1962 incidents with known locations
196 of 2426 incidents
Gumersindo Jimenez-Silva, who entered the United States in 2004 and worked as a plumber supporting his family, was detained on February 28, 2026, during a traffic stop while on his way to work. He has no criminal record and has three U.S. citizen children. The court ordered his immediate release from custody under reasonable conditions, finding his detention without a bond hearing violated his due process rights.
Juan Diego Lopez Macias, a 19-year-old Enid High School senior, was arrested during a traffic stop for speeding on February 28, 2026, and subsequently transferred to ICE custody after being charged with driving without a valid license. He was transferred to the Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Anson, Texas, where he awaits immigration court proceedings. Student walkouts and protests occurred across Oklahoma following his detention, with classmates and family members gathering at the state Capitol on March 16.
Edson Gregorio Zelada La Cerna was re-detained by immigration authorities on February 27, 2026, after previously being released on bond or conditional parole. The court found that his re-detention violated due process because the government failed to provide a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter. The court ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he had prior to detention. Ivan Fabricio Chaj Gonzales was re-detained on March 1, 2026, after previously being released on bond or conditional parole. The court found that the government violated due process 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 had prior to detention.
Fan Zhang, an asylum seeker from China, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on February 27, 2026, and detained at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield, California. Zhang had previously been released on recognizance after entering the U.S. in December 2023, but was later arrested for DUI in November 2023. The court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered the government to provide him with an individualized bond hearing within 14 days.
Rabbiatu Kuyateh, a 58-year-old woman from Sierra Leone working as a nurse, was detained during a routine ICE check-in in July 2025. Despite a U.S. court order prohibiting her return to Sierra Leone, ICE deported her to an undisclosed location. She was held in shackles during a 10-hour flight. Videos documented her being dragged by individuals after resisting deportation. Her son contacted CASA seeking her return to the United States.
A 20-year-old Venezuelan single mother seeking asylum was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on Wednesday while en route to work at Backyard Farms greenhouses in Madison. This was the second immigration enforcement operation at the facility in recent weeks. The detainee has filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the legality of her detention, claiming she fled political violence in Venezuela and has been awaiting an asylum decision.
Ellie Aghayeva, a senior neuroscience researcher at Columbia University, was detained by Department of Homeland Security agents at a university residential building on February 26, 2026. Agents entered without a warrant, falsely claiming to search for a missing child. DHS stated Aghayeva is undocumented with a terminated student visa from 2016. She was released after approximately nine hours and filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court. The incident prompted student protests against the enforcement action.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents reportedly detained two people in Lawrence on February 27, including near the University of Kansas campus. Approximately 80 protesters gathered outside Strong Hall. The university stated it was still gathering information about whether any KU students or employees were involved.
Four volunteers were detained and cited by Federal Protective Service officers at the San Diego federal building after an overnight rule change prohibited standing in hallways. The volunteers, who had been documenting ICE arrests and supporting immigrants at court hearings for months, were cited for failure to comply with official signs and directions, each receiving a $284 fine. Faith volunteers attempting to support immigrants in the building were also confronted by officers.
Willy Wender Aceituno, a U.S. citizen, filed a $1.25 million lawsuit against federal immigration authorities after an alleged confrontation with ICE agents in Charlotte, North Carolina. According to the complaint, agents shattered his truck window, forcibly removed him from the vehicle, and abandoned him injured two miles away. The lawsuit alleges violations of constitutional amendments and claims of assault, battery, false imprisonment, and negligent supervision.
Four volunteers were detained and cited by Federal Protective Service officers at the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building in downtown San Diego while observing immigrants attending scheduled ICE appointments. The volunteers, part of a faith ministry, were cited for violating regulations against loitering in hallways and public areas, with each receiving $284 fines for failing to comply with official signs and security directions. The volunteers stated they were not obstructing hallways and were present to document arrests and provide support to immigrants with court hearings. An overnight rule change prohibiting loitering was used to justify the enforcement action. These volunteers had previously observed and offered prayers during ICE check-ins without receiving citations.
Two separate immigration enforcement cases resulted in deportations that disrupted legal processes. Oscar Polanco was detained at a green card appointment in October and deported to Guatemala after nearly 20 years away, separating him from his wife Geraldine for three months before they reunited in Peru. In a second case, Dallas resident Adayomi Ademuyiwa was deported to Nigeria by ICE in January 2026 before standing trial on federal fraud and identity theft charges, despite being released on conditions by a federal judge months earlier, preventing both his trial and potential restitution to alleged victims.
Ahmed, a nursing student and certified nursing assistant with legal status and a work permit, was detained by ICE while attending a routine immigration check-in. He immigrated to the United States around 2023 from Dadaab refugee camps. Project Relief is raising funds for legal representation to secure his release and prevent his transfer to another state.
ICE officers pepper sprayed approximately two dozen detainees at a Mesa Gateway Airport holding facility on February 27, 2026. A 911 call made at 2:13 a.m. reported that one detainee appeared to be having a seizure following the incident, and one man was hospitalized with an asthma episode. The facility was significantly overcrowded, holding 332 people despite a maximum capacity of 203.
Elaina Aghayeva, an Azerbaijani national and Columbia University student, was detained by Department of Homeland Security agents at her campus residence on February 27, 2026. DHS claimed her student visa had been terminated in 2016 for failing to attend classes, but her attorney disputed the detention and filed a habeas corpus petition. Following intervention by NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani who met with President Trump, Aghayeva was released the same day.
Nearly a dozen 911 calls placed from the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas since September document medical emergencies involving children in the facility, including infants and young children experiencing respiratory distress, fever, seizures, and other serious conditions. EMS crews were dispatched to the facility at least 11 times, with some children transferred to specialized pediatric hospitals in San Antonio, while Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro has called for the closure of the detention center.
Suraj Vasal, an Indian national who came to the U.S. seeking asylum four years ago, was detained by ICE after a traffic stop for failing to stop at a weigh station. After a district court ordered ICE to provide him a bond hearing, his attorney alleges ICE and immigration court engaged in "malicious compliance" by giving Vasal only 30 minutes notice of the hearing and proceeding despite his request for time to obtain legal representation. The immigration judge denied Vasal's bond request, and his attorney is now seeking a new hearing with adequate notice and opportunity to prepare.
The South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, operated by CoreCivic, faced multiple documented problems affecting detained immigrant families and children. Emergency responders handled at least 11 medical emergencies since September 2025, including respiratory distress, seizures, and fever in infants and young children. Detainees reported finding worms, bugs, and mold in food, contaminated drinking water, and inadequate nutrition, leading to a confirmed measles outbreak in early 2026. Children experienced inadequate medical care, 24-hour lighting, and some were detained beyond the 20-day legal limit. A 13-year-old girl denied prescribed anxiety medications experienced a mental health crisis and attempted suicide before deportation. Following media coverage and a January protest, facility staff increased confiscation of art supplies, drawings, and personal items from detainees, and restricted communications with family and lawyers through Google services and video calls. A federal judge ruled some detentions unconstitutional, and medical advocates and congressional representatives called for facility closure.
Sukhbir Singh Goraya, an Indian citizen who entered the US in June 2023 and was released on conditional parole, was re-detained by ICE in February 2026 despite having obtained required permission for a work trip as a commercial truck driver. He had complied with all ICE check-in requirements and had pending asylum proceedings. The federal court ordered his immediate release, finding his detention violated due process.
An ICE enforcement operation in Newark, New Jersey resulted in a multi-vehicle crash on February 25-26, 2026. ICE agents attempted to pull over a van during an arrest operation, prompting the driver to flee. The pursuit resulted in a crash involving multiple vehicles, including one carrying three children who were injured. The van driver was also injured during the chase. Mayor Ras Baraka criticized ICE's actions as reckless and dangerous, stating the operation violated New Jersey state law prohibiting law enforcement vehicle pursuits in densely populated areas without an immediate threat to public safety. ICE agents conducted a raid near a bus stop where fourth and fifth grade students were waiting for their school bus early Thursday morning. Armed and masked agents were present as children ran, with some students reporting that agents followed them home. Ring camera footage captured video of the incident.
Ramon Checo Hilario was arrested on February 26, 2026, on shoplifting charges at a Cranston Sunglass Hut based on a flawed police investigation that failed to properly compare surveillance footage with his license photograph. After his arraignment, ICE detained him for 56 days in Plymouth, Massachusetts, pending deportation. The shoplifting charge was dismissed in the interest of justice, and Hilario has since been released on bond. He is now suing the Cranston Police Department, the city, Sunglass Hut, and others for false arrest, negligence, malicious prosecution, and emotional distress.
A father was detained by ICE on February 26, 2026, while picking up his children from school near Escondido Library. His family launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover legal fees and basic living expenses, as he was the primary wage earner and the family has fallen three months behind on rent.
A widowed undocumented Mexican mother describes losing her husband, Jesús Juárez Cruz, after he avoided seeking medical care due to fear of ICE deportation. The man died without receiving medical treatment. The widow, who requested anonymity due to concerns about Trump administration retaliation, shared her story through an Instagram post and news article.
Joytu Chowdhury, a 24-year-old former student at Illinois Wesleyan University from Bangladesh, was arrested by ICE in December 2025 after his F-1 student visa status was terminated due to a lapse in his SEVIS record while transferring schools. After months in immigration detention across multiple facilities in Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana, during which he alleged inhumane conditions including inadequate medical care, overcrowding, and poor nutrition, Chowdhury self-deported on February 26, 2026, and returned to Bangladesh. DHS disputed his characterization of detention conditions, stating he received appropriate care.
A 21-year-old Hispanic man identified as Juan Miguel Munoz Penalver died in Louisville Metro jail on February 26, 2026, while subject to an ICE immigration detainer. He had been in custody since February 14 on criminal assault charges and was held under an ICE detainer that could have extended his detention beyond his scheduled release. The death is under investigation by LMDC's Professional Standards Unit and Louisville Metro Police's Public Integrity Unit.
Luis Duque was driving his boyfriend Oscar to work in Charlotte when ICE agents stopped their vehicle during a traffic stop. The agents detained Oscar, who is in the process of becoming a U.S. citizen, without presenting a warrant. Oscar was taken to Stewart Detention Center in Georgia and given the option to self-deport to Mexico or wait months for a court hearing.
Bradley County constables working under ICE authority participated in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in the Heritage Walk neighborhood of East Brainerd on Tuesday morning that resulted in multiple arrests. The operation targeted construction workers, with at least eight workers detained according to immigrant rights organizations. Hamilton County Sheriff Austin Garrett stated his office was not involved in the operation, which was conducted by ICE task force members including Bradley County constables operating outside their county.
Documents obtained by activists reveal that U.S. Border Patrol used the Escondido Police Department's gun range for training at least seven times between February and June 2018, paying $300 per use. The discovery came as the city was scheduled to meet to discuss an ongoing contract between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Escondido police.
Emmanuel Sackie, a Liberian-born naturalized U.S. citizen, was violently detained by ICE in a Family Dollar parking lot in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, despite possessing a driver's license and photo ID. He was taken to an unknown location and subsequently sent to the hospital. Sackie stated this was his first time in handcuffs and expressed that he was treated unfairly based on his race.
Two Iranian Christian converts seeking asylum were detained by ICE in Houston in December during a routine immigration appointment. Both men have lived peacefully, worked legally, paid taxes, and obtained work authorization. If deported to Iran, they face persecution and death under a regime that has recently killed thousands of citizens.
ICE agents arrested 27-year-old Jack Randmaa on suspicion of vandalism after his tire was allegedly slashed on Carrillo Street in Santa Barbara on February 21, 2026. During the arrest near the Santa Barbara County Probation Office, an ICE agent pepper-sprayed and threw 80-year-old criminal defense attorney Doug Hayes to the ground as he attempted to retrieve Randmaa's backpack and cellphone. Hayes, who verbally confronted the agents during the detention, stated he would pursue criminal and civil rights lawsuits against the federal agents, claiming they interfered with his ability to speak freely and violated his client's rights. Bystanders recorded the encounter. ICE agents conducted an enforcement operation in downtown Santa Barbara on February 19, 2026, involving the detention of a man accused of vandalizing a federal vehicle. During the arrest, ICE agents placed the suspect in a headlock. When defense attorney Doug Hayes and other bystanders intervened, agents pepper-sprayed Hayes and at least one other person. The incident occurred outside the Santa Barbara County Probation Office on Carrillo Street, with crowds gathering to record and protest the enforcement activity.
Anna Walker, 31, recorded a Homeland Security Investigations agent who confronted her in a Target parking lot after she followed his unmarked vehicle. The agent threatened her with arrest for impeding and took photos of her license plate. Five days later, Walker's Global Entry status was revoked without explanation. After HuffPost inquired with DHS, her status was restored within days. The article reports similar cases involving other individuals losing Global Entry privileges after observing or recording federal agents.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested four people at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse on Tuesday. Three attorneys were present during the arrests and were accused of interfering, with one attorney attempting to physically stop the process. ICE warned that anyone impeding arrests in the future could face arrest themselves. Federal authorities have opened a criminal investigation into whether two ICE officers committed perjury by lying under oath about a shooting in Minneapolis. All charges were dropped against two Venezuelan men involved in the incident.
Multiple individuals, including pregnant women and infants, were deported from the South Texas Family Residential Center (Dilley detention facility) in Texas during February 2026. A woman named Juana was deported while 36 weeks pregnant with two small children; U.S. Congressman Joaquin Castro alleged ICE concealed pregnant women from him during a facility inspection, and reported the deportation occurred over a weekend in late February. A two-month-old infant named Juan Nicolás developed bronchitis after nearly a month in detention and was hospitalized; despite his medical condition, he was discharged and deported to Mexico with his parents and 16-month-old sister, eventually reaching Guatemala with assistance. Additionally, staff at the facility conducted raids on dormitories to confiscate and destroy letters and drawings from detained children describing conditions inside, following a ProPublica article published February 9 detailing children's accounts. Many detained children exceeded the 20-day maximum specified in the Flores Settlement Agreement.
Anselmo Martin Matias, who had been released on $16,000 bond in 2019 during withholding proceedings, was detained by ICE on February 24, 2026, during his routine check-in. ICE told him he was being detained for "breaking the rules" due to his March 2025 guilty plea to reckless driving, which they incorrectly described as driving under the influence. The federal court ordered his immediate release, finding that due process requires a hearing before a neutral arbitrator when someone is re-detained based on alleged supervision violations.
Kelvin Martinez Bermudez, a citizen of Nicaragua, was arrested during his scheduled ICE check-in on February 24, 2026. ICE did not set bond and Petitioner did not receive custody review by an Immigration Judge as required under Matter of Yajure Hurtado. Under a recent DHS policy, he was classified as an 'applicant for admission' subject to mandatory detention. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring ICE to provide a bond hearing by April 7, 2026 or release him.
An ACLU legal fellow visited the North Lake Processing Center in Michigan to meet with a detained Venezuelan woman seeking asylum. The author describes arbitrary security screening practices, including being required to remove her underwire bra, and documents severe detention conditions including inadequate food, limited outdoor access, medication costs passed to detainees, and a recent death at the facility. The detained woman, who entered the U.S. legally through CBP One screening and a port of entry, was separated from her 3-month-old infant after a false accusation by an abusive ex-partner and faces an impossible choice between deportation to Venezuela or relocation to Ecuador without her child.
A West Virginia federal judge ordered the immediate release of Eduardo Tinajero Rodriguez from ICE custody, finding his detention violated federal law and the Constitution. The judge found serious procedural failures including ICE's use of a document showing marijuana convictions from 2009 when Rodriguez was only four years old. Rodriguez was detained following a traffic stop based on an illegible license plate and an officer's call to ICE due to a language barrier.
Bruno Guedes da Silva, a Brazilian seeking asylum with valid work authorization, was detained by ICE agents in Sewickley, Pennsylvania on February 21, 2026. ICE stated he was wanted on a warrant for felony charges related to firearms and falsification of documents, though he possessed a Social Security number and driver's license. His 6-year-old daughter, Maria, began chemotherapy treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma shortly after his detention. He was held at Northern Regional Jail in Moundsville, West Virginia.
A class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of five individuals against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its agencies (ICE, CBP, USBP) for conducting warrantless immigration arrests across North Carolina. The plaintiffs include U.S. citizens and a visa holder who were arrested without legal justification during enforcement operations in Charlotte, Durham, Raleigh, and other communities. The lawsuit challenges the conduct of warrantless arrests.
George Retes, a 25-year-old U.S. Army veteran and U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE agents on July 10, 2025, during a workplace raid at a cannabis farm in Ventura County, California. Despite repeatedly identifying himself as a U.S. citizen, he was arrested and held for three days at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles without access to phone calls, legal representation, or a judge appearance. Officers used tear gas and pepper spray against him during the detention. After his release without charges, Retes filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the federal government under the Federal Tort Claims Act and challenged the Trump administration's claimed absolute immunity for immigration enforcement officers. In February 2026, Retes attended the State of the Union as a guest of Rep. Mark Takano.
On February 17, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained Sonia Espinoza Arriaga, a Mexican national, and her three children (ages 5, 16, and 18) in Soldotna, Alaska. The family had entered the United States in 2023 and declared themselves at the border seeking protection. Arriaga was married to a U.S. citizen and had been in regular contact with her immigration attorney, who believed no enforcement action would occur for 90 days. The detention followed Arriaga's missed immigration court hearing in January due to miscommunication about the date. Within 36 hours of detention, Arriaga and her two youngest children were deported to Tijuana, Mexico, while her 18-year-old son was transferred to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. An immigration attorney filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the legality of the detention, and the rapid deportation prompted an Alaska House Judiciary Committee investigation into ICE activity in the state.
Two Haitian girls, ages 4 and 5, were found dead in a septic tank at Casa Hogar Patos, a migrant transit center in Oaxaca, Mexico on February 24, 2026. The children had been admitted to the facility with their mother while awaiting immigration processing. The Support Group for Repatriated and Refugees (GARR) is demanding an investigation. Two officials have been dismissed but no one has been formally held responsible.
A woman in her 50s, adopted from Iran as a toddler by a U.S. Air Force veteran, is facing deportation proceedings after discovering she was never formally naturalized as a U.S. citizen. She entered the country on a tourist visa and was excluded from the 2000 Child Citizenship Act, despite growing up in the Midwest and having no criminal record. She fears deportation to Iran given her father's military service, her Christian faith, and her lack of family or language connections to the country.
Multifaith leaders held their seventh vigil at Southside Christian Church in Kokomo to oppose ICE detention at Miami Correctional Facility. The vigil came a week after 59-year-old Lorth Sim, an ICE immigrant detainee, died in custody at the facility. Religious leaders called for thorough investigation and better treatment of detainees, noting it was the seventh death in ICE custody nationally that year.
Rep. Dan Goldman requested information from the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons regarding the treatment of over 191 ICE detainees at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Goldman raised concerns about inadequate medical care, barriers to legal counsel, and delays in court appearances, noting he had been denied access for inspections previously.
Court documents revealed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego conducted surveillance on activists through Operation Road Flare, targeting individuals who document ICE activities such as Jeane Wong and Arturo Gonzalez. The operation began monitoring activists on October 23, 2025, and documents describe confrontations at the 47th Street Trolley Station on November 18, 2025, where Wong was accused of throwing belongings at agents during a crowd altercation. Wong subsequently pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault on a federal officer and received home detention.
In early January 2026, 16-year-old Sebastian, an asylum-seeker from Ecuador, was detained by ICE agents in north Minneapolis. He was misclassified as an unaccompanied minor and transported to a Christian youth shelter in Michigan operated by Bethany Christian Services instead of standard immigration detention. Federal authorities lost track of his whereabouts for over a week while his family searched for him. His father and attorney conducted investigative work to locate him and secured his release through legal action.
Jhon Williams Farias Fernandez, an Ecuadorian asylum seeker who entered the US in October 2023, was arrested by ICE on February 22, 2026 and detained at California City Detention Facility. He had been working as an electrician since 2025 with no criminal history. The court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release, finding his detention violated due process.
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