Human Impact Project

Miguel Angel López, a Livermore father deported to Mexico in June 2025, lost a federal court case on a statute of limitations technicality in April 2026. López, who lived in the U.S. for 27 years and worked as a welder, was detained during a routine immigration check-in and deported hours before a court order could have allowed him to stay. His family is pursuing an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court, with support from U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell, as a final legal pathway for López's return.

ICE agents arrested Paola Clouatre, a 25-year-old mother of two and wife of a Marine Corps veteran, at a USCIS office in New Orleans on May 27, 2025, following her permanent residence status interview. She was detained based on a final order of removal issued in 2018 that she was unaware of due to a missed immigration hearing by her mother. Her husband, Adrian Clouatre, is caring for their two young children while seeking to overturn the removal order through an emergency motion.

Maximo Londonio, 42, a green card holder who immigrated from the Philippines to the United States at age 12 and is the father of three living in Olympia, Washington, was detained by CBP agents on May 15 as he returned from a family vacation to the Philippines with his wife Crystal, a U.S. citizen, and their 12-year-old daughter. He was celebrating his 20th wedding anniversary during the trip. Londonio was pulled aside at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport upon landing and transferred to an ICE detention facility in Tacoma after receiving a notice to appear before an immigration judge. His wife and community organizers with Tanggol Migrante Network WA believe the detention may be connected to a 2002 guilty plea to grand theft when he was 19 years old, for which he completed his sentence and probation without issue. Crystal described him as hard-working, family-oriented, devoted, and the primary provider for their family. Londonio works as a lead union member at Crown Cork and Seal manufacturing company in Lacey, Washington, and his union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, called for his immediate release. The Port of Seattle Commission expressed being "deeply concerned" about the prolonged detention, noting that CBP's own standards generally limit detention to 72 hours. The Philippine Consulate was notified and has been coordinating with U.S. immigration authorities. Community members gathered outside the airport demanding his release.

Gonzalo Ladron de Guevara, a lawful permanent resident since 2003, was detained by ICE in May 2025 after returning to Chicago from Mexico where he had scattered his mother's ashes. He was held for seven days by CBP for secondary screening before being transferred to ICE custody and charged federally. The detention is linked to a dismissed felony fraud charge from approximately 13 years prior related to prescription fraud.

Jose Manuel Rodriguez-Quinones, a Cuban man with prior convictions in Florida, was arrested by ICE in April 2025 and placed on a deportation flight that was diverted to a U.S. military base in Djibouti after a federal judge found it violated migrants' due process rights. The flight, carrying eight men including fellow Cuban Enrique Arias-Hierro, held them in a converted shipping container, according to court filings. On July 3, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the lower court's order, and the flight proceeded, with Rodriguez-Quinones arriving in South Sudan on July 4.

Enrique Arias-Hierro, 46, of Cuba, had been ordered removed by an immigration judge in 1999 and did not appeal. He was arrested by ICE in early May 2025 and placed on a deportation flight to South Sudan, which a federal judge initially halted, diverting the flight to a U.S. military base in Djibouti where he and other migrants were held for weeks. The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned that judge's order, and Arias-Hierro arrived in South Sudan on July 4, 2025.

Tuan Thanh Phan, a Vietnamese man ordered removed by an immigration judge in 2009, was arrested by ICE in May 2025 and placed on a deportation flight to South Sudan, part of a group of eight men sent there under the program. A federal judge had ruled that the flight violated a court order requiring migrants be given a meaningful opportunity to object to removal on safety grounds. After nearly a year in South Sudanese custody, Phan was repatriated to Vietnam on June 19, 2026, in a move coordinated by the Vietnamese government and South Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Nyo Myint, a man from Myanmar who lived in Lincoln, Nebraska, was taken into ICE custody in February 2025 after being released on probation in 2023, then placed on a July 2025 flight to South Sudan along with seven other men after weeks of detention at a U.S. military base in Djibouti. His former defense attorney, Nathan Sohriakoff, said Myint did not speak English, communicated through interpreters, and appeared cognitively limited but not incompetent. On February 25, 2026, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy issued an 81-page ruling finding that the government's third-country deportation program violated due process and the Convention Against Torture, carrying out removals with less than 16 hours' notice and preventing detainees from contacting lawyers or appearing in court.

Kyaw Mya, a man from Myanmar who lived in Iowa, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in February 2025 after losing an appeal of a 2021 removal order. He was placed on a deportation flight to South Sudan that a federal judge later found violated a court order requiring migrants be given a meaningful opportunity to object to their removal.

Thongxay Nilakout, 48, from Laos, was released from a life sentence in 2023 after a Supreme Court ruling found mandatory life sentences for minors unconstitutional. He was arrested by immigration authorities in January 2025 and placed on a deportation flight bound for South Sudan, which a federal judge ruled violated a court order requiring a meaningful chance to contest removal; he was deported to South Sudan in July 2025 regardless, as part of a broader program sending noncitizens to countries they had no connection to. Birte Pfleger, the daughter of Gisela Pfleger, the woman Nilakout was convicted of killing, said she was never notified of his arrest or deportation despite requesting updates, and expressed discomfort with how the removal was carried out.

At least eight people were arrested by ICE agents as they left San Diego's immigration court on Thursday. ICE agents waited in hallways and arrested people after their hearings. The tactic has also occurred in New York City, Miami, and Seattle. Immigration lawyers stated the practice discourages people from attending their court hearings.

Federal agents arrested 13 undocumented immigrants at a window supply business in Paducah, Kentucky during a worksite investigation into employment fraud. Eight of the arrestees were indicted on charges of using stolen or false Social Security numbers on employment verification forms (I-9s) between June 2021 and August 2025. The eight indicted defendants each face up to five years in prison if convicted. The remaining five arrested individuals were not criminally charged and remain in ICE custody pending immigration removal proceedings.

A federal judge dismissed trespassing charges against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka related to a standoff at a migrant detention center. The judge stated that the 13-day process from arrest to dismissal was problematic and instructed prosecutors that their duty is to justice and not solely to securing convictions. Baraka had visited Delaney Hall, a facility housing immigrant detainees, as part of an oversight visit with members of Congress. Rep. LaMonica McIver was indicted for allegedly impeding the arrest and assaulting federal officers; she has pleaded not guilty.

A Guatemalan national identified as O.C.G. who was deported to Mexico has been returned to the United States following a federal judge's order. O.C.G. had sought asylum after experiencing violence in Guatemala and during border transit. He is now in ICE custody while his case challenging third-country deportations proceeds through the courts.

Marta Alicia Dominguez, 51, from El Salvador, was arrested by Dallas Police in May 2025 on a family dispute charge. After her criminal case was dismissed, ICE placed a detainer and transferred her to custody. She presented herself at the Paso del Norte port of entry in 2017 and was granted entry after a credible fear interview. A judge granted her asylum in October 2025, but DHS filed an appeal and continues to hold her in Eloy Detention Center. She has contracted Hepatitis A and B, lost 30 pounds, and her health has significantly declined while in detention.

ICE agents arrested multiple individuals outside the Phoenix immigration court on Tuesday, May 21, 2025, including at least two people immediately after their court hearings. One documented case involved a Venezuelan man in his 20s who had entered through the CBP One program and was preparing for a credible fear interview. Attorneys noted that some individuals whose cases appeared to be dismissed were taken into custody. The arrests followed a January DHS directive that reversed protections for courthouse arrests, a policy that had previously restricted ICE enforcement in sensitive locations. Similar enforcement actions occurred at immigration courts across the country, with agents in Los Angeles positioned to coordinate notifications when cases were dismissed. The Trump administration has expanded immigration enforcement by enlisting agents from multiple federal agencies including the U.S. Marshals Service, DEA, ATF, and FBI.

Dong Van Nguyen, a 64-year-old Vietnamese refugee who fled to the U.S. in 1980, was detained by ICE on May 21, 2025 during a scheduled check-in appointment at the Burlington ICE office. He was enrolled in the alternatives to detention program. Greater Boston Legal Services filed a habeas corpus motion to challenge his detention. Nguyen now faces deportation to Vietnam after 45 years in the United States.

Sara Lopez Garcia, a 20-year-old student at Suffolk County Community College with a 3.9 GPA, was arrested by ICE agents on May 21 during a raid on her family home in Mastic. She claimed she had special immigrant juvenile legal status and a valid work permit. She was detained for over two months and subsequently deported to Colombia in August.

During an ICE checkpoint in Bon Secour, Alabama staffed by ICE agents, Alabama State Troopers, and Baldwin County Sheriffs, a young person's arm was broken during an attempted detention into an unmarked vehicle. According to witnesses, an officer told him to "pop it back in." The person was released without charges but required hospitalization for the arm injury. A trooper's badge number was recorded at the scene.

A Guatemalan-born mother, identified by the pseudonym Maria Perez to protect her identity, was detained by ICE at her Nashville residence on May 19 while preparing to take her children to a doctor's appointment. At the time, Perez was breastfeeding her infant daughter and caring for another young daughter who has Down syndrome and other health complications. Her attorneys say her detention at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center violated ICE Directive 11032.4, which discourages detaining pregnant, postpartum, or nursing people, and that she has no criminal history despite ICE's claim she previously faced charges for falsely claiming citizenship. Perez was released on Aug. 14 after nearly three months in custody, during which her ability to breastfeed ended, and she was reunited with her daughters at the home of a neighbor who had cared for them; her eldest daughter reacted with anger, believing she had been abandoned. Civil rights groups have filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General alleging the detention violated ICE policy on visitation with minor children, and Perez's partner remains detained at a facility in Oklahoma as she continues pursuing her asylum application on electronic monitoring.