Human Impact Project

Kristopher Rivas-Betanco, a Sevier County High School senior and soccer team captain from Honduras who has lived in Tennessee since 2019, was detained by ICE on September 17 alongside his mother, Gladys Betanco-Martinez, after local police stopped their vehicle while driving home from her job, with his two younger sisters also in the car. The two spent a night together in the Knoxville jail before being separated and sent to different facilities; ICE later said it determined Kristopher was still a minor, not 18 as prior records indicated, and released him on September 22, returning him to Tennessee into a guardian's care. He was back with family by September 23 but had not yet returned to school, while his mother remained held at a detention facility in Alabama. Friends and coaches described him as a polite, well-liked young man who hopes to play college soccer and become an engineer; the family's asylum case had been dismissed by a judge in 2024. Kristopher said returning home without his mother and sisters has been difficult, and family and friends started a GoFundMe and online petition to fund an immigration attorney and push for his mother's release.

Catherine came to the United States as an international student ten years ago, building a life and education in Utah. Her family says she was taken into custody on false charges and has been held for six months in a Louisiana ICE detention facility without receiving a trial or hearing. Family members describe her as a daughter, sister, friend, and student, and say she has been separated from her education and community throughout her detention. They are raising money to cover attorney fees, legal filings, transportation, and other costs as they pursue her case.

A Peruvian man identified in court filings as "John Doe," who has judicial protections against deportation to Peru, has been held in ICE custody in Massachusetts since July. After an appeals court struck down the Trump administration's third-country removal policy, a Department of Justice attorney argued the ruling wasn't yet in effect and sought to transfer Doe to another facility to put him on a flight to the Central African Republic. Doe's attorneys, including Mary Holper, obtained an emergency clarification from the appeals court reaffirming the policy was dissolved immediately, and a judge declined to lift the stay barring his removal, though he remains in detention. Flight data showed ICE charter planes continued flying to and landing in African countries used for third-country removals hours after the court's order, raising concerns the government may still be violating the ruling.

Pastor Molis Augustave, 33, a faith leader in York, Pennsylvania and former organizer with We Are CASA, was detained after West Manchester Township police stopped him over a reportedly broken headlight while he was driving for DoorDash and turned him over to ICE under the township's 287(g) agreement. He had an approved I-130 petition, a pending I-485 green card application, a pending motion to reopen before the Board of Immigration Appeals, and a federal habeas corpus petition, but was deported to Haiti after 19 days in detention alongside 38 other Haitians. An advocacy campaign led by his U.S.-citizen wife, Omara Boniface Nunez, briefly got him pulled from an initial deportation flight, but USCIS denied his green card application days later. While detained, he led a Bible study group and counseled a fellow detainee who was contemplating suicide. His wife and their two U.S.-born children, Isaac and Sofia, remain in York, where he pastored a congregation, and his Motion to Reopen remains pending.

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order, later followed by a permanent injunction, requiring ICE to improve conditions at its 26 Federal Plaza detention facility in Manhattan. Detainees, including Sergio Alberto Barco Mercado, who filed a complaint after mass arrests at the site, were reportedly held on floors without beds, given only two meals a day, and denied hygiene products and access to legal counsel. The court found that ICE willfully violated prior orders and kept detainees in overcrowded rooms without adequate bedding, hygiene supplies, or proper temperature control. The rulings required ICE to provide sleeping mats, hygiene products, and legal access to those held at the facility.

José Alejandro Aponte, a 65-year-old Cuban man deported from the United States to Villahermosa, Mexico, stayed briefly at the Amparito Shelter and now rents a small room in the city center. When Forbidden Stories spoke with him in spring 2026, he had just been refused residency in Mexico. "I tried to comply with every rule. Now I'm in immigration limbo. I have no papers to go anywhere," he said, adding that he fears losing contact with his family because phone companies now require numbers to be linked to a valid identity document.

Humberto García, a Cuban national deported to Mexico after living 35 years in the United States, tried to travel through the mountains near Tapachula to avoid migration checkpoints. He was approached by three armed attackers who robbed him and shot him twice in the torso; he stumbled for nearly an hour before reaching a road where authorities took him to a hospital. After three days recovering, with no organ damage from the bullets, he had no choice but to return to Tapachula, where he said he was left with nothing to eat and nowhere to sleep.

A woman was detained by ICE agents outside her daughter's home while on her way to work, surrounded by three ICE vehicles with no warrant. She has lived in the United States for over 18 years and is described by her family as a hardworking mother who ensures her children are fed and attend school. She is currently held at a detention center in Otay, California, and her family is raising funds for legal fees.

Carlos, a recent graduate of Miami Beach Senior High who was preparing to begin college in finance, was detained by ICE and is being held at a Border Patrol facility. His family says he is being given little food, sleeps on the ground with only a paper blanket in cold conditions, and has suffered a recurrence of pancreatic pain that staff reportedly cannot treat because he is under 21. His brother describes him as hardworking and caring, noting he maintained top grades, played high school football, and enjoys mountain biking and helping others at the gym, and says his mental health is deteriorating in custody. The family is raising funds to hire a lawyer, seek bail, and fight his case before a judge.

Vova, a 23-year-old Ukrainian man seeking asylum in the U.S., was detained by ICE while traveling to Los Angeles. He is now held in a detention facility, sleeping in a large cell with other detainees, and faces an immigration hearing on October 1st. Friends describe him as quiet and kind, with interests in bow hunting, jiu-jitsu, aviation, and cars, and note that his mother and brother live in Poland while he has been building a life on his own in the United States. A GoFundMe campaign is raising money to cover his legal representation.

A man was detained by ICE on September 23, 2026 at around 8 a.m. while waiting at a bus stop. His daughter, Tiffany Yanez, described him as hardworking, loving, and well-respected by coworkers for his kindness and cooking. The family, including his wife who has health issues and barely works, is now facing financial uncertainty and is raising money to hire an immigration lawyer and cover detention-related expenses.

A 21-year-old Brazilian man was arrested by ICE at 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 23, 2026, while commuting to his job at a garage in Somerset. According to his habeas petition, he cooperated and provided his license, but when told he would be detained for overstaying his visa, an agent reached into the car, unbuckled his seatbelt and dragged him to the ground while other officers shouted "Taze him!" He entered the U.S. on a tourist visa at age 11 in 2016 and graduated from Diman Regional Technical High School in Fall River. He married his U.S. citizen wife in June 2024, and she was among dozens who submitted letters urging his release, writing that he "consistently tries to do good, support others, and be a positive presence." He remains in custody at Plymouth County Correctional Facility.

Florencio de León Olmos, an undocumented man from Guatemala who had received a final removal order in August 2025, was among those detained in ICE's sweep of New Bedford. Court records reviewed by The New Bedford Light did not show why he received the removal order or any criminal record. He could not be located through the ICE Detainee Locator, and he voluntarily withdrew his federal habeas corpus petition on Sept. 23, 2026.

June Sanson, a legal observer with the Rapid Response Alliance for Immigrant Safety and Empowerment who has lived in Collier County since 2009, said she was confronted by an ICE agent while monitoring enforcement activity at an Immokalee gas station. Sanson said the agent, whom she later identified as the same agent involved in wounding a U.S. citizen during the Sept. 23 Naples Manor raid, pointed his gun at her and demanded she move her vehicle. Sanson works with other legal observers to document ICE encounters for potential civil rights violations.

A U.S. citizen was wounded by federal immigration agents during an ICE raid in Naples Manor, Florida on Sept. 23, 2026. Graphic images shared with the Naples Daily News and The News-Press show an ICE agent pointing a gun toward bystanders during the encounter. The advocacy group Rapid Response Alliance for Immigrant Safety and Empowerment plans to protest the incident on Oct. 2 in Naples. ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A man was struck by a passing car while ICE agents were detaining him near Jersey City's Liberty State Park light rail station on a Wednesday evening around 6:20 p.m. Witnesses said agents had surrounded a work truck near an equipment storage lot at Communipaw and Suydam Avenues when the man was hit as he got out of the vehicle, lifting him off his feet. Footage showed agents handcuffing him on the sidewalk and placing him in an ICE vehicle around 6:45 p.m., with an ambulance later transporting him to Jersey City Medical Center for an apparent leg injury. According to a social media account, ICE agents at the hospital attempted to identify themselves as police to gain access to the emergency room, and Jersey City police reportedly assisted and escorted ICE agents during the encounter. ICE stated it had transported a patient in custody for medical evaluation and that standard protocols were followed, but the man's identity, immigration status, and condition remained unknown.

Ariel Arias, a husband, father, and grandfather, was taken into custody by ICE agents in Houston on the morning of September 23, 2026 as he prepared to leave for work in his residential parking lot. His family says the arrest was unlawful and are unable to locate him within the 24-48 hour ICE processing window. Arias has a heart condition and his family is urgently seeking to confirm his location so he can access his medication, and has appealed to Representatives Sylvia Garcia, Greg Casar, and Joaquin Castro for help.

A Colombian asylum seeker who fled to the United States in 2022 was detained without warning while attending a routine ICE check-in in San Francisco. He had previously been released from custody after DHS determined he posed no danger or flight risk, and he attended every scheduled check-in since then. He held employment authorization and a Social Security number, worked assembling ventilation and refrigeration equipment, filed federal tax returns for two years, resided in Fremont, California, had a partner of one year, and regularly attended a Mormon temple. In June 2026, he was arrested for an alleged DUI after being found sleeping in his parked car outside his home. He was not shown a warrant at his re-arrest and was subsequently transferred to the Central Valley Annex detention facility in McFarland, California. He filed a habeas petition and motion for a temporary restraining order, arguing his detention violated due process because he was not given a pre-detention bond hearing. The court granted the TRO, ordering his immediate release and barring re-detention pending further briefing and a hearing scheduled for October 8, 2026.

A witness described being followed by immigration officers from a Medford store to Emigrant Lake in July before he and a companion were taken into custody. His account was presented as evidence in a federal hearing examining whether ICE officers in the Rogue Valley complied with a February court order requiring individualized assessments before warrantless arrests. Government attorneys have disputed the allegations, and the judge has not yet ruled on the claims.

A Medford man testified in federal court that immigration officers surrounded his vehicle when he arrived at work in June, broke a window and handcuffed him before releasing him after determining he was not the person they were seeking. He told the court he had an active asylum application at the time. His testimony was presented as evidence in a hearing where lawyers argued ICE officers failed to comply with a February court order requiring individual assessments of flight risk before warrantless arrests.