Human Impact Project

On May 18, 2026, ICE agents detained 31-year-old DACA recipient and community organizer Karla Toledo at her Tucson home without presenting a judicial warrant, despite her maintaining valid DACA status since age 1 and having no criminal record. ICE agents were reportedly searching for someone else when they arrested Toledo. DHS alleged Toledo assaulted a federal officer and illegally entered the U.S. in October 2024—claims she disputed using video footage showing her compliance and asserting she had legally used advance parole authorization available to DACA recipients. During the arrest, agents allegedly used force to prevent the door from closing and denied her attorney access. Her mother, Veronica Ortiz, held a press conference pleading for her release, and attorney Mo Goldman stated allegations of assault were fabricated, with surveillance footage supporting Toledo's account. Following community protests and statements by U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva, Mexican consulate representatives, and local nonprofits, Toledo was approved for a $1,500 bond and released from Eloy Detention Center. One day after dismissing an earlier deportation case, DHS filed a second notice to appear in immigration court against Toledo.

Martin Soto, a Peruvian detainee held at Delaney Hall in Newark, was forcibly transferred by ICE agents to solitary confinement at a detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, after agents broke through a protester blockade in the early morning hours of May 25, 2026. His wife Gabriela, a U.S. citizen who was several months pregnant, had been rallying outside the facility in support of detainees who had launched a hunger and labor strike days earlier. Gabriela later lost her pregnancy in July after an emergency C-section performed when she was seven months pregnant, and said she had to tell her husband the news while he remained in solitary confinement.

Jairo Antonio Molina Moron, a 38-year-old Venezuelan national, was arrested by ICE Buffalo's Fugitive Operations Team and U.S. Marshals Service deputies during a targeted operation in Albion on May 24, 2026. Molina had been arrested by Yonkers Police Department in February 2025 for felony assault, and ICE lodged an immigration detainer, but local authorities refused to honor it and released him. He is now detained in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings.

ICE New Orleans conducted a week-long enforcement operation in Sevier County and surrounding areas in East Tennessee from May 24-31, 2026, resulting in 117 arrests. The operation targeted noncitizens, some of whom had prior criminal convictions. According to ICE, those arrested included individuals with convictions for assault, driving under the influence, and other offenses, though some may have faced immigration charges rather than criminal prosecution.

Daniel Romero, 18, a Colombian national and recent graduate of Ooltewah High School in Tennessee, was taken into ICE custody on May 18, 2026, during what his family believed was a routine appointment related to an immigration program. ICE cited missed check-ins and failure to submit required weekly photos as reasons for detention. Romero's family disputed the allegations, claiming the check-in app malfunctioned for four weeks and provided documented evidence of the technical error, but officials did not allow Romero to present this proof before his arrest. Records provided by the family indicated compliance with program requirements. He was held at Etowah County Jail in Alabama before being transferred to a detention center in Louisiana, where no bond, video calls, or visitation were allowed.

Javier Anibal Melgar was detained by ICE officers on May 15, 2026, while sitting in his vehicle with his 16-year-old son waiting for a school bus on Park Avenue in Bridgeport, Connecticut. ICE stated that Melgar is from El Salvador, entered the country illegally in 2005, and had a final removal order issued by an immigration judge in October 2006. Officers allowed Melgar to contact his wife to arrange transportation for their son before taking him into custody. Connecticut lawmakers condemned the arrest as a violation of ICE's sensitive location policies and called it executive overreach. Melgar's current location remains unknown.

Clara Linhares, a 17-year-old high school student, says her mother, Rita Linhares, 46, was detained by ICE shortly before Clara's graduation and is now held at the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, New Jersey, awaiting resolution of her immigration case. Clara told Status Coup's Jordan Chariton, and later a Brazilian outlet, that she has experienced worsening hair loss from alopecia, which she attributes to the stress of her mother's detention, and removed her wig on camera to show the condition. She said she lives with constant worry about her mother's health, as Rita has reported struggling to receive medication for glaucoma, anemia, high blood pressure, and circulation problems in custody, though DHS says she received adequate medical care. Clara also said she fears her father could be detained during a routine ICE check-in scheduled for the same day as her graduation.

Jose Danilo Diaz Sandoval, who had lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years and was in the process of obtaining a green card, was detained and deported by ICE in January 2026. His granddaughter Malani, whom he was raising, is a survivor of the 2022 Uvalde school shooting. Diaz's wife is a U.S. citizen. After spending four months in Honduras, he returned to the United States following legal efforts by his family.

A U.S.-born mother of four was stopped at an ICE checkpoint in a residential area of Lafayette and detained despite presenting a valid Louisiana state ID and Social Security card. ICE agents accused her documents of being forged, handcuffed and shackled her at the ankles, and transported her to a USCIS field office for interrogation before moving her to South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile. An immigration attorney secured her release by submitting identification documents. ICE did not apologize and confiscated her Social Security card.

A man pursuing asylum in Maine since 2021 through official legal channels was unexpectedly detained by ICE for 21 days despite having documentation of his ongoing legal process. He was released and returned home to his wife and four children (two born in the U.S.), but his asylum case was moved to formal Immigration Court, requiring a defensive asylum case before a judge to avoid deportation. His family is raising funds for private legal representation to mount his court defense.

Sofia, 35, an undocumented woman with no criminal record who was brought from Ciudad Juárez to El Paso as a child, was surrounded by masked ICE officers pointing guns at her outside her Central El Paso workplace on May 22, 2026, while leaving during a shift break. She was handcuffed and taken to the Otero County Processing Center in Chaparral, New Mexico, where she was held for about 50 days before being released on bond with a GPS monitor and required check-ins with a deportation officer. Her mother said Sofia is now raising her two children, ages 11 and 16, after her husband died in a car accident six months earlier, and that the family cannot afford a private attorney for her upcoming removal hearing.

A Venezuelan man who fled to the United States in November 2021 was granted humanitarian parole and settled in Ennis, Texas with his wife and child, where he applied for asylum and temporary protected status. On May 22, 2026, ICE officers detained him after he was arrested and charged with assault causing bodily injury, a charge that remains pending. He was offered a custody redetermination hearing on August 14, 2026, but allegedly refused to sign the hearing request form. He filed a habeas corpus petition and motion for a temporary restraining order in federal court seeking release, arguing he was denied due process before his parole was revoked. The government argued his detention was governed by a different statute in light of recent Ninth Circuit precedent and that a material change in circumstances justified his continued detention. The court found he has a protected liberty interest but concluded that, given the pending assault charge, a post-deprivation bond hearing rather than immediate release was appropriate. The court ordered that he receive a substantive bond hearing within 14 days, with the government bearing the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a danger or flight risk.

A 22-year-old transgender woman and Nicaraguan citizen was re-detained by ICE on May 22, 2026 during a scheduled check-in and transferred to the Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC) in Tacoma, Washington. Despite identifying as a woman, Respondents housed her in a male detention unit where she experienced verbal harassment and fear for her safety. The court granted her motion for a temporary restraining order, enjoining Respondents from housing her in a male detention unit or solitary confinement, and ordered Respondents to either move her to appropriate housing or release her within 24 hours.

Jorge Cubillos, a 42-year-old truck driver from Bogotá who fled threats from armed groups in Colombia, was deported to the Democratic Republic of Congo despite holding withholding of removal protection granted by an immigration judge in 2022 under the UN Convention Against Torture. He had lived in the U.S. since 2018, settling with his wife and four children in St. Cloud, Florida. After an arrest on a domestic battery charge, ICE lodged a detainer and detained him in Orlando, holding him for more than three months and moving him between facilities in Orlando, Jacksonville, and Louisiana while he filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention. He was flown to Kinshasa in shackles on April 15, 2026, after refusing to sign paperwork agreeing to relocation to Mexico, one of 15 Latin American migrants sent to Congo under a Trump administration deal with Kinshasa. He is now housed in a Kinshasa hotel with other deportees, reporting poor conditions including power cuts and lack of drinking water, and is receiving assistance from the International Organization for Migration while awaiting possible repatriation to Colombia.

Federal law enforcement arrested 13 undocumented immigrants during a two-day operation at a window supply business in Paducah, Kentucky in May 2026. Eight of those arrested were indicted by a federal grand jury for using stolen Social Security numbers on employment eligibility verification forms (I-9s) between June 2021 and August 2025. The eight indicted defendants each face up to five years in federal prison if convicted. The remaining five arrested individuals were not criminally charged and were placed in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

Mosaih Omar Wright, a Jamaican national previously deported from the U.S. in 2013 after serving a murder sentence, was taken into custody at a federal prison in New York on May 22, 2026. Wright had entered the U.S. as a stowaway in 1995, was convicted of murder in Minnesota in 1997, and later re-entered the country illegally after his 2013 deportation. He now faces removal proceedings for a second time.

Adys Lastres Morera, a lawful permanent resident living in Florida, was arrested by ICE Homeland Security Investigations on May 21-22, 2026, following the revocation of her green card by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The revocation was based on her sister Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera's position as executive president of GAESA, Cuba's military-controlled business conglomerate. Morera had arrived legally as a permanent resident in January 2023 and subsequently registered as manager of real estate investment companies in Florida. After her arrest, she was transferred to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana, and held pending removal proceedings. Her son, a U.S. citizen, disputed the revocation and sought legal representation.

Gabriel Leiva was detained at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan. He fought with staff who removed him from his pod and requested to be killed while handcuffed and shackled. After being placed in solitary confinement, he covered his cell window, kicked the door, and displayed suicidal behavior. When police responded to a 911 call, he expressed confusion about being in solitary confinement.

Juan Pablo Vasquez-Miranda was arrested by ICE officers on Wednesday in Hartford. At least one officer wore a mask and lacked clear identification, appearing to violate state law. Vasquez-Miranda had entered the U.S. in November 2022 on parole, which was subsequently terminated. He faced pending state charges for disorderly conduct, interfering with an emergency call, and strangulation/suffocation.

Victor López Delara, a 29-year-old mobile mechanic who immigrated to the U.S. at age 4 and lived in Florissant, Missouri for 26 years, was detained by ICE in February 2026 after an O'Fallon police officer pulled him over for not having a front license plate. During the traffic stop, police discovered an active ICE detainer and transferred him to ICE custody. López Delara had no criminal history aside from a 2015 speeding ticket, was employed as a mobile mechanic, owned a small business, and had two young daughters. He qualified for DACA but was unable to submit an application due to financial constraints and lack of a high school diploma. His petition to cancel deportation was denied by a judge who determined his children could adapt to relocation. López Delara was deported to Mexico, with his fiancée and children planning to follow.