Human Impact Project

On May 29, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted a coordinated operation at Myrtle Park Government Center in Bluffton, South Carolina, detaining over 15 people who had failed to comply with deportation orders. The operation involved ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations division, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, which participated under a 287(g) task force agreement. Detainees were loaded onto a bus for transport to facilities in Charleston or Georgia.

Florida Highway Patrol, in coordination with ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, and multiple state and local agencies, conducted a three-day enforcement operation called Operation 9 along South Florida highways. More than 100 officers from the participating agencies conducted traffic stops, with officers flagging individuals during routine stops for traffic violations and immigration violations, particularly when drivers lacked valid licenses. The operation resulted in 249 detentions, with those arrested processed at an FHP station and transferred to ICE custody, where they were offered voluntary return flights or the option to remain in custody pending immigration hearings.

On May 18, 2026, Rogerio da Silva Lima and his 15-year-old son Nycolas were detained by the U.S. Coast Guard during a recreational fishing trip approximately one mile offshore Martha's Vineyard near Menemsha. Following a vessel safety check, the Coast Guard transferred them to ICE custody at a federal processing facility in Burlington. Da Silva Lima, a Brazilian national who entered the U.S. in 2021 and sought asylum, had a denied asylum application with a removal order issued in 2023-2024. Community advocates and attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition in U.S. District Court of Massachusetts on May 20, which halted a planned transfer to Texas. A federal judge found ICE had exceeded the congressionally mandated 90-day removal period and violated constitutional due process rights. Approximately 200 students at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, where the son was a freshman, walked out to protest his detention. The teenager was released on May 24 to his older brother, and the father was ordered released by May 28-29.

An Indian citizen who entered the United States on May 4, 2023 seeking asylum from political persecution was placed in removal proceedings and released on his own recognizance. After over three years of compliance with release conditions, he was re-detained by ICE on May 28, 2026 following a scheduled immigration appointment without written notice or a finding of changed circumstances. The court granted his habeas petition, ordering his immediate release and requiring the government to provide seven days' notice and hold a pre-deprivation bond hearing with clear and convincing evidence of flight risk or danger to the community before any future detention.

A Venezuelan maintenance worker at Grandview Resort in Lake Placid was arrested by ICE agents on May 28 when he arrived for work. He has lived in Lake Placid for over two years, holds valid work authorization through a five-year work permit tied to temporary protected status, has never missed an immigration check-in, and has no criminal history. He was one of 14 workers detained during the operation at the resort and was transported 12 hours to Batania Detention Center near Buffalo, where agents restrained detainees and he was held with only water for the journey. Unable to contact his family for three days, he was released on bail after approximately two weeks in detention and now wears an ankle monitor. His wife collapsed upon learning of his arrest. He is pursuing a pending political asylum case and reported experiencing daily fear and trauma, avoiding locations where he was detained.

Yessenia Ruano, a teacher's aide at a bilingual Milwaukee public school and mother of twin daughters who are U.S. citizens, fled El Salvador in 2011 to escape gang violence and later became a victim of human trafficking in the U.S. She had attended 19 in-person ICE check-ins over 14 years and had a pending T-visa application for trafficking survivors when, at her final check-in in May 2025, officials told her she had to leave within days. Facing arrest and separation from her daughters, she self-deported to El Salvador in June 2025, taking her daughters with her while her husband, Miguel, stayed behind temporarily before joining them. Her Milwaukee community rallied around her, gathering 2,800 petition signatures within 24 hours and raising nearly $16,000 for her family. In May 2026, a federal judge ordered that Ruano and two other plaintiffs be allowed to return to the U.S., finding immigration officials had violated federal law and due process by automatically deporting crime victims without considering their pending applications. Her attorney said the government must now review her T-visa petition once she returns.

Ricardo Hernandez-Navarrete, an 18-year-old senior at Mather High School in Chicago, and his mother Liliana Navarrete were detained by ICE on March 16, 2026, during a routine check-in appointment for their pending asylum case. The family had entered the U.S. from Colombia in 2022. Liliana was released on May 19, 2026, after a federal judge ordered her release on a writ of habeas corpus. Ricardo was released from federal custody on May 26 and reunited with his mother in Crown Point, Indiana. Ricardo attended his high school graduation ceremony on May 28, 2026, and received his diploma. He is required to wear a wrist monitor and check in with federal immigration officials daily as his case proceeds.

A 39-year-old man from Honduras was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations and the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office in Luling, Louisiana, on charges including first-degree rape, oral sexual battery, and aggravated crimes against nature involving a child victim. The joint investigation began after allegations that he had sexually assaulted a child over two years. He was initially booked on second-degree rape before additional charges were filed the next day. ICE filed an immigration detainer against him on May 28, the same day he was taken into custody; officials said he had no prior immigration encounters on record.

Jose Luis Leon was detained by ICE on May 28, 2026, while working. He is the primary provider for his family, which includes his wife who has Lupus and two children ages 3 and 14. His family is fundraising to cover legal expenses and support costs during his detention.

On May 28, 2026, ICE agents from the Champlain sub-office detained 14 people in a raid at a parking lot on Mirror Lake Drive in Lake Placid. The detainees included approximately a dozen roofers working on a short-term roofing project for a local business and staying in employer-provided workforce housing, as well as a local man with several years of community ties, valid work authorization, and a pending asylum case. According to advocacy groups including North Country Immigrant Allies, all detainees possessed work authorization and were legally permitted to reside and work in the United States. All detainees were transported to a detention facility in Batavia, approximately 300 miles away. Local law enforcement was not aware of the operation.

Aldo Garcia was detained by ICE on May 28 at approximately 8:06 a.m. while on his way to work near Highway 99 in Colony Ridge. He has been the primary provider and caregiver for his family since marrying his wife when the subject poster was 7 years old. His detention has left his family of four—including two children ages 8 and 9—in financial and emotional distress as they seek legal representation to prevent his deportation.

A Guatemalan mother and her three children were detained by ICE on May 28, 2026, at a Ferndale facility during what they believed was part of the CBP Home self-deportation process, and were deported to Guatemala on May 30. The family had visited a government office in Tukwila on May 27 as part of the voluntary departure process with a scheduled June 19 departure date. According to her attorney, the mother was told through the CBP Home app that she needed to retrieve her passport and have an exit interview at the Ferndale appointment, but ICE staff later indicated the appointment was specifically intended for detention and removal. The family's 14-year-old son, who entered separately with his father, was left behind.

Under a $7.5 million Trump administration agreement, Equatorial Guinea has detained at least 32 asylum seekers at the Bamy Hotel on Bioko Island since November 2025. All detainees had previously been granted some form of protection by U.S. judges. Twenty-five have been forcibly returned to their African countries of origin—Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Mauritania—where they face persecution, while others remain detained and under pressure to leave. Detainees report psychological distress, inadequate medical care, threats from authorities, and monotonous conditions. Human rights advocates argue the deal exploits a loophole to circumvent U.S. court protections and international asylum norms.

Margoth Paredes, 47, an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador, and her 14-year-old son Dilan were detained by ICE after being found in a vehicle suspected of involvement in immigrant smuggling. ICE took Paredes to Cecil Shamley School in Tempe to withdraw Dilan the day before his eighth-grade promotion ceremony, which he missed, and the pair were transported to the Dilley Family Detention Center in Texas. Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., who visited the facility and spoke with Paredes by phone, said both have experienced emotional distress, with Dilan frequently crying, and said the Flores Settlement limits detention of migrant children to 20 days, calling for their release. Paredes' two older children also remain detained in Arizona, and the family's detention has sparked protests outside the school.

Sister Agnes, a Catholic nun from China who had won asylum in the United States, was detained by ICE earlier this year. Even after she won bond in court, ICE refused to release her and kept her in prison for months. She was eventually released to be with her religious community.

Mauricio Castellanos-Gorra, a Cuban national and lawful permanent resident who came to the U.S. in 1986 and has had a 2004 deportation order, was placed in ICE custody in October 2025 after 21 years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Kyle Dudek, a Trump appointee, ordered his release within 48 hours in May 2026, ruling the government failed to show removal was reasonably foreseeable under the Zadvydas standard. Dudek noted the government did not respond to the court's request for evidence on removal efforts, writing, "The Government's response? Crickets. Nothing was filed."

An immigration detainee was detained under immigration law 8 U.S.C. § 1225 at Orange County Jail in Florida. The court granted a temporary restraining order on May 6, 2026, enjoining respondents from detaining him and ordering his immediate release if held on immigration charges. Orange County Jail released him in accordance with the court order, making the habeas corpus petition moot. A man who entered the U.S. without inspection in December 2022 but was formally paroled by DHS and had complied with all conditions for 3.5 years was arrested during a routine traffic stop in Oklahoma and taken into immigration custody. He was transferred between detention facilities before arriving at Golden State Annex in California. The court granted his habeas petition and ordered his immediate release, finding his detention without pre-deprivation process violated due process rights.

Marcelo Jerez, a Dominican Republic national who entered Puerto Rico in 2001 without proper admission, was stopped by four ICE vans on May 11, 2026 while driving to work, despite having no traffic infractions or criminal history. He is married to U.S. citizen Laura Maria de Jesus Rosario and is the father of a one-year-old U.S. citizen daughter with a serious medical condition requiring ongoing monitoring and care. Jerez says ICE officers had him sign documents he did not understand, which he has since tried to retract, and he is being held at the San Juan Staging Facility in Guaynabo. He filed an emergency federal habeas corpus petition seeking release, but a federal court denied his motion for a temporary restraining order, ruling he is subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225 and is not entitled to a bond hearing. The court ordered him to show cause by May 27, 2026 why his habeas case should not be dismissed.

The ACLU of Wyoming is investigating 287(g) agreements across the state following its lawsuit against Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak, who signed three ICE partnership agreements without county commission approval or public input. The organization has sent records requests to the Wyoming Highway Patrol and seven other counties, with plans to pursue additional lawsuits if investigations reveal similar violations of state law.

Harold A., a 58-year-old Cuban national, was arrested during a routine ICE check-in, detained for several months, and deported to Mexico without documentation, money, or personal belongings. He arrived in Mexico unable to afford food or rent. According to a Human Rights Watch report, Harold A. was one of more than 4,300 Cubans deported to Mexico between January 2025 and March 2026 under the Trump administration's expanded mass deportation plan, most of whom were never taken before a judge to contest their deportation despite expressing fear for their safety.