Human Impact Project

A Global X ICE Air charter flight carrying as many as 78 detained Haitian nationals departed from Alexandria, Louisiana and Opa-locka Executive Airport in Florida, bound for Cap-Haïtien. The flight was the third in three weeks following the Supreme Court's decision allowing the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for more than 300,000 Haitians, even as litigation over the termination continues. DHS publicized the flight with images and video of shackled deportees boarding, drawing outrage from Haitians and immigrant rights activists, as the deportations proceed despite ongoing gang violence and massacres in Haiti.

Renan Hédouville, a lawyer, human-rights advocate and former head of Haiti's Office of Citizen Protection (ombudsman), was arrested by U.S. immigration authorities while visiting Montgomery, Alabama, after Haitian police issued a warrant for him on corruption allegations. Hédouville, who entered the U.S. lawfully in May 2025 but overstayed the terms of his admission, asked to voluntarily return to Haiti and was aboard a deportation flight that departed Opa-locka Executive Airport for Cap-Haïtien. Investigators in Haiti have accused him of obstruction of justice, unlawful contracting, and claiming over $127,000 in expenses tied to fictitious missions and payments to family members while he led the agency responsible for safeguarding human rights.

A joint operation by the Lorain County Sheriff's Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and ICE swept through farmland and roadways near Oberlin, Ohio, arresting two men on criminal human trafficking charges and detaining roughly 50 other people on civil immigration violations. The yearlong investigation targeted a suspected smuggling network accused of recruiting workers under false pretenses and transporting them to agricultural businesses using shell transportation and contracting companies. Law enforcement conducted traffic stops of at least six vans and used a drone to track movement during the operation; three U.S. citizens were left behind in a Walmart parking lot after others nearby were detained. Oberlin city officials said they had no advance knowledge of the operation, which conflicts with the city's longstanding sanctuary policy limiting local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Adnero Pinto Sebastiao, an Angolan national with a pending asylum application, was arrested by ICE agents in Lewiston as he returned from lunch to his job at a bank. He filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, arguing his detention was an unlawful warrantless arrest lacking individualized assessment. A federal judge issued an indefinite injunction barring ICE from removing him from the U.S. or transferring him out of the District of Maine, and ordered the government to justify the detention. A DHS spokesperson said Sebastiao entered the country legally in March 2024 but overstayed, adding that a pending application does not confer legal status.

Leonardo Sánchez, a 49-year-old Cuban national and lawful permanent resident who arrived in the U.S. in 2010 under the Cuban Adjustment Act and worked as a welder, was deported to Liberia and then Equatorial Guinea after ICE detained him at a gas station. Sánchez suffers from a severe abdominal hernia caused by a stabbing that once left him in a coma for 40 days, and had reconstructive surgery scheduled at Jackson Memorial Hospital before his removal. He said agents refused to remove his shackles or let him use the bathroom during the 14-hour flight, and when he refused to disembark in Liberia out of fear of being abandoned, agents allegedly threw him down the aircraft steps and knelt on his exposed hernia. In Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, doctors refused to treat him without documents, leaving him only paracetamol for pain, and he is now held with five other deportees at a former hotel under armed guard, unable to contact family. His mother and sister in Florida say a lawyer they hired to help him was a scam, and Equatorial Guinea has no asylum framework, leaving him facing indefinite detention or return to Cuba. DHS said Sánchez was ordered removed following a cocaine possession conviction and denied mistreating him.

More than 60 federal agents raided Nutrition Bar Confectioners in Cato, New York, herding roughly 160 workers, including pregnant women and young mothers, into a breakroom and detaining 57 people who were later shipped to facilities in Texas and Louisiana. Argentina Juarez-Lopez, 50, clearly invoked her right to an attorney, but an agent falsely claimed in a charging affidavit that she confessed without requesting counsel; a federal judge called the agents' conduct 'grossly negligent,' suppressed the evidence, and Juarez-Lopez was deported shortly after her case was dismissed. Juana Castillo Avelar, a mother of three U.S. citizen children who had lived in the U.S. for over 20 years, was granted $9,000 bond release by a judge, but ICE refused to free her based on a false claim that she had appealed, and she was deported before release could occur. The raid followed months of traffic stops by Oswego County sheriff's deputies who alerted Border Patrol after finding workers' fake identification documents, and acting U.S. Attorney John Sarcone later acknowledged none of those detained had criminal histories other than five charged with illegal reentry; no charges have been filed against the company.

Nayleth Gabriela Martínez Jiménez, a Venezuelan woman, discovered she was pregnant after being detained by U.S. immigration authorities. She says she is experiencing pain and fears for her pregnancy, and is asking to be released from the immigration detention center or returned to Venezuela.

Luis Miguel Chávez, a Venezuelan man, was held for nearly seven months at an ICE detention center before being released. He said he lost his house, car, and job during his detention and is now trying to rebuild his life in San Antonio.

Lorenza Temaj Jiguan, 34, traveled to her native Guatemala in May to complete an interview for a U.S. immigration visa, expecting only a brief trip before returning to her family. Instead, she has remained stranded there since, unable to reunite with her 10-year-old daughter Ariana and her husband, U.S. citizen Samuel Wilbanks. Temaj had lived in the U.S. since entering in 2009 and was seeking to resolve her immigration status through the visa process. Her husband has decided to sue the government over her prolonged separation from the family.

Sean Lopes, a Guyana native, was serving a 14- to 16-year state prison sentence and was not eligible for parole until next February. ICE allowed him to skip the final six months of his sentence so he could be deported. His case was highlighted by ICE's Buffalo office as part of a broader trend of the agency removing people from state custody before their sentences conclude.

Alexandr Dyatchin, a Serbian national, was arrested in 2024 and sentenced last August to five years at the state's Lakeview prison in Chautauqua County, with an earliest release date of July 2029. ICE took him into custody last week, ahead of his scheduled release, to deport him to Russia. His case was cited as an example of ICE removing people already serving state prison sentences before their terms were complete.

Hasan Besharat, an 81-year-old Iranian immigrant who came to the U.S. legally on a student visa in 1974 and earned an engineering degree in Nashville, was detained by ICE during a routine check-in in late February despite decades of compliance with an order of supervision. He was held at the CoreCivic-run West Tennessee Detention Center in Mason, where his attorney said his health declined; he is 81, weighs barely 100 pounds, and has high blood pressure. His legal team filed multiple petitions, including two writs of habeas corpus, and Tennessee State Sen. Raumesh Akbari and community members advocated for his release. Besharat, who has a U.S. citizen brother and two U.S. citizen sons, is scheduled to be released and reunited with his family.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation targeted two restaurants in Elgin, Oklahoma on Wednesday, resulting in multiple people being taken into custody. The operation affected both local businesses, though the article does not provide individual details about those detained.

Aidar Nafikov, a Russian asylum seeker, has been held at the Adams County Correctional Center in Mississippi for over a year and a half while hoping to be reunited with his family. He filed a habeas petition in April challenging his detention, and though his case was argued before Judge David C. Bramlette III in June, it remained unresolved months later. His wife, Liudmila Nafikov, said his health has deteriorated in detention, including repeated bouts of strep throat and new kidney problems, and that he has struggled to get timely medical care. A DHS spokesperson denied claims of medical neglect at ICE facilities, saying comprehensive medical care is provided to all detainees.

Rogério da Silva Lima, 42, a Brazilian carpenter and painter living on Martha's Vineyard, was taken into ICE custody with his teenage son Nycolas during their first fishing trip together near Menemsha after the U.S. Coast Guard boarded their boat and transferred them to ICE at Woods Hole. His employer, Rory Moreis, called him a 'hard worker' who was 'determined, dedicated, no limit to the hours or days to work,' while family friend Andrea James described him as 'a hard-working man' and his son as 'the kindest kid on the planet.' DHS said the pair entered the U.S. without authorization in 2021, that da Silva Lima's asylum claim was denied and his appeal dismissed in 2024, and both had been issued removal orders in 2023. His attorney, Amelia Ritenour, filed an emergency habeas corpus petition, and a community GoFundMe raised more than $17,000 for legal aid. Nycolas was released after four days into his adult brother's care, and a federal judge, Indira Talwani, later ordered da Silva Lima's release, ruling ICE had missed the 90-day statutory window to detain and remove him. He remained under the removal order and ultimately departed the U.S. unshackled on a civilian flight paid for by ICE, saying, 'It was the worst feeling in the world. I love my sons, and I did not want to leave them behind.' His sons Nycolas and Nayran remain on Martha's Vineyard to continue school and work.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with support from federal, state, and local partners, conducted an operation at China Buffet restaurant in Greeneville, arresting approximately 10 people. Photos taken by nearby witnesses showed the individuals sitting on a curb with law enforcement officers standing in front of them. The restaurant, located in the Fairgrounds Plaza, closed early and remained closed that evening, and ICE described the matter as an active ongoing investigation.

Milo Morales, a 27-year-old Indianapolis man, was detained by ICE agents Tuesday morning while working at an east-side job site. His sister, Dulce Morales, an active-duty servicemember, tracked his phone to a parking lot off 38th Street and confronted an ICE agent who confirmed multiple people had been taken into custody at the site but would not say if Milo was among them. Because Milo has no criminal record, he was not assigned a federal identification number, leaving his family unable to track his location. Dulce described him as a hard-working man who is soon expecting a child, and said she feels disheartened as a servicemember watching her family targeted.

Lianyong Wei, a 51-year-old Chinese national who had lived in Saipan since entering the U.S. in 2019 on a two-week parole authorization, died on August 23, 2026, roughly a day after being placed in ICE custody. Local police had arrested Wei on August 21 on criminal charges, including an alleged attack on a family and assault with a dangerous weapon, and he was transferred to ICE custody the following day to face removal proceedings. A corrections officer found him unresponsive during a routine morning check at the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Corrections facility; he was rushed to a local hospital, where resuscitation efforts failed and he was pronounced dead. Corrections Commissioner Anthony Torres extended condolences to Wei's family and said the department is reviewing its procedures. His cause of death remains under investigation, and the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles has pressed U.S. authorities for a thorough inquiry, noting he is at least the fifth Chinese national to die in ICE or Border Patrol custody since March 2025. His death is recorded as the 57th ICE detainee death since January 2025.

Loreto Javar, a 76-year-old Filipino national and green card holder who has lived in Fife, Washington since 1995, was detained by ICE while attending his U.S. citizenship interview in Tukwila. A retired hotel worker who raised his family in the U.S. and had renewed his residency multiple times without issue, Javar has stage 4 prostate cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and requires multiple daily medications. ICE alleges he failed to disclose a decades-old conviction related to a fatal altercation in the Philippines when he applied for his visa in 1995, though his daughter, Daisy Javar, says he has no U.S. criminal record. He has been held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma for more than two months, missing oncology appointments due to delayed meals disrupting his medication schedule, and has developed a blood clot. Advocates with the Tanggol Migrante Movement have pressed the Philippine consulate in Seattle and pushed for his compassionate release, gathering more than 150 petition signatures. An immigration judge extended his case to September 20, which his daughter said will cause him to miss another cancer treatment appointment.

A teenage asylum seeker identified in court records as E.L.A., who entered the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor, was deported to El Salvador on September 1 despite protections under the class-action settlement J.O.P. v. DHS. He had previously been removed in March 2026, then returned to the U.S. in August after class counsel intervened so his asylum application could be adjudicated. While being held in immigration detention in Louisiana awaiting an asylum interview, he was reportedly told he would be transferred to another facility but instead was placed on a flight to El Salvador. A federal judge ordered DHS to explain who authorized the removal and how it will be corrected.

A 67-year-old lawful permanent resident who has lived legally in the U.S. for about 50 years was held for eight days by CBP at San Francisco International Airport after returning from a trip to Guadalajara, Mexico, and landing in Fresno. He told the San Francisco Chronicle that agents removed him from his flight and transported him in handcuffs to San Francisco, where he says he slept sitting in a chair under lights kept on and struggled to manage his blood sugar despite having diabetes, hypertension and vision problems. His detention was reportedly linked to an old criminal record; he was later transferred to an ICE detention facility for several months before his attorneys secured his release. The case is part of a broader investigation that found 25 people were held more than 72 hours at SFO through July, 19 of whom were green card holders, despite CBP policy generally limiting custody to 72 hours.

César Cepeda Gomez, a Venezuelan delivery driver for Walmart who held a work permit and had an asylum hearing scheduled for October, was detained by ICE agents outside a Bloomington Walmart alongside a coworker. He lives in Bloomington with his partner and her child. ICE said he was being held at North Lake Correctional Facility in Michigan.

Manuel Alejandro Nadal-Ortiz, a Venezuelan man who came to the U.S. under an asylum claim and held a work permit, was detained by ICE agents outside a Bloomington Walmart while working as a delivery driver for DoorDash, Uber and Walmart. His girlfriend, Joanna Hanner, said his mother called her crying within minutes of the arrest, and the family spent the day calling detention centers before Ortiz reached them by phone that afternoon from Chicago, saying he was being transferred to a jail in Michigan. Hanner said Ortiz had no criminal record beyond a paid speeding ticket, closely monitored local ICE activity to avoid it, and was saving money to support his father in Venezuela. As of publication, Ortiz did not appear in the ICE detainee locator and his exact location was unknown.

José David Murcia Valdez, a 30-year-old Honduran refugee, fled Honduras six years ago after a machete attack cost him a finger and left scars across his arms and shoulders. He settled in Monterrey, Mexico, and worked for three years at a recycling plant until Mexican authorities arrived to check employees' papers and deported him back to Honduras. Unable to remain in Honduras because of the earlier attack, he returned to Mexico and joined a migrant caravan called Sueños sin Fronteras, attempting to bike more than 1,000 miles back to Monterrey in search of work.

Felipe Flores was deported alongside Daniel Ramirez as part of the same third-country deportation flight to Guatemala City. Before the flight, he spent days in cramped U.S. detention facilities without being able to shower or brush his teeth, followed by a 15-hour stint in handcuffs. After being released in Guatemala City, he was bused with other Mexican deportees across the border into Tapachula, Mexico.

Daniel Ramirez, a 30-year-old Texas resident born in Mexico's Tamaulipas state and raised in Brownsville, was detained by U.S. immigration agents near his home. Rather than being returned to Mexico, he was shackled and flown to Guatemala City as part of the Trump administration's third-country deportation policy, then bused across the border into Tapachula, Mexico, more than 1,000 miles from the U.S. border. Ramirez, who lived in the U.S. for years without legal status, said the transfer felt like "a punishment for us so we don't go back again." He later took a multi-day bus trip to Matamoros, near Brownsville, where he found work painting cars.

Ana Garcia's mother was arrested by ICE near downtown Mount Vernon, Washington, according to her daughter. Ana said the family was not allowed to see her before she was taken away. The five siblings are now navigating daily life without either parent at home.