Human Impact Project

Kamal Eduardo Morales was detained on March 2, 2026, during a routine appointment at 26 Federal Plaza in New York and deported to Venezuela after 12 years in the U.S., despite having a pending habeas corpus case and being married to a U.S. citizen. His immigration attorney stated the government violated a federal judge's order by deporting him without allowing him to sign documents or receive formal explanation. Judge Michael J. McShane was still gathering information for a ruling on the legality of his re-detention when the deportation was executed.

San Juanita Guerra, a 73-year-old lawful permanent resident and Mexican national, was detained by ICE on March 2 at the Progreso International Bridge after authorities flagged a 1994 conviction involving an unloaded firearm found in her purse at an airport. She was held at El Valle Detention Center in Raymondville for over three weeks before being released on bond on March 23. Guerra says she had already completed probation and community service for the conviction decades ago.

Homeland Security Investigations agents executed a search warrant on March 2 at a north Phoenix residence, discovering 19 people who had been illegally smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border. Three men were arrested, including two load drivers and an overseer of the smuggling operation. The 19 smuggled individuals were taken to the ICE Phoenix Field Office for processing, with at least one indicating Tennessee as their final destination.

Emmanuel Damas, a 56-year-old Haitian asylum seeker who arrived through the Biden Administration's Humanitarian Parole program, died on March 2, 2026, at a Scottsdale hospital from sepsis caused by an untreated tooth infection. Damas had been detained at Florence Correctional Center in Arizona for four months and reported tooth pain to facility staff multiple times starting February 12, receiving only ibuprofen despite repeated requests for care. In a separate but concurrent case, Daphy Michel, a 31-year-old Haitian asylum seeker, was released by ICE on February 28, 2026, under the Alternatives to Detention Program with an electronic ankle monitor after criminal charges against her were dismissed. Michel had spent six months in Washington County Correctional Facility. She was found unresponsive at a Pittsburgh bus shelter on March 2 after spending approximately 24 hours in sub-freezing temperatures (22-30°F). The Haitian Bridge Alliance and community leaders called for independent investigations and accountability for both deaths.

On January 7, 2026, ICE agent Jonathan Ross fatally shot Renée Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, queer mother of three, and writer, in Minneapolis during a large-scale immigration enforcement operation. Good was in her vehicle when ICE agents approached; as she drove away, Ross fired shots through the windshield, striking her multiple times. Bystander and cell phone footage contradicted federal claims that Good had used her vehicle as a weapon. The shooting sparked national protests and investigations, with federal officials defending the shooting as self-defense while eyewitnesses, local lawmakers including Governor Walz and Mayor Frey, and other officials contested their accounts.

Daniyar Tashimbetov, a citizen of Kazakhstan who had been released on recognizance and enrolled in the Alternative to Detention program since 2023, was detained by security personnel at Fort MacArthur/Los Angeles Air Force Base after allegedly attempting to enter without authorization. ERO officers took him into immigration custody and transported him to Desert View Annex. The court ordered his release, finding his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated procedural due process.

Xiaofei Wang, a Chinese citizen who fled persecution for his political views and applied for asylum in 2022, was abruptly re-detained by ICE in March 2026 after complying with immigration reporting requirements for over three years. Wang had been released on parole since arriving in September 2022 and has no criminal history. The court granted a preliminary injunction ordering his immediate release, finding his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated due process rights.

Taeha Hwang, a 39-year-old who has lived in the U.S. since he was 3 months old, was detained by ICE on October 29 during his green card interview in downtown Los Angeles. His wife, Xelena Diaz, says they were following all proper procedures and were not expecting the detention. Hwang has no criminal record and is being held at the Adelanto Detention Center with his next court hearing scheduled for March 2026.

Amy Lucia López Belloza, a 19-year-old Babson College freshman, was detained by ICE at Boston Logan Airport on November 20, 2025, while attempting to board a flight to Texas for Thanksgiving break. A federal judge issued an emergency order on November 21 blocking her removal and prohibiting her transfer outside Massachusetts for 72 hours. ICE transferred her to Texas that evening and deported her to Honduras on November 22, in violation of the court order. The Trump administration later apologized in court for the violation but argued it should not affect her deportation case. In February 2026, the government offered her a return flight to the United States, which she declined, leading to the dismissal of her habeas corpus lawsuit in March 2026.

Between March and April 2025, the Trump administration deported 238-252 Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador using the Alien Enemies Act, with approximately 75% having no criminal records in the US and at least 27 never ordered removed despite pending immigration court hearings. The administration maintained control over the detainees at El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) mega-prison, which the U.S. paid $6 million to use for housing 300 migrants. Detainees were held incommunicado with no public list of names, facing reports of torture, beatings, sexual violence, and inhumane conditions including prolonged solitary confinement. A federal judge initially ordered the planes turned around and ruled the deportations violated due process. After approximately four months, the Venezuelans were transferred to Venezuela as part of a prisoner exchange, though the administration reported losing track of 137 migrants. In 2026, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of over 130 of these men to the United States for their immigration proceedings.

Ky Sengdara, a Laotian refugee who arrived in the U.S. in 1981 with a green card, was detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma after ICE requested a check-in. He faced a decades-old deportation order stemming from a 1999 drug conviction. For over 20 years, Laos had refused to accept deportees, but under Trump administration pressure, Laos began accepting deportations. Sengdara's lawyers discovered he was not informed of immigration consequences at his guilty plea, leading to conviction overturn and restoration of his green card status. An immigration judge terminated the deportation case, and Sengdara was released after months in custody.

Mitch Lillie, a VC Defensa volunteer, had his phone seized by Customs and Border Protection agents at Los Angeles airport in March 2026 without a warrant. This was part of a broader pattern of federal targeting that began in May 2025, when Lillie received over 80 calls from unknown and blocked numbers with callers telling him to stop participating in ICE-watch patrols. Lillie alleges the incidents represent government repression of activist organizing.

Edgar Karapetyan, a citizen of Armenia in removal proceedings since 2022, was arrested by ICE agents at his home in March 2026 following a DUI citation. He had been living at liberty for over four years while his immigration case was pending. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring his immediate release and mandating pre-detention hearings for any future arrests.

Jose C.L.L., who has lived continuously in the U.S. since entering without inspection in 2004, was arrested and detained by immigration officers on his way to work in March 2026. The court granted his habeas corpus petition in part, finding he is entitled to a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) since he is not subject to mandatory detention as an arriving alien. The court ordered respondents to provide him a bond hearing before a neutral decisionmaker within seven days.

Maykel and his five cousins were detained in shelter facilities for four months after trekking hundreds of miles to reunite with their mother Maria. Under Trump administration rules, the children remained in detention despite their parent being available to care for them. Families across New York and the country are using habeas corpus petitions as a legal tool to challenge prolonged detentions of unaccompanied minors.

Dr. Rubeliz Bolívar Barrios, a 33-year-old Venezuelan physician, was arrested in March 2026 at McAllen International Airport and detained for over a month by ICE at El Valle Detention Center in Raymondville. She held a valid work permit extending through 2030 and was working as a medical resident at South Texas Health System, but was detained due to unlawful presence stemming from an expired visitor visa. She was released after her detention sparked attention from immigrant advocacy groups.

A.G., a 26-year-old Venezuelan national with a pending asylum application and valid work authorization, was detained by ICE agents outside his apartment in Orange County as he prepared to leave for work. Court records showed he was lawfully in the country. A federal judge ordered his release six days later without a hearing, but ICE retained his documents including his driver's license and work permit.

Bayron Rovidio Marin, an immigrant, was detained by federal agents in unmarked vehicles and sustained serious injuries. He was admitted to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center from August 27 to October 7, 2025, where ICE agents were stationed in his room under constant guard. During his hospitalization, hospital staff allowed federal agents to dictate his medical treatment, chain him to a bed, medicate him, and question him about his immigration status while restricting his access to family and attorneys. MALDEF filed a claim under California's Tort Claims Act seeking $250,000 in damages against Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for discriminatory treatment, privacy violations, and unlawful cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Bryam Escobar Martinez was detained by ICE while on his way to work in Minnesota on the same day federal officials announced ramped up enforcement operations in the Twin Cities. His wife Estefany Escobar and their family are affected by his detention. ICE agents arrested a 22-year-old man on March 1 while he was on his way to work in Hopkins, Minnesota. Agents surrounded his car, broke the windows, and forcibly detained him. He was transported hundreds of miles away to Georgia, leaving his wife alone with their 4-year-old twin sons, one of whom has asthma and convulsions requiring a nebulizer.

Will Castillo was detained by ICE for nearly 11 months without a bond hearing despite having no criminal history and an ongoing asylum claim. A federal judge in Washington, DC ruled that ICE's prolonged detention violated statutory requirements and released him in March 2026.