Human Impact Project

A Mexican national who re-entered the U.S. without inspection in 2021 and was living in Redwood City with his partner and three children was detained by ICE officers in his driveway on July 9, 2026, while taking his two-year-old child to daycare. Officers claimed to have an arrest warrant but only showed a zoomed phone screen and did not allow inspection. The warrant later produced was signed in June 2025 with handwritten markings added after arrest. The court found the warrant invalid because no basis for probable cause was checked, and the officers made no individualized determination that he was a flight risk as required by law. The court granted a temporary restraining order, ordering his immediate release and prohibiting re-detention pending an evidentiary hearing.

Jacobo Zapeta Castro, a Guatemalan baker and owner of El Quetzal Panaderia Y Cafeteria in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, turned himself in to ICE on July 9, 2026, after seeing immigration agents and Florida Highway Patrol officers outside his bakery. When officers threatened to enter the premises and detain his employees and children who were waiting in his car, Zapeta Castro voluntarily surrendered himself to protect them from enforcement action. His son sobbed as officers placed him in handcuffs. According to his nephew Gilbert Zapeta, who manages the bakery, Zapeta Castro had filed for asylum and possessed a valid Social Security number, work permit, and driver's license at the time of detention. He is described by family and staff as a devoted father and caring employer who frequently supported his workers and was active in his church community.

Jacob Zapeta Castro, a Guatemalan immigrant and owner of El Quetzal bakery in Lake Worth Beach, was arrested by ICE and Florida Highway Patrol on July 9, 2026, after a traffic stop attempt. Approximately 25 to 30 federal and state officers surrounded his bakery for hours. His teenage children, ages 13 and 15, were present during the operation and were questioned by officers; family members and advocates described the children as being used as leverage to force his surrender. ICE alleged Zapeta Castro had prior deportations and a criminal history including DUI arrests, hit and run, and resisting law enforcement, and claimed he attempted to ram an ICE vehicle before fleeing into the bakery. However, his family, coworkers, and community advocates disputed these characterizations, describing him as hardworking and tax-paying. Employee Gilmer Zapeta, who has worked for Jacob for three years, stated that Jacob voluntarily surrendered. Community advocate Mariana Blanco of the Guatemalan Maya Center confirmed Zapeta Castro held a valid work permit and driver's license. Officers cited a federal offense of illegal re-entry after prior deportation.

Marcos, an asylum seeker detained at Florence Correctional Center in Arizona, expressed fear for his safety while in custody. He fears becoming the next person to die in detention, referencing Emmanuel Damas. The facility was experiencing a measles outbreak at the time of contact.

Noslén Sendra, 41, a Cuban detainee, was detained during an appointment at the Miramar ICE office in November and spent five months at the Alligator Alcatraz detention center before being transferred to Krome in early April, and subsequently to the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami. Sendra is diabetic and suffered pancreatitis while in detention due to extremely high triglyceride levels, requiring hospitalization. His wife Anisley Cortés reports he is not receiving the medical treatment he needs at the FDC, with officials telling her they cannot provide additional medications because they say ICE is responsible.

Karina Alvarez San Juan, a Mexican national who has lived in the U.S. since age 12, was arrested during a traffic stop in Florida on May 6, 2026, for an allegedly broken taillight. She is the mother of four U.S. citizen children and was nursing her youngest child, born on January 7, 2026, at the time of her arrest. ICE transferred her to South Louisiana Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana, where she remained detained for over three months. Her attorney Michelle Borton reported that conditions at the facility were inadequate, with detainees lacking sufficient clean water for basic hygiene including bathing and flushing toilets. San Juan alleged due process violations, including a cancelled bond hearing and a denied emergency motion without explanation. On July 8-9, 2026, U.S. District Judge David C. Joseph, a Trump appointee, ordered ICE to release her within five business days after finding that the agency violated its own Directive 11032.4, which prohibits detention of postpartum and nursing mothers unless release is prohibited by law or exceptional circumstances exist. ICE officials stated they had no additional evidence to justify her continued detention.

Owen Ramsingh, a Netherlands native who arrived in the United States at age 5 in 1986 and held a green card for over 40 years, was detained by ICE at Chicago's O'Hare Airport in November 2025 based on decades-old drug convictions from 1997 and 2011. He was deported to the Netherlands in February 2026 after months in detention, receiving a lifetime ban from the United States. Ramsingh had been living in Columbia, Missouri with his wife Diana and daughter, working in property management and security at local venues. After finding conditions in the Netherlands difficult, Ramsingh and his family relocated to Mexico to be closer to U.S.-based friends and relatives while his wife pursues remote work opportunities, unable to visit his daughter's gravesite in the United States. Owen Ramsingh, a long-term green card holder who immigrated to the U.S. at age 5 in 1986, was detained by ICE at Chicago airport on September 30 while returning from a family visit to the Netherlands. DHS cited prior drug-related convictions from 1997 and 2011 as justification for his detention. Ramsingh, who had worked in property management and security at music venues in Columbia, Missouri, was held in ICE custody in Texas and New Mexico. In December, a New Mexico judge issued him a lifetime ban from the U.S., and he was deported to the Netherlands in February. Unable to secure housing or viable visa options in the Netherlands, Ramsingh and his family have since relocated to Mexico, where they are working on obtaining residency and rebuilding their lives closer to family and friends.

Micaela Mendez Sandiz, a 16-year-old from Chiapas, Mexico, contacted her family on July 8 to report that she and her cousin were traveling through the desert. She was abandoned in serious health condition, reporting lack of water and inability to continue. Her cousin is reportedly detained. The family is seeking information about Micaela's whereabouts.

A Venezuelan legal permanent resident who operates a food truck with his son in Miami-Dade was repeatedly confronted by a man posing as a high-ranking ICE official, according to a federal complaint. Prosecutors say Jonathan Christian Gonzalez Reyes, a 45-year-old Colombian national, used a badge, firearm, and a vehicle with police-style lights and sirens to convince the victim he worked for ICE, then demanded free food and money in exchange for help with immigration issues. When the food-truck operator refused, Gonzalez Reyes allegedly threatened to plant drugs in the truck and pistol-whip the owner's son, prompting the victim to call police. Gonzalez Reyes has been charged with falsely impersonating a federal officer.

ICE ERO Philadelphia arrested Mario Humberto Caal-Chop, 29, during a vehicle stop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 19, 2026, and detained him at Moshannon Valley ICE Processing Center. An immigration judge granted him voluntary departure on June 23, 2026, and he was transferred to Louisiana before being returned to Guatemala on July 8, 2026 via charter flight. ICE touted his removal as the agency's 100,000th of Fiscal Year 2026.

A 48-year-old citizen of Mexico who has lived in the United States for thirty years was detained by ICE agents on July 8, 2026 while standing at a bus stop in Brooklyn with other Hispanic men and asked to produce identification. He was arrested and taken to 26 Federal Plaza, then transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on July 15, 2026. On July 22, 2026, he filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, arguing his detention was unlawful. Respondents conceded that ICE detained him under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) without first conducting the individualized custody determination required by the court's prior ruling in H.A.C.F. v. Francis. The court issued a Temporary Restraining Order on July 24, 2026 directing his immediate release, and Respondents subsequently acknowledged that the H.A.C.F. precedent controlled the outcome of the case. The court granted the habeas petition on August 6, 2026 and enjoined Respondents from re-detaining him absent compliance with applicable regulations or prior court authorization.

Maisa Lopes Eliaser, a 32-year-old Brazilian national with no criminal record, was detained by ICE on July 8, 2026, during a scheduled green card adjustment-of-status interview in Montgomery, Alabama. She is married to Staff Sergeant Alexis Jaramillo, an active-duty Army soldier of 11 years. Lopes Eliaser legally entered the U.S. on June 18, 2019, with authorization to remain until December 2019, but overstayed her visa. She had previously applied for asylum and later sought permanent residency through marriage; her green card petition had been approved before her detention. Immigration officials indicated she missed a biometrics appointment related to her asylum case, resulting in a removal order from an immigration judge on April 15, 2026. She is currently held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana. Jaramillo stated he feels "betrayed" by the detention, believing the family was completing the legal process for her permanent residency. The detention has caused panic attacks for Jaramillo and emotional distress for their young stepson. Her case is now before the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Jaramillo, who has served in the Army for more than a decade, was forced to take administrative leave from his job training soldiers at Fort Polk, Louisiana after his Brazilian wife, Maisa Lopes Eliaser, was detained by ICE in early July 2026 following a missed asylum appointment. Eliaser is being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana and faces deportation. Jaramillo now cares alone for their 5-year-old son, Noah, who is missing his mother. Jaramillo said the situation is "really overwhelming" without family support and emphasized that his wife "is not a criminal" and is "trying to do the right thing to get a better life." He has applied for legal protections available to spouses of active-duty service members. Immigration attorney Aaron Cash noted that while some protections exist for military spouses, "ICE or whomever seems to be ignoring that these days." Jaramillo's case is one of at least 52 parents and spouses of active-duty service members detained since Trump took office for a second term.

A landscaper identified in the article as Luis was arrested during an ICE enforcement operation on July 8 in Marietta while working at a construction site. He is the father of a 5-year-old son. His family struggled to cope with his sudden absence and the lack of information about his whereabouts or status. His family members have faced difficulty accessing resources and information about him, and are uncertain about his future.

Jovanny de Jesús Pineda left his home early on July 8 to go to a landscaping job with two colleagues when immigration agents stopped him. His wife, Luz Tagle, said a neighbor alerted her that immigration was in the area and she tried to warn him by phone. "The second he picked up he said, 'Immigration caught me,'" Tagle told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in Spanish. Pineda is now detained at ICE Stewart Detention Center in South Georgia.

Nando, a Guatemalan man who worked at the Sungrow greenhouse and packing facility near Rochester, New York, was arrested by ICE agents in late June as he left work in his car with his wife and another couple. After being pulled over by unmarked vehicles near the plant's exit, agents arrested him and another man while letting their partners leave. Nando had worked at the plant for 15 months, advancing from packing to operating machinery that unloaded boxes of tomatoes. He was taken to the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility, then transferred to a detention center in Louisiana, before being deported to Guatemala in early July. He is now home with his parents in a rural area without cell service, attempting to stay in touch with his wife and figure out his next steps. His arrest was part of broader ICE and Border Patrol enforcement operations at the Sungrow facility that began in mid-June, during which agents conducted surveillance in unmarked cars before dawn and at worker motels, resulting in at least six arrests near the plant.

Luis U., 51, a Venezuelan immigrant who had become part of the Lake Placid community, was detained by ICE agents at his hotel job on July 8, 2026. His family asked that his full last name be withheld out of fear of further detentions. Family, friends, and advocates are fighting for his release.

Cindy, a mother of four from Honduras, was detained by ICE for seven months following a routine traffic stop. After her release, she faced compounding legal and financial hardship: unable to pay a traffic ticket during her detention, she missed a court appearance and a warrant was issued. With legal assistance, the warrant was resolved, but ICE seized her documentation, requiring her to spend additional funds obtaining copies to resume work. Seven months of lost income left her family in severe financial distress.

A man was detained by ICE during a late-night traffic stop on Collins Hill Road in Lawrenceville, Georgia, while returning home with his teenage daughter Evelyn. Officers provided no explanation for the detention and left Evelyn, a minor, unattended at the scene. Evelyn describes her father as a hardworking provider who supports the family's bills and daily expenses. The family is seeking financial assistance to secure his release.

Two residents of Bend were arrested by ICE on July 8, 2026 at approximately 6:45 a.m. near the Deschutes Memorial Chapel and Gardens. Video footage shows two masked individuals in bulletproof vests apprehending the individuals from an unmarked red Jeep SUV and gray Dodge Durango. The Bend Police Department and Deschutes County Sheriff's Office were not aware of ICE presence in the area. The individuals were transported to the Tacoma Northwest Detention Center. The Latino Community Association has been in contact with the families and is offering wraparound support services.