Human Impact Project

Portland police arrested five people during a May Day protest at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in south Portland on Friday evening. Protesters gathered to advocate for worker and immigrant rights and to push for revoking the ICE facility's permit. Police reported that protesters threw rocks and water bottles at officers, injuring two. Portland police made multiple arrests during May Day protests on Friday, May 1, 2026, near the ICE facility in South Portland. Officers arrested nine people at a hotel sit-in demonstration, and additional arrests were made throughout the day and evening during protest activities near the ICE facility. Police reported that some protesters threw rocks and water bottles at officers, with one officer sustaining a non-life-threatening injury.

A noncitizen is detained at ICE's Denver Contract Detention Facility despite an immigration judge ordering his release on an $8,000 bond. ICE invoked an automatic stay regulation to prevent his release while appealing the bond determination. The immigration judge later reconsidered and held that the petitioner's detention is mandatory under federal law.

A noncitizen from Cameroon who entered the U.S. in 2024 was granted withholding of removal to Cameroon on September 16, 2025. Despite this protection from deportation to his home country, he remained detained at the Adelanto Detention Facility for more than six months after his removal order became final. The court ordered his release within 24 hours, finding his continued detention violated due process since removal was not reasonably foreseeable.

A native of Nicaragua was detained by ICE in May 2026 and is currently held at Richwood Correctional in Monroe, Louisiana. He was granted withholding of removal as to Nicaragua under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). He filed a habeas corpus petition and emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent his deportation or transfer, arguing that deportation to Mexico would violate his due process rights and expose him to refoulement to Nicaragua despite his CAT withholding order. He is a member of the D.V.D. class, consisting of individuals subject to final removal orders whom ICE plans to deport to third countries. The district court denied his motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, citing the Supreme Court's prior stay denial in the D.V.D. class litigation and the principle of avoiding duplicative litigation.

Adam Marshall, a former infantry officer who has volunteered for over a year helping families of detainees, was arrested and briefly detained while serving as a medic for protesters who had been pepper-sprayed outside Delaney Hall in May 2026. Federal agents pushed him to the ground, carried him by his arms and legs into the detention center's courtyard, scanned his face with a mobile application, held him for two hours, then transported him and two other men to an underpass beneath the New Jersey Turnpike where they were lined up against a metal wall with hands above their heads before being told never to return and released.

A Mexican asylum-seeker who fled cartel violence in Michoacan in 2019 was arrested by ICE at her check-in appointment in Santa Rosa in May 2026, separating her from her three children ages 2, 13, and 19. After texting her daughter to bring the younger children home, she was held in a freezing cell with little food before being transported toward a detention center. Attorneys from the newly created Bay Area Habeas Network, led by attorney Jordan Weiner, filed an emergency habeas corpus petition and obtained a federal judge's order for her immediate release within hours. The woman told the Chronicle: "I feel like I have no peace. But I have faith and know that there are good people who will help us."

A noncitizen who entered the U.S. in 2024 and was released on his own recognizance was abruptly re-detained by ICE in May 2026 without notice or opportunity to be heard. Respondents claimed he was subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b). The court granted his habeas petition, finding that § 1226(a)—not § 1225(b)—applied to him because he had already entered the interior of the country. The court ordered his immediate release by July 4, 2026, and enjoined re-detention absent clear and convincing evidence at a pre-deprivation hearing.

Santo, a Dominican national, was recently detained by ICE agents and transferred to an ICE detention facility in Louisiana. He has no criminal record but is a diabetic who was held without his medication for ten days, causing health complications. His wife Yolanda, who declined to use her full name due to deportation fears, stated he does not have legal representation and has reported experiencing side effects from medication deprivation. The family would prefer his release or deportation to the Dominican Republic over continued detention.

Henry Morales Hernandez, 55, a former Venezuelan army major who fled the Maduro government and sought asylum in the United States, was detained by ICE following a traffic stop in Collier County, Florida in April 2026. He was charged with driving under the influence, but prosecutors dropped the charge after determining insufficient evidence—breath tests showed blood alcohol levels of 0.036 and 0.037, below Florida's legal limit of 0.08. Despite the criminal case dismissal, ICE lodged a detainer and took him into custody on May 1, 2026. An immigration judge denied his bond request in May, relying on the arrest report despite the DUI charge being dismissed. Morales Hernandez holds an active asylum case in immigration court and previously held Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans, though the Trump administration moved to terminate that program in 2025.

An unaccompanied minor came to the United States as an unaccompanied minor in August 2018 and was initially detained by immigration officers who commenced removal proceedings. He subsequently filed an asylum application that remains pending. He was transferred to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement and released to his sponsor, an uncle. In May 2026, immigration officers arrested him in front of his home without pre-deprivation process or notice. He challenged his detention in federal court, arguing it violated his constitutional due process rights. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California granted his petition for writ of habeas corpus, finding his case indistinguishable from prior cases where courts determined similar detentions violated due process. The court ordered his immediate release and permanently enjoined respondents from re-arresting or re-detaining him without constitutional protections including pre-deprivation notice, a timely hearing, and a government burden to prove by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a danger or flight risk.

Josue Alvarado, who fled gang extortion in Ecuador with his family in 2024, was detained by ICE in 2025 after the Trump administration canceled CBP One paroles. On May 1, 2026, his scheduled asylum hearing was canceled just before trial when a judge granted the government's motion to pretermit his case within hours, denying his attorney the standard 10 days to respond. He was ordered deported to Ecuador despite his family's fear that return would result in kidnapping or death from the gang members pursuing them.

Luis Fernando Cabrera Chavarria, an Austin ISD high school senior, was detained by ICE after a state trooper stopped him for an expired registration sticker on May 1 while he was returning home from his job at Popeyes. U.S. District Judge Jason Pulliam ordered his release before Friday, allowing him to attend his high school graduation on June 2. His family had applied for asylum in 2019, though his application was not filed correctly.

A Jamaican LGBTQ asylum seeker who had been granted Convention Against Torture withholding in November 2024 was arrested at his home by ICE agents on May 1, 2026 without a warrant. He had been complying with supervision requirements and living with his U.S. citizen wife in California. The federal court granted a temporary restraining order requiring his immediate release and prohibiting re-detention without a hearing.

Sebastian Pasco, a bartender at Cork City Pub in Hoboken who holds a valid green card, was detained by ICE on May 1, 2026, while re-entering the country in Florida. The bar launched a fundraiser to cover his legal expenses while awaiting a hearing for his release.

Karina Lozano Chiriboga, Angel Granda, and their daughter Ariana Granda Lozano were deported to Ecuador on Wednesday morning despite their asylum case being denied without a hearing. The family had fled Ecuador two years prior due to violent organized crime and were going through legal channels to seek asylum. Their initial attorney missed filing deadlines, leading a judge to vacate their case, and although they obtained a temporary stay from U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin on April 24, that order was vacated four days later. ICE ordered them to the airport for a 5:30 a.m. departure, and while they were in flight, the Bureau of Immigration Appeals accepted their appeal into the record.

Juan Tablante was detained by ICE while working at his charcuterie business. His son Moisés launched a fundraiser to cover legal fees, bail, and business expenses as the family fights his case.

Rodney Taylor, a 47-year-old double amputee barber from Liberia who arrived in the U.S. as a child on a medical visa, was arrested by ICE on January 15, 2025, and held at Stewart Detention Center in South Georgia for 15 months based on a decades-old burglary conviction from his teenage years. Despite receiving a state pardon in 2010, holding a valid work permit, and having a pending green card application through his adult son, Taylor remained in ICE custody. During detention, he experienced severe medical neglect including denial of adequate food, proper prosthetics, exposure to contaminated water, and inadequate medical care for his disabilities, resulting in new health conditions such as bone spurs and neuropathy. Taylor was released in early May 2026 following sustained advocacy by U.S. Representative Lucy McBath, Senator Raphael Warnock, Representative Pramila Jayapal, additional members of Congress, his wife Mildred, community organizations, and legal representatives. His deportation case remains pending appeal.

ICE agents attempted to arrest Oscar Ocampo, a 41-year-old from Ecuador, on Exchange Street in New Haven while he was holding his seven-month-old son during a daycare drop-off. Neighbors and activists from the New Haven Immigrants Coalition emerged and recorded the encounter, urging the agents to leave. After approximately 20 minutes, the ICE agents departed without detaining Ocampo.

ICE agents conducted an operation on Brevard Street in Asheville targeting a specific individual, but detained three men total. According to a witness, agents arrested two additional men solely for being present with the targeted individual at the time. The organization CIMA activated an alert regarding the incident.

A woman was detained by ICE agents while walking her dog in public. The incident occurred within seconds, leaving her dog behind confused and distressed. The post emphasizes the emotional impact on both the woman and her pet.

Marta Guinand, a Venezuelan national living in the U.S. since 2014 with a valid work permit through 2028, was detained by CBP agents at McAllen airport while attempting to travel to her son's graduation in Florida. She has an active political asylum case since 2015 and is being held at Ursula Detention Center without her case being presented to court; her asylum interview scheduled for April was cancelled by authorities.

Wilfredo Hoyos-Gomez, a 10-year-old Venezuelan boy, appeared alone in Houston immigration court without legal representation and faces deportation to Ecuador, a country he has never visited. His mother, Nexoli Anyis Gomez Bracho, was detained by ICE in late 2025 following a traffic stop and remains in custody at the Houston Contract Detention Facility. The mother holds a valid work permit and has a pending asylum case. With no other family in the United States, the boy's mother's former employer serves as his legal guardian. The Department of Homeland Security filed paperwork seeking the child's deportation, and Rep. Joaquin Castro called for ICE to release the mother and halt deportation proceedings against the child.

Dy, who was previously detained by ICE for over five months during Trump's first term and released after a habeas corpus petition, has been detained again at Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. He is separated from his wife Tammy and their family, with another child expected soon, and notes that habeas cases at the facility go to a single lifetime-appointed judge. Denny Adan Gonzalez, a 33-year-old Cuban national, died on April 28, 2026, at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. He was found unresponsive in his cell at approximately 10:26 PM and pronounced dead within an hour despite lifesaving measures. Authorities suspected suicide, though the official cause remained under investigation. Gonzalez had been arrested by local police in Charlotte, North Carolina in January 2026 on assault and domestic violence charges before being transferred to ICE custody. His death marked the 18th detainee fatality in ICE custody in 2026 and the fourth Cuban national to die during the current Trump administration.

An eight-year-old autistic boy named Emiliano is detained at the Dilley ICE detention facility in Texas, operated by CoreCivic. Since his detention, he has experienced a fever, severe anxiety, limited appetite, and developed a skin rash and eye irritation. His mother reported these conditions to advocacy organizations. Each Step Home and other advocates filled his mother's commissary account to provide support and encouraged complaints to the facility regarding his care.

Three Mexican nationals and a fourth man from Absecon were detained during an ICE enforcement operation in Pleasantville on April 30, 2026, despite not being the intended targets of the action. An immigrant advocacy group stated the detainees were working fathers and husbands without criminal records. All are being held pending removal proceedings.

A noncitizen is currently detained at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Denver Contract Detention Facility in Colorado. He filed a habeas corpus petition seeking immediate release from custody or a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). The court ordered that respondents cannot remove him from Colorado or the United States until the court or appeals court vacates the order, and gave respondents seven days to respond to the petition.

An asylum seeker from El Salvador living in Oakland since 2021 faced potential re-detention by ICE despite having deferred action status through a U visa application. ICE issued a reinstatement notice in October 2025 but had repeatedly acknowledged they did not have his removal file and had previously released him multiple times as neither a flight risk nor danger. The court granted a preliminary injunction preventing his detention without a pre-deprivation hearing.

Ramon Rodriguez-Turcios, a Honduran national with a final removal order, was arrested by ICE agents during a targeted enforcement operation in Pleasantville on April 30, 2026. He was the intended target of the operation and is being held pending removal proceedings.

A detained immigrant filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus requesting immediate release and prohibiting transfer or deportation without a hearing before a neutral decisionmaker. The court issued a temporary order on May 1, 2026, prohibiting the government from deporting him until the court issues an order regarding his custody. A hearing was scheduled for May 4, 2026, and the government was ordered to file a response by May 1, 2026.

A noncitizen was re-detained on April 30, 2026, at Golden State Annex after having been previously released on bond or conditional parole. The court found that the government violated his due process rights by failing to provide a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter before re-detaining him. The court ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he was subject to prior to his April 30 detention, and required that any future re-detention must be preceded by at least seven days' notice and a constitutionally compliant pre-deprivation bond hearing.

Ingrid Bolanos-Gomez, 41, of Guatemala, and four co-conspirators were arrested and indicted for conspiracy to transport and harbor undocumented immigrants in a Phoenix-based smuggling operation. Federal agents discovered approximately 22 migrants held in cramped, unsanitary conditions at three stash houses and another 11 in a minivan near Cordes Lakes on April 28. The five defendants face federal conspiracy charges carrying a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Jesus Marin-Esquivel, 52, of Mexico, was arrested and indicted for conspiracy to transport and harbor undocumented immigrants as part of a smuggling organization operating in Phoenix. He was identified as one of the drivers conducting cross-country trips with smuggled migrants.

Anita Garcia, a volunteer with SBResiste rapid response network, was physically restrained and allegedly punched by ICE agents while observing an enforcement action at the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor office in Santa Barbara on April 30. Garcia had arrived after receiving a tip about ICE activity and entered the building to document the agents' activities. The agents accused her of impeding their work and physically restrained her against a wall, according to Garcia's account.

Jose Andres Hernandez Medina, 38, was charged with assaulting federal immigration officers after ramming multiple ICE vehicles during an attempted traffic stop near a Lewisville apartment complex on April 30. Two federal officers were hospitalized from the collision. Hernandez Medina, who had been deported three times previously, allegedly accelerated away from the stop, struck several parked cars, and attempted to flee on foot before being apprehended. A passenger was detained on an immigration hold, while a third occupant remains at large. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

A man identified as Valentín was detained by ICE agents on the morning of April 30 at a residence in Jacksonville, Texas. The arrest was witnessed and recorded by resident Jeannette Rodríguez. Official reasons for the arrest have not been disclosed, and it remains unclear whether the case is part of a broader operation.

Victor Roman, co-owner of Los Guapos Latin Food in Lawrence, was detained by ICE in late April and has since been deported to Guatemala. His business and romantic partner, Lourdes E. Perez Rojo, continues operating their restaurants in Lawrence. Community members had organized a GoFundMe fundraiser and submitted character letters to support Roman's case, though the deportation proceeded.

Lisandro Pantaleon Pacheco, a 22-year-old University of Utah student and Park City High School alumnus, was detained by ICE agents on April 28-29, 2026, while commuting to his first day of work at a bagel shop in Kimball Junction, Utah. Pacheco was pulled over on S.R. 224 around 5:30 a.m. Brought to the United States from Mexico by his mother at age one, Pacheco had no criminal record except one traffic citation and was scheduled to graduate on April 30 with a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation and tourism. He had previously applied for DACA protection before the program closed. Following his detention, he was held at a county jail in Evanston, Wyoming, while his attorney raised questions about whether profiling was involved in the traffic stop and subsequent detention.

A 21-year-old man from Nicaragua was pulled over by Wildwood Police for driving a vehicle with a tinted windshield. During the traffic stop, he admitted to never obtaining a U.S. driver's license and stated he had been in the United States for approximately two years and four months. He was arrested for operating a motor vehicle without a valid license and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center, where ICE placed a hold on him for transfer to their custody.

On April 28-29, 2026, approximately 40 protesters, including Maine residents and faith leaders, gathered at ICE's Burlington field office in Massachusetts to protest overcrowding and unsanitary conditions at the facility. The group attempted to block the administrative entrance and deliver care packages and a letter of support to detainees but were denied access. Police arrested between 9 and 12 protesters for trespassing and disturbing the peace after they refused orders to relocate to a designated free speech area. All arrested protesters were released and summoned to court. Some detainees at the facility had been transferred there during a January ICE operation in Maine.

A Nicaraguan citizen was placed in removal proceedings in December 2022 and charged with inadmissibility for entering the United States without inspection. She was initially released on an Order of Recognizance but was recently re-detained and held at the Adelanto ICE Detention Facility. The court granted her temporary restraining order requiring an individualized bond hearing within 7 days.

Anna Catherine Delgado, a Venezuelan woman living in San Antonio, was detained by ICE agents on April 29, 2026, outside her residence. She was holding her 4-year-old son Isaiah when approximately eight armed agents in vests surrounded her and took her without explanation. Her husband José Rosales arrived carrying their 1-year-old daughter Hannah. Delgado and Rosales had filed for political asylum, which was denied, but she had continued attending immigration verification appointments without issue since 2020. Hannah was still breastfeeding at the time and has refused formula since her mother was taken. Delgado was transferred to Arizona and told she would be deported to Venezuela. Rosales had formally requested permission for his wife to remain in the country to begin the legal residency process, but the request had not received a response.

A man was arrested for driving while intoxicated in Dallas, Texas on October 20, 2022, and was issued a Notice to Appear for removal proceedings. He was convicted of DWI on June 15, 2023, and released on his own recognizance by DHS. On April 29, 2026, when he reported to the Dallas ICE Field Office as directed, he was re-detained. The court found that his re-detention without notice and opportunity to be heard violated due process and granted his habeas corpus petition, ordering his immediate release on the same conditions he was subject to prior to re-detention.

A man who entered the United States without inspection in December 2023 was initially released on his own recognizance in January 2024. On April 29, 2026, ICE re-detained him when he appeared for a routine ICE check-in. The court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release under the same conditions as before his re-detention.

A Mexican citizen who had lived in the U.S. for over 16 years was detained by ICE after being pulled over for speeding on April 29, 2026. He had approved immigration applications and no criminal history but was held without a bond hearing under a new government interpretation of detention law. The court ordered his immediate release, finding his detention violated due process rights.

An immigration detainee who entered the U.S. without inspection in February 2023 was released on his own recognizance during removal proceedings. After three years of complying with release conditions, he was arrested without notice during a routine ICE check-in in Dallas on April 29, 2026. The court granted his habeas petition and ordered his immediate release, finding his detention without pre-deprivation process violated due process rights.

An immigrant previously released on bond or conditional parole was detained on April 29, 2026. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California granted his petition for a writ of habeas corpus and motion for temporary restraining order, finding that the government violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights by re-detaining him without providing a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter. The court ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he was subject to prior to his detention on April 29, 2026, and prohibited the imposition of additional restrictions such as electronic monitoring unless determined necessary at a future hearing. If the government seeks to re-detain him in the future, it must provide at least seven days' notice and hold a constitutionally compliant pre-deprivation bond hearing.

A man was lawfully admitted to the United States on a C-1 crewman visa with authorization to remain until April 12, 2021. He stayed in the country after his visa expired and filed an asylum application in June 2021. On April 29, 2026, more than five years after his visa expiration, immigration officials arrested him. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California granted his petition for writ of habeas corpus, finding that his five-year period of continuous release after visa expiration created a protected liberty interest. The court ordered his immediate release from custody at the Central Valley Annex detention facility and enjoined respondents from re-detaining him without notice and a hearing before an immigration judge pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a).

J.R.V., a 40-year-old with valid work authorization, was arrested by a sheriff's deputy in Florida in December while driving to a construction job. He was transferred through multiple detention facilities over five months, including the controversial Alligator Alcatraz in Florida, and eventually held at ICE's Aurora detention center operated by GEO Group. After 127 days in detention, he was released with only the clothes on his back and no identification documents. He filed a successful habeas corpus petition in federal court to challenge his detention and was released on April 29, 2026.

Benjamin Hernandez was stopped for a regulatory violation on Highway 49 in Concord on April 29, 2026. During the traffic stop, a K-9 unit alerted to narcotics, and a search uncovered 78.7 pounds of methamphetamine. Hernandez was arrested, charged with trafficking methamphetamine, issued a $1 million bond, and placed on an ICE detainer due to his immigration status.

Oliver Escobar Tovar, 45, was arrested around 5 a.m. on Wednesday following a traffic stop in Paragould, Arkansas after an officer observed expired tags on his vehicle. During the stop, Tovar provided a passport and insurance information, though one source notes he stated he did not have a driver's license or registration. After police contacted Homeland Security Investigators regarding Tovar's immigration status, authorities determined he had been previously deported. ICE placed a detainer on Tovar at Greene County jail.