Human Impact Project

Huabing Xie, a Chinese national, died on September 29, 2025, at El Centro Regional Medical Center after suffering a seizure while detained at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Calexico, California. Xie had first been arrested by Border Patrol near Tecate on December 31, 2023, and released on recognizance, before being re-arrested in Indio on September 12, 2025, and transferred to ICE custody. Facility staff performed CPR and other life-saving measures before he was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His death marked at least the 20th death in ICE custody since Trump's inauguration in 2025, prompting immigrant justice groups to call for an investigation and public release of findings. On February 21, 2026, activists held an interfaith vigil outside the detention facility honoring Xie and another detainee who died there, citing concerns over medical neglect, overcrowding, and unsanitary conditions.

ICE agents arrested a man in downtown Santa Barbara after he allegedly slashed a tire on an ICE vehicle parked on East Carrillo Street. Community members and the man's parent followed ICE agents to the police station and filmed the incident. The Santa Barbara Police Department stated it was not notified in advance of ICE operations in the city.

A Mexican citizen who has resided in the United States since 2009 was arrested on February 21, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas for driving while intoxicated. He was transferred to ICE custody on March 2, 2026, and held at the Golden State Annex Detention Facility without a bond hearing. The court found he was unlawfully detained under mandatory detention provisions and ordered his immediate release, ruling he should have received a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) as a noncitizen already present in the country, not as a recently arrived applicant for admission.

A man entered the United States on June 1, 2019, was initially detained at the border by immigration authorities, and was released on bond after eight months in custody. On February 20, 2026, he was re-detained by ICE. The federal court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release on the same conditions he had prior to re-detention.

A woman identified as Alicia was detained in April 2025 during a routine ICE check-in in Louisiana and sent to the Basile detention center, where she discovered she was pregnant. She was given small, poor-quality food portions that left her weak and hungry. In May, she experienced severe abdominal pain, cramping, and bleeding, and was taken to a hospital where staff performed an invasive uterine procedure without her consent and told her she had miscarried. ICE returned her to detention that same night and held her for two more months, during which she suffered heavy bleeding, swelling, fever, and severe pain, with repeated sick call requests going unanswered. In July 2025, ICE deported Alicia, separating her from her children, and she was later diagnosed with and treated for a serious infection caused by the lack of treatment she received while detained.

Cary López Alvarado, a U.S. citizen from Hawthorne, California, was arrested by ICE agents while nine months pregnant as she exited immigration court in New York City alongside her husband, a Guatemalan immigrant. Agents held her overnight and released her only after confirming her citizenship status. Footage of the arrest shows agents restraining her hands behind her back, despite guidance against physically restraining pregnant individuals. Immediately after release, she experienced sharp stomach pains and gave birth days later. Her husband has since been deported, leaving her without income and relying on family to help care for her newborn. Alvarado has filed a claim seeking $1 million in damages from Border Patrol and ICE, citing unlawful arrest and unconstitutional conduct.

Michael Opeoluwa Egbele, a Nigerian immigrant who entered the U.S. unlawfully in 2003, was detained by ICE in January 2026 during a routine check-in, despite having remained in compliance with his supervised release conditions for over a decade. He had been charged with a drug offense in 2012 and later placed on supervised release. A U.S. District Court in Minnesota granted his habeas corpus petition, ruling that the government unlawfully revoked his supervised release without due process or prior notification. The court ordered ICE to immediately release him, and he was freed from custody on February 20, 2026.

Lucia, a pregnant woman, was detained by ICE after appearing for a regular check-in appointment at a detention facility in Dilley. While two months pregnant, she began experiencing heavy vaginal bleeding and cramping in the middle of the night but was not taken to see medical staff for several hours. Medical personnel left her alone in a small room without food, water, or pain medication while she bled heavily. She was eventually transported to an emergency room about an hour away while shackled at the arms and legs, where she suffered a miscarriage and required a blood transfusion. She was returned to ICE custody and continued experiencing abdominal pain and heavy bleeding for another month before being deported. Representative Joaquin Castro raised allegations about conditions for pregnant women held at the Dilley detention center.

On February 9, 2026, ICE agents conducted a raid at a home in Lower Providence Township, Pennsylvania, targeting Jose Manuel Cordova Lopez, 26, a Mexican national whose work visa expired in 2021. Agents arrived in unmarked vehicles and civilian clothes, forced entry by breaking down the door, and injured a woman identified as Lupe Lopez during the operation. She reported being hit in the head by an officer. Children in the home were left shaken. State Rep. Joe Webster stated agents did not initially have a warrant and described the operation as chaotic. Lopez was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and ramming an ICE vehicle. Following the raid, neighbors provided assistance with door repairs and supplies, and family members called for an independent investigation into the use of force. A GoFundMe established for the family raised more than $10,000.

Jonathan Enrique Meza Ruiz, an Indiana man who came to the United States as an unauthorized minor nearly two decades ago, was ordered released by federal judge Matthew P. Brookman or granted a bond hearing by ICE. The ruling is part of a nationwide legal battle over whether the Trump administration can detain people in non-border areas for immigration violations and hold them without bond under a border-related legal provision.

Amanda Isabel Cardoso, a 22-year-old Cuban immigrant living in Tampa who was awaiting a green card, was arrested in Orlando in August 2024 while pregnant and subsequently detained by ICE for nearly three months at Otero County Processing Center in rural New Mexico. During her detention, Cardoso received minimal prenatal care despite being in her first pregnancy—the facility lacked ultrasound machines and she was denied access to her medical records. After her release in February 2025 following legal intervention by immigration attorney Sam Badawi, Cardoso was diagnosed with preeclampsia and gestational diabetes, conditions medical experts say can be triggered by stress. Cardoso, who fled Cuba after her grandmother was killed in an act of political violence, now faces ongoing uncertainty about her immigration status and potential separation from her baby if detained again.

Julieta, who held a valid visa, was detained for two months at Basile detention center. She was shackled at the ankles, hands, and waist during cross-country transport and feared that poor nutrition and the stress of detention could endanger her pregnancy.

Antonia Aguilar Maldonado, a mother of two from El Salvador, was arrested by ICE while on her way to work and detained at the Kandiyohi County Jail in Minnesota for nearly a month. Her 22-month-old child is still nursing and has acid reflux and allergies to other forms of milk. The jail was not equipped to house a nursing mother and did not have a breast pump upon her arrival, forcing her to manually express milk until the facility purchased one. By the time of her release, her breast milk had started to dry up. Her children were traumatized by her detention. Her attorney successfully argued for her release on bond of $10,000, paid by church members. She is now requesting voluntary departure.

Angie Rodriguez, a 24-year-old Colombian asylum seeker, was detained by ICE in July 2025 following a routine immigration check-in and sent to the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield, California. She discovered she was pregnant while in custody but received no prenatal vitamins, medical care, or nutrition education for weeks afterward. Facility meals were inedible to her due to their appearance and smell, forcing her to rely on costly commissary items like instant ramen, chips, and candy. After experiencing brown discharge, she was transported to an off-site hospital where she miscarried, then placed in medical isolation before her eventual release. Her case is among more than a dozen documented by the ACLU involving pregnant women held without proper medical care in immigration detention. Rodriguez has filed a lawsuit alleging unconstitutional detention, arguing that the stress of her arrest combined with inadequate food and lack of prenatal care may have contributed to her miscarriage.

Special education teacher Linda Davis was killed when a man fleeing immigration officers crashed into her car. The incident involved a driver who was being pursued by ICE at the time of the collision.

Federal judges have ordered the release of pregnant and nursing women held by ICE at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, citing violations of ICE Directive 11032.4, which prohibits detention of pregnant and nursing individuals. Congressman Joaquin Castro alleged that approximately eight pregnant women are currently being held at the facility and claimed they were hidden from his view during his visit. Castro reported cases of inadequate medical care, including a pregnant woman three months along experiencing heavy bleeding and a teenage boy not receiving proper medical attention for appendicitis. Over 1,000 pregnant, postpartum, and nursing individuals have been detained since Trump's second term began, with documented cases detailing severe conditions including miscarriages without proper medical care, shackling during pregnancy and labor, inadequate medical treatment, solitary confinement, forced family separations, and contaminated food.

Greggy Valerio Sorio, a 37-year-old green card holder, was deported to the Philippines after ICE denied his stay request despite severe medical conditions including inflammatory bowel disease, anemia, and a toe amputation requiring wheelchair use. Sorio's deportation stemmed from criminal convictions dating back over a decade, and ICE determined he was medically fit to fly despite advocates' warnings and his recent hospitalization. Community groups and immigrant-rights advocates condemned the deportation as a systemic failure, with 60 protesters rallying outside the detention center, and airline staff initially removing him from the flight after being alerted to his condition.

Four journalists and an attorney were detained by plainclothes police in Yaounde, Cameroon on February 19, 2026, while investigating Trump administration deportations of third-country immigrants to the African nation. The journalists were beaten during the detention, and their equipment was confiscated. They were attempting to interview recently deported individuals and film a facility holding deportees. All five people were later released. Press freedom groups raised alarm over the incident, which occurred as some deported immigrants were sent to Cameroon in violation of court orders protecting them from deportation to their home countries.

Nayra Guzmán, a 22-year-old Mexican asylum seeker and U-visa applicant living in Cicero, Illinois, was detained by ICE agents while driving to visit her premature newborn daughter in the NICU, about 15 days after an emergency C-section complicated by preeclampsia. Her mother and brother were also detained despite presenting valid work permits and documentation showing they had lived in the U.S. since 2022 after fleeing cartel violence. Guzmán, who has Type 1 diabetes and was suffering postpartum pain and a breast infection, was held for roughly 34 to 36 hours at the Broadview Processing Center, a facility that has faced allegations of overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, and limited medical care. During her detention she was denied postpartum care, a breast pump, medical assessment, adequate food, water, and blankets, while still trying to produce breast milk for her daughter, who remained unable to eat or breathe independently. Her detention occurred amid the Trump administration's Operation Midway Blitz enforcement campaign in the Chicago area. Lawyers petitioned for her release citing health concerns, and a federal judge ordered Guzmán and her family released on conditional bail, preventing their scheduled transfer to out-of-state facilities.

The Department of Justice filed a denaturalization case against former North Miami Mayor Philippe Bien-Aime, alleging he misrepresented his identity and immigration history during his naturalization process in 2006. According to federal prosecutors, Bien-Aime entered the United States in 1997 using a fraudulent passport under a different name, was ordered removed in 2000, but remained in the country under an assumed identity. The complaint also alleges he obtained permanent resident status through an invalid marriage to a U.S. citizen using a fraudulent divorce certificate.