Human Impact Project

Bertha Olga Gómez Fong, wife of former Chihuahua Governor César Duarte, was arrested by ICE in El Paso on March 25, 2026, and is being held at the El Paso Service Processing Center. The arrest circumstances remain unclear, with preliminary reports suggesting either a routine immigration check or a coordinated operation related to corruption allegations. As of March 26, 2026, Mexican officials have not initiated formal intervention, and the case could result in either deportation or extradition proceedings depending on bilateral protocols activated by Mexico.

An Indian immigrant who has lived in the US for 25 years was first detained by ICE in March 2012 following a 2007 conviction for attempted lewd acts with a minor. He lost his lawful permanent resident status and has been under Orders of Supervision since 2017, requiring regular ICE check-ins. The court granted a temporary restraining order preventing ICE from re-arresting him without notice and a hearing before a neutral adjudicator.

A Guatemalan citizen who had been released on bond and granted withholding of removal in 2013 was detained on March 24, 2026 during a routine ICE check-in. He had fully complied with his supervision order for over 12 years with no new criminal history. ICE agents told him he was being arrested because of the new administration and they would find a third country if they couldn't send him to Guatemala. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring his immediate release.

Adrian Ramirez, a Dominican Republic native with an approved juvenile immigrant visa, was detained by ICE on January 16, 2026, while traveling to work in Syracuse after being stopped by agents at a work site. He was held at detention facilities in Batavia and Louisiana, including Jackson Parish Correctional Center, for approximately nine weeks. With support from his Syracuse community, including All Saints Catholic Church members who raised money and wrote letters on his behalf, and assistance from strangers in Louisiana, Ramirez was released on bond with an ankle monitor and returned home to reunite with his family, including his infant son.

Kevin Ntabo, a Kenyan-born father of four living in Edmond, Washington, was detained by ICE at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in December 2025 after returning from Kenya where he attended his father's funeral. Officials flagged his immigration status as irregular upon arrival. He was held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma awaiting a court hearing scheduled for March 17, 2026, to determine whether he would be deported or allowed to remain with his wife and four children.

Jackson Kabut Gichema, a 48-year-old Kenyan national, was arrested by ICE on March 24, 2026, and ordered deported following a conviction in Baltimore County. Gichema entered the United States legally on a visitor's visa in 2003 but remained without legal status after his authorization expired. A 2011 Maryland Court of Special Appeals decision upheld his conviction, triggering mandatory deportation proceedings as the offense qualifies as an aggravated felony under U.S. immigration law.

Wilmar Aristo Pablos-Miguel, a 42-year-old Mexican national, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to time served on March 24, 2026, for fraud and misuse of visa documents. He was arrested during an ICE workplace raid at Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant in Nitro on January 16, 2026, where he had been working with a counterfeit Green Card since June 2025. An ICE detainer has been issued for his removal proceedings. The case was part of Operation Country Roads, which resulted in over 650 arrests statewide.

Arnoldo Bazan, a 16-year-old U.S. citizen and student at Alief Hastings High School in Houston, was beaten and choked by masked ICE agents on October 23, 2025, when they stopped his father, Arnulfo Bazan Carrillo, during a drive to school near Gessner Road and Beechnut Street. Bystander video showed agents restraining Arnoldo with an arm around his neck while he told them he was a minor and a citizen; he was also subjected to racial slurs and later treated for bruises and welts consistent with choking. He was held for several hours before ICE confirmed his citizenship and released him. His father, an immigrant from Michoacán with a prior deportation and a misdemeanor DWI conviction, was arrested and, according to immigrant rights group FIEL, intimidated into signing a voluntary departure before being deported to Reynosa, Mexico. ICE disputed the abuse allegations, claiming Arnoldo elbowed an agent and that Arnulfo rammed a federal vehicle and fled. Arnoldo later testified before Congress about the incident.

A woman who has resided in the United States since 1996 was arrested by ICE in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 24, 2026. The government detained her under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), but the court found this violated immigration law since she had no prior ICE encounters. The court ordered her immediate release and prohibited re-detention without proper legal authority.

Eledoro Valenzuela Rodríguez, an undocumented Cuban immigrant, was taken into ICE custody on March 24, 2026, from Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami-Dade. Rodríguez has a final deportation order issued in 1980 that had never been executed and an extensive criminal history spanning over four decades across multiple states. He faced outstanding charges in Miami for cocaine possession with intent to sell, firearm possession by a convicted felon, and breaking and entering. ICE stated it plans to ensure his swift deportation.

Ya'akub Ira Vijandre, a Filipino DACA recipient and community activist, was detained by ICE at his Arlington home in October 2025. The federal government is seeking to terminate his DACA protection, citing his social media activity and posts about Palestine activism. On March 24, 2026, community members and supporters spoke before Arlington City Council requesting a resolution calling for his release, citing constitutional concerns and detention conditions at Folkston Detention Center in Georgia.

On March 11, 2026, ICE agents conducted a raid in South Burlington, Vermont, after a vehicle stop on Dorset Street. Court filings later revealed that agents misidentified and arrested Cristian Jerez-Andrade, a Honduran man, after chasing him into a home—they had been seeking Mexican national Deyvi Daniel Corona-Sanchez, who was not present. Hundreds of community members and activists, alerted by Migrant Justice, rapidly assembled at the scene and formed a human barrier to prevent ICE from entering the house and detaining residents. As the standoff continued into the evening, heavily armed ICE agents and Vermont State Police officers in tactical gear forcibly pushed through the crowd, deploying flash-bang devices and shooting pepper balls at protesters. At least one protester was injured and taken away by ambulance, several were arrested, and many others suffered pepper spray exposure.

Abel Ortiz, an undocumented immigrant who arrived in Los Angeles as an infant and spent 38 years building a life there, self-deported to Mexico City in August 2025 under pressure from Trump administration immigration enforcement policies. Though Mexican-born, Ortiz identified as American and had established a hair salon business and community ties in LA. Seven months after his departure, he works as a hair stylist in Mexico City but struggles with displacement, grief over leaving his life and friends behind, and identity questions as he adapts to a country where he spent only nine months of his life and speaks Spanish only haltingly.

Civil rights groups including the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center and ACLU of Michigan say ICE enforcement activity has increased at or near Michigan hospitals and clinics following federal withdrawal of guidelines that previously restricted law enforcement in health care settings. Health care providers report a rise in ICE encounters and worry about increased fear among patients and staff.

A middle school student and her parents were deported by ICE on Monday while attending an immigration appointment at the ICE facility in Camarillo. The family was deported to Tijuana within 24 hours. Their 3-year-old sibling, born in the U.S., was not taken into custody and is being cared for by relatives.

Leandro Bermudez, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Venezuela, and his 7-year-old daughter Lucia traveled to Colombia on March 10, 2026, to complete her I-130 visa application at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota. On March 16, U.S. officials denied Lucia's visa request citing a June 2025 Trump proclamation targeting terrorists and security threats. Lucia has lived in Utah since age 2 and attends school there. Her attorney argues the denial misinterprets the order and that Lucia, as the daughter of a U.S. citizen, should be exempt. The family is working with lawyers and Utah's congressional delegation to secure a federal waiver to bring her home.

A pregnant woman identified as Marie was detained at an ICE facility and told officials of her pregnancy, but was placed in solitary confinement for days and denied medical care despite repeated requests. She was denied translation services at a medical center and was not informed about medical procedures performed. While detained, she witnessed another woman miscarry and deliver a stillborn baby alone in a facility bathroom.

A 70-year-old Iranian woman who had resided peacefully in the United States for 26 years was detained by the Trump administration without valid legal justification. Federal Judge Gary Klausner expressed shock at the government's inability to provide adequate cause for her detention and ordered her release. Her case exemplifies a pattern in which the Department of Justice has failed to present valid arguments to justify detentions across numerous cases.

Gael, a nonverbal 5-year-old boy from Colombia with significant developmental delays undergoing autism evaluations, was detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas for three weeks along with his asylum-seeking parents, Leonardo and Nelsy. The family was arrested on March 3 during an immigration check-in in El Paso. During his confinement, Gael's health deteriorated severely: he struggled to eat, experienced constipation lasting over a week with visible abdominal swelling and pain, and began engaging in self-harm behavior by hitting himself as his distress increased. Before detention, Gael had been receiving therapy in El Paso while the family pursued their asylum case. His attorney, Elora Mukherjee, requested his release on medical grounds after a video call with children's entertainer Ms. Rachel, arranged by a journalist, drew public attention to his condition. The family was released days later and returned to El Paso with required ICE check-ins to continue their asylum proceedings.

A 10-year-old U.S. citizen girl recovering from brain cancer was deported to Mexico along with her undocumented parents and four American-born siblings in February 2025. The family was detained at an immigration checkpoint while traveling from Rio Grande City to Houston for the child's emergency medical checkup. The girl, who had undergone surgery to remove a brain tumor, has been unable to continue her specialized medical treatment and rehabilitation in Mexico. An 11-year-old U.S. citizen recovering from brain cancer was deported to Mexico with her family by Border Patrol agents despite her documented citizenship and need for ongoing medical treatment. The family was traveling to Houston for emergency care when agents ignored a hospital letter the family had used previously at checkpoints and detained the family, deporting them the next day. The citizen child's 18-year-old brother, Fernando Hernández García, was not detained and remained in the U.S. to earn money and send medicine to his sister. The family's lawyers report they have been unable to access proper medical care in Mexico and have applied for humanitarian parole.