Human Impact Project

Isreal Cruz Gonzales, a Mexican national, was arrested by ICE agents at Denver International Airport on August 13, 2026, while attempting to board a Southwest Airlines flight to Sacramento. According to ICE, Gonzales entered the country legally on February 16, 2020, but overstayed his authorized departure date of March 16, 2020. He remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

Miguel Lorenzana Márquez, known as Mike, was detained by ICE agents after checking in for a scheduled USCIS appointment on the morning of his daughter's 8th grade graduation in Bell Gardens, California. His family had been preparing to celebrate the milestone but instead faced unexpected separation when he was taken into custody by ICE agents shortly after his appointment began.

Samuel Gonzalez Terrones, 21, died by suicide at a railroad crossing in San Bernardino County two months after his mother, Minerva Terrones Dominguez, 54, was detained by ICE agents near a grocery store. After being diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia in May, Samuel began therapy and medication, but relied heavily on his mother to help him through mental health crises while his siblings and father worked extra shifts to pay for an immigration lawyer. His sister, Sari Gonzalez, 32, said their mother was the only one able to calm him during difficult moments while the rest of the family was at work or school. Attorney Arturo Burga had been pursuing a legal pathway called cancellation of removal, arguing Minerva's deportation would cause extreme hardship to Samuel, but the family never filed the paperwork before his death. In a note left before he died, Samuel wrote, "To the ICE agent who took away my mother: I hope it was worth it. I can't handle anymore injustices in this world." His family described him as a caring, generous person who loved video games, chocolate conchas, and dreamed of becoming a graphic designer.

Ivan, the oldest of three siblings, was taken into ICE custody after a routine immigration check-in in Charlotte, NC, and is now held at a detention center in Atlanta, GA. He and his family fled Venezuela in 2023 seeking asylum and settled in Raleigh-Durham, where Ivan worked to help support his family. Friends describe him as someone who translates for others who don't speak English and looks out for those around him, even while detained. His bond request was approved, with a bond hearing scheduled before an immigration judge.

The petitioner entered the United States in 2012 as an unaccompanied minor and was detained by immigration authorities at that time before being released on his own recognizance. His immigration case was administratively closed in 2014, and he has no final order of removal. On August 12, 2026, while driving to work, he was detained again by immigration authorities and has since been held at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas. He alleges he has not received a pre-deprivation individualized assessment of flight risk or dangerousness. He filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus arguing his detention violates due process, seeking release or, alternatively, a bond hearing, and also sought a temporary restraining order to prevent his transfer out of the district or removal from the country. The court denied the TRO motion but ordered that he not be removed or transferred outside the El Paso Division pending further proceedings, and ordered Respondents to show cause by September 2, 2026, why the habeas petition should not be granted.

Luis Alfredo Morales Pérez, 50, a Venezuelan pastor who leads four Seventh-day Adventist congregations in the Houston area, primarily in Pasadena, and has served the Texas Conference since January 2023, was detained by ICE agents on Aug. 6, 2026, at George Bush Intercontinental Airport as he and his wife, Karina, prepared to fly to New York to see their daughters. His wife said two agents approached the couple by name and arrested him before they passed through security. Morales entered the U.S. in 2020 and was granted Temporary Protected Status in December 2023, which ICE says was terminated in November 2025 after the Supreme Court allowed DHS's termination of TPS for Venezuelans to take effect; his wife and attorney say he has a pending asylum case and no criminal record. The Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists said he holds valid employment authorization and described his 'commitment to our mission and the families he serves' as 'unwavering,' asking congregants to pray for him and his family. He is being held at an ICE detention center in Livingston, Texas, where he has been able to speak with his family by phone while his legal team gathers documents to request bond; his case is reported to be at least the third involving a Texas pastor detained at an airport in the past month.

A Cuban detainee is currently held at the Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center in Pine Prairie, Louisiana. He filed a habeas petition along with an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, seeking to enjoin the government from removing him from the United States, prohibit his transfer to a facility outside the court's jurisdiction, obtain an expedited briefing schedule, and secure his immediate release or a bond hearing. The court found it lacked jurisdiction to block his removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(g), which bars claims connected to the execution of removal orders. The court also denied the request to block a facility transfer, finding no evidence a transfer was likely and noting that jurisdiction attaches upon filing and is not destroyed by transfer. The court declined to expedite briefing beyond its standard procedures. Finally, the court denied the request for immediate release, characterizing it as an improper attempt to resolve the merits of the habeas petition through injunctive relief rather than through the normal litigation process.

The Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition reported that ICE agents have arrested at least five people at Portland International Jetport in recent weeks, with detentions occurring during passenger check-in and boarding. A Portland city spokesperson said TSA officials announced at an Aug. 5 meeting with airline and Jetport personnel that ICE activity was being planned for airports including Portland. DHS defended information sharing between ICE and TSA as essential for identifying travelers, while coalition advocacy director Ruben Torres said he believes the airport arrests are aimed at increasing overall arrest numbers rather than public safety. The coalition has warned some immigrants with uncertain status to speak with an attorney before traveling by air.

More than 140 detainees at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma are on a hunger strike to protest insufficient and unsanitary food, lack of medical care, and poor detention conditions. According to La Resistencia, detainees are being denied adequate meals and medical attention by GEO Group, the private company operating the facility, with meal times delayed for hours and food quality described as unacceptable. The detainees are demanding better food and medical care.

Margarita, a woman from New Jersey, was detained at the Elizabeth Detention Center for two months following what was described as a violent arrest. During her detention, she received only about a quarter of her prescribed diabetes medication, and her doctor and pharmacy were not contacted despite her family's concerns. Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-NJ) visited her and raised concerns about her treatment, with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries also expressing concern. Mejia characterized the conditions as a "slow death sentence."

Alex Pereira-Alves, a Brazilian immigrant who has lived in West Hollywood for nearly a decade working as a security guard and personal trainer, was detained by ICE after reporting to a downtown Los Angeles facility for what he believed was a routine check-in; officials told him he was 'deportable' and handcuffed him. He entered the U.S. legally in 2010, overstayed his visa, and in 2018 received a final removal order along with a grant of withholding of removal protecting him from being sent to Brazil. DHS first indicated he would be deported to Guyana, then Equatorial Guinea, countries he has no connection to, before a federal judge temporarily blocked the Equatorial Guinea deportation. His attorney, Jane Oaks, says he can no longer be sent to Brazil, deported to Equatorial Guinea, allowed to designate another country, or released, and she is filing an emergency habeas corpus petition arguing he was denied due process. His friend Jeff Markwardt, who is covering legal costs and caring for Pereira-Alves' dog Bella, said Pereira-Alves is 'terrified' and no longer feels safe in detention, and friends say the phone calls and legal filings supporting him are costing thousands of dollars.

Reny Jesús Colina Torres, a 27-year-old Venezuelan mariachi musician and trumpet player who works as a dishwasher at a Cracker Barrel, was detained by ICE agents during a vehicle stop near Culebra Road and North Navidad Street in San Antonio's Woodlawn Lake area on Monday morning while returning home from driving his brother-in-law to work. His sister said he previously applied for asylum and has work authorization while his immigration court case proceeds, with his next hearing scheduled for January. DHS stated that Colina Torres was in the country illegally and would remain in custody during removal proceedings, though his family said they entered through an official port of entry two years ago to escape dire economic conditions in Venezuela. He was sent to the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, the same facility where his friend and fellow mariachi musician Hebert Kaleth Ibarra Castro was detained in late June before being released on bond.

Carolina Molina, a U.S. citizen and licensed mental health therapist who works with immigration lawyers, was confronted at gunpoint by a masked ICE agent on August 10, 2026, in a Falls Church, Virginia parking lot. Molina was distributing business cards for immigration legal services when she witnessed ICE agents detaining two Latino men and shouted at the officers from her car. ICE vehicles boxed in her car and an agent drew his firearm, pointing it at her through the driver's-side window while accusing her of trying to run officers over. Molina denied the allegation, saying she was turning her car to avoid drawing attention to the attorney's office, and recorded the encounter on dashcam and cellphone video that she later shared publicly. DHS claimed she was 'weaponizing her vehicle,' but no charges were filed. Democratic Representatives Don Beyer and Suhas Subramanyam called for accountability, with Beyer describing Molina as a mother and citing a pattern of DHS misconduct.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 14 people on the morning of August 6, 2026, outside several Main Street businesses in Hackettstown, New Jersey, including Sunrise Dairy & Deli, Fruitimex Produce, and the post office. According to DHS, all 14 are in removal proceedings or being removed; this included Rafael Salazar, whose 2001 Miami-Dade cocaine possession case resulted in a deferred disposition rather than a conviction, and Luis Rivera Guillen, who has prior convictions in New York. Local activist groups have alleged that ICE used a private security firm, set an arrest quota of 40, and paid contractors $3,000 a day, though these claims have not been independently verified. In the operation's aftermath, some Hackettstown residents and business owners, particularly those serving Spanish-speaking customers, have described fear and a quieter Main Street.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a husband and wife outside the Cumberland County courthouse in Portland after they left the building on Tuesday, in what ICE described as a "targeted enforcement operation." According to ICE, both are from African countries and had entered the U.S. legally approximately 10 years ago but overstayed their authorized periods of stay. Court records show one of the two had been indicted earlier this year on a theft charge for allegedly taking items from a Walmart in late 2025 and early 2026, and was scheduled to be arraigned that afternoon. The Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition said the arrests, captured on video, were the first it was aware of occurring outside the Cumberland County courthouse; officials confirmed ICE agents had been inside the courthouse that morning reviewing the public docket, though the arrests themselves occurred off courthouse property and local police said they had not been notified beforehand.

Fabián Guarín, a Hispanic immigrant and asylum applicant with valid work authorization and a current driver's license, was detained by ICE during a traffic stop in Provo, Utah. His wife Natalia says he is the sole economic provider for their family of five, including three young children, and that he has no criminal record and proper documentation. The family is seeking financial support and assistance to secure his release.

Luis Morales, a Venezuelan-born Seventh-day Adventist pastor who has overseen four churches in the Houston area since January 2023, was detained by ICE agents at George Bush Intercontinental Airport on August 6, 2026, while traveling with his wife for vacation. According to ICE, Morales's Temporary Protected Status was revoked on November 20, 2025, and he remained in the country afterward. His wife, Karina, said the couple has a pending asylum claim. The Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists stated that Morales holds valid employment authorization and expressed concern for him and his family.

A 14-year-old girl from Guatemala was detained by ICE and deported while pregnant. She is now in a rural area of Guatemala preparing to give birth to a baby boy with a due date of August 15th. The mother and her 14-year-old boyfriend, a U.S. resident, had planned to raise their child together in the United States, but her deportation has separated the young family. The family is seeking legal assistance to establish the baby's citizenship, determine the mother's immigration options, and reunite all three in the U.S.

Amos Sheik Massaquoi, 55, a former combatant in Liberia's civil wars, was deported to Liberia after living in the United States for nearly two decades. ICE alleges he served as chief bodyguard to Maj. Gen. Daniel Chea, a former leader in Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia, and that he participated in or ordered extrajudicial killings, torture, forced labor, arbitrary detentions, and the recruitment of child soldiers between 1989 and 2003. ICE also said he received specialized military training at an academy in China in 2004. He entered the U.S. legally in 2006 but overstayed his authorization, and Homeland Security Investigations arrested him in Maryland in 2019, after which he was released on bond. ICE took him back into custody in Baltimore on April 1, 2025, after he failed to comply with his release conditions, an immigration judge ordered his removal the following month, and he was deported to Liberia on August 11, 2026.

The petitioner was paroled into the United States on June 26, 2019, and issued a Notice to Appear; he later filed for asylum and withholding of removal, and an immigration judge dismissed his Notice to Appear. On August 11, 2026, ICE apprehended him in Burbank, California, following his arrest for possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, and he was served a new Notice to Appear the same day. He has since been detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. His family lost contact with him on August 19, 2026, and his attorney later learned he had suffered a possible stroke, was hospitalized for one night, and then returned to detention, where he says he needs prompt surgical evaluation; he also alleges the facility has withheld timely health information from his counsel. He filed a habeas petition and sought a temporary restraining order seeking immediate release, telephone access to counsel and family, a medical evaluation, or a bond hearing. The court found he was denied constitutionally required pre-detention process and granted the TRO, ordering his immediate release under his prior conditions of supervision and referring the underlying habeas petition to a magistrate judge.