Human Impact Project

Four men from Cuba, Yemen, Laos, and Vietnam were deported by the U.S. to Eswatini in July 2025 under the Trump administration's third-country deportation program, despite having no connection to the country. As part of a $5.1 million agreement between the U.S. and Eswatini to accept deported migrants who cannot easily be returned to their home countries, the men were held at a maximum-security prison and denied in-person legal counsel for nine months. After the Eswatini government appealed a lower court's decision granting them access to a lawyer, the Eswatini Supreme Court ruled in April 2026 that the men have the right to meet with legal counsel, rejecting government claims that they showed no interest in representation. The men had completed their U.S. prison sentences but remained detained in Eswatini without being charged with any crime there.

A federal grand jury in Boston indicted 10 Indian nationals for conspiring to stage armed robberies of convenience stores, liquor stores, and fast food restaurants to help store clerks falsely claim victim status on U visa applications. The defendants, most of whom were residing unlawfully in the United States, face up to five years in prison and deportation. The investigation stems from an earlier case against organizer Rambhai Patel and driver Balwinder Singh, both convicted in May 2025 for carrying out at least six staged robberies beginning in March 2023.

Federal officials have detained or deported at least 25 people whose families were granted legal status under a 2023 court settlement stemming from the Trump administration's 2017 family separation policy. Among them is a 23-year-old Honduran man who had been legally living and working in the U.S. but has spent five months in ICE detention in Louisiana facing deportation. The government has violated key terms of the settlement by imposing a $1,000 per-person fee, halting payments to contractors assisting with family reunification, and detaining and deporting individuals meant to be protected under the court order. Government lawyers argue the settlement does not restrict their authority to carry out removal orders, while a federal judge in California has rebuked the administration's actions.

Malunda Destino has been detained by ICE in New Hampshire since August 2025 while his asylum case is pending. A federal court ordered him to receive an individualized bond hearing due to due process concerns. Destino has been separated from his newborn son and family, and ICE attempted to deport him but a stay was obtained after community fundraising paid for appellate representation. Destino has also reported degrading treatment by ICE agents while in detention.

A 50-year-old Mexican man named Jesús died in late February after avoiding hospital care out of fear of ICE detention and deportation. His wife attributes his death to harsh U.S. immigration policies. He remained bedridden at home despite declining health and was only taken to a hospital when it was too late. He left behind four children, including one minor.

Kennedy Orwa, a PhD student in the University of Washington's Information School researching AI applications in health systems, was detained by Customs and Border Protection at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on April 7 and deported the following day along with his 13-year-old son. CBP claimed Orwa had previously worked without work authorization, though Orwa was not allowed to consult with a lawyer before being put on a flight to Kenya. UW stated it had connected Orwa's family with legal resources and contacts at relevant embassies.

A person named Abad was detained by immigration authorities in Corona in a warrantless stop. An advocacy account is requesting support for Abad and his family as they work to bring him home. Abad Jimenez Romano was detained by ICE on April 8 around 6 AM while traveling to a new job in Corona, California. According to the post, he has no criminal record and has been in the country for over 20 years. His family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise support.

The Trump administration is detaining DACA recipients at increasing rates, treating them as deportable despite their protected status, and has moved to deport some to their countries of birth. The administration has also cut healthcare benefits for recipients, barred them from obtaining commercial driver's licenses, and a Board of Immigration Appeals ruling held that deferred action status alone is not enough for a judge to halt deportation. Renewal and work-permit processing that once took about 15 days now often takes six months or more, causing some recipients to lose jobs, while advocates say people have been detained during routine traffic stops and held far from their families for months.

Mauro Yosueth Henriquez, 18, a senior at Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology Center in Houston and varsity soccer team co-captain, was detained by ICE on December 16, 2025, during a routine immigration check-in with his father. He was held at multiple ICE facilities including Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe and Livingston before being transferred to federal detention. After nearly four months in custody, Henriquez was deported to Honduras in February 2026. His detention prompted Houston students to organize protests calling for his release so he could graduate with his class. Elected officials and Houston-area Democrats responded to the case, while Texas Republican leaders declined to comment. Mauro Yosueth Henriquez, a senior captain and midfielder on the Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology Center soccer team, and his father Mauro Rigoberto Henriquez were detained by ICE on December 16 and are reportedly held at a detention center in Conroe. The younger Henriquez is also a volunteer soccer coach in the community. Neither has a criminal record according to Harris County District Clerk's Office, and both are originally from Honduras. Community members organized a protest on Tuesday evening calling for Henriquez's release so he can graduate with his class. Mauro Henriquez, an 18-year-old senior and soccer team captain at Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology Center in Houston, was taken into custody by ICE along with his father while attending an immigration meeting in early December 2025. Henriquez and his father, both from Honduras, were seeking asylum in the U.S. and have been detained at Montgomery Processing Center for over 50 days. Henriquez is an A and B student who has lived in the U.S. since grade school and serves as a volunteer soccer coach at his church. Christian Jimenez, a 17-year-old US citizen and senior at McMinnville High School, was detained by ICE officers after they smashed the window of his father's car during his lunch break. Despite repeatedly asserting his citizenship, an officer broke the car window and ordered him out of the vehicle. Jimenez was taken to an ICE facility in South Portland and held for several hours before being released that evening. Authorities later attempted to charge him with interference or obstruction of investigation.

A Colombian national who entered the United States in 2022 was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on April 9, 2026, at a USCIS office in Tustin, California while attending an interview for his pending asylum application. He had been living in Compton, California with his girlfriend and their child and had previously been appearing for immigration court hearings before those were terminated. He was held virtually incommunicado, denied contact with family and counsel for two days, and permitted only one 15-minute phone call with his attorney. The court found that his arrest without notice or a pre-deprivation hearing violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and his Fifth Amendment due process rights. On April 20, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release without conditions, finding that he had developed a substantial liberty interest in remaining free based on his four years of residence in the United States and his family connections.

A Venezuelan citizen who entered the U.S. in 2023 was granted withholding of removal to Venezuela in February 2025. On April 9, 2026, he was detained by ICE during a routine check-in. His wife was informed that authorities intended to remove him to Africa, despite his withholding protection. The court issued a habeas petition order requiring respondents to show cause why the petition should not be granted and ordered advance notice of any removal.

Ariadna Zumba, 18, a native of Spain who has lived in the United States since she was nine and holds Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, was detained by ICE on April 9, 2026, while walking near her home, without agents presenting a warrant or immediately notifying her family. She was held for 53 days at Delaney Hall in Newark, run by the GEO Group, missing her senior prom and high school graduation, before being released June 1, 2026, after filing a habeas corpus petition. She later received her diploma at a mid-August ceremony at Orange High School. Zumba described moldy food, overcrowding, inadequate medical care and early-morning room checks at Delaney Hall, said she joined a hunger strike over conditions before stopping after officers threatened additional charges, and helped other detainees with translation and paperwork; she has no criminal record, was accepted to Essex County College, and plans to study social sciences before transferring to Montclair State University and eventually attending law school, though she has another ICE appointment scheduled for January.

Hayam El Gamal, a mother of five detained at the Dilley Immigration Detention Center in Texas, was taken to the emergency room on April 9 after weeks of being denied medical care for an abnormal chest growth, despite a facility doctor recommending a CT scan in mid-February. She rated her pain as 11 out of 10, and the ER scan revealed fluid around her heart (pericardial effusion); DHS, ICE, and CoreCivic subsequently denied a follow-up ultrasound recommended by the ER doctor. According to her attorney, Eric Lee, three independent physicians who reviewed her case, Dr. Amy Zeidan, Dr. Virginia Reddy, and Dr. Christopher Merrick, have called for further testing for possible cancer, autoimmune disease such as lupus, and heart complications, warning that ICE and CoreCivic are systematically denying her care in a way that poses an urgent threat to her life. El Gamal and her four minor children have been detained at Dilley for over 10 months, far exceeding the 20-day legal limit for detaining children.

A 17-year-old Hispanic minor was detained by ICE agents at a Target store in Richfield, Minnesota, during Operation Metro Surge. Federal Judge Eric Tostrud concluded that the minor was detained solely because of his race or ethnicity, without reasonable suspicion or probable cause. The incident is part of an ongoing ACLU lawsuit challenging ICE's racial profiling practices in Minnesota.

A 36-year-old Hispanic man was arrested by federal agents while entering his apartment building in Bushwick, Brooklyn, after coming home from work. He was released from federal custody after lawyers filed an emergency lawsuit challenging his arrest. The incident is part of a class action lawsuit filed by civil rights organizations alleging that ICE is unlawfully arresting immigrants in New York based solely on race or ethnicity.

Juan Carlos Quintero, 41, was arrested by federal agents in three unmarked cars while watching a game of dominos in Staten Island after saying he did not have an ID. He was released from federal custody after lawyers filed an emergency lawsuit challenging his arrest. The NYCLU, Make the Road New York, and the Legal Aid Society filed a class action lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of eight immigrants, alleging that ICE is unlawfully arresting people in New York based solely on race or ethnicity.

A Mexican national who entered the U.S. as a child in 1989 was arrested by ICE on April 9, 2026, after reporting to the Santa Ana Enforcement and Removal Operations office. He is married with six U.S. citizen children and has a pending application for adjustment of status. The court granted his request for an individualized bond hearing while denying his request for immediate release.

Hilda Sucely R.M.D.E., mother of two U.S. citizen children who lived in the U.S. for nearly 25 years, was arrested by immigration authorities on April 9, 2026, when she appeared for a fingerprinting appointment in connection with seeking relief under the Violence Against Women Act. She had been released on bond after entering without inspection in 2003 and had an in absentia removal order from September 2003 that she never received notice of. The court ordered her immediate release from immigration detention, finding violations of federal regulations requiring pre-deprivation process.

Diego Cabrera Gonzalez, a 9-year-old with cerebral palsy, and his family from Ecuador face possible deportation after an immigration hearing scheduled for later in April. The family came to the U.S. in 2023 seeking medical care for Diego, who has undergone four surgeries and has improved significantly since arriving. Their legal case was jeopardized when they hired someone who failed to properly file asylum paperwork, but they have since secured new legal representation and are fundraising to cover legal fees.

Washington state won a federal court ruling in November 2025 allowing health inspections at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, operated by private contractor GEO Group. However, state inspectors have been denied entry nine times since 2023, including after the court ruling. Advocacy groups report over 3,500 detainee complaints including concerns about religious accommodations during Ramadan, food quality, and medical care.