Human Impact Project

Zong Yang, a South St. Paul resident who immigrated to the U.S. legally as a child, was detained by ICE in February 2026 during a scheduled check-in tied to Operation Metro Surge, citing a 1999 felony burglary conviction in Wisconsin. ICE agents blocked his wife's car as she drove to work on Feb. 4, telling her they would arrest him the next morning; she negotiated an extra day so the family could say goodbye. He was deported to Laos in early May, a country he had never lived in and whose language he does not speak, and is now permanently barred from returning to the U.S. Yang is living in Vientiane among other deportees, working low-wage jobs to support himself, while his wife raises their five sons, ages 3 to 17, alone in South St. Paul. The family has relocated and relied on extended relatives to cope with the financial hardship caused by his removal.

Hubert George Cole, a Honduran citizen who immigrated to the U.S. at age 11, was detained by ICE during his regular check-in on May 8, 2026, after 12 years of complying with supervision conditions. Cole's deferral of removal to Honduras stems from a long legal history: a former gang member with visible tattoos who was seriously injured in a 2007 drive-by shooting, he argued he would likely be tortured or killed in Honduras due to his tattoos and race, a claim supported by testimony from his sister and mother. In 2011, the Ninth Circuit found the Board of Immigration Appeals had failed to properly consider his expert witnesses and remanded his Convention Against Torture claim for further review, which ultimately resulted in deferral of his removal to Honduras. Despite this deferral, ICE served Cole with a Notice of Removal in 2026 stating intent to remove him to Mexico instead. A court granted a temporary restraining order requiring his immediate release and prohibiting removal without proper procedures.

Ana Delgado, a Venezuelan woman living in San Antonio with her husband and two young children, was detained by ICE on April 29, 2026 after an agent allegedly impersonated a case manager to lure her outside her home. Agents surrounded her while she held her 4-year-old son Isaiah; her husband arrived carrying their 1-year-old daughter Hannah, who was still breastfeeding and has since refused formula. Delgado had Temporary Protected Status and was pursuing adjustment of status through her U.S. citizen husband's sponsorship after an earlier asylum claim was denied; she had no criminal record and had attended immigration check-ins without issue for years. She was held at Karnes detention center in Texas before being transferred to Eloy detention center in Arizona, where she developed mastitis after being denied breastfeeding access and a breast pump. Delgado was deported to Venezuela, separating her from her children, who her mother-in-law said keep asking about her.

Maria Trinidad Loya Medina, a Mexican national who had lived in Albany, Oregon for over 20 years, was detained by ICE agents on January 10, 2026, while shopping at a sporting goods store during Operation Black Rose. She was the primary caregiver for her husband, who had suffered a stroke, and her children, and had no criminal history. Held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, she was denied bond on February 4 by an immigration judge despite evidence of strong community ties. One of her children was later diagnosed with depression following her detention. On May 7, Federal Judge Grady J. Leupold ordered her immediate release, ruling that the immigration judge had abused discretion and violated her due process rights by failing to consider relevant factors, citing the documented harm to her family. ICE delayed her release until May 8.

Lourdes Minerva Coronado, a North Texas resident who had lived in the United States for more than 30 years, was arrested after a Flower Mound traffic stop for driving with a suspended license and no registration, and was subsequently detained by ICE. Her daughter, Karen Gonzalez, said Coronado had just been approved for a work permit and had no criminal history when she was detained. An immigration judge denied her bond request in July, classifying her as a flight risk, and on September 8 ordered her removed to Mexico; she has until October 2 to appeal while her family works to find and pay for an attorney. ICE said Coronado entered the country without legal status, and that it does not carry out removals while a timely appeal is pending; her arrest also came months after Denton County expanded its cooperation agreement with ICE to allow trained deputies to detain people suspected of immigration violations.

María Gloria Lopez Alcala, a mother of five who has lived in the U.S. for three decades, was detained by CBP on May 8 at International Bridge 2 in Laredo while returning from Nuevo Laredo after forgetting her ID. She had passed her citizenship test in November but never received an oath ceremony date, and her family says she also holds a permanent resident card. Officials told her family she is being held on suspicion of identity fraud, an accusation her family denies, and as of early August she remained at the Laredo Detention Center, where she developed a skin condition requiring medical treatment. ICE says her case remains in the adjudication process.

A long-term undocumented resident of the United States was detained by ICE officers on May 8, 2026, after fleeing from law enforcement during a traffic stop of a vehicle in which he was a passenger. Officers pursued him on foot for 5-10 minutes before detaining him pursuant to an administrative arrest warrant. He has lived in the United States for an unspecified extended period without having been admitted. He is currently detained at Mesa Verde Detention Facility. The court granted his petition for writ of habeas corpus and motion for temporary restraining order, ordering respondents to provide him a bond hearing before an immigration judge within 14 days pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 1236.1(c)(8), where he must demonstrate he is not a flight risk or danger to community safety. If respondents fail to provide the hearing within 14 days, he shall be immediately released.

Pin He, a native of China, was targeted for denaturalization for obtaining citizenship under the identity Pin He in 2013 after being ordered removed under the name Chun Di He in 1992. He applied for immigration benefits under a different identity the following year and obtained permanent residence in 2007 without disclosing his prior removal order.

Abdallah Osman Sheikh, a resident of Fairdale, Kentucky, was targeted for denaturalization for concealing that he possessed indecent digital images of two minors in July 2019 while serving in the Marines and posted such an image to social media. He also received an other-than-honorable discharge from the Marines for misconduct, disqualifying him from naturalization based on military service.

Kevin Robin Suarez, a native of Bolivia, was targeted for denaturalization after pleading guilty in 2020 to conspiracy involving the illegal purchase and trafficking of firearms through straw purchasers from South Florida to Bolivia and other Latin American countries for drug trafficking organizations. The conspiracy began in May 2016 and continued ten months after his January 2017 naturalization, during which he lacked the required good moral character.

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a case to revoke the citizenship of Baboucarr Mboob, 58, a native of Ndungu Kebbeh, Gambia, accusing him of concealing war crimes during his U.S. naturalization in 2011. Mboob, who entered the U.S. in 2002, previously served as a military police officer and orderly under former Gambian president Yahya Jammeh, and in 2019 testimony before The Gambian Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission admitted to participating in the 1994 execution of six fellow officers, naming five victims: Lt. Gibril Saye, Lt. Buba Jammeh, Lt. Bakary Manneh, Cadet Amadou Sillah and Lt. Abdoulie Bah. The case is part of a broader DOJ action against 12 individuals accused of offenses including war crimes, support for terrorism and sexual abuse of a minor, with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stating that those who concealed such histories during naturalization will face legal consequences.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil complaint in federal court seeking to denaturalize Salah Osman Ahmed, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Minnesota. Ahmed was naturalized in August 2007, months before providing material support to al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization. In 2009, he pleaded guilty to one count of providing material support to terrorists after admitting to attending secret meetings in Minneapolis in 2007, traveling to Somalia in December 2007 to help build a training camp, receiving weapons training including on PKM machine guns, and raising money from the Somali-American community. He served three years in prison and was granted relief from supervised release in 2022. The DOJ contends Ahmed was not genuinely attached to U.S. constitutional principles at the time of naturalization and must prove by clear and convincing evidence that his citizenship was not obtained through fraud or misrepresentation.

Khalid Ouazzani, a native of Morocco, was targeted for denaturalization after pleading guilty in 2010 to bank fraud, money laundering, and providing material support to Al-Qaeda. He falsely swore attachment to the U.S. Constitution during his 2005 citizenship application and 2006 naturalization, while planning with others to support terrorism and sending tens of thousands of dollars to Al-Qaeda by 2007.

José 'Poni' Góngora Poot, a cook who worked at Portland restaurant Güero for a decade, was detained by ICE agents on May 8 while driving to work near his home. He was removed from his vehicle and taken into custody. Góngora Poot is being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. A GoFundMe fundraiser was created to support him, raising over $30,000.

An ICE deportation charter flight operated by Omni Air held passengers shackled at the wrists, waists, and ankles for over 69 hours during a multi-country journey from Guam through Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. The passengers included elders, people with disabilities, and individuals who had agreed to voluntary departure, with limited ability to move during the lengthy transport.

Virginia was detained in January 2026 during the Midway Blitz Operation in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was transferred to Adelanto Detention Center in California, where a judge set her bond at $35,000. She was released in CA, where she had no contacts, without any means for returning home to MN.

Anstasiia and Andrei, Russian activists who fled Russia fearing retaliation for their involvement with the Navalny campaign, sought political asylum in the U.S. but were detained at separate ICE facilities in Louisiana. Anstasiia was held at Basile ICE jail, where she alleges she was stripped naked and confined to a glass room for 24 hours. She also reported that women detainees were subjected to male guards while showering and using the bathroom. Andrei was detained at Allen Parish Public Safety Complex. The facilities are reported to have conditions including physical and sexual abuse, medical neglect, rat infestations, black mold, expired food, and prolonged solitary confinement.

Carlos Della Valle, a Mexican national and long-term resident of Chester County, Pennsylvania, was detained by ICE in December 2024 after being arrested at an airport in St. Thomas while on family vacation. He was held across 12 different detention facilities, including centers in Louisiana and Florida, and reported inhumane conditions during his confinement. Despite claiming a judge had declared him not guilty, Della Valle was detained under a 1997 deportation order. His wife Angela, a U.S. citizen, and supporters rallied for his release. He was released in late April 2026 after 258 days in custody and returned to his home in Chester County.

Iris Dayana Monterroso-Lemus, detained by ICE at Richwood Correctional Center in Louisiana after missing a court hearing in a child custody case, lost her pregnancy mid-term while in custody and was deported to Guatemala in May 2025. Medical staff performed invasive procedures and administered medication without her consent or clear explanation, and she was returned to detention despite severe pain and bleeding, with ICE denying follow-up care for over two months until she was treated for an infection after deportation. She now lives in a rural area of Petén, Guatemala without reliable electricity or running water, separated from her partner, Gary Bivens, who keeps their son's ashes until they can bury him together, and from her three children, who remain in Lenoir City, Tennessee with her mother. Department of Homeland Security data shows 16 recorded miscarriages in ICE custody between January 2025 and February 2026, during which 363 pregnant, postpartum, or nursing women were deported.

Federal immigration agents were spotted at four Cook County courthouses on May 7, 2026, where they arrested at least one person. One person was detained at the Branch 23 & 29 courthouse for a misdemeanor property damage charge that was dismissed. Since February, federal agents have been at or nearby Cook County courthouses at least once a week, detaining at least 12 people at the facilities. Public defenders and watchdog groups said the arrests violate state law and undermine due process rights. The previous Tuesday, federal agents detained a man at the Clinton Blue Line station following his appearance at domestic violence court, using a taser and throwing him against a wall.