Human Impact Project

The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado granted a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the case of Luis Alfredo Chavelas Rosas, a Mexican citizen detained by ICE on July 16, 2025, in Aurora, Colorado. The court ruled that the detainee was improperly detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A) without a bond hearing and determined that the default rule under § 1226(a) applies, requiring the government to provide a bond hearing. The court concluded that § 1225(b)(2)(A) does not authorize detention for noncitizens who have been present in the country for years and are not actively seeking admission.

Since Trump returned to the White House, immigrants filed more than 18,000 habeas petitions challenging their ICE detention in federal courts. This exceeded the total filed over the last three administrations combined. Immigration lawyers shifted strategies to argue for clients' release in district courts rather than immigration courts. The increase created a burden on federal prosecutors' offices, particularly in border states like Arizona and Texas.

The Trump administration converted industrial warehouses across the country into immigration detention facilities as part of a deportation initiative, with ICE spending $895 million on 10 warehouses. A protest occurred in Roxbury, New Jersey, where over 1,000 residents opposed a planned detention center. ICE arrests increased compared to the Biden administration. Agents targeted immigrants without criminal records, refugees, green-card holders, DACA recipients, and U.S. citizens. There were deaths in ICE custody in fiscal year 2026.

Franklin County, Washington experienced an increase in ICE arrests during 2025, with 66 arrests compared to 29 in 2022. The Tri-Cities area was affected by immigration enforcement operations during the Trump administration. Notable cases include a Pasco mechanic arrested in March 2025 and deported to Mexico in June, and Sergio Cerdio Gomez, a food truck co-owner, who was arrested during a scheduled immigration interview in April 2025 and subsequently deported to Chiapas, Mexico.

Five Venezuelan construction workers with valid work permits were detained by federal immigration authorities on March 6-7 while working on Buffalo Bills stadium construction. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, two of the men crossed the border illegally and three overstayed their visas. All five are being held at Batavia Federal Detention Facility awaiting removal hearings.

A federal judge ruled that ICE illegally detained Andrei Bankevich, a Belarusian asylum seeker, in Muscatine County Jail for over a year in violation of his due process rights. Bankevich was subject to a final deportation order to a third country, but federal law prohibits holding such individuals in jail for more than six months.

On March 9, 2026, ICE detained and deported two 12-year-old twin sisters who are U.S. citizens born in Orlando, Florida, after their mother attended a scheduled immigration appointment at an ICE facility. ICE invoked a "family unity" policy to take the children into custody and deport them to Guatemala. The mother had previously submitted paperwork requesting the children remain with their grandmother, though ICE stated she verbally requested to take them with her. A federal court granted a habeas corpus petition filed by the grandmother, ordering the children's immediate return to the United States at ICE's expense and restraining ICE from rearresting them.

Six Colorado Democrats demanded answers from ICE officials regarding the agency's violations of detention rules in holding rooms across Colorado. More than 3,000 individuals were detained in nine holding facilities last year, with many kept for weeks despite rules limiting stays to 12 hours (increased to 72 hours by Trump administration in June 2025). Data shows detainees including children and seniors were held for extended periods in small, confined spaces without proper facilities.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement made 20,629 arrests in Florida between January 20 and October 15, 2025. The enforcement resulted in approximately 77 arrests per day in 2025, compared to about 20 per day in 2024. Those arrested came from over 120 countries and ranged in age from 1 to 89 years old, with approximately 25% having no criminal record beyond immigration violations. The data includes cases of individuals deported while applying for legal status, asylum seekers transferred to foreign prisons, and detentions following routine traffic stops.

Multiple immigration detainees, including Will Castillo and members of the Gámez-Cuéllar family, were released from ICE custody in March 2026 following federal court rulings that their confinement was unlawful. Castillo had been detained for nearly 11 months and had no criminal history and an ongoing asylum claim. The Gámez-Cuéllar family are mariachi musicians who were detained during a routine check-in while maintaining legal entry and active asylum proceedings since 2023. A federal judge in Washington, DC ruled that ICE's practice of detaining immigrants for extended periods without bond hearings violated statutory requirements and found noncompliance with previous court orders restricting warrantless arrests.

An Egyptian family—mother Hayam El Gamal and her five children—has been detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center for more than nine months. The family submitted 59 pages of written accounts and drawings to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary describing moldy food, medical neglect including delayed appendicitis treatment and denied dental surgery, and inadequate mental health care. The children's detention stems from their father's federal charges related to an attack on protesters in Colorado in June 2025, though the family states they had no knowledge of or involvement in the incident.

Christian Humberto Jerez Andrade, a Honduran man, was detained during an ICE raid on March 11 at a South Burlington home. ICE agents had a warrant to search the residence but Jerez Andrade's name was not on it; they were searching for another man who was not present. An immigration judge granted him release on $10,000 bond on March 20, though deportation proceedings against him have begun.

The Burlington Police Commission met on March 24, 2026 to review the police department's response to an ICE operation that occurred on March 11 in South Burlington. The meeting followed a City Council hearing where over 100 complaints were filed against the Burlington Police Department's handling of the incident. Interim Police Chief Shawn Burke acknowledged the strain the incident has caused on community trust and indicated an internal review is underway.

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking construction of a planned ICE detention facility in western Maryland near Williamsport. Maryland's Attorney General filed an emergency motion to halt work on the warehouse conversion while the state's legal challenge proceeds, arguing the project violates federal administrative and environmental laws and could harm waterways and wildlife.

Data from the University of Washington Center for Human Rights shows ICE arrests in the Pacific Northwest surged to nearly 2,250 during the last three months of 2025, up from fewer than 250 in the same period in 2024. Washington state alone saw 2,340 ICE arrests in 2025, a 152% increase from 2024, with King County recording the highest number. Yakima County experienced the highest arrest rate relative to population, particularly affecting agricultural communities.

Pío Figueroa, a Latin convenience store owner in Russellville, Alabama, was detained by ICE on January 30 while transporting $21,000 in cash to a bank for his money transfer business. The funds, collected from community members sending remittances to Latin America, have not been accounted for since his arrest. His legal team notes that ICE agents do not use body cameras, making it impossible to track what happened to the money. Figueroa was held at Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana and now faces deportation proceedings.

The Pacific Northwest experienced a spike in ICE arrests at the end of 2025, with arrests climbing from fewer than 250 between October-December 2024 to nearly 2,250 during the same period in 2025. Washington saw over 2,340 arrests in 2025, a 152% increase from 2024, with particularly high concentrations in Yakima County relative to its population and in the Portland area. The surge coincided with intensive immigration enforcement efforts including Operation Black Rose in Oregon, which used license plate scanning and database checks to identify people for deportation.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has taken at least 240 Clark County Detention Center inmates into custody since a 287(g) agreement with local law enforcement went into effect in late 2025. The agreement allows ICE to issue warrants for inmates and gives agents up to 48 hours to pick them up after release. The ACLU of Nevada challenged the arrangement in a lawsuit, though a judge ruled the organization lacked standing.

Andres Doroteo Garcia, a 50-year-old Mexican national who had lived in the U.S. for over three decades without criminal history, was arrested by immigration officers on March 10, 2026 while going to work. Officers claimed he had a court order regarding a domestic violence case but never showed him the order. He was placed in the Adelanto Detention Center and the court ordered his immediate release, finding he was denied due process protections.

ICE arrests in Florida increased dramatically between January 2025 and early 2026, with the Miami Field Office averaging approximately 120 arrests per day by March 2026—the highest rate nationwide. Over 20,600 arrests were made between January 20 and October 15, 2025, compared to approximately 20 arrests per day in 2024. By March 10, 2026, the Miami Field Office had made approximately 9,880 arrests. The arrested individuals came from over 120 countries and ranged in age from 1 to 89, with approximately 25% having no criminal record beyond immigration offenses. The surge reflects alignment with federal enforcement policies and Gov. Ron DeSantis's efforts to require state law enforcement participation in immigration enforcement.

A short film documents migrant children as young as three years old appearing in US immigration courts without parents or legal representation to face deportation proceedings. Under US law, children arrested for unauthorized entry have no right to court-appointed lawyers or interpreters. Data shows that children with legal representation have improved outcomes in immigration proceedings.

Wulfrano Portillo, a pastor at La Hermosa Church in Tulsa for 24 years, was detained on March 10, 2026, during a routine immigration check-in appointment in Oklahoma City and deported to Mexico the following day. His family, including his wife and four adult children, was not informed of the reason for his deportation. Both Portillo and his wife have been living in the country without authorization since a 2007 deportation removal order was issued after a highway traffic stop.

Houston police officers directly transported at least two drivers to ICE agents on administrative warrants in July and August 2025, violating Houston Police Department policy. The incidents came to light when city council members demanded accountability in March 2026. Mayor John Whitmire confirmed the officers' actions violated department policy. Council members called for Police Chief Noe Diaz to appear before council, restoration of the community affairs division to rebuild community trust, and clarification of policies governing police cooperation with ICE.

Elvira Benitez, a Mexican-born woman who has lived in the U.S. for 36 years without legal trouble, was detained by ICE on March 10 during a routine check-in at the ICE office. An immigration judge found her a good candidate for permanent residency and she was released in December. The federal government appealed her case on the final day allowed, and she was re-detained and transported to Kentucky. Her family and local activists held a press conference regarding her case, with her attorney arguing the law does not require her detention.

ICE agents detained Reginald Toussaint, a Haitian with Temporary Protected Status, while he was picking up his wife from work in Birmingham, Alabama. Agents approached multiple unmarked vehicles and removed Toussaint from the family's minivan in front of his children. Toussaint stated he had valid TPS status. He was charged with impersonating a U.S. citizen based on an alleged pistol permit application from August 2025 where he marked the citizenship box. His wife disputes this characterization.

During Operation Metro Surge in December 2025 and January 2026, ICE officers arrested over 4,000 people in Minneapolis, with federal judges finding that many detentions violated court orders. The arrests targeted immigrants with pending asylum applications, valid work permits, and temporary protected status, despite government claims of prioritizing criminals. Court records showed that 52 of 66 examined cases involved immigrants with pending legal status applications and no final deportation orders, most with clean records and lengthy U.S. residence.

Federal immigration agents arrested a person outside the Culver City Police Department on Monday after the individual was cited and released following arrest for driving under the influence and weapon possession. The Culver City Police Department stated it was not notified in advance of the federal action and did not participate in the detention, emphasizing its commitment to not assisting with immigration enforcement under California law.

Twenty-three people have died in ICE custody since October 2025. The death count exceeds the entire prior fiscal year's total. The deaths occur amid detention numbers of nearly 70,000 people. Detention centers are operating at capacity with reduced medical oversight and limited healthcare access.

Records show that ICE arrests of children in the San Diego region experienced a significant increase in 2025. The exact circumstances and details of these arrests are not provided in the available text.

Six U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Maria Trinidad Loya Medina in Albany, Oregon. The detention separated her from her teenage children.

Rogelio, a 39-year-old Guatemalan immigrant married to a U.S. citizen with five U.S.-born children, was detained by ICE for seven months after being stopped by local police in La Belle, Florida. He spent over six months at the Broward Transitional Center in deportation proceedings. A judge approved his cancellation of removal application, allowing him to pursue citizenship and a green card. Approximately 4,000 cancellations of removal are granted nationally each year.

Mahady Sacko, a 50-year-old undocumented Mauritanian national, was arrested by ICE in Philadelphia for illegally voting in seven federal elections between 2008 and 2024. Despite being ordered removed from the country in 2000 and placed under immigration supervision, Sacko remained in the U.S. and registered and voted in multiple elections. Federal law prohibits noncitizens from voting, with violations carrying fines and up to five years in prison.

Adriana Laya, Miguel Alberto Caicedo, and their two children were detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas for two months following a routine ICE check-in in January 2026. The family, who entered the U.S. in 2024 under asylum parole, reported poor detention conditions including undrinkable water, constant lighting, and inadequate medical care for their son with kidney issues. Upon their release in mid-February, they discovered they had been evicted from their apartment and lost their possessions, life savings, and pet dog. The family is now living in their car while attempting to rebuild their lives.

A federal judge in Oregon has restricted federal officers from using tear gas at protests at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland. The ruling limits law enforcement's use of force against demonstrators at the ICE facility.

On March 8, 2026, CBP agents at O'Hare International Airport detained six people returning from Turkey, including Sundas Naqvi, a U.S. citizen born in the Chicago area. The group consisted of three U.S. citizens and three green card holders with Pakistani passports who had been on a work trip that was canceled. Three green card holders were initially turned back during a layover in Istanbul due to visa issues. After detention at O'Hare, the individuals were transferred to ICE facilities in Broadview, Illinois, and then to Dodge Detention Facility in Wisconsin. Naqvi was released early Saturday morning without paperwork or her passport, while federal authorities initially refused to confirm the whereabouts or custody status of the other detainees.

An man who was in ICE custody escaped from an ICE agent's vehicle near Chambers Drive and Sigman Road in Rockdale County, Georgia on Monday afternoon. The man had been arrested by Conyers Police on Saturday for a traffic violation and was being transferred by ICE when he jumped from the vehicle and fled. Law enforcement from multiple agencies established a perimeter and captured the man shortly after 3 p.m.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested approximately five times as many people without apparent criminal records in the first nine months of 2025 compared to all of 2024 in Northern California, with 1,514 arrests for immigration violations documented during this period. Street arrests reached 627 in September 2025 and comprised nearly three-quarters of all ICE apprehensions in the region, compared to dozens monthly under the previous administration. Over 2,500 deportations occurred during the first nine months of 2025. Notable cases include the detention and deportation of a 6-year-old deaf child from Colombia during a routine ICE office check-in.

Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez, a Colombian asylum-seeker, was detained by ICE on March 5, 2026, after reporting for a routine check-in appointment at the ICE office in San Francisco. Her two children were detained with her; the older child is deaf and was separated from his hearing aids during detention. Attorneys were unable to locate the family, and ICE provided conflicting information about their whereabouts. The family was deported to Colombia three days after the arrest. California officials and immigration attorneys subsequently called for the family's return, citing the separation of a deaf child from necessary medical devices and lack of due process.

Jefferson Fernando Cando Llano, 29, a father of one seeking asylum from Ecuador, was detained by masked federal immigration agents in an unmarked vehicle at a laundromat in Spokane on March 8. Friends who witnessed the detention filed a missing persons report because they could not identify the agents. The incident raised concerns among local police about secretive federal immigration enforcement tactics.

An asylum seeker from Ghana working as a health aide in Central Ohio is facing deportation to Uganda following a recent immigration hearing. The individual is seeking assistance after the government determined she should be removed to a country unfamiliar to her.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona charged 197 individuals with immigration-related offenses between March 7-13, 2026. Charges included 132 cases of unauthorized re-entry, 59 cases of unauthorized entry, and 6 cases of smuggling undocumented immigrants. Federal law enforcement partners including ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, and the FBI participated in the enforcement sweep.

Sundas Naqvi, a U.S. citizen from Skokie, along with two other U.S. citizens and three green card holders, was detained by CBP agents at O'Hare International Airport for approximately 30 hours on March 6, 2026, upon returning from Turkey. The group was then transferred to ICE detention facilities in Broadview, Illinois and Dodge County, Wisconsin. Federal authorities denied knowledge of Naqvi's whereabouts to her family despite evidence of her location, and Naqvi was released early Saturday morning.

Joseph Andrey Londono Rodriguez, a 6-year-old deaf student at the California School for the Deaf, was detained by ICE agents on March 3, 2026, during a check-in appointment in Hayward, California, along with his 5-year-old brother and mother Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez. The mother, an asylum seeker from Colombia who had been in the country for four years and was under a supervision order, was told she was attending a routine photo renewal but was instead detained. The family was deported to Colombia within days without access to hearing aids, cochlear implants, legal representation, or accurate information about their location. State officials alleged ICE misrepresented the family's location to obstruct legal intervention. California officials, congressional members, and State Superintendent Tony Thurmond requested an investigation and humanitarian parole to return the family, stating the deportation violated due process protections.

Giovanny Alexander Alfaro Cruz, a native of El Salvador who had been on supervised release (OSUP) since 2016, was detained by ICE during his routine check-in on March 5, 2026. Cruz had a final removal order but was granted withholding from removal to El Salvador in 2014. The federal court granted his temporary restraining order, finding ICE likely violated due process by failing to follow proper procedures when revoking his supervised release, and ordered his immediate release.

Hai Nguyen, a Vietnamese national who has lived in the U.S. since 1993 and worked in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, was detained by ICE during a routine appointment. His detention stems from a decades-old marijuana charge from college that was expunged from his record. He now faces possible deportation despite previously being considered non-deportable because Vietnam would not accept deportees who arrived before 1995.

Two separate ICE detention cases involved individuals serving critical caregiving roles. Maher Tarabishi was detained while being the sole caregiver for his son with Pompe disease, who is completely immobile and dependent on his father for all daily care. Josué, a day laborer from El Salvador, was detained by ICE agents and reported that his heart condition went unaddressed during detention, with medication withheld and inadequate medical attention provided despite his history of heart attacks.

John Bol Ajak, 26, a former Syracuse University basketball player who fled civil war in South Sudan, was arrested and detained by federal immigration agents. Ajak's student visa had expired and he was no longer enrolled as a student. He is being held at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania.

A new report based on interviews with 364 people in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Costa Rica documents the experiences of migrants deported from or forced to return by the U.S. and Mexico. The report documents detention conditions, deportation processes, and third-country removals, with findings showing 44% were detained or deported by the U.S., 20% by Mexico, and 34% forced to return due to fear of detention. Interviewees reported torture, cruelty, family separation, denial of food and water, excessive force, and degrading treatment during detention and deportation.

Between June 2025 and March 2026, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained at least 46 people outside Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas by monitoring publicly posted inmate release lists. The detentions occurred despite Santa Clara County's sanctuary policies prohibiting cooperation with ICE. On March 4, 2026, approximately 80 protesters gathered at the facility to oppose the practice. Community leaders and county officials criticized the detentions, with some asserting that sheriff's deputies facilitated the practice by maintaining publicly available release information. The sheriff's office stated it does not cooperate with ICE.

Over 1,100 Afghan refugees, many of whom served alongside U.S. forces, are at Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar. Since February 28, 2026, residents have experienced missile attacks and are housed in shipping containers. President Trump suspended their refugee resettlement program in 2025. The refugees remain in Qatar with unresolved immigration status.