Human Impact Project

Zhiyu Yang, a Chinese national, was scheduled for detention at an ICE appointment on July 31, 2025 in San Francisco. The federal court granted a temporary restraining order to prevent his arrest and detention, then converted it to a preliminary injunction. The court ruled that Yang cannot be detained without a pre-detention hearing before a neutral decisionmaker, citing Fifth Amendment due process protections.

ICE agents arrested Carmen Aracely Pablo Sequen as she was leaving the San Francisco immigration court on July 31, 2025 and detained her at ICE's San Francisco field office. The arrest was pursuant to ICE and EOIR policies permitting the arrest of non-citizens at immigration courthouses. The court granted preliminary injunctive relief ordering her release and prohibiting re-detention without due process protections.

Lamphone Phongsavanh, a Laotian refugee who entered the U.S. in 1981, was detained by ICE in July 2025 after 25 years of supervised release following a removal order. The court found the government failed to demonstrate changed circumstances or significant likelihood of removal, violating immigration law. Chief Judge Stephanie Rose ordered his immediate release and restoration to supervised release status.

Jorge Willy Valera Chuquillanqui, a Peruvian asylum seeker with no criminal history, was arrested by DHS agents minutes after completing routine immigration court proceedings on July 25, 2025. He had been living in the U.S. since December 2022 after being released on bond. The federal court granted a preliminary injunction ordering his release and prohibiting re-detention without a hearing before a neutral decisionmaker. The court found that ICE violated his due process rights by detaining him without proper procedural safeguards.

On June 11, a former president of the Spokane City Council sent out an alert over social media. Two men, in the county legally and seeking asylum, had reported for an appearance in immigration court there. They were then detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE, at a Department of Homeland Security office in Spokane. The former council member, Ben Stuckart, urged followers to disrupt that enforcement. Among those responding to the call that day was Bajun Mavalwalla II, a Petaluma native and military veteran who had relocated to Washington. The resulting demonstration became confrontational. Protesters blocked an ICE bus as the agency attempted to transport the two detainees to Tacoma for immigration hearings, deflating the vehicle’s tires. Several people were arrested. Mavalwalla was not one of them. But a month later, on July 15, he got a knock at the door of his Spokane home at 6 a.m. Ten FBI agents were on hand to take him into custody.

Hamza Mohamed Al-Kashif, a stateless Palestinian born in Kuwait, was re-detained by ICE on July 7, 2025 during a routine check-in after being on supervised release since 2008. Al-Kashif had a final removal order from 2007 but ICE had not secured travel documents for his removal to Kuwait or Egypt. The court ordered his immediate release, finding his continued detention unlawful due to no significant likelihood of removal in the foreseeable future.

Edilberto Suarez Vergara, a Cuban citizen who had been under ICE supervision since 2006, was detained by ICE in July 2025. He was held at Camp 57 in Angola, Louisiana, then transferred to Arizona where he was scheduled for deportation to Mexico. The court granted a temporary restraining order blocking his removal, finding he was denied proper notice and hearing before being deported to a third-party country where he has no connections.