Human Impact Project

On June 24, immigration agents entered El Oaxaqueño, a family-owned Oaxacan restaurant, bakery and supermarket in downtown Lakewood, New Jersey, through the back door and detained 18 people within about an hour, including six of the business's own workers. Among those detained was Bernarda Hernandez, along with 17 others without legal status, and worker Fermin Velez, who was arrested without a deportation order or arrest warrant and later released with help from a lawyer. The restaurant's owners, including Vicky Santiago, helped secure the release of most of their detained workers and said they would continue to stand up for their employees. DHS said ICE had gone to the parking lot based on a tip about a person charged with theft and forgery, and that some of those detained had prior charges for trespassing, obstruction and traffic offenses.

Elomar Alexander Reyes, a 20-year-old baseball player, had been in the United States for only three months on a tourist visa, hoping to pursue a baseball career after training the previous year with an Arizona team that had signed him, according to his father Ivys Reyes. He was detained and deported to Venezuela on Flight 164, arriving June 24, and was held at the Negra Hipólita Health Hotel in La Guaira, where he died when the building collapsed in an earthquake. His father recovered his body from a hospital morgue in Caracas but was not given his documents or personal belongings.

Angely and Alexka Jerez Medina, 18-year-old twins and Venezuelan asylum seekers, were detained by ICE on June 24 in Buffalo, New York, while working with other Detroit students at an Amazon subcontractor warehouse. The twins are now held in separate detention facilities in Texas and New Mexico. Their teacher at Western International High School, Kristen Schoettle, described them as "great students" who are "very active in their church" and noted that "their family wants to be here, they love this country." Elected officials including U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield have called for their release. Four other Detroit students arrested with them were released; a fifth remains in federal custody.

A Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. in 2014 to request asylum was detained by ICE on June 24, 2026, while on his way to work. He had been residing in the United States for 12 years with a valid work permit and pending asylum claims. The court ordered his immediate release, finding that his mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b) without a bond hearing violated immigration law, as that provision applies only to those affirmatively seeking admission, not long-term residents.

A 43-year-old woman from China who came to the U.S. seeking refuge wrote in a court declaration that she was suffering inside Otay Mesa Detention Center and pleaded with a judge for help, stating she never expected to experience inhumane treatment in the country where she sought protection. Her case was documented in habeas corpus petitions filed to challenge detention and detention conditions.

A man from Azerbaijan was detained at Otay Mesa Detention Center and hospitalized for nine days due to acute gastrointestinal distress. He experienced nausea and severe pain and was severely intolerant of the facility's food, causing him to lose approximately 20 pounds while detained. His case was documented in habeas corpus petitions challenging detention conditions.

A 34-year-old Pakistani woman with asthma and anxiety was detained at Otay Mesa Detention Center where she experienced panic attacks that knocked her unconscious and suffered numerous head injuries. She was hospitalized for three days while detained. In a court declaration, she expressed fear that her condition would worsen and stated she feared dying from lack of breathing. Her case was documented in habeas corpus petitions challenging her detention.

A woman from Mexico who uses a cane to walk was injured at Otay Mesa Detention Center after staff mixed up her prescription medication with another detainee's laxative. She rushed to the bathroom and fell, further injuring her knee, back and hips. Her case was documented in habeas corpus petitions filed to challenge detention.

A 33-year-old Iranian man with serious neurological issues was detained at Otay Mesa Detention Center where his treatment was minimally managed by facility physicians. He reported being handcuffed and shackled for extended periods during numerous medical appointments. His case was documented in habeas corpus petitions challenging detention conditions.

A 47-year-old Somali man married to a U.S. citizen was detained at Otay Mesa Detention Center and missed a scheduled hip surgery because of his detention. The case was documented in habeas corpus petitions filed as part of court challenges to detention amid immigration enforcement operations.

A woman is detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the El Valle Detention Center in Willacy County, Texas. She filed a habeas petition challenging the government's authority to detain her without a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A). While conceding she is subject to mandatory detention under that statute, she alleges the application violates her Fifth Amendment due process rights. The court denied her request for preliminary injunctive relief and decided to await a Fifth Circuit decision in a related case before ruling on her due process claims.

Adrian Andreas Florian, an 85-year-old German national, died at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, Texas on June 24, 2026, after spending nearly eight months hospitalized while in ICE custody. Florian presented himself at the Colombia Solidarity Bridge port of entry in Laredo on August 28, 2025, without valid documentation and was taken into ICE custody the following day. He was transferred to the hospital on November 4, 2025 due to dementia, high blood pressure, cognitive impairment, and ulcers. He is the 21st person to die in ICE custody in 2026 and the first German national to die in custody that year, with the cause of death pending autopsy results.

Abelardo Rincón, 23, was detained by U.S. authorities in Georgia during an immigration crackdown and deported to Venezuela on Flight 164 on June 24, 2026, alongside more than 140 other Venezuelans. He called his family in Atlanta hours after landing while being held in Hotel Santuario La Llanada near the coast. Twin earthquakes struck the country just hours later, killing at least 2,200 people. Rincón and several fellow deportees from the flight went missing in the disaster; his family has been desperately searching for him with no confirmation of his status.

A 33-year-old Venezuelan man was detained at an ICE facility in El Paso, Texas and deported on a flight to Venezuela on June 24, 2026. He was transported to Hotel Santuario La Llanada where earthquakes struck hours later. His partner, Liliana Rojas, has been unable to locate him; the detention center confirmed only that he was deported but provided no further information.

Jenny Rodriguez, 24, was on the same deportation flight from Miami to Venezuela on June 24, 2026, and taken to Hotel Santuario La Llanada. When earthquakes struck hours later, she was trapped under rubble. A fellow deportee from the same flight helped free her hand from the debris, allowing her to escape.

Paigelynne Gonyea, a poll worker and social media creator in Syracuse, New York, was visited by federal agents on June 23, 2026, at her workplace during New York's primary elections. The agents confronted her over a January Instagram post about ICE officer Jonathan Ross, who shot and killed Renée Macklin Good in Minneapolis during anti-ICE demonstrations. Gonyea's post included a picture of Ross and stated "I think today is a great day for Jonathan to be indicted." The U.S. Department of Homeland Security claimed she posted Ross's address as "doxxing," while Gonyea said she posted the picture after Ross had already been identified by news media. The agents handed her a written notice warning of potential federal charges under laws regarding posting personal information about federal officers. Gonyea refused to sign the document and said she intends to continue defending her First Amendment right to make the post. The New York Attorney General's Office said it is reviewing the incident.

A 77-year-old Iranian man with a rare, life-threatening liver disease was detained at Otay Mesa Detention Center and placed in solitary confinement despite doctors recommending his release. He had lived in the U.S. under supervised release for over two decades and had multiple health conditions including sleep apnea, severe diabetes, and hearing loss. While detained for six weeks, he lost 10 pounds, experienced high blood sugar readings, and was denied essential CPAP equipment after staff reported losing parts of the machine. Two doctors and a nurse practitioner wrote letters urging his release. A federal judge ordered his release in January after finding ICE officers violated his due process rights.

Eduardo Jose Alves, an Angolan asylum seeker living in Lewiston, Maine, who entered the U.S. on a valid tourist visa and filed an affirmative asylum application, was detained by ICE agents at his home on June 20, 2026. That same day, a court issued an emergency order staying his transfer out of Maine for 72 hours, but ICE moved him to Plymouth County Correctional Center in Massachusetts within two hours of the order. Attorneys raised questions about whether agents had a valid warrant and whether they improperly pressured his 15-year-old daughter to allow entry into the home. U.S. District Judge Stacey Neumann later found the detention violated the existing court order and that his out-of-state transfer impaired his right to counsel ahead of an imminent bond hearing, and ordered his immediate release from ICE custody. The dispute became a flashpoint between immigration authorities and attorneys challenging the administration's enforcement tactics.

Geremy Arteaga Cruz, a 19-year-old Lamar High School junior, was detained by ICE in January 2026 after the Trump administration reversed his asylum application approval, which had been granted by USCIS in June 2025. Arteaga Cruz arrived in the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor in 2023 with his twin sister. He was arrested at a convenience store on a misdemeanor public intoxication charge, pleaded guilty, and paid fines, but was transferred to ICE custody while in Harris County jail instead of being released. Before his detention, he was a student at Lamar High School, volunteered at an English literacy program at the University of St. Thomas, and worked as a barber. He has also been identified as a victim of human trafficking and has a pending T visa application. As of June 2026, Arteaga Cruz has been held at Polk Adult Detention Facility for four months. His attorneys contend that had USCIS issued a timely notice of its asylum decision, he would not have been detained. His asylum case is scheduled to be heard by an immigration judge on June 23, 2026.

Loreto Javar, a 76-year-old lawful permanent resident from the Philippines who has lived in the U.S. for over three decades, was released from the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma after more than two months in detention. The retired hotel worker from Fife, who has Stage 4 prostate cancer, was detained by ICE during his U.S. citizenship interview in Tukwila after officials said he failed to disclose a decades-old criminal conviction from the Philippines on his original visa application. During detention he was fed only foods advocates say were not nutritious enough for someone with cancer, and his daughter said he now suffers from PTSD and is afraid to leave his house. He was released on recognizance with an ankle monitor and still faces deportation proceedings, with a check-in and a master hearing scheduled for later in September.