Human Impact Project

Luis Duque was driving his boyfriend Oscar to work in Charlotte when ICE agents stopped their vehicle during a traffic stop. The agents detained Oscar, who is in the process of becoming a U.S. citizen, without presenting a warrant. Oscar was taken to Stewart Detention Center in Georgia and given the option to self-deport to Mexico or wait months for a court hearing.

Bradley County constables working under ICE authority participated in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in the Heritage Walk neighborhood of East Brainerd on Tuesday morning that resulted in multiple arrests. The operation targeted construction workers, with at least eight workers detained according to immigrant rights organizations. Hamilton County Sheriff Austin Garrett stated his office was not involved in the operation, which was conducted by ICE task force members including Bradley County constables operating outside their county.

Documents obtained by activists reveal that U.S. Border Patrol used the Escondido Police Department's gun range for training at least seven times between February and June 2018, paying $300 per use. The discovery came as the city was scheduled to meet to discuss an ongoing contract between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Escondido police.

Emmanuel Sackie, a Liberian-born naturalized U.S. citizen, was violently detained by ICE in a Family Dollar parking lot in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, despite possessing a driver's license and photo ID. He was taken to an unknown location and subsequently sent to the hospital. Sackie stated this was his first time in handcuffs and expressed that he was treated unfairly based on his race.

Anabell, a 35-year-old asylum seeker from Nicaragua who has three children, was detained by ICE during a mandated check-in appointment and taken to the Campbell County detention center in Newport, Kentucky. She learned she was pregnant only after being given a pregnancy test during intake, but says she never received a blood test, prenatal vitamins, or an ultrasound. About a month later she began bleeding heavily and, after being denied prompt medical attention, was rushed to the ER while shackled to a hospital bed, where she was told she had lost the pregnancy. She has continued to bleed, vomit and lose hair in detention without receiving the follow-up care doctors recommended.

Two Iranian Christian converts have been detained by ICE since December during a routine immigration check-in, despite being vetted at the border, receiving work authorization, and actively volunteering at a Houston church. One man had evangelized to Muslims in Iran, an offense carrying the death penalty under Iranian law. An immigration judge found one man removable in November, and the men now face deportation to Iran amid ongoing geopolitical tensions. Their church and legal supporters are working to secure qualified representation for their asylum cases.

ICE agents arrested 27-year-old Jack Randmaa on suspicion of vandalism after his tire was allegedly slashed on Carrillo Street in Santa Barbara on February 21, 2026. During the arrest near the Santa Barbara County Probation Office, an ICE agent pepper-sprayed and threw 80-year-old criminal defense attorney Doug Hayes to the ground as he attempted to retrieve Randmaa's backpack and cellphone. Hayes, who verbally confronted the agents during the detention, stated he would pursue criminal and civil rights lawsuits against the federal agents, claiming they interfered with his ability to speak freely and violated his client's rights. Bystanders recorded the encounter. ICE agents conducted an enforcement operation in downtown Santa Barbara on February 19, 2026, involving the detention of a man accused of vandalizing a federal vehicle. During the arrest, ICE agents placed the suspect in a headlock. When defense attorney Doug Hayes and other bystanders intervened, agents pepper-sprayed Hayes and at least one other person. The incident occurred outside the Santa Barbara County Probation Office on Carrillo Street, with crowds gathering to record and protest the enforcement activity.

Anna Walker, 31, recorded a Homeland Security Investigations agent who confronted her in a Target parking lot after she followed his unmarked vehicle. The agent threatened her with arrest for impeding and took photos of her license plate. Five days later, Walker's Global Entry status was revoked without explanation. After HuffPost inquired with DHS, her status was restored within days. The article reports similar cases involving other individuals losing Global Entry privileges after observing or recording federal agents.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested four people at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse on Tuesday. Three attorneys were present during the arrests and were accused of interfering, with one attorney attempting to physically stop the process. ICE warned that anyone impeding arrests in the future could face arrest themselves. Federal authorities have opened a criminal investigation into whether two ICE officers committed perjury by lying under oath about a shooting in Minneapolis. All charges were dropped against two Venezuelan men involved in the incident.

Joel Angel-Becerril, a 27-year-old DACA recipient from Omaha, was released from Sarpy County Jail on February 20, 2026, after nearly three months in ICE custody. His release followed a federal judge's mid-February order declaring his detention without a bond hearing unlawful. An Omaha Immigration Court judge subsequently dismissed his removal proceedings on Friday, February 24, 2026, finding that his DACA status provided protection against deportation. Angel-Becerril had filed a civil rights lawsuit with the ACLU of Nebraska, which intervened in the case.

Aldrin, a hardworking father and primary household provider, was detained by ICE in early January 2026 in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, after agents followed him and his wife home from work. His young daughters witnessed the detention from their home window. He was transferred out of state to El Paso, Texas, where he allegedly received poor conditions and was denied needed medical care, then moved to a detention facility in New Mexico. His wife has been unable to work out of fear of leaving their children parentless, creating severe emotional and financial hardship for the family.

Anselmo Martin Matias, who had been released on $16,000 bond in 2019 during withholding proceedings, was detained by ICE on February 24, 2026, during his routine check-in. ICE told him he was being detained for "breaking the rules" due to his March 2025 guilty plea to reckless driving, which they incorrectly described as driving under the influence. The federal court ordered his immediate release, finding that due process requires a hearing before a neutral arbitrator when someone is re-detained based on alleged supervision violations.

A Nicaraguan man has been in immigration detention since February 24, 2026, after being arrested at a scheduled ICE check-in. ICE did not set bond and did not provide him with a custody review by an immigration judge as required under the Board of Immigration Appeals' decision in Matter of Yajure Hurtado. A recent DHS policy classifies anyone arrested within the United States and charged with being inadmissible under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(A)(i) as an 'applicant for admission' subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A), a change from prior policy that allowed for bond or conditional parole under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). He filed a habeas corpus petition and ex parte application for a temporary restraining order seeking to prohibit his removal, transfer outside the Central District of California, and continued detention without a constitutionally adequate bond hearing. The federal court granted the temporary restraining order, ordering respondents to either provide him an individualized bond hearing before an immigration judge pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) on or before April 7, 2026 at 9:00 a.m., or release him from custody by April 7, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. The court set a hearing on the preliminary injunction for April 16, 2026.

An ACLU legal fellow visited the North Lake Processing Center in Michigan to meet with a detained Venezuelan woman seeking asylum. The author describes arbitrary security screening practices, including being required to remove her underwire bra, and documents severe detention conditions including inadequate food, limited outdoor access, medication costs passed to detainees, and a recent death at the facility. The detained woman, who entered the U.S. legally through CBP One screening and a port of entry, was separated from her 3-month-old infant after a false accusation by an abusive ex-partner and faces an impossible choice between deportation to Venezuela or relocation to Ecuador without her child.

A West Virginia federal judge ordered the immediate release of Eduardo Tinajero Rodriguez from ICE custody, finding his detention violated federal law and the Constitution. The judge found serious procedural failures including ICE's use of a document showing marijuana convictions from 2009 when Rodriguez was only four years old. Rodriguez was detained following a traffic stop based on an illegible license plate and an officer's call to ICE due to a language barrier.

A class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of five individuals against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its agencies (ICE, CBP, USBP) for conducting warrantless immigration arrests across North Carolina. The plaintiffs include U.S. citizens and a visa holder who were arrested without legal justification during enforcement operations in Charlotte, Durham, Raleigh, and other communities. The lawsuit challenges the conduct of warrantless arrests.

George Retes, a 25-year-old U.S. citizen and Army veteran, was detained by ICE agents on July 10, 2025, during a workplace raid at Glass House Farms in Camarillo, Ventura County, California. Despite repeatedly identifying himself as a U.S. citizen, he was pulled from his car, tear-gassed, and arrested without being told why he was detained. He was taken to a Navy base for DNA collection, then held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles for three days without access to phone calls, legal representation, a shower, or a judge appearance before being released without charges. Retes filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the federal government under the Federal Tort Claims Act, challenging the Trump administration's claimed absolute immunity for immigration enforcement officers. In February 2026, he attended the State of the Union as a guest of Rep. Mark Takano.

Colleen Fagan, a social worker, was observing an immigration enforcement operation at an apartment complex in Portland, Maine when federal agents scanned her face with a smartphone and recorded her car license plate. When she asked why they were taking her information, an agent told her, "Cause we have a nice little database. And now you're considered a domestic terrorist." Her video of the exchange went viral. Fagan is now a plaintiff in a federal class action lawsuit arguing that DHS unconstitutionally retaliates against people who lawfully observe and record immigration enforcement by gathering their personal information and labeling them domestic terrorists. She is concerned about being placed on a "no-fly" list and worries her employment could be affected.

The petitioner entered the United States without inspection in February 2004 and has lived here continuously since then, more than 20 years. He applied for a U-visa, was granted deferred action, and received employment authorization valid from March 2023 to October 2024 while seeking adjustment of status. On February 24, 2026, he was arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for DUI alcohol, an allegation he disputes; the arrest did not result in criminal charges. Upon his release from county custody, he was detained by ICE and has been held at the Adelanto Detention Center for roughly six months. An immigration judge reportedly dismissed his removal proceedings on August 5, 2026, though records suggest a master hearing remained scheduled for September 2026. He filed a counseled habeas corpus petition arguing his detention without notice or a hearing violated procedural due process. The court agreed, finding the government's failure to provide pre-deprivation process unconstitutional, and ordered his release within 24 hours.

Ruben Arguera Lopez, 39, a cook who holds a U visa for crime victims who assist law enforcement, was arrested without a warrant by ICE and CBP agents during immigration enforcement operations in North Carolina. He has lived in Charlotte for 15 years and obtained humanitarian protection after helping law enforcement investigate a serious crime. He is one of five plaintiffs—including four U.S. citizens—in a federal class-action lawsuit filed in February 2026 against the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, CBP, and Border Patrol, alleging that agents made warrantless arrests without probable cause. The lawsuit covers arrests made between January 20 and October 15, 2025, during which ICE arrested 3,304 people in North Carolina, more than 2.8 times the total during the same period in 2024.