Human Impact Project

Zoila Guerra Sandoval, mother of a child whose father José Mynor López died in the 2024 Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, faces deportation proceedings under the Trump administration. López was one of six construction workers killed when a cargo vessel hit the bridge. The Biden administration had provided immigration protections to about 30 people with immediate connections to the victims, but those protections are being withdrawn under the current administration.

Yasser Jose Lopez Soza, an 18-year-old high school student at Memphis Business Academy, was detained by ICE agents on February 20, 2026, while a passenger in a vehicle during a traffic stop on the way to a soccer game. He was held at the West Tennessee Detention Facility in Mason, Tennessee, as part of enforcement actions from the Memphis Task Force established in late 2025. Tennessee State Rep. Gabby Salinas visited him and noted he was a good student with a job and college soccer prospects. On April 24, 2026, Federal Judge Sheryl Lipman ordered his immediate release, ruling that his detention without bond violated his due process rights. Lopez Soza, originally from Nicaragua, was released after approximately two months in custody.

A federal judge in Florida ordered the immediate release of Alejandro Osvaldo Ghysels Reales, who had been detained by ICE despite holding deferred action status under a U-1 nonimmigrant visa, which makes him ineligible for deportation. Judge Kyle Dudek ruled that ICE's detention was unlawful and violated Reales' constitutional rights, criticizing the government for failing to recognize his valid legal protection.

Isaac Villegas Molina, a Pasadena resident and lead plaintiff in federal litigation challenging ICE enforcement operations, was arrested by federal agents on June 18, 2025, at a bus stop along with two other day laborers. He was released on bond in July 2025. On April 17, 2026, Villegas was arrested again by ICE during an appointment with the Alternatives to Detention-Intensive Supervision Appearance Program. His lawyer filed a habeas petition alleging the arrest was unlawful, without a warrant, and retaliatory given his pending removal case hearing. Following the arrest, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order. Villegas was released from Adelanto Detention Center after community outcry and advocacy from supporters including local elected leaders and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON).

Rihan Shinwari, an 18-year-old Afghan high school senior at Cheshire High School in Connecticut, was detained by ICE on April 6, 2026, during a traffic stop. ICE detained him based on erroneous paperwork claiming his humanitarian parole had expired in October 2025, though court filings confirmed it remained valid until October 2026. His family had legally entered the U.S. on humanitarian parole in October 2024 after his father served as an interpreter for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Held at Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts for over two weeks, an immigration court judge set his bond at $1,500 and ordered his release on April 21, 2026. Rihan was released on April 22, 2026, and remains in removal proceedings; his attorneys sought reinstatement of his humanitarian parole.

Karla Saenz, a 26-year-old Venezuelan transgender organizer with Trans Queer Pueblo, was detained by ICE on March 9, 2026, during what she believed was a routine immigration check-in in Phoenix. According to an eyewitness account, ICE agents took her to a back room, claimed she had an arrest warrant without providing documentation, and handcuffed her. Saenz was transferred to Eloy Detention Center, located approximately 60 miles southeast of Phoenix, where she was initially placed in the men's unit despite being a trans woman. She contracted COVID-19 during her first two days in custody. Saenz had been a vocal advocate for Arbella "Yari" Marquez, a lesbian detainee at the same facility who was suffering from serious health complications including returning leukemia. Advocates believe Saenz's detention was retaliatory for her visible organizing work against immigration enforcement in Arizona, noting that she had consistently complied with all supervision requirements prior to her detention.

Approximately 200 to 1,400 detainees at North Lake Processing Facility, a 1,800-bed ICE detention center in Baldwin, Michigan, began a hunger and labor strike on Monday, April 21, 2026, to protest conditions including medical neglect, slow ICE communication, and prolonged confinement. The facility, operated by private prison company GEO Group, holds detainees with average stays of 49 days, though some have been held for nearly six months. By Wednesday morning, detainees in at least one unit had stopped the strike.

Cristofer Ortega, 21, came to the United States as a child from Honduras and was living in Plainfield, New Jersey, studying for an HVAC certification while pursuing permanent residency through Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJ). In July 2025, while visiting family in New Hampshire, federal agents in an unmarked car pulled Ortega and the driver from a vehicle at a red light at gunpoint. Despite having no criminal record and never being arrested before, Ortega was detained for over eight months at facilities in Mississippi and New Hampshire. His attorney believed the stop was racial profiling and filed a Freedom of Information Act request with ICE to determine if agents were specifically targeting Ortega; ICE claimed no records existed. Ortega filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire in November 2025 challenging his detention and removal, which included documentation of his SIJ approval. A temporary restraining order was issued in February 2026, but the case was dismissed by stipulation on April 23, 2026. Ortega was deported to Honduras on March 29, 2026, separated from his family and his future in the United States. He reported experiencing severe mental health impacts from detention, including nightmares, insomnia, and ongoing trauma related to his prior history of abandonment.

An asylum seeker who entered the U.S. in September 2024 was released on parole in November 2024, then re-detained by ICE in April 2026 after reporting to a scheduled appointment. The government argued his parole was revoked for violating conditions, but provided no written notice. The court ordered his immediate release, finding the detention violated due process.

Allan Marrero, a Cayman Islands native, was detained by ICE on November 24, 2025, after arriving for a routine marriage-based green card interview at a USCIS office in Lower Manhattan. ICE discovered a prior removal order from 2022 related to an overstayed tourist visa and a missed immigration court hearing that occurred while Marrero was in alcohol rehabilitation. An immigration judge reopened his case and granted bond in January 2026, citing his clean criminal record and community support, but ICE refused to accept bond payment and used procedural mechanisms to continue his detention. Marrero was moved between multiple facilities across Arizona, Texas, Mississippi, and New York. After 150 days in custody, he was released on April 23, 2026, following a lawsuit that challenged ICE's refusal to honor the bond order. He was reunited with his husband Matthew.

Ten crew members from Disney Cruise Line were arrested by ICE agents on April 23, 2026, as the Disney Magic ship was being unloaded at the B Street Cruise Terminal in San Diego. The arrests occurred in full view of disembarking passengers, including children. Two days later on April 25, ICE returned to the same terminal and arrested four additional crew members from Holland America's MV Zandaam.

ICE agents detained a man on April 23, 2026, at the Sonoma County Jail while he was being released after a court hearing, taking him from the transportation hall between the release area and the public lobby where his sister was waiting. He has since been transferred to the ICE Detention Center in California City, a facility reactivated in 2025 in the Mojave Desert. His sister, using the pseudonym "Yohanna" to protect her family from retaliation, described the detention at an April 27 press conference organized by immigrant rights groups outside the Sheriff's Department. On April 28, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a new immigration ordinance providing $1.5 million to community organizations supporting immigrants, though it stopped short of declaring Sonoma County a sanctuary county.

Juan Marcos Carly, 36, was detained by ICE on April 23, 2026, at 7:00 AM while traveling on Interstate 4. His wife, Roselyn Arteaga, launched fundraising efforts on social media to raise money for his bail bond. The family arrived in the United States in 2018 and has two young children, ages 3 and 1. They have a court hearing scheduled for 2028.

Isaac Antonio Villegas Molina, a Pasadena resident originally from Panama, was ordered immediately released by U.S. District Judge Michelle Williams after being detained during an ICE check-in while serving as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit challenging immigration raids in Los Angeles. The judge barred the government from redetaining him without notice and a hearing before a neutral adjudicator, noting officials had not contested his earlier release request. Villegas was arrested in June while waiting at a bus stop and released on bond; the Department of Homeland Security said his redetention followed missed check-ins, but his attorney, Stacy Tolchin, disputed this and alleged the arrest was retaliatory, aimed at shifting his case to a more government-friendly immigration court in Adelanto. Villegas is scheduled to appear before an immigration judge to seek termination of his removal proceedings.

An Instagram post shows a group of people being transported by ICE in buses at what appears to be a detention facility in El Reno, Oklahoma. According to the caption, multiple women were hospitalized due to heat strokes and poor conditions during transport, and the post characterizes them as mothers forcefully separated from their families.

Ray Barraez, a 50-year-old Venezuelan Uber driver, died of a heart attack during a traffic stop in Seminole County, Florida after being stopped for a broken license plate light. According to his wife's account, Barraez had hypertension and was in an open asylum process; fear of detention by immigration authorities contributed to the cardiac event that caused his death.

Isaac Antonio Villegas Molina, a construction worker suing ICE with ACLU support, was detained again during an ISAP check-in after the Supreme Court refused his challenge to ICE. The detention occurred following the high court's rejection of his legal challenge.

ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) agents used force against two U.S. citizen minors during an enforcement operation in the Pueblo de Palmas neighborhood of Edinburg, Texas on April 23, 2026. A 16-year-old boy was struck in the face with a closed fist by an agent, and a 14-year-old girl was detained and allegedly grabbed around the neck. The incident was documented on video and shared on social media. ICE has not issued a public statement regarding the alleged use of force.

Rufino Beca, a 59-year-old pastor from Angola who arrived in the U.S. in 2017, was detained by ICE agents on April 20, 2026, outside a store on St. John's Street in Portland, Maine. Beca leads two Assembly of God congregations in Biddeford and Portland. He was apprehended while collecting funds to help another congregation member held in immigration custody. DHS stated he overstayed a six-month tourist visa. His daughter disputes this claim, stating he is an asylum seeker with no criminal record. Beca remains held at Strafford County Jail in Dover, New Hampshire.

William Alexander Alfaro, a Honduran national with an active asylum case, was detained by ICE agents on March 18, 2026, while driving his three children to school in San Antonio, Texas. Alfaro held a valid work permit and driver's license and was in compliance with the asylum process. He was arrested at Crosspoint, an ICE check-in and processing facility in San Antonio, as he arrived for a scheduled appointment. During approximately one month in ICE detention, Alfaro was not treated for a knee tumor requiring emergency surgery. He was deported to Honduras without receiving the scheduled medical procedure, likely resulting in amputation. His wife, who witnessed the initial detention, now fears she will be targeted for deportation, which would leave their three U.S. citizen children in San Antonio without parents.