Human Impact Project

Maria Lidia Valle-Hernandez, a 28-year-old from Mexico, was removed from the United States on May 11, 2026, after attempting to fraudulently transfer her newborn baby to another undocumented immigrant to pay a debt to smugglers. She registered under a false name at St. Joseph's Hospital in Lake Saint Louis before giving birth in January 2024 and gave her hospital identification wristband to another woman to falsely claim the infant. Valle-Hernandez had been caught illegally entering the U.S. five times in August 2022 and was arrested for domestic assault in April 2026, which led to an ICE detainer. The newborn was taken into protective custody by Missouri Children's Division.

U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested 52 people under Operation Checkmate in Arizona's Yuma Sector between May 11-15 for residing illegally in the United States. Thirty of those arrested were Indian nationals, with 36 total detainees driving commercial semi-trucks. Three of the Indian nationals lacked valid driver's licenses. All individuals arrested during the operation face deportation proceedings.

William Ortiz-Rivera, a man in his 70s with dementia, was released from the Aurora ICE Processing Center before 8 a.m. on May 11 without notifying his attorney or Casa de Paz, a local immigration advocacy organization that regularly assists people released from the facility. He boarded a bus and ended up in downtown Denver, miles from his senior living home, where he was lost for five hours in 83-degree weather with minimal money and possessions. Casa de Paz demands ICE coordinate releases with support organizations and release detainees during appropriate daytime hours, stating the facility has previously notified them of vulnerable individuals being released.

Rogelio Bolufé, a 44-year-old Cuban immigrant, initiated a 10-day hunger strike while detained at Torrance County Detention Facility in New Mexico to protest poor conditions and alleged confiscation of legal documents by CoreCivic staff. Within 48 hours of being taken to the Albuquerque ICE field office, he was transferred to multiple detention facilities across Texas, Alabama, Arizona, and Washington. Bolufé alleged the transfers constituted retaliation for his advocacy and complaints, and claimed he was denied medical care during the process, including being forced to sleep on cold floors in overcrowded conditions. He was appealing a deportation order and seeking a Green Card under the Cuban Adjustment Act. Bolufé was ultimately deported by ICE in May 2026.

Milena Araya-Davis, a 27-year-old former DACA recipient and mental health therapist, was arrested by ICE agents waiting outside a USCIS office in San Diego in December 2025 immediately after being told her green card application was approved. She spent a week detained at Otay Mesa Detention Center, where she reported sleeping on floors, receiving inadequate food and medical care, and sharing cells with multiple other women. San Diego County subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and private prison operator CoreCivic after being denied inspection access to the facility.

Axel Sánchez Toledo called 911 in December 2025 requesting a welfare check on his 4-year-old daughter in Palm Beach. When sheriff's deputies arrived, they accused him of being undocumented and detained him for ICE. Body camera footage shows deputies tasering, tackling, and striking Toledo with a baton while he was on the ground, despite his claims of having a pending asylum case and documentation. Toledo spent four months in jail on a resisting arrest charge before prosecutors dropped it in exchange for an apology letter. ICE took him into custody on May 1, 2026, and he now faces deportation proceedings.

Buenos Dias Coffee, a Latin-owned coffee shop in Rossville, Georgia, is closing after three years in business following the ICE detention of its owner and operator. The owner was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a traffic stop and is facing deportation. Her family, who co-own the business, announced the closure on Facebook and decided to sell the cafe and relocate to Mexico to reunite with and support the detained mother while she remains in custody.

Mariola Perez, a Guatemalan genocide survivor and paraprofessional educator in Lynn, Massachusetts, was placed in removal proceedings after a 2013 traffic stop led to ICE involvement. After 16 years in the U.S., she was ordered to report to ICE in Burlington on May 11, 2026, facing possible detention and deportation. Community members, city officials, teachers, and advocates rallied in her support, with over 4,500 people signing a petition. At her scheduled ICE appointment on May 11, Perez was not detained; instead, she was granted a reasonable fear interview and scheduled for another check-in in November. Her case gained attention partly due to concerns about the impact on her 15-year-old U.S. citizen son, who has complex medical needs.

Maria, a single mother, was apprehended by ICE while dropping her children off at school, leaving her two children, ages 5 and 7, alone and bewildered without knowing when or if they would see her again. The arrest was part of a broader enforcement operation that resulted in the arrest of parents of at least 27,000 children over a seven-month period.

Everlee Amelia Wihongi, a 36-37-year-old New Zealand citizen and lawful permanent resident who lived legally in the United States for over 25 years, was detained by CBP/ICE officers at Los Angeles International Airport on April 10, 2026, upon returning from a family visit to New Zealand. ICE cited a 2014 marijuana possession felony conviction from Fond du Lac County as grounds for detention, despite Wihongi having made the same trip multiple times previously without incident. During detention, she was transferred between facilities in Adelanto, California; Fort Bliss, Texas; and Eloy, Arizona over a weekend, during which she reported being shackled for extended periods without adequate food, water, or bathing privileges. Approximately one month after initial detention, she disappeared from ICE's online detainee locator system. Her attorney scheduled a court hearing in Wisconsin on May 21 to petition to vacate the underlying conviction.

Miguel was detained by ICE on May 10, 2026, while sitting parked in his car. He has three children who are experiencing emotional distress from his absence. His family is fundraising for legal representation to fight his case and prevent his deportation to Mexico.

Debashis Ghosh, a 62-year-old Indian-American businessman, faces denaturalization after the Department of Justice moved to revoke his U.S. citizenship. Ghosh became a U.S. citizen in 2012 but falsely claimed during his naturalization application that he had no criminal history. He was convicted of wire fraud in 2017 involving a $2.5 million investor fraud scheme from 2010-2014, which he concealed during citizenship proceedings. Authorities allege he conspired to defraud investors of funds intended for an aircraft maintenance facility and misrepresented the safekeeping of investor money. Ghosh is among 12 individuals targeted by the Justice Department for denaturalization on various charges including fraud, war crimes, and support for terrorist groups.

The DOJ filed denaturalization actions against Ali Yousif Ahmed Al-Nouri, a Phoenix-area resident, alleging he obtained U.S. citizenship through fraud by claiming al-Qaida attacked him and his family when entering in 2009. Al-Nouri is accused of killing two Iraqi police officers in 2006 while acting as a leader of al-Qaida, and Iraq requested his extradition in 2019. The DOJ determined in 2015 that he had lied during the naturalization process.

Three fruit vendors from Puebla, Mexico were detained by federal immigration agents on Monday morning, May 10, 2026, near Verde and Tremont streets in the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles. The detention occurred around 8:35 a.m. as the men were preparing to load their produce carts, in close proximity to Santa Teresita School, a Catholic elementary school. Video footage from a home surveillance camera captured the operation involving agents in unmarked vehicles. The three men were taken into custody and are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center. Three people working on a truck in Boyle Heights were detained by apparent federal ICE agents Monday morning near Verde and Tremont streets, steps away from Santa Teresita School, a Catholic elementary school. Video from home surveillance showed agents rushing out of vehicles to detain the men around 8:35 a.m.

Roman Husar, 37, a Ukrainian artist who arrived in the U.S. in 2023 with his wife, son, and cat under a Biden administration Ukrainian sponsorship program, was arrested in Texas in September for marijuana possession while driving home from Burning Man. After ICE detained him, authorities attempted to deport him to Ukraine despite his conscientious objector status and risk of imprisonment or death if forced to return to the war zone. Husar was denied a bond hearing and assigned to an immigration judge with no immigration experience. Despite holding letters of support from U.S. citizen relatives and church pastors, and despite his attorney's assessment that he had a strong asylum case, Husar withdrew his asylum application and accepted voluntary departure to Turkey or Poland.

Federal authorities dismantled a human smuggling ring on May 8, 2026, arresting five individuals: Mexican nationals Rigoberto Rangel-Mora, Jesus Marin-Esquivel, Alejandro Ambrocio-Espinosa, and Enrique Cervantes-Barrera, along with Guatemalan national Ingrid Bolanos-Gomez. The operation involved confining undocumented immigrants at a Phoenix-area stash house and transporting them across state lines. Federal agents had discovered 17 people confined to bedrooms at the residence on April 30, 2026, subjected to filthy living conditions, food deprivation, and restricted movement.

Humberto Cruz, a 19-year-old San Diego Padres pitching prospect ranked No. 5 in the organization, pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor charge of accessory after the fact to improper entry related to a human smuggling operation in Arizona. Cruz was arrested on October 28 near Lukeville while driving a BMW with Mexican license plates and transporting two undocumented Mexican citizens, having been paid $1,000 per person to transport them. After his guilty plea in November, Cruz self-deported to Mexico and was placed on the Padres' restricted list with his salary suspended.

A young dairy worker was detained by ICE agents at a Hispanic-owned convenience store in King Ferry on Friday morning, marking the third immigrant detained in the area in approximately six weeks. The detentions have affected dairy farm workers in Cayuga County, prompting community members to organize a rally and march on Saturday to protest the increased enforcement actions.

Caden Hawkins, 23, was detained at the Port of Palomas Border Crossing in Columbus, New Mexico after accidentally driving into Mexico while following GPS directions on a work assignment. Mexican authorities discovered a licensed pistol and ammunition in his vehicle. After spending nearly a year imprisoned at Cereso Estatal No. 3 in Juarez, Hawkins was released and returned to his family in Hallsville, Texas on May 10, 2026.

Cleon 'Uncle Lou' Williams, 62, owner of Uncle Lou's Entertainment Hall in Orlando's Mills 50 district, was arrested on May 9-10, 2026, during a raid by the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco for serving hard liquor at an establishment licensed only for beer and wine. Williams, originally from Jamaica, has operated the prominent music venue since 2005 and is well-known in Orlando's music community for supporting emerging artists. Following his arrest, ICE placed an immigration detainer on Williams due to an expired visa. He was booked into Orange County Corrections Facility with the immigration hold and no criminal charges.

Senior Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the Trump administration violated a December court order restricting warrantless immigration arrests in Washington, D.C. The judge found that an ICE memo providing guidance to agents on when to arrest without a warrant did not properly comply with her earlier order, using a flawed definition of "escape risk" and ignoring requirements to consider community ties. The ruling came after the ACLU of DC sued the administration alleging federal agents had been indiscriminately arresting Washington residents perceived to be Latino without warrants.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected the Trump administration's policy of detaining noncitizens arrested inside the U.S. without bond hearings, ruling it would constitute "the broadest mass-detention-without-bond mandate in our nation's history." The case involved Ricardo Aparecido Barbosa da Cunha, a Brazilian man who had lived in the U.S. for two decades and was ultimately granted release after a district court ordered a bond hearing.

Juan Tablante, father of Atlanta United midfielder Moisés Tablante, was detained by ICE during a traffic stop while traveling from Orlando, Florida to Atlanta, Georgia. Tablante has been an asylum applicant since 2016, holds a valid work permit and driver's license, and has no criminal record. He remains in immigration detention despite his pending asylum status.

Kevin González, an 18-year-old U.S. citizen with stage 4 colon cancer, pleaded with immigration authorities to release his parents so he could see them before his death. His parents, Mexican nationals Isidoro González Avilés and Norma Anabel Ramírez Amaya, were arrested near Douglas, Arizona on April 14, 2026, after attempting to reenter the U.S. following denied humanitarian and B1/B2 visa requests. They had been previously deported in 2011 and 2024, and were reported chained during court appearances while detained for weeks. A federal judge in Tucson ordered their release on May 8, 2026. They were deported to Mexico that day and traveled to Durango, where they reunited with Kevin on May 8. Kevin died on May 9, 2026, one day after the reunion.

Olivia Andre, a 19-year-old nursing student and asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was apprehended with her family in November 2025 while attempting to seek asylum. While her mother and two younger siblings were released in March 2026 following a court order, Andre remained detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas for approximately six months because she is technically an adult without guardianship of her siblings. During her detention, she experienced severe physical and mental health deterioration including weight loss of nearly 20 pounds, depression, insomnia, nightmares, suicidal ideation, headaches, and received no mental health care despite documented PTSD and depression. On May 9, 2026, a federal district court judge in San Antonio ruled that Andre's detention was unlawful because the government failed to establish she posed a danger or flight risk and that continued detention violated her constitutional right to due process. She was released and reunited with her family in Portland, Maine.

Oscar, a 32-year-old Honduran environmental activist who had fled death threats, was arrested at an ICE check-in appointment and moved to a Texas detention facility before being deported to Honduras. His wife Ana and their 7- and 9-year-old children were granted asylum and remained in Maryland. Oscar's lawyer filed a petition for him to rejoin his family, but processing faces dramatic delays. Oscar remains in hiding in Honduras, staying alone in an apartment and avoiding going outside. When he calls his children, he tells them he didn't leave them by choice.

Marco, a 61-year-old man, was arrested at a Home Depot in Maryland and subsequently deported to El Salvador. His 17-year-old son Mark, a U.S. citizen, spent his final months of high school working to earn enough money for rent for himself and his mother.

Herminia was held in immigration detention for eight months, separated from her 9-year-old and 16-year-old children. During her absence, the children's mental health deteriorated. Her young daughter had trouble sleeping through the night, and her teenage son considered dropping out of school to work and support his sister.

KO, a 41-year-old Guatemalan mother of three, was arrested at an ICE check-in appointment. When she told the officer that she had a 19-month-old child waiting for her at home, the officer responded that her child and she 'could die for all he cared.'

Silvino Hernandez-Pantoja, a noncitizen who had resided in the United States, was detained by ICE officers on May 8, 2026 after fleeing from law enforcement during a traffic stop of a vehicle in which he was a passenger. Officers pursued him on foot for 5-10 minutes before detaining him pursuant to an administrative arrest warrant. The court granted his petition for writ of habeas corpus and ordered respondents to provide him a bond hearing before an immigration judge within 14 days, or he would be immediately released.

Zong Yang, a South St. Paul resident who legally immigrated to the U.S. as a child, was detained in February 2026 during Operation Metro Surge and deported to Laos in May over a 1999 felony burglary conviction in Wisconsin. Yang had never lived in Laos before and does not speak the local language. He is now permanently barred from returning to the United States and living in Vientiane with other deportees while trying to support himself through low-wage work.

Hubert George Cole, a Honduran citizen who immigrated to the U.S. at age 11, was detained by ICE during his regular check-in on May 8, 2026, after 12 years of complying with supervision conditions. ICE served him with a Notice of Removal stating intent to remove him to Mexico, not his home country of Honduras where removal had been deferred under the Convention Against Torture. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring his immediate release and prohibiting removal without proper procedures.

Victor Manuel Rocha, a former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia and State Department official, was convicted in 2024 of conspiring to act as an agent for Cuban intelligence services for over 50 years beginning in 1973. Rocha obtained U.S. citizenship in 1977-1978 through false statements, concealing his communist affiliations and espionage activities. He is serving a 15-year prison sentence. In May 2026, federal prosecutors filed a civil denaturalization complaint seeking to revoke his citizenship, alleging he fraudulently obtained naturalization by lying about his ties to Cuba and the Communist Party and concealing his decades-long work as a covert intelligence operative.

Pin He, a native of China, was targeted for denaturalization for obtaining citizenship under the identity Pin He in 2013 after being ordered removed under the name Chun Di He in 1992. He applied for immigration benefits under a different identity the following year and obtained permanent residence in 2007 without disclosing his prior removal order.

Abdallah Osman Sheikh, a resident of Fairdale, Kentucky, was targeted for denaturalization for concealing that he possessed indecent digital images of two minors in July 2019 while serving in the Marines and posted such an image to social media. He also received an other-than-honorable discharge from the Marines for misconduct, disqualifying him from naturalization based on military service.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a denaturalization lawsuit against Abduvosit Razikov, a 46-year-old Uzbek citizen, alleging he obtained permanent residency and U.S. citizenship through fraudulent means. According to the complaint, Razikov paid for a fake marriage in 2005 to obtain a green card, organized additional fraudulent marriage schemes for others, and gave false statements during naturalization proceedings in 2012. The DOJ argues his citizenship should be revoked because it was obtained through fraud and concealment of material facts.

Kevin Robin Suarez, a native of Bolivia, was targeted for denaturalization after pleading guilty in 2020 to conspiracy involving the illegal purchase and trafficking of firearms through straw purchasers from South Florida to Bolivia and other Latin American countries for drug trafficking organizations. The conspiracy began in May 2016 and continued ten months after his January 2017 naturalization, during which he lacked the required good moral character.

Baboucarr Mboob, a native of The Gambia, was targeted for denaturalization for concealing his participation in the execution of six military officers on November 11, 1994, while serving as a military police officer. Mboob entered the U.S. in 2002 and naturalized in 2011 without disclosing these war crimes, later admitting to the executions in 2019 testimony before The Gambian Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil complaint in federal court seeking to denaturalize Salah Osman Ahmed, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Minnesota. Ahmed was naturalized in August 2007, months before providing material support to al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization. In 2009, he pleaded guilty to one count of providing material support to terrorists after admitting to attending secret meetings in Minneapolis in 2007, traveling to Somalia in December 2007 to help build a training camp, receiving weapons training including on PKM machine guns, and raising money from the Somali-American community. He served three years in prison and was granted relief from supervised release in 2022. The DOJ contends Ahmed was not genuinely attached to U.S. constitutional principles at the time of naturalization and must prove by clear and convincing evidence that his citizenship was not obtained through fraud or misrepresentation.

Khalid Ouazzani, a native of Morocco, was targeted for denaturalization after pleading guilty in 2010 to bank fraud, money laundering, and providing material support to Al-Qaeda. He falsely swore attachment to the U.S. Constitution during his 2005 citizenship application and 2006 naturalization, while planning with others to support terrorism and sending tens of thousands of dollars to Al-Qaeda by 2007.

José 'Poni' Góngora Poot, a cook who worked at Portland restaurant Güero for a decade, was detained by ICE agents on May 8 while driving to work near his home. He was removed from his vehicle and taken into custody. Góngora Poot is being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. A GoFundMe fundraiser was created to support him, raising over $30,000.

An ICE deportation charter flight operated by Omni Air held passengers shackled at the wrists, waists, and ankles for over 69 hours during a multi-country journey from Guam through Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. The passengers included elders, people with disabilities, and individuals who had agreed to voluntary departure, with limited ability to move during the lengthy transport.

Virginia was detained in January 2026 during the Midway Blitz Operation in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was transferred to Adelanto Detention Center in California, where a judge set her bond at $35,000. She was released in CA, where she had no contacts, without any means for returning home to MN.

Ana Delgado, a Venezuelan woman with Temporary Protected Status and an active family-based immigration petition filed by her U.S. citizen husband, was detained by ICE on April 29, 2026, after an agent posing as an ISAP case manager deceived her into stepping outside her home in Texas. Nine ICE officers surrounded her and took her into custody, separating her from her 4-year-old child and 1-year-old daughter whom she was breastfeeding. While postpartum and nursing, Ana was held at Karnes detention center in Texas before being transferred to Eloy detention center in Arizona. She developed severe mastitis as a result of separation from her nursing infant and was denied requests to breastfeed during visitation and denied access to a breast pump. Ana has no criminal record and was in the process of adjusting status through her husband's sponsorship. ICE indicated she may be deported by Mother's Day. Ana Delgado, a TPS holder and stay-at-home mother who had lived in the U.S. for 7 years, was detained during a routine at-home check-in at her residence in San Antonio, Texas on April 29th. She was subsequently deported, separating her from her two young children, Hannah (12 months old) and Isaiah (4 years old). Delgado had been in the process of renewing her TPS and applying for adjustment of status after marrying a U.S. citizen.

Anstasiia and Andrei, Russian activists who fled Russia fearing retaliation for their involvement with the Navalny campaign, sought political asylum in the U.S. but were detained at separate ICE facilities in Louisiana. Anstasiia was held at Basile ICE jail, where she alleges she was stripped naked and confined to a glass room for 24 hours. She also reported that women detainees were subjected to male guards while showering and using the bathroom. Andrei was detained at Allen Parish Public Safety Complex. The facilities are reported to have conditions including physical and sexual abuse, medical neglect, rat infestations, black mold, expired food, and prolonged solitary confinement.

Carlos Della Valle, a Mexican national and long-term resident of Chester County, Pennsylvania, was detained by ICE in December 2024 after being arrested at an airport in St. Thomas while on family vacation. He was held across 12 different detention facilities, including centers in Louisiana and Florida, and reported inhumane conditions during his confinement. Despite claiming a judge had declared him not guilty, Della Valle was detained under a 1997 deportation order. His wife Angela, a U.S. citizen, and supporters rallied for his release. He was released in late April 2026 after 258 days in custody and returned to his home in Chester County.

Maria Trinidad Loya Medina, a Mexican national who lived in Albany, Oregon for over 20 years and was the primary caregiver for her husband and two U.S. citizen children, was detained by ICE agents on January 10, 2026, during Operation Black Rose while shopping at a sporting goods store in Albany. She was held at Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington for four months. An immigration judge denied her bond request on February 4 after a brief hearing, despite evidence of strong community ties and no criminal history. On May 7, Federal Judge Grady J. Leupold ordered her immediate release, finding that the immigration judge violated her constitutional due process rights by failing to consider relevant factors and abusing discretion in denying bond. The judge cited documented harm to her family, including her husband's stroke and daughter's depression. ICE delayed her release until May 8.

A woman named Alicia experienced a miscarriage while detained by ICE. Medical staff performed invasive procedures and administered medication without her consent or clear explanation of her condition. After being informed of the miscarriage, she was immediately returned to detention despite severe abdominal pain and continuous vaginal bleeding. ICE denied her repeated requests for follow-up medical care for over two months. She was only diagnosed and treated for a resulting serious infection after her deportation.

Gautam Chapagain, an immigration detainee with no criminal history, was re-detained by ICE during routine non-detained lobby duties at the Dallas Field Office. The court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release, finding no evidence of any encounter with law enforcement other than ICE's re-detention. The court enjoined respondents from re-detaining him without clear and convincing evidence that he is a flight risk or danger to the community.

Doriam Alexander Chavez Toribio, a native and citizen of Nicaragua, is detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center-Desert View Facility. He filed a habeas corpus petition seeking immediate release. The court granted a temporary restraining order preventing his transfer outside the Central District of California but denied his request for immediate release from custody.