Human Impact Project

Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a 56-year-old nearly blind Rohingya refugee from Myanmar who spoke little English and relied on a cane to walk, was released from Erie County jail on February 19, 2026, after Border Patrol agents determined he was ineligible for deportation. Agents dropped him off at a Tim Hortons north of Buffalo without notifying his family or attorney. Surveillance footage contradicted DHS claims that the location was safe and open, showing the store was closed except for its drive-thru. Alam went missing for several days before his body was found on February 24 near KeyBank Center, about four miles from where he was left. Local officials ruled his death a homicide, caused by complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer worsened by hypothermia and dehydration. Governor Kathy Hochul later cited his death as an example of harm caused by federal immigration enforcement.

A Guatemalan national entered the United States on December 5, 2022. He was issued a Notice to Appear for removal proceedings and released on his own recognizance on March 2, 2023. On March 31, 2026, he was re-detained by ICE when he reported for an appointment at Mesa Verda Detention Center. He filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging his detention, arguing that his prior release created a liberty interest in continued release and that his re-detention violated due process. On April 22, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California granted his habeas petition and ordered his immediate release on the same conditions as his prior release. The court also enjoined ICE from re-detaining him absent exigent circumstances without providing notice and a pre-detention hearing before an immigration judge, with the government bearing the burden of proving he is a danger or flight risk by clear and convincing evidence.

A Guatemalan national who entered the United States in 2008 at age 15 was taken into immigration custody on March 31, 2026. An immigration judge entered an Order of Removal on May 18, 2026, which he appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals. He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his continued detention as unlawful and unconstitutional, alleging inadequate medical care for cervical and lumbar spinal injuries, due process violations, and that less restrictive alternatives exist. The court denied his emergency motion for a temporary restraining order prohibiting removal but ordered respondents to file a sealed medical status report within 14 days.

Maria, a 38-year-old thyroid cancer survivor from Brazil, was detained at Delaney Hall ICE detention center for roughly two weeks where medical staff did not provide her prescribed daily hormone supplements and also provided incorrect medication, leaving her unable to urinate for at least four days. Her attorney filed an emergency letter to a federal judge on March 31, 2026, raising concerns about the possibility of irreparable harm including organ failure or sepsis. The judge ordered her release the next day, in part due to these medical concerns. Her case is among over 70 lawsuits filed by Delaney Hall detainees alleging medical neglect.

An Afghan man who is a native and citizen of Afghanistan entered the United States on December 18, 2023, and was paroled under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(5) with a Notice to Appear scheduled for August 30, 2029. On March 31, 2026, ICE took him into custody during a routine check-in without providing notice of the factual basis for revoking his parole. According to ICE's I-213 form, the revocation was based on a check revealing that he "had not been granted any lawful status to be in the U.S." He has no known criminal history and had complied with all conditions of his parole, including periodic check-ins with ICE. A federal magistrate judge granted his petition for writ of habeas corpus, finding that his re-detention without a hearing before a neutral adjudicator violated due process. The court ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he was subject to prior to his March 31, 2026 detention and enjoined respondents from re-detaining him without at least 7 days' written notice and a pre-deprivation bond hearing.

A Cuban national who entered the U.S. through CBP's One Program in August 2023 and was released on two-year parole was arrested by ICE on March 31, 2026 while on his way to work. He has a pending Application for Adjustment of Status under the Cuban Adjustment Act, possesses valid Employment Authorization, and has no criminal history. The court ordered his immediate release, finding his detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated due process.

Lester Pérez Sánchez and Ismaray Paz Torres, a Cuban pastor couple who arrived in the U.S. in 2021 seeking asylum and hold I-220A status, were detained by ICE on March 31, 2026, during what they believed was a routine supervision appointment in Harlingen, Texas. Both hold work permits and operate a tire repair workshop in Ingleside. They have been held at El Valle Detention Center in Raymondville since their arrest. The Ingleside community, including the mayor, has rallied for their release.

A group of Venezuelan migrants, including children and babies, are stranded in Miami after attempting to voluntarily leave the United States. Their travel documents were rejected by airlines at the airport, preventing them from boarding flights home. The situation stems from Venezuela having no operational consulates in the U.S., making it impossible for Venezuelan citizens to obtain or renew required travel documents like passports and safe-conducts from U.S. soil.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained the father of Chicana painter Criselda Vasquez on March 31, 2026, after he was pulled over while on his way home from work and arrested outside a neighbor's home. Vasquez stated her father had been in the United States for over 40 years and that he was racially profiled. The family launched a fundraiser to cover lost wages and legal fees related to his detention.

Rafael Concepcion, a Syracuse University professor, developed DEICER, a crowdsourced mapping app that alerts users to ICE activity and agent locations. After the app gained 30,000 users, the Department of Justice pressured Apple to remove it from the App Store in October 2025. Concepcion lost his university job and received death threats but continued developing modified versions of the tool.

A 15-year-old was detained during an ICE raid at a clandestine club off San Pedro Avenue in San Antonio in November 2025, along with approximately 140 other people. Four months later, the teen remained in federal custody at a migrant children's shelter on San Antonio's South Side despite paperwork for his release being completed. The release process stalled after his father, who was handling the case, was detained while driving back from a job in Corpus Christi, creating additional complications as the family feared further detention if a parent came forward to secure his release.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Jasper County Sheriff's deputies, and Ridgeland police executed a coordinated operation Saturday involving approximately 250 officers across multiple locations in Jasper County, South Carolina, resulting in dozens of arrests. The year-long investigation targeted what Sheriff Chris Malphrus described as a criminal enterprise centered on an illegal cockfighting operation, which also uncovered connections to other criminal activity. Federal authorities are continuing the investigation and have not released specific details about the total number of detainees or their current locations.

On March 31, 2026, a traffic stop on Interstate 20 near Leeds, Alabama resulted in the arrest of four individuals. The driver presented a Mexican identification card instead of an Alabama driver license, prompting an Alabama State Police trooper to contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. When the driver and two passengers fled on foot into nearby woods, law enforcement apprehended all three without incident. All four individuals were arrested by the Leeds Police Department. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and ICE are investigating the incident.

Omar Salazar, an SMU graduate and Dallas community leader, was ordered deported to Mexico after losing his immigration case on April 2, 2026, following seven months of detention at ICE's Bluebonnet Detention Facility. He was detained after a traffic stop in August 2025 when he presented a Mexican ID and lacked a valid U.S. driver's license. Salazar, who was brought to the U.S. as a minor and did not qualify for DACA, has 60 days to depart voluntarily. His legal team said that while an appeal is possible, it could extend his detention another 8-12 months, and he would likely face a 3-6 year wait before reentry despite being married to a U.S. citizen.

Isaias, an asylee, was detained by ICE during a routine immigration check-in meeting earlier this year. He was the primary source of financial support for his elderly mother Rosa, who is now unable to work and needs assistance with rent and phone bills.

A Venezuelan pediatrician working as a medical assistant in the Raleigh neighborhood is currently in ICE custody.

A Honduran citizen who has lived in the United States for over twenty years. He is married and the father of United States citizen children, has maintained steady employment, filed federal income tax returns for many years, owns a home, and has no criminal history. He filed an application for asylum on July 14, 2023, which remains pending. On March 30, 2026, ICE arrested him at his residence in Fort Pierce, Florida, served him a Notice to Appear, and initiated removal proceedings; he has been detained ever since at the Aurora ICE Processing Center. He requested a custody redetermination hearing, which Immigration Judge Masters denied without addressing danger or flight risk. He filed a habeas corpus petition and a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction seeking immediate release or a new bond hearing before a different judge. The court found he was improperly detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) because that provision applies only to noncitizens seeking admission at the border, not those residing in the interior. The court granted the habeas petition and ordered his immediate release on his own recognizance without onerous conditions, enjoined his re-detention absent a compliant bond hearing, and denied the TRO motion as moot.

An ICE agent working with a Utah Highway Patrol trooper arrested three individuals near Ogden. Video footage shows the ICE agent breaking a vehicle window during the operation. An 18-year-old passenger in the vehicle called his mother during the incident, telling her an agent was pointing a gun at them. The specific identities and immigration status of those arrested were not detailed in the available report.

Rudy Villeda Mejía, a 47-year-old Honduran roofing business owner who has lived in Washington state since 2010 after being kidnapped and held for ransom by Los Zetas cartel members, was arrested by ICE at Denver International Airport on March 30, 2025. He had attended routine immigration check-ins for years without incident and had a pending T visa application as a trafficking victim, which his attorney argued was his only lawful path to remain with his U.S. citizen wife, Mabel Shaffer, and her three children. During roughly four months in ICE custody in Aurora, Colorado, his health declined, including worsening Bell's palsy symptoms, back pain, and weight loss, while the family's roofing business lost contracts and his wife struggled to manage it alone. A federal judge initially denied his habeas petition, but later ordered his release under a court order barring detention of pending T visa applicants; ICE had already transferred him to Louisiana and released him there without his ID, passport, or work permit. His wife flew to Louisiana to drive him home, and his stepson said he immediately returned to work at the family business.

An asylum seeker from Iran was re-detained on March 30, 2026, during a routine ICE check-in appointment after being previously released on recognizance in December 2023. ICE detained him solely because he had not been granted lawful status to remain in the U.S., despite having no criminal record and complying with all release conditions. The court found his detention violated due process and ordered his immediate release.