Human Impact Project

Natalie Holmes, 51, a Jamaican national and ordained pastor, says she was deported to Equatorial Guinea in June while her habeas corpus petition challenging her removal was still pending. She remains among 29 men and women held indefinitely at the decommissioned Hotel Bamy in Malabo, where deportees say they have been dragged from their rooms at gunpoint, handcuffed, assaulted and threatened by armed guards. Witnesses and Amnesty International report that two men at the hotel were recently hooded, bound, beaten with guns and shoved down stairs by police, allegedly to stop them from exposing deteriorating conditions. American judges had ruled that most of those held, including Holmes, could not be deported to their home countries due to risk of torture or persecution, yet Equatorial Guinea has granted them no legal status, documents, medical care or legal assistance.

Paola dos Santos, a Brazilian woman, told The New York Times she had been detained in the United States for 15 months before being deported to Liberia in August.

Federal agents returned to the area of the Geisinger Medical Center construction project on September 8, following earlier September 2 arrests connected to the same project, with advocates reporting eight more people detained in the second operation. Workers told advocates that agents used drones, monitored vehicles and worked with local police during the arrests, with one worker describing it as feeling like a "manhunt" that has left coworkers afraid to return to work. Advocacy groups have said more than 40 workers were detained across both operations, but an ICE spokesperson said the agency arrested 10 people in Danville, stating they face felony charges for illegal reentry after prior removal and did not cite any record of violent crime.

Rafael Vela Gonzalez, 66, who fled El Salvador's civil war at 19 and lived in California for decades, was detained by ICE agents outside his Silver Lake home in early January after a video reviewed by the Los Angeles Times showed agents dragging him down concrete steps and handcuffing him. He had served as full-time caretaker for his partner of more than 30 years, 81-year-old U.S. citizen Vivian Lee Arguello, who has mobility issues, and was known in his neighborhood for decades of volunteer handyman work. His attorney says he obtained temporary residency under the 1986 amnesty program but was never notified to apply for permanent status before it expired in 1997; after losing his card in 2023, his 2025 replacement request was denied, leading to his detention. After nearly eight months at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, he developed a rash with oozing, bleeding sores, swollen feet, and difficulty walking, and was hospitalized for acute bronchitis and sepsis from June 17-22 after collapsing in his cell; the facility reportedly withheld information about his whereabouts from his attorney and partner during that time. A judge denied his bond request in July citing flight risk, and his attorney filed an appeal in August. Arguello has had to sell their home, move in with relatives, and rehome their dog Chico, while neighbors held a vigil and raised nearly $50,000 for the family.

Peta-Gaye Chambers, 35, who came to the United States from Jamaica as a child, had been granted 'withholding of removal' by a U.S. immigration judge in 2013 after he found she would face persecution in Jamaica. Despite that protection, ICE deported her to Equatorial Guinea in June without notice. Chambers says she and other deportees were dragged from their rooms at gunpoint, handcuffed, assaulted and threatened by armed guards at the decommissioned Hotel Bamy in Malabo, where she remains held.

ICE agents conducted an operation in the parking lot of a Home Depot on 43rd Avenue in west Phoenix, detaining about 10 people early Saturday morning, including day laborers waiting for work and some customers exiting the store. Witnesses said agents disguised themselves as day laborers and unhoused people before making arrests, and cell phone video showed men handcuffed and seated beside the road as agents surrounded them. Erika Andiola of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and Clarissa Vela of People First Project said many of those detained did not match the administration's stated focus on people with criminal records, with some detainees having only come to shop. Activists noted ICE Mobile Criminal Apprehension Teams have routinely conducted undercover license-plate-scanning operations at the same location. ICE has not publicly released details about the operation, and protesters and day laborers returned to the store two days later.

Galina Bobreneva, a 40-year-old Russian national who entered the U.S. legally on a tourist visa in 2021, extended her stay after the war in Ukraine began, and applied for asylum in 2022, was detained by a plainclothes ICE agent at Burbank airport on July 13 while traveling with her husband, Brent Jindra, a technology salesman who says he voted for Trump three times. The couple married in December 2025, and Jindra had filed a marriage-based green card petition for her in April, with fingerprinting already completed; her lawyer maintains she was never out of lawful status, while DHS says she overstayed her visa and calls her 'an illegal alien.' She spent 16 days in detention, including a night on the floor of a basement holding cell in downtown Los Angeles and about two weeks at the Adelanto ICE Processing Facility, where she said she was treated 'like a piece of meat, not like a human,' citing sleep deprivation, only four working showers for about 120 women, scarce drinking water, and denied healthcare. She was released on July 29 on a $35,000 bond and fitted with an electronic monitor, with an ICE check-in scheduled for September 7 and a court appearance set for October 22. 'A US citizen just watched his wife get dragged away and had no idea where she's going,' Jindra said. 'We are living in fear in my own country.'

Alberto Ramirez-Diaz, a 39-year-old man from Guatemala, was arrested by ICE on September 1 immediately after his release from the Tennessee Department of Corrections, where he had served a sentence for second-degree child rape. He was removed from the United States on September 7, 2026, and returned to Guatemala. Ramirez-Diaz had previously been deported in 2013 before reentering the country, and was detained again in March 2018, when he received a notice to appear before an immigration judge and was released under an order of recognizance. He was later enrolled in ICE's Alternatives to Detention program but allegedly cut off his GPS ankle monitor, and was rearrested in Homestead, Florida, in November 2019 in connection with sexual assault allegations involving a minor relative.

A Maryland Heights, Missouri man who helped U.S. forces fight the Taliban was detained by ICE and FBI agents outside his home as he left for a morning run, and is being held at the Ste. Genevieve County Detention Center. He has lived legally in the U.S. since 2014 on a Special Immigrant Visa and holds a green card, and has since married, had children, earned multiple degrees, and worked as a scientist while hoping to become a doctor. ICE alleges he provided material support to a terrorist organization tied to al-Qaida and misrepresented facts on a 2019 immigration form, which he denies, saying his rights as a permanent resident are being violated.

Ramon Avilez-Frias and Maria Del Pilar Moreno-Loredo, longtime employees of Cisco's, Austin's oldest Tex-Mex restaurant and bakery serving the East Austin community for more than 75 years, were detained by ICE on September 7 at 6 a.m. as they arrived for work. Both are described by employer Matt Cisneros as hardworking, tax-paying people with no criminal records who are parents and spouses. Cisneros started a GoFundMe to help their families cover legal costs and daily expenses while they remain in ICE custody, and as of September 11 the campaign had raised more than $21,000 of its $22,000 goal from over 270 donations.

A man referred to as 'John' was detained by ICE after his car was stopped on his way home from work in California, and was forced to agree to self-deport to Mexico within a week of his arrest rather than remain in an ICE detention facility. He was held without legal representation or access to his medication, and his family did not know his whereabouts for three days. John came to California from Mexico 30 years ago, worked in construction, and supported his wife and three children, none of whom had legal status despite having no criminal record. A GoFundMe campaign was launched by a family friend to support John's health and new start in Mexico and to help his family, who remain in the U.S. struggling emotionally and financially.

A Honduran mother and her son, who entered the United States in 2012 when he was one year old, have remained under an Order of Supervision and complied with reporting requirements for over a decade. The mother also has two other children who are U.S. citizens. In May 2026, she and her attorney submitted a written request seeking referral to an asylum officer based on her fear of returning to Honduras, but the government never scheduled an interview. When she tried again in person in September 2026, an ICE officer refused to discuss the request and instead instructed her to appear with travel tickets for herself, her son, and her two citizen children, warning that the family would be detained and deported if she failed to comply. No formal notice revoking their release was ever provided. The mother and son filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and an underlying habeas petition to halt their removal. The court found they showed a likelihood of success because the government failed to follow regulations requiring notice and an informal interview before revoking supervised release, and found they would suffer irreparable harm without relief. The court granted a temporary restraining order barring removal pending resolution of the habeas petition and ordered the government to respond by September 16, 2026.

Ibrahim Topkaya, a 33-year-old medical doctor from Turkey working as a bioengineering researcher studying diabetes at Upstate Medical University, was detained by U.S. immigration officials after a GPS error rerouted him toward the Canadian border while he was returning from a trip to Niagara Falls with his visiting mother. Canadian border patrol turned him around with documentation confirming he never entered Canada, but U.S. officials detained him upon his return, and he is now held at the Batavia federal detention facility. His friend Omar Alsafadi said Topkaya has an approved asylum case, active work authorization, and a Social Security number, and described him as a well-respected researcher who has authored numerous medical papers. The Department of Homeland Security said Topkaya overstayed his authorized status after legally entering the country in June 2023. Topkaya has requested research materials to continue his work while detained, and his mother, visiting from Turkey for the first time in three years, has extended her stay while awaiting updates on his case.

A Venezuelan student with a full scholarship to Washington and Lee University was detained by immigration authorities during a vehicle stop on Interstate 95 in Florida while his father drove him to campus for his sophomore year. His father, who was driving him because the family feared flying amid immigration enforcement at airports, was also detained. The two, who are asylum seekers, remain in ICE custody at Baker Correctional Institute in Florida, and the student never reached Virginia.

Ten deportees said officers used force against them after they refused to leave a flight to Liberia, a country several said they had no connection to, according to a New York Times account. Border czar Tom Homan said he doubted the specific allegations but that they would be investigated, while DHS separately called the newspaper's account a hoax. The incident adds to scrutiny over how the government verifies deportees' citizenship or ties before third-country removal flights depart, as the administration expands deals with African nations to accept people who are not their citizens.

Humberto Castro, a 59-year-old Venezuelan who has lived in Doral, Florida for eight years, was detained by ICE agents while driving to work. His daughter, Arianna Castro, said he holds a work permit valid until 2030 and has a pending asylum application, with no criminal record. He is being held at ICE offices in Miramar while his daughter tries to secure his release on bond. His case comes amid a wave of arrests of Venezuelans in South Florida that prompted two exile organizations to send Congress a report demanding oversight hearings and data on detainees with pending immigration cases.

A Maryland man named Aquino, described by his family as the sole provider for his wife and five children, was taken into ICE custody after being pulled over by police for a broken vehicle light. His family says it remains unclear why he was detained or why he continues to be held. Family friend Kristi Voigt said Aquino has lived in the U.S. for 23 years and called him 'a good man.' A GoFundMe launched to cover legal expenses and household costs raised more than $10,000 from 161 donors within three days.

Fernando Armando Valdes Perez, a 61-year-old man holding Cuban and Guatemalan citizenship who lived in Kendall, Florida, was arrested at Miami International Airport on July 10, 2026, during a joint operation involving ICE, the FBI, and CBP. Investigators alleged Valdes had been a Cuban intelligence asset since the mid-1990s, using his position to infiltrate Cuban exile and dissident communities while concealing his affiliation with the Cuban government. Authorities said he fraudulently obtained lawful permanent resident status by hiding these ties. He was placed in removal proceedings and deported from the United States on August 7, 2026.

Five men from an extended Mexican family in Snohomish County — described as fathers, husbands, uncles, godfathers, and primary breadwinners — were detained by ICE during a Labor Day weekend camping trip at Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest near Granite Falls, Washington. U.S. Forest Service rangers first visited the campsite over a reported trash complaint and photographed the men's identification; one individual who had posed as a ranger later returned armed with a rifle as ICE 'backup.' Just before midnight, armed ICE agents returned, initially identifying themselves as police before revealing they were immigration officers, shook tents, and handcuffed the men one by one in front of children ages 1 to 14 and a pregnant mother. Carmen, 19, said she watched agents arrest her father, uncles, and godfathers, and that the experience traumatized younger cousins who had viewed the campground as a safe retreat. Families said they had no cell service and could not reach a lawyer or the detained men until after the holiday weekend. DHS said four of the five men had no criminal record aside from a 2016 misdemeanor negligent driving conviction, citing prior voluntary returns to Mexico, a 2021 driving-related arrest, and unlawful entry as grounds for removal proceedings. The men remain at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, and families are raising roughly $100,000 for legal fees and living expenses while fearing transfer out of state. Washington Governor Bob Ferguson called the detentions cruel and ordered a legal investigation, while Representative Pramila Jayapal demanded answers about whether federal land management staff improperly facilitated civil immigration enforcement.

ICE agents detained Arturo Vasquez, a 48-year-old father with no criminal record, while he was a paying customer getting his family car washed in Culver City, California in June 2025; his teenage son was recorded on video pleading with agents as his father was driven away. In a separate incident in spring 2025, Cuban national Eduardo Nuñez Gonzalez was detained by ICE outside his North Miami home while carrying a bag of household trash to the curb; his family said he had no history of criminal charges. Rather than remain in a New Mexico detention facility for months contesting his case, Nuñez Gonzalez ultimately chose deportation to Spain. Both cases were cited amid a surge in ICE arrests, with Los Angeles-area arrests reaching a rolling average of roughly 100 a day, including a single-day record of 228 arrests on July 11. Data showed Latino immigrants were being arrested at 115 times the rate of other groups.