested on December 22, 2025 in Hollywood on misdemeanor solicitation charges. After being released from criminal custody, ICE immediately detained him without a hearing despite his compliance with parole conditions. The court ordered his immediate release, finding his detention violated due process rights.

A federal judge in Charlotte ruled that ICE violated a man's due process rights by unlawfully detaining Mostafa Said, an Egyptian asylum seeker, during a routine check-in. The judge ordered immigration officials to hold a bond hearing for Said within 48 hours. Said had been released on humanitarian parole after entering through the U.S.-Mexico border and was arrested in Charlotte and transferred to Stewart Detention Center in Georgia.

Donna Hughes-Brown, a green card holder who has lived in the U.S. since age 11, was detained by ICE upon returning from a trip to Ireland to visit relatives. She was held for nearly 5 months over two overdrawn checks totaling less than $80 that she had written over 10 years prior. She was released last week and stated she will not visit Ireland again until becoming a full U.S. citizen due to fear of deportation.

U.S. Army veteran Zahid Chaudhry, a green card holder and disabled veteran, was released from ICE detention at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma after being held for approximately four months. A federal judge ordered his release following a habeas hearing on December 22, 2025. Chaudhry had been detained since August 2025 when he was taken into custody at a citizenship interview. DHS made allegations of criminal history misrepresentation, which were disputed by his family.

Donna Hughes-Brown, a 59-year-old Irish green card holder, was detained by ICE for nearly five months after arriving in Chicago from Dublin in July. She was arrested on moral turpitude charges related to two bounced checks totaling less than $80 from over a decade prior, cited under President Trump's amendments to immigration law. Hughes-Brown was initially held at the airport before being transferred to Campbell County Detention Centre in Kentucky, where she reported poor conditions. She was eventually released and reunited with her family in Missouri, avoiding deportation. Hughes-Brown stated she would not return to Ireland until becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Jose Gonzalez, a 53-year-old Mexican national who worked as a maitre d' at an upscale Palm Beach restaurant for 20 years, was detained on December 10 during a traffic stop and held at Alligator Alcatraz detention facility. Gonzalez was transferred to Krome Detention Center on December 22. He had a pending asylum application and valid work permit at the time of his detention.

A Columbus, Ohio mother and her three daughters, ages 18, 15, and 11, were pepper-sprayed by ICE agents on December 21, 2025, while driving near Easton Town Center. The mother reported that her eyes burned and the children cried after agents deployed spray into their open car window without activating police lights. The mother said she made no threatening gestures. ICE stated that agents had been involved in an incident at a nearby Dollar Tree where anti-ICE demonstrators had blocked their exit, though the agency did not clarify why pepper spray was deployed in the moving vehicle. A retired FBI Special Agent in Charge reviewed ICE's use-of-force policy and raised concerns about whether agents followed proper protocols, noting that verbal remarks alone do not justify force deployment. The mother filed an assault report with Columbus police.

Karla, an activist who publicly exposed medical neglect of a lesbian woman with cancer detained in Eloy, has herself been detained at the same facility. Activists are demanding her immediate release, protection from retaliation, and access to her hormones while in detention.

Miguel Garcia Pazaran and his wife Dulce Maria Trejo Segura were pulled over by immigration agents while driving to work in Hillsboro, Oregon and detained without proper clothing. The couple was taken to a detention center in Tacoma and deported to Mexico within eight days, leaving behind their 2-year-old daughter Sofía, who is a U.S. citizen.

ICE agents arrested a Honduran mother and her two children, including a 4-year-old U.S. citizen, at a check-in appointment on December 20, 2025. The family was detained in hotel rooms for 18 days across multiple locations, including near LaGuardia Airport and Alexandria, Louisiana, during which they had minimal contact with the outside world. They were briefly placed on a plane to Honduras before being taken off due to a federal judge's temporary restraining order blocking their deportation, and were eventually released on January 7, 2026.

A family is calling for the release of an Arlington man detained by ICE, citing the health condition of his son.

The Miccosukee Tribe is pursuing legal challenges against the "Alligator Alcatraz" immigrant detention facility in the Everglades, arguing that Florida's acceptance of $608 million in federal funds for the facility strengthens their case. The Tribe contends the facility was constructed unlawfully on public lands without required environmental review and poses risks to their 11 villages and the fragile ecosystem. Multiple lawsuits have been filed opposing the detention center, including claims regarding inadequate legal access for detainees and lack of federal authority for state operation.

A volunteer legal observer was detained and arrested by ICE agents on January 11th while documenting enforcement activities at the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis. Agents surrounded the observer's car, pepper-sprayed the vehicle, shattered windows, and roughly handcuffed the observer without identifying themselves or providing instructions. The arrest occurred during increased ICE enforcement operations in Minnesota, part of coordinated community efforts to document and warn residents about immigration enforcement activities.

A growing number of detainees in U.S. immigration detention centers have signed voluntary departure agreements in exchange for promised cash payments ranging from $1,000 to $3,000. Immigration lawyers describe the practice as psychological pressure to discourage migrants from defending their cases in court. Many detainees report signing under pressure to escape harsh detention conditions, though most experience significant delays in receiving promised funds. Luis Andrés Monterroso López, 29, detained at Alvarado detention center in Texas, signed such an agreement and was deported to Guatemala in December 2025. He eventually received $2,600 through Western Union in March 2026, which he used to establish a mechanic shop in his village.

More than 560 students missed school in Willmar Public Schools on Monday due to rumors of an ICE enforcement operation. School officials quickly reassured families that schools were safe spaces and would not be entered by immigration agents. The rumors were based on federal authorities later identified as Homeland Security Investigations agents, not ICE, who had detained five or six people in the area over the weekend.

Ashleigh Brown and Cynthia Raygoza were convicted of stalking a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent after following him to his home in Baldwin Park on August 28, 2025. Both were acquitted of conspiring to publish the agent's personal information, while a third defendant, Sandra Samane, was acquitted of both charges. Brown and Raygoza each face up to five years in federal prison with sentencing scheduled for June 8, 2026.

ICE arrested and detained a Russian mother and daughter on December 18, 2025, for removal proceedings after they stopped reporting for immigration check-ins in November 2024. The petitioners had initially arrived at a U.S. port of entry in December 2021 and were released under the Alternative to Detention program. The federal court granted their habeas petition and ordered their release, finding their detention violated immigration law and due process.

A Canadian citizen residing in the U.S. since 2019 was arrested on December 18, 2025 during a USCIS interview for his green card application based on marriage to a U.S. citizen. He remained detained until February 3, 2026 when an immigration judge released him on bond, finding he posed no flight risk or danger. Despite the judge's determination, ICE placed him on an ankle monitor and in intensive supervision, prompting his habeas petition challenging the conditions as violating his due process rights.

A noncitizen was detained on December 18, 2025, after having been previously released on bond or conditional parole. The government re-detained him without providing a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter, as required by the Due Process Clause. He filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging his immigration detention. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California found that the government violated his constitutional rights by failing to provide a pre-deprivation bond hearing before re-detaining him. The court granted his habeas petition and ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he was subject to before December 18, 2025. The court also established that if the government seeks to re-detain him in the future, it must provide at least seven days' notice and hold a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter.

Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan was convicted of obstructing federal agents from arresting an undocumented immigrant. Dugan allegedly helped an undocumented immigrant leave her courtroom in April to avoid arrest by ICE agents waiting in the hallway. She was acquitted of a misdemeanor charge.

Families of immigrants arrested in a federal ICE surge in Maine are struggling to find basic information about their detained relatives as the government rapidly transfers them to detention facilities across multiple states. Erik Orellana-Mejia was arrested at his worksite on January 20 and has since been transferred to Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Louisiana, and Missouri. ICE has been building out detention and deportation infrastructure in New England and across the country to support intensified enforcement operations.

Yessica Rivera Sanchez, who had lived in Las Vegas for over two decades, was detained by ICE agents at Honolulu airport on December 18 as she exited a plane during a family vacation. Her daughter Jessivet Sanchez, who turned 21 in September and had just filed an I-130 family petition on her behalf, was present when her mother was taken into custody without prior warning. Although Sanchez had attempted to pursue legal status through a 2003 political asylum application and had visas that did not expire until 2005, she was unaware of a removal order issued after her asylum appeal was denied in 2004. After being transferred through detention centers in California, Texas, and Louisiana, Sanchez was deported to El Salvador in late December. Her daughter has hired an immigration attorney and started a GoFundMe to cover legal fees as the family explores options to bring her back.

A 20-year-old from Guatemala who received legal status in 2022 under the child separation settlement was arrested by ICE agents at a gas station in December 2025. He was detained in Florida before being transferred to Louisiana. On December 18, 2025, despite ACLU lawyers emailing Department of Justice officials to contend that an existing court order should prevent his deportation, Homeland Security placed him on a flight to Guatemala.

Babblejit Kaur, an Indian-origin woman who has lived in the United States since 1994, was detained by ICE agents while attending a biometric interview for her green card application at a USCIS office. She had no criminal record, was sponsored by her daughter who is a green card holder, and worked for decades as a restaurant businesswoman and store employee. The detention occurred amid increased scrutiny of Indian nationals under new H-1B visa vetting policies announced in 2025.

Walter Francisco Cerrato Cabrera, a 48-year-old Honduran deckhand who had worked on oyster boats for 20 years, drowned on December 18 while jumping into Bayou La Loutre to avoid U.S. Coast Guard agents who had stopped at the docks. Cerrato and a younger coworker jumped from their boat when agents approached, but Cerrato, who could not swim, drowned in the bayou. The incident occurred amid increased immigration enforcement operations in lower St. Bernard Parish.

Jose Cadena-Velasquez, a 49-year-old Mexican national living in Fargo, was arrested by Border Patrol and ICE agents during a traffic stop after a months-long investigation based on a tip that he was in the country illegally and using fraudulent documents. When agents stopped his vehicle and asked him to exit, Cadena refused and locked the doors, prompting agents to break the window and use physical restraint techniques to extract him. He was charged with possession of false immigration identification documents, use of a false Social Security number, and assaulting or resisting a federal officer.

Seven people detained by ICE at a California immigration detention center filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on November 12, describing severe medical neglect and inhumane conditions. One detainee, Fernando Viera Reyes, reports being denied medication and urgent treatment for likely prostate cancer while in custody.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 24-year-old Vanessa Parrazal on December 17 outside Pinehurst Elementary School in Salisbury, Maryland, moments after she dropped off her child. The arrest occurred in the 400 block of Pinehurst Avenue, near but not on school property. A witness reported the arrest involved physical force.

Ernesto Cuevas Enciso, a 34-year-old Detroit construction worker, was detained by ICE on December 6, 2025, while heading to a job site in Ypsilanti. Cuevas Enciso immigrated from Mexico at age three and has lived in the United States since childhood. He is married to a U.S. citizen, father of a one-year-old daughter, and holds valid work authorization and a Michigan driver's license while his green card application is pending. A former DACA recipient, he lost that status due to nonviolent misdemeanor offenses from over a decade ago. His sister Miriam Stone confirmed he was carrying his identification when picked up. Eight Michigan Democratic lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib and State Sen. Stephanie Chang, along with faith leaders and city officials, wrote letters urging ICE to release him on bond before his December 17 immigration hearing. Cuevas Enciso is being held at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan.

A man who entered the US in 1989 and has four adult US citizen children was detained by ICE on December 16, 2025. An Immigration Judge had granted him cancellation of removal in March 2023, but the Board of Immigration Appeals reversed that decision in April 2026 and ordered his removal to Mexico. The court denied his habeas petition, finding his detention lawful under federal immigration law.

Abdikadir Abdi Noor, a 43-year-old Somali-American citizen from Fridley, was pulled over and arrested by ICE on December 15 outside Karmel Mall in Minneapolis. He is a named plaintiff in an ACLU lawsuit alleging ICE violated constitutional rights of observers and protesters during the agency's ramped-up raids in Minnesota targeting the state's Somali community.

A confrontation occurred in south Minneapolis when dozens of residents gathered as ICE agents operated near Lake Street and Pillsbury Avenue. During the incident, federal agents used pepper spray and at least one Taser on observers as the crowd attempted to prevent the arrest of a woman reported to be pregnant. Local law enforcement responded to assist ICE agents in leaving the scene.

Meenu Batra, a 50-year-old Indian immigrant living in Texas since 1991, was detained by ICE agents at an airport on March 17, 2026, while traveling to Wisconsin for work as a court interpreter. She had been granted court protection against deportation in 2000 due to persecution concerns and was authorized to work legally in the US. After more than six weeks in detention, Batra was released when a court questioned the legality of her detention. She reported experiencing dehumanization during her time in custody and expressed ongoing fear of re-arrest.

Benny, a 30-year-old musician from Guinea who arrived in the U.S. in 2011 on an H1B visa as a dance instructor, was detained by ICE on December 15, 2025, after going to a police station in Vineland, NJ to file a harassment report. An ICE agent at the station gave him a deportation form while falsely claiming it was a harassment report; Benny, who did not understand the legal language, signed it and was taken into custody. Over the past 12 years, Benny has built a life in the U.S., working in restaurants, getting married, renovating a house in Queens, and starting a farm in New Jersey where he raises goats. He has a 1-year-old daughter and has collaborated with an audio engineer to record over 100 songs together, becoming fluent in nine languages. As of the fundraiser, Benny has been incarcerated for 225 days at Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center, has lost over 50 pounds, and his next hearing is scheduled for September 1, 2026. Despite his own food insecurity, he has shared his meals with other detainees.

A foreign national in removal proceedings was initially released by immigration authorities on October 4, 2023, and enrolled in alternatives to detention. He was re-detained by ICE on December 15, 2025, while attending a scheduled immigration appointment. After being ordered removed on June 8, 2026, he filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his re-detention. The court granted his petition, finding that his re-detention without notice and a pre-deprivation hearing violated due process, and ordered his immediate release on the conditions he was subject to prior to re-detention.

Six foreign nationals were arrested between November 2025 and January 2026 and charged with being inadmissible as persons present without admission in the United States. They were detained at the Adelanto Detention Center and Desert View Annex without individualized bond hearings. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring bond hearings within 7 days or immediate release.

Hailey Lovgren, a 27-year-old veterinarian student, witnessed federal agents questioning a Somali man outside an apartment building and began filming the interaction. After the agents released the man, Lovgren drove away but said the agents' vehicles started following her without emergency lights activated, with one attempting to swerve into her vehicle. After she called 911, the agents allegedly followed her car for about 2 miles before driving away. Lovgren said the experience made her more interested in documenting agents in the future.

A Colombian citizen who entered the U.S. in June 2022 to seek asylum was redetained by ICE on December 14, 2025 at a gas station after being convicted of DUI and petty theft. She had been previously released on supervision with GPS monitoring and weekly check-ins while her asylum case was pending. The court ordered that she be provided with a bond hearing within seven days but denied her request for immediate release.

Delvin Francisco Rodriguez, a 39-year-old Nicaraguan man, died on December 14, 2025 at Merit Health Natchez after a medical emergency on December 4, 2025 at Adams County Correctional Center. Staff found Rodriguez unresponsive in his living area on December 4 at approximately 4:15 PM and transported him to the hospital, where he failed a brain death test 10 days later. ICE told family he was found hanging in a cell with a sheet, though Rodriguez had been housed in a large open unit with over 100 people and family was not told why he was in a cell. Nurses reportedly told family that Rodriguez's injuries appeared inconsistent with ICE's account. Rodriguez was one of 7 ICE custody deaths in December 2025 alone, during a year that saw 33 in-custody deaths nationally.

Jesus Gutiérrez, a 23-year-old US citizen, was stopped by federal immigration agents in Chicago and handcuffed without identification. Agents used ICE's Mobile Fortify facial recognition app to scan his face, which verified his citizenship status. He was held for about an hour before being released. Federal authorities have acknowledged using this facial recognition technology across the country to verify citizenship and check for deportation orders.

A 20-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen was detained by ICE agents for approximately two hours in Minneapolis after being approached based on his Somali appearance. The agents apprehended him on a street near Cedar Avenue, placed him in a chokehold, and transported him to the Whipple Federal Building despite his repeated attempts to show his passport and ID. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O'Hara stated the incident constituted racial profiling and was unconstitutional, while ICE stated their actions were based on reasonable suspicion.

Susan Tincher, a 55-year-old Minneapolis resident, was detained by ICE agents while filming them arresting someone from a nearby house during Operation Metro Surge. Tincher said she was recording on her phone when agents tackled her to the ground and detained her for allegedly not moving back when ordered. She is one of six Minnesotans who sued DHS this week, alleging ICE has carried out an unprecedented attack on civil liberties. ICE officials disputed the account, stating Tincher was arrested for allegedly assaulting an agent, attempting to break through a security perimeter, ignoring lawful commands, and becoming violent.

Shahrokh Rahimi, a 54-year-old Iranian immigrant and San Antonio restaurant owner who has lived in the U.S. for more than two decades, was arrested by ICE/DHS officers at his home on June 22, 2025, in front of his 12-year-old daughter and neighbors, days after U.S. military strikes on Iran. He entered the country in 2003 and in 2010 was granted withholding of removal after an immigration judge found he would likely face persecution or torture if returned to Iran, having since complied with all check-in requirements for 15 years. His wife, Brandi Rahimi, describes him as a devoted father who calls their daughter every morning before school and has volunteered as a school mentor and helped neighbors and veterans in the community. The Texas Civil Rights Project filed a habeas corpus petition on his behalf, arguing he had previously been granted bond and lived safely in the community for years. On December 9, 2025, he was denied bond in a hearing his wife said lasted less than 10 minutes, and he remains in ICE custody, describing hearing other detainees cry at night. His family has spent roughly $30,000 on legal fees and gone five months without his income; his case is one of five profiled by the Texas Tribune involving ICE arrests of Texans without criminal convictions.

Adam Abdullah, a 31-year-old Somali asylum seeker and auto mechanic living in St. Paul, Minnesota, was pulled over by federal agents as part of an operation called 'Operation Metro Surge.' He had arrived in the U.S. seeking asylum in 2023, held a valid work permit and Social Security number, regularly attended ICE check-ins, and had no criminal record beyond two parking tickets. He said agents refused to explain the stop or present a warrant. Over about nine months, he was moved between detention facilities in Minnesota, Kentucky, and Louisiana before being flown, shackled at the wrists and ankles, toward Somalia via Miami and Cuba — but instead of completing the flight, he was held at Guantánamo Bay's Camp Six, where he has remained for about two weeks with limited phone access and exercise time. His attorney, Marc Prokosch, said calls with him are restricted to five to ten minutes and may not be confidential, and that he is among eight Somali detainees held there, several also arrested in the Twin Cities. The ACLU has sued the federal government, arguing it lacks legal authority to detain immigrants overseas, and a judge has allowed the case to proceed, with a hearing set for October 14.

David Cardenas, 54, a Raleigh resident who fled Nicaragua and sought asylum in 2022, was detained by ICE during a routine yearly check-in appointment with USCIS in Charlotte. He suffered a medical emergency shortly after detention and was hospitalized at Atrium Health in Pineville, where ICE and the hospital initially blocked visits from his wife and children for a week. Following advocacy efforts and a press conference by immigrant rights groups and local leaders, ICE announced it would release Cardenas due to his severe health condition, potentially using alternative detention such as an ankle monitor.