Human Impact Project

U.S. Representatives Wesley Bell and Nikki Budzinski visited Ste. Genevieve County jail on May 26-27, 2026, and found ICE detainees in overcrowded conditions, some sleeping on thin trays instead of beds, with insufficient access to clean water, medical care, and legal representation. The facility, which houses over 150 ICE detainees on contract, was found to have gaps between stated conditions and detainee experiences, with particular concerns raised about a pregnant detainee's lack of prenatal care and vitamins. Both representatives committed to following up with jail staff and detained constituents to ensure improved conditions and fulfillment of commitments made during the visit.

Senator Andy Kim visited Delaney Hall, an ICE detention center in Newark, to mediate between protesters and detainees conducting a hunger strike. ICE agents fired tear gas at Kim and demonstrators while the senator stood between them with his arms raised. Kim reported witnessing detained individuals, including an 18-year-old high school student and a woman who had suffered a miscarriage, under poor conditions. New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill was denied entry but heard complaints from family members about spoiled food and lack of medical care.

A Human Rights Watch report documents that the Trump administration deported over 4,300 Cuban nationals to Mexico between January 2025 and March 2026, many sent to high-violence border areas where they lack legal status, citizenship, or prior ties. Based on interviews with 41 deported Cubans and migrants from other countries, the report reveals that deportees experienced inhumane detention conditions in U.S. facilities, were pressured into going to Mexico under threat of prolonged detention or deportation, and now face severe conditions including homelessness, lack of access to food and healthcare, vulnerability to violence from organized crime, and inability to regularize their status or return to Cuba. The U.S. and Mexican governments maintain an undisclosed agreement to deport Cubans to Mexico despite Cuba's refusal to accept such deportations.

Luis Fernando Cabrera, an 18-year-old senior at Northeast Early College High School in Austin, was detained by ICE on May 1, 2026, after a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper pulled him over for expired vehicle registration. Body camera footage shows the trooper photographed Cabrera's school ID and used the encrypted messaging app Signal to contact federal immigration agents, receiving a message instructing him to "detain." Cabrera, who had an active pending asylum case dating to 2019 with no deportation order or criminal history, was transferred to Karnes County Immigration Processing Center over 100 miles away. His detention sparked protests from classmates and community members, with support from his school and St. James Episcopal Church. On May 20, a federal judge ordered ICE to release Cabrera, barring deportation and allowing him to graduate and take his final exams.

Henry Morales Hernandez, 55, a former Venezuelan Army Major with an active asylum case, has been detained by ICE since May following a traffic stop in Florida. Prosecutors dismissed the driving under the influence charge, with breath test results below the legal limit. Morales Hernandez arrived legally on a tourist visa in 2021 and has been granted Temporary Protected Status while his asylum case proceeds in immigration court.

Erik Maradiaga Alvarado was detained by ICE without warning or judicial warrant. He is the sole provider for his family, which includes two sons, one with a medical disability (Apert Syndrome). His wife is seeking funds for legal fees, rent, and living expenses during his detention.

Ruben Ray Martinez, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen from San Antonio, was fatally shot by Homeland Security Investigations Agent Jack Stevens on South Padre Island while traveling with his best friend, Joshua Orta, to celebrate his birthday. Federal officials claimed Martinez struck an agent with his car after refusing orders, but bodycam footage obtained through public records requests and a FOIA lawsuit showed his vehicle stationary or barely moving, with brake lights on, when he was shot three times; he was then pulled from the car, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed before receiving medical care. Orta, the only civilian witness, told investigators Martinez was 'hesitant' and 'scared'; Orta died in a car crash less than a year later. Martinez's mother, Rachel Reyes, said Texas Rangers investigators told her the footage contradicted the agents' account, and her attorneys say no one was near the car when Martinez was shot. A Texas grand jury declined to indict Stevens, and the family filed a tort claim against the federal government.

Ricardo Navarrete, an 18-year-old senior at Mather High School, was detained by ICE agents on March 16, 2026, during a scheduled check-in appointment for his pending asylum case. He had fled Colombia in 2022 seeking asylum, held a valid work permit and REAL ID, and had been accepted to play soccer at Truman College. Following his detention, Ricardo was transferred between multiple ICE detention facilities across Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, where he reported sleeping on floors without blankets and spending time in solitary confinement. His attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention, and he was released on May 26, 2026, just days before his high school graduation.

In March 2025, ICE agent fatally shot 23-year-old U.S. citizen Ruben Ray Martinez on South Padre Island, Texas. Bodycam footage shows the vehicle with brake lights engaged when three shots were fired through the window. Martinez was removed from the car and restrained before receiving medical care, but died at a Brownsville hospital. The agency's involvement was not publicly revealed until nearly eleven months later. A grand jury declined to indict the agent, and ICE stated the shooting was justified. Martinez's family is pursuing a tort claim for wrongful death.

A man who entered the United States in 2007 and had lived in the country for multiple years was detained by ICE on May 26, 2026, without being provided a warrant or notice of the reason for detention. The court found his detention unlawful due to denial of a bond hearing for over two months and ordered his immediate release, rejecting ICE's arguments for mandatory detention.

ICE agents pursued someone into Central Diner and Grille in Robinson Township after a traffic stop on Route 60. The restaurant's manager, a U.S. citizen, refused to allow agents to search the kitchen without a warrant. The confrontation escalated and the manager was pinned to the floor by an agent and injured. The manager had been hospitalized for heart issues the week before. Workers were so shaken that the restaurant closed for the day. ICE searched the business but did not locate the person they were pursuing.

Oso, a Pomeranian, was left at a shelter after his family was deported by ICE in Prince George's County, Maryland during the current administration's mass deportation enforcement. The dog was surrendered with only his name on his collar and no explanation. Since mass deportation enforcement ramped up in early 2025, animal welfare groups across the country report a surge in pets abandoned or surrendered by deported families, with some rescues taking in three times as many animals as they did a year ago.

A Chinese national lawfully admitted on a B-2 visa in 2015 who overstayed and subsequently applied for adjustment of status was arrested by ICE officers without prior notice or warrant on May 26, 2026, during her USCIS adjustment of status interview. ICE alleged she was being arrested for visa overstay. After a bond hearing on June 17, 2026, where an immigration judge denied her release, she filed a habeas corpus petition. The federal court granted her petition on July 1, 2026, finding she had a liberty interest in remaining free from detention and ordered her immediate release, enjoining future detention without notice and a pre-detention hearing.

An Indian national who entered the United States on December 31, 2022, was detained by ICE on May 26, 2026, following a commercial vehicle inspection and transferred to Central Valley Annex Detention Facility in McFarland, California. He had no criminal history, was not subject to a final removal order, and had previously been paroled under INA § 212(d)(5). The court found his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause and ordered his immediate release, enjoining respondents from re-detaining him without providing seven days' notice and holding a bond hearing before a neutral arbiter.

A pregnant constituent from Illinois' 13th Congressional District was detained by ICE at the Ste. Genevieve County Detention Center in Missouri and required two hospital visits for pregnancy-related emergencies while in custody. During a congressional tour on May 26, 2026, U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski and Rep. Wesley Bell observed conditions at the facility, where detainees reported serious access issues including insufficient drinking water (forcing some to drink from showers), inadequate medical care, and limited access to notaries and legal representation. The facility, which operates under a federal contract allowing ICE to hold up to 400 detainees, housed detainees in overcrowded cells with up to 48 people per room using inflatable mats or thin pads on trays for bedding. While facility operators claimed basic needs were being met, detainees—many from across Missouri and southern Illinois—reported being detained unexpectedly during their asylum process after initially being assured they would not be held.

Anabella Gyasi, 38, a pregnant Ghanaian woman, and her 4-year-old son who has a physical abnormality affecting his hands arrived at Dulles International Airport on valid tourist visas to seek medical care for her son at Akron Children's Hospital in Ohio. At customs, she disclosed a fear of returning to Ghana because of persecution she faced for her son's disability. CBP officers took them into custody as asylum seekers after she stated under oath that she did not intend to return to Ghana, which led officials to nullify her tourist visa. Gyasi, who was about four months pregnant, was held in a windowless room at the airport with her son for more than a week without adequate food or medical care. She was twice transported to a hospital for treatment. DHS denied her care was inadequate. The ACLU of Virginia filed an emergency petition, and Judge Leonie Brinkema called the detention a "terrible situation," saying Gyasi should not spend another night at the airport. A Justice Department attorney said immigration authorities were prepared to deport Gyasi and her son back to Ghana that night. CBP had interviewed her and judged she did not have a "credible fear" of returning. The judge ordered the government to confirm her departure and ruled the petition moot. Gyasi and her son were deported to Ghana.

Idaho State Police transferred 30 immigrants from state prisons and county jails to ICE custody for deportation following completion of their criminal sentences as part of Operation No Return, a state program utilizing the 287(g) partnership between Idaho law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. Officials stated the individuals had been convicted of crimes including child sexual abuse, drug trafficking, assault, and DUI. The transfer brings the cumulative total of people moved through the operation to 130.

Jose Pineda, a Salvadoran man with Temporary Protected Status working as a landscaper in East Boston, was stopped by ICE officers while on his way to work. Despite presenting valid Social Security and work authorization cards, agents refused to accept his documents and detained him for nearly two days in an overcrowded holding cell at the ICE Boston Field Office with approximately 50 other people where conditions were poor—he could not sit or sleep and received minimal food and water. His $600 in rent savings was not returned. The detention caused him frequent headaches, anxiety, memory loss, and worsened gastritis. His absence from work resulted in a demotion from lead foreman to assistant. He now experiences recurring nightmares and sleeps separately from his wife out of fear of harming her. He has filed a tort claim against the federal government.

Aliya Rahman, a Bangladeshi American U.S. citizen with autism and traumatic brain injury, was detained by ICE agents in Minneapolis on her way to a doctor's appointment during Operation Metro Surge. At the intersection of 34th Street and Park Avenue, agents smashed her passenger side window and violently pulled her from her car despite her calling out that she was disabled. Four agents carried her handcuffed in a hogtied position before placing her in an SUV and transporting her to the Whipple Federal Building. At the facility, her requests for medical care were denied for more than an hour until she lost consciousness and was transported to the emergency room. She was released without charge and never cited, and subsequently filed formal complaints alleging violations of her First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment rights, as well as human rights breaches, and pursued a tort claim for damages from unlawful detention and detention conditions.

A Mexican man was arrested by Border Patrol agents outside his apartment in Winooski after agents tracked him near his home for months during the summer. The case illustrates Border Patrol's expanded interior enforcement operations in Vermont, going beyond traditional border patrol duties.