Human Impact Project

A class-action lawsuit filed by civil rights organizations challenges Trump administration policies allowing ICE to arrest immigrants at immigration court hearings. The lawsuit, Pablo Sequen v. Albarran, alleges at least 89 people were arrested at San Francisco Immigration Court during a six-month period in 2025. Plaintiffs include asylum applicants from Peru, Guatemala, and Colombia who were arrested immediately after court appearances.

Voluntary departure agreements in immigration courts have surged to 89,494 cases as of May 1, 2026, more than seven times the number from the final 16 months of the Biden administration. The Trump administration's mandatory detention without bond policy is pressuring immigrants to leave voluntarily, even those with legal rights to stay. Detention facility conditions are described as dire, with 51 deaths reported since Trump's inauguration.

Immigration courts inside the Justice Department are holding unprecedented 'mega master' hearings with 100 or more people at a time — up from 2-3 dozen previously — to accelerate deportation proceedings. Attorneys report these hearings largely target unrepresented immigrants and those who show up late or not at all receive removal orders, with little notice being provided by the government.

The owner of a company that trained paramilitary Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents testified that he was involved in at least four lethal shootings, according to a 2021 deposition related to a lawsuit. The article raises concerns about the use of force by ICE personnel and contracted trainers.

Six people died in California immigration detention centers over the past year as crowded facilities struggled to provide basic medical care, according to a state investigation. Four deaths occurred at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in San Bernardino County and two at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Calexico. The deaths represent the highest toll since the state began inspections seven years ago, coinciding with Trump administration deportation campaigns that increased detention center populations by over 150%.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) fired the contractor running Camp East Montana in March following deaths, a measles outbreak, and allegations of substandard medical care. However, the facility continued using the same medical provider, Loyal Source Government Services, a company with a track record of medical neglect holding over $2 billion in federal contracts. Congressional representatives have expressed concern about the decision to retain Loyal Source, with documented cases of inadequate medical treatment including a detainee's broken forearm treated only with aspirin for weeks.

California's Attorney General released findings from inspections of seven ICE detention facilities in the state, documenting degrading strip searches, guards abusing authority, poor food conditions, overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, and inadequate medical care. Six migrants died in these facilities between September 2025 and March 2026, and detainee populations increased 162% compared to 2023.

The ACLU of Michigan, Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, and Michigan Catholic Center filed a complaint alleging that the North Lake Processing Center ICE detention facility in Baldwin is denying adequate medical care to detainees and limiting their access to attorneys. The groups detailed cases involving delays or denials of medical care, limits on attorney-client communications, and missed immigration proceedings, and are demanding an independent medical audit, mandatory emergency protocols, free medication access, and adequate translation services.

A KPBS investigation revealed that the Brawley Community Foundation, a registered nonprofit, owns the Imperial Regional Detention Facility, an ICE immigrant jail in California. The foundation has secured at least $6 million in property tax breaks since 2016 using its nonprofit status, benefits typically reserved for charities and hospitals. The foundation owns the detention center through a subsidiary company and has been involved in its operations for over a decade.

Miami Correctional Facility in Indiana received its first 15 ICE detainees as part of the "Speedway Slammer" agreement, a two-year contract to house up to 1,000 immigrant detainees. The facility, which sits on a former air force base near Kokomo, has a history of violence and understaffing, with over 400 violent incidents logged annually in 2019-2021 and custody staff declining from 367 in 2015 to 288 as of 2025. Indiana has spent at least $12.5 million on the arrangement but received less than $5.1 million in federal reimbursement.

Darisbell Paola Quintero Morillo, a Venezuelan asylum seeker with a pending case, was detained by ICE on April 23, 2026, while attending a scheduled check-in appointment at the Dallas ICE Field Office despite her compliance with immigration requirements. She had entered the U.S. in April 2021 with her husband Gilbert Vicent, both fleeing political persecution in Venezuela. She was transferred to Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, where she discovered she was pregnant during medical evaluation. While in custody, she reported inadequate nutrition, poor food quality, and insufficient medical care, and requested medical attention multiple times due to pregnancy complications. Her attorney filed a federal court petition and emergency motion seeking her release on parole, citing her compliance history and lack of criminal record, but the judge denied the emergency motion. She subsequently miscarried while detained. After learning of the miscarriage from her doctor at the hospital, ICE officers cuffed her ankles to the hospital bed.

Tomas Aranas Fuentes was awaiting trial for sexual assault in Colorado when federal immigration agents removed him from court during jury selection. Local prosecutors say ICE has deported dozens of people before they could face criminal charges, disrupting cases and denying victims their day in court. Prosecutors report ICE is using Colorado's criminal justice system to identify and deport undocumented people.

Operation Metro Surge, a large-scale ICE enforcement operation in Minneapolis and St. Paul from December 2025 to March 2026, resulted in approximately 3,700 to 4,000 arrests of undocumented immigrants. Federal data showed 60-75 percent of those arrested had no criminal records, with only 13-25 percent facing criminal convictions and roughly 15 percent with pending criminal charges. The operation peaked in early January 2026 with over 100 arrests per day before declining significantly by late January. ICE detained more than 70 children during the operation, some as young as 2 years old, with over 30 transferred to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas and nearly two dozen held over 20 days in violation of legal settlement terms. In the months following, immigrant communities and businesses in Minneapolis experienced severe economic disruption, including business closures, job losses, wage decreases, mounting debt, and mental health challenges, with some families considering leaving the United States.

Data analysis shows that while ICE arrests have surged in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the percentage of arrestees with criminal records has dropped significantly. In January 2026, nearly 60% of immigrants arrested in Pennsylvania and 68% in New Jersey had no criminal convictions or pending charges, contradicting the Trump administration's stated focus on deporting 'the worst of the worst.'

Internal ICE records detail widespread use of force by guards in detention centers, including chemical agents and physical tactics against detainees. Pedro Cantú Ríos, a 68-year-old immigrant held in an Alaska jail, reported exposure to chemical agents while detained in cramped conditions with limited access to personal belongings and basic necessities.

A report by Rent Brigade found that ICE and Border Patrol raids during Operation Midway Blitz have caused immigrant families in Chicago to lose thousands in wages and fall behind on rent. Survey data from 100 immigrant renters in Logan Square and Avondale showed average rental debt of $1,700, with 62 percent behind on rent and wages dropping from $700 to $509 weekly after the raids.

A Marshall Project investigation examines California's practice of transferring incarcerated people to ICE custody upon their release from state prison. Since 2015, over 18,000 people have been transferred, including those with valid legal status and those whose convictions were vacated. The article contrasts California's approach with Oregon's 2021 law prohibiting such transfers and details how the prison-to-ICE pipeline has intensified under the Trump administration.

A class action lawsuit was filed by detained noncitizens challenging a Trump-Vance administration policy that blocks detained immigrants from completing biometric collection processes required by USCIS, effectively causing automatic denial of pending immigration applications. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argues the policy violates federal immigration law, the Administrative Procedure Act, and Fifth Amendment due process protections by preventing access to lawful immigration relief pathways.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office, in coordination with ICE and other state and federal partners, conducted a six-day undercover operation called "Polk Around and Find Out" that resulted in 266 arrests and 439 charges. The operation targeted human trafficking, child sexual exploitation, prostitution, and related crimes. Of those arrested, 19 were charged with felony counts related to attempting to meet minors for sex, 247 were arrested on prostitution and trafficking-related charges, and 34 were identified as undocumented immigrants. Authorities identified seven possible human trafficking victims and offered them social services.

Between August 2025 and March 2026, approximately 64,000 people were arrested by ICE during street sweeps as "collateral" arrests—detained based on appearance or proximity to someone with a warrant rather than having individualized warrants themselves. These collateral arrests represented roughly a quarter of ICE's 253,000 total arrests during this period. About 70% of collateral arrests involved only immigration-related violations, compared to 41% of warrant-based arrests, and less than 2% involved violent crime convictions. Multiple lawsuits have challenged the legality of these arrests, and arrest numbers declined following public outcry.