Human Impact Project

Homero Calderón, a professional soccer player from Venezuela who played for clubs in Venezuela, Portugal, Cyprus and Italy, has been held in an ICE detention center in Folkston, Georgia for about five months. He was pulled over for speeding by the Marion County Sheriff's Office in Florida in late February 2026, arrested for driving without a valid Florida license, and transferred to ICE custody despite having two pending applications with USCIS — a tourist visa extension and an EB-1A visa for people with extraordinary abilities. He is a father of two U.S. citizen children, ages 1 and 3, and recently missed his daughter's first birthday. His wife said that in 17 years together she had 'never heard him cry or ask for help like he has.' His family says he has no criminal record, and USCIS has a backlog of 11.3 million pending cases.

A Zimbabwean asylum seeker who was ordered removed in 2005 but was granted a withholding of removal after an immigration judge found she would likely face persecution in Zimbabwe was arrested without a warrant by ICE during a scheduled check-in appointment in San Francisco on August 14, 2026. ICE informed her that she would be removed to Cameroon, a third country, rather than Zimbabwe. She suffers from diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and schizophrenia, all requiring daily medication she may not have access to in detention. She filed a habeas corpus petition and sought a temporary restraining order seeking release pending a hearing on whether her detention is lawful, and to object to being removed to a third country without a hearing. The court granted the TRO, ordering her immediate release from custody and barring her detention or removal without a pre-detention hearing before a neutral decisionmaker. The court also barred her transfer out of the district without prior approval and set a briefing schedule and hearing for September 10, 2026 on whether a preliminary injunction should issue.

A man detained by immigration authorities and held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus along with a motion for emergency injunctive relief. The court converted his motion into one for a preliminary injunction and, on August 24, 2026, ordered his immediate release under his prior bond conditions, directed return of his confiscated property, and required a compliance status report. The court also barred authorities from re-detaining him under 8 U.S.C. § 1226 without first providing a hearing before a neutral decisionmaker at which the government would bear the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that he posed a flight risk or danger requiring physical custody, and barred relocating him outside the Central District of California pending resolution of the case. The parties subsequently filed a joint proposal to grant the petition and enter judgment consistent with the preliminary injunction ruling, without further proceedings. The court granted the petition, entering judgment enjoining re-detention absent the required hearing and burden of proof.

The petitioner is an asylum seeker from Guatemala who entered the United States around July 27, 2023. He was previously apprehended and released on $2,000 bond under an Order of Release on Recognizance in August 2023, complying with required ICE check-ins. He has a pending asylum application, with his merits hearing scheduled for April 2029. In June 2026, he was arrested in Concord, California, and charged with DUI and driving without a valid license, his first and only criminal arrest, with the case still pending and unresolved. When he appeared for a scheduled ICE interview at the San Francisco Field Office on August 14, 2026, he was detained without notice, with ICE alleging he had violated his release conditions. He filed a habeas petition and TRO motion, arguing his detention violated substantive and procedural due process since he had not been convicted of any crime and posed no flight risk or danger. The court agreed, finding the government's justification insufficient, and ordered his release under a TRO that was converted into a preliminary injunction barring his re-detention or removal without notice and a pre-deprivation hearing before a neutral decisionmaker.

Maureen Wanjiru Ngure, a Kenyan nurse who studied nursing in the U.S. and has worked in Bay Area hospitals for eight years, was detained at a mandated appointment at the San Francisco ICE office on August 14, 2026, and served a third-country deportation order. A community volunteer on the Contra Costa County Covid Team, she never missed a DHS appointment in 20 years in the U.S.; her husband and two young children are U.S. citizens, and she had been selected for a Canadian nursing employment pathway program. Over the following days she was transferred through detention centers in California, Arizona, and Louisiana, slept on floors, and her ID, phone, and wallet were lost in transit. She was driven to an airport to be flown to an unnamed country before a last-minute deportation halt returned her to custody at Richwood Detention Center in Monroe, Louisiana, where her attorneys are seeking her immediate release. Note: the source for this incident mistakenly lists the name as Maureen Mangara, but this error was later corrected by FLPIR.

A legal permanent resident is currently detained by U.S. immigration authorities at the El Valle Detention Center in Willacy County, Texas. She filed a habeas petition along with a Verified Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction, arguing that Respondents have no legal basis to detain her and seeking her immediate release. The court ordered Respondents to file a response to the motion by August 21, 2026. A hearing on the Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction was set for August 24, 2026, to be conducted by videoconference. The document does not provide details on the circumstances of her apprehension, her family ties, or employment.

Detainees held at the Adams County Correctional Center, an ICE facility near Natchez, Mississippi operated by CoreCivic, reported smelling gas on August 8, followed by a power outage beginning August 10 that left the facility without air conditioning for about two days. Detainees said they were evacuated into afternoon heat approaching 100 degrees for hours, suffered headaches and other symptoms, and were denied medical care, with cells meant for two people holding three. One detainee's wife said detainees were also denied tablet devices during the disruption and feared retaliation, including solitary confinement, if seen as organizing. CoreCivic disputed the accounts, stating no gas leak was found, the outage lasted about two hours with generators functioning, air conditioning was never interrupted, and no one was denied medical care. A subsequent inspection found 23 use-of-force or restraint violations, resulting in a downgrade of the facility's rating.

A man was reportedly detained by ICE agents while waiting for a bus to go to work in the South Ward of Newark, New Jersey. Video footage shows officers wearing tactical vests marked "POLICE" apprehending the man near a residential street. The incident has generated concern in the local community.

Immigration agents arrived in unmarked black vans around 8 a.m. on Friday, August 14, at a food vendor corridor on Sunset Avenue and Amar Road in La Puente, California, near the Don Chilaquiles stand. Witnesses and vendors, including David González and Gabriela Hoyos, said a fellow vendor selling chicharrones spotted the agents and alerted others, allowing workers to flee to their vehicles before any arrests. Two Don Chilaquiles employees told reporters that no one was detained this time because workers received the warning in time. The same location saw Border Patrol agents detain three workers in December 2025, and vendors say fear of enforcement persists even as they continue working to support their families.

Maisa Lopes Eliaser, a 32-year-old Brazilian national married to Fort Polk Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Jaramillo, was detained by ICE on July 8, 2026, after missing an immigration appointment and overstaying a tourist visa she had used to enter the U.S. in 2019. She spent more than a month held at the ICE processing center in Basile, Louisiana, separated from the couple's five-year-old son. On August 14, she was placed on a deportation flight to Brazil, but after a stop in Bogotá, Colombia, ICE officers received a call and gave her the choice to return to the U.S., which she took, and she was released from custody. Eliaser said she struggled to sleep and felt dehumanized by the detention experience. Following media coverage and a Congressional inquiry into deportations of military family members, she has a new immigration appointment to reopen her case and pursue her green card application, while the family's appeal remains pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Multiple armed ICE agents in at least four vehicles arrived at the Morris Law Group, an immigration law firm in North Natomas, claiming to have a list from Washington, D.C. listing the building's address as a primary mailing address for numerous people. The agents requested to tour the office for beds, stating they could return at 3 a.m. to break windows and enter if they received follow-up orders. Law firm owner Raissa Morris instructed her staff to deny entry without a warrant. After approximately one hour, building manager Daniel Azurduy arrived and told the agents they were trespassing; they left shortly after. UC Davis Law Professor Kevin Johnson noted the tactic was unprecedented and questioned its legality, stating agents would need a warrant to search for evidence.

Guillermo Perez Ayala, a 52-year-old from Guanajuato, Mexico, was abandoned in Naco, Arizona during a border crossing attempt. According to his family, Perez Ayala last communicated with them on July 30, 2026, informing them he would wear camouflage clothing for the journey. He was allegedly left behind on Highway 80 in Arizona after injuring his foot and being unable to keep pace with the guides. His family is seeking information about his whereabouts.

Juan Francisco Monroy Turuy, a 54-year-old Guatemalan immigrant who has worked as a restaurant remodeler in the U.S. for more than two decades, called 911 after witnessing a man fire a gun into the air in a Home Depot parking lot on West Sam Houston Parkway South. He stayed at the scene to help identify the suspect, but before Houston police finished interviewing him, ICE agents arrived and detained him over his immigration status. Houston Police Department said it had not contacted or coordinated with ICE, and Home Depot denied cooperating with the agency. He has been held for more than three weeks at the Montgomery ICE Processing Center in Conroe, and his attorney says no one has contacted him about pursuing a U-visa. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said the detention could discourage witnesses from cooperating with police, and advocacy groups including FIEL, PSL, and CRECEN questioned how ICE located him so quickly. Monroy has long sent money home to support his wife, who suffered a stroke, and his three children; his son Wilmer said his father 'risked his own safety to help stop a criminal.'

Wendy Domingo, 18, was driving her family home from church on August 9, 2026—one day after her 18th birthday—when Border Patrol agents stopped their vehicle and detained both her parents, who are from Guatemala. The agents checked the vehicle's license plate registered to her father and took both parents into custody without arranging care for Wendy and her four younger siblings, ages 3, 11, 14, and 16. Wendy became the sole provider for her family, taking on two jobs to support her household while managing expenses and bills. She has had to pause her education due to the sudden responsibilities. Her mother was ordered deported by an immigration judge, and the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement about her father's background, though Wendy continues caring for her siblings.

Luckner Jean Louis, a Haitian immigrant, was arrested by ICE officers on the morning of August 9, 2026, in West Park while on his way to work. Video footage captured the moment officers approached, handcuffed him, and took him into custody. Details about Jean Louis' immigration status, where he was taken after arrest, and the reason ICE targeted him were not immediately available. The arrest sparked concern within the Haitian community, which includes many TPS beneficiaries, asylum seekers, and people with pending status adjustments. Community leaders and immigrant rights advocates called for increased vigilance, urging people to consult immigration attorneys and monitor developments in U.S. immigration policy.

Maria Perez, a Guatemalan asylum-seeker fleeing domestic violence, was arrested by ICE agents at her Nashville home on May 19, 2026, while preparing to take her two young children to a doctor's appointment. Attorneys said agents had come to serve a warrant on her husband but detained her instead, despite ICE policy generally barring detention of nursing mothers absent extraordinary circumstances. She was breastfeeding an infant and had a toddler with Down syndrome requiring ongoing medical care; the children were left in a neighbor's care without a formal plan, causing them to miss medical appointments. Perez, who has no criminal history, passed a credible fear interview, and had complied with immigration requirements since entering the U.S. in 2022, was held nearly 700 miles from home at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, where her sudden separation from her nursing infant compounded her diabetes. Advocacy groups including Sanctuary of the South, the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition, ACLU of Louisiana, Amnesty International, and the Kennedy Human Rights Center filed a civil rights complaint with DHS seeking her release. She was released on August 14, 2026, reunited with her children, and continues pursuing her asylum application.

Sulma Johanna Munoz-Castro, a Honduran national seeking asylum, was detained by immigration agents outside a home in South Nashville and transported to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center. The detention followed a Metro Nashville Police Department welfare check prompted by an unfounded report of child abuse; officers found the child in good health with no signs of abuse. ICE said Munoz-Castro is facing removal proceedings, alleging she entered the U.S. unlawfully in December 2021 and missed two scheduled appointments with federal agents.

A man was detained by ICE agents outside a Home Depot on Eastern Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland, while appearing to experience a stroke or seizure. Video shared on social media shows agents handcuffing him and searching his pockets despite his unsteady head and lack of bodily control. Bystanders reportedly offered him water, which agents waved away, and no medical assistance was provided by agents at the scene.

Adonys Francisco Mata Martinez, a Venezuelan freestyle rapper known as AdonysX who held Temporary Protected Status and had a pending extraordinary-talent artist visa application, was detained by ICE in late May after a traffic stop in Florida in which officers found no violation but identified his immigration status via his license plate. He said, 'We are not criminals for them to treat us this way,' describing five days sleeping on the floor at a Miramar processing center without the ability to bathe, followed by about a month at Krome Detention Center before being transferred with roughly 50 others to a facility in Louisiana. There, he said he works in the kitchen for one dollar a day amid cockroaches and insects, and reported chest pains dismissed as anxiety and a dental nerve problem he tried to self-treat after being denied a dentist. Nearly three months into his Louisiana detention, with his immigration court hearing repeatedly delayed by continuances, he alleged staff are overcrowding detainees—citing 76 people in a single cell—and reported widespread cases of tuberculosis and pink eye, saying in Spanish, 'They're trying to kill us.' ICE denied the allegations, stating that being in detention is a choice.

Isreal Cruz Gonzales, a Mexican national, was arrested by ICE agents at Denver International Airport on August 13, 2026, while attempting to board a Southwest Airlines flight to Sacramento. According to ICE, Gonzales entered the country legally on February 16, 2020, but overstayed his authorized departure date of March 16, 2020. He remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

Miguel Lorenzana Márquez, known as Mike, was detained by ICE agents after checking in for a scheduled USCIS appointment on the morning of his daughter's 8th grade graduation in Bell Gardens, California. His family had been preparing to celebrate the milestone but instead faced unexpected separation when he was taken into custody by ICE agents shortly after his appointment began.

The petitioner entered the United States in 2012 as an unaccompanied minor and was detained by immigration authorities at that time before being released on his own recognizance. His immigration case was administratively closed in 2014, and he has no final order of removal. On August 12, 2026, while driving to work, he was detained again by immigration authorities and has since been held at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas. He alleges he has not received a pre-deprivation individualized assessment of flight risk or dangerousness. He filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus arguing his detention violates due process, seeking release or, alternatively, a bond hearing, and also sought a temporary restraining order to prevent his transfer out of the district or removal from the country. The court denied the TRO motion but ordered that he not be removed or transferred outside the El Paso Division pending further proceedings, and ordered Respondents to show cause by September 2, 2026, why the habeas petition should not be granted.

Luis Alfredo Morales Pérez, 50, a Venezuelan pastor who leads four Seventh-day Adventist congregations in the Houston area, primarily in Pasadena, and has served the Texas Conference since January 2023, was detained by ICE agents on Aug. 6, 2026, at George Bush Intercontinental Airport as he and his wife, Karina, prepared to fly to New York to see their daughters. His wife said two agents approached the couple by name and arrested him before they passed through security. Morales entered the U.S. in 2020 and was granted Temporary Protected Status in December 2023, which ICE says was terminated in November 2025 after the Supreme Court allowed DHS's termination of TPS for Venezuelans to take effect; his wife and attorney say he has a pending asylum case and no criminal record. The Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists said he holds valid employment authorization and described his 'commitment to our mission and the families he serves' as 'unwavering,' asking congregants to pray for him and his family. He is being held at an ICE detention center in Livingston, Texas, where he has been able to speak with his family by phone while his legal team gathers documents to request bond; his case is reported to be at least the third involving a Texas pastor detained at an airport in the past month.

Armelle Bondonga, a 21-year-old who came to the U.S. from the Democratic Republic of Congo as a child under her father's asylum case, was detained by ICE agents on August 12 during her marriage-based green card interview at the USCIS field office in Louisville. Her husband, U.S. citizen Terrance Bradshaw, and their 19-month-old U.S. citizen son were present; agents separated the couple, and Bradshaw left with their son. Bondonga had a final removal order from November 2025 but was pursuing residency through marriage, with Bradshaw's I-130 petition still pending. Her attorneys, including Arianit Osmani, filed a habeas corpus petition arguing agents lacked a warrant and unlawfully detained her, while federal officials described the arrest as a lawful targeted operation. Bondonga is active in community organizations including Future Ancestors and Empower Youth; dozens of community members and elected officials, including state representative Sadiqa Reynolds, rallied on her behalf, describing her as a dedicated volunteer with no criminal record. She was held at the Clark County jail in Jeffersonville, Indiana, as attorneys sought a stay of removal and prepared for a bond hearing.

A Cuban detainee is currently held at the Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center in Pine Prairie, Louisiana. He filed a habeas petition along with an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, seeking to enjoin the government from removing him from the United States, prohibit his transfer to a facility outside the court's jurisdiction, obtain an expedited briefing schedule, and secure his immediate release or a bond hearing. The court found it lacked jurisdiction to block his removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(g), which bars claims connected to the execution of removal orders. The court also denied the request to block a facility transfer, finding no evidence a transfer was likely and noting that jurisdiction attaches upon filing and is not destroyed by transfer. The court declined to expedite briefing beyond its standard procedures. Finally, the court denied the request for immediate release, characterizing it as an improper attempt to resolve the merits of the habeas petition through injunctive relief rather than through the normal litigation process.

More than 140 detainees at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma are on a hunger strike to protest insufficient and unsanitary food, lack of medical care, and poor detention conditions. According to La Resistencia, detainees are being denied adequate meals and medical attention by GEO Group, the private company operating the facility, with meal times delayed for hours and food quality described as unacceptable. The detainees are demanding better food and medical care.

Margarita, a woman from New Jersey, was detained at the Elizabeth Detention Center for two months following what was described as a violent arrest. During her detention, she received only about a quarter of her prescribed diabetes medication, and her doctor and pharmacy were not contacted despite her family's concerns. Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-NJ) visited her and raised concerns about her treatment, with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries also expressing concern. Mejia characterized the conditions as a "slow death sentence."

Alex Pereira-Alves, a Brazilian immigrant who has lived in West Hollywood for over a decade and worked as a security guard and personal trainer, was detained by ICE agents during a sudden immigration check-in at a federal building downtown. He had previously been granted withholding of removal and was under electronic monitoring, with his next scheduled check-in not due until November before he received an unexpected call ordering him to report immediately. His attorney, Jane Oaks, and friends say DHS is now seeking to deport him to a country he has no connection to, with loved ones first told he would be sent to Guyana and later informed it would be Equatorial Guinea. His friend Jeff Markwardt said Pereira-Alves was 'terrified' and expressed concern for his wellbeing, noting his dog Bella remains in the community. Oaks is filing an emergency habeas corpus petition arguing he was denied due process.

Reny Jesús Colina Torres, a 27-year-old Venezuelan mariachi musician and trumpet player who works as a dishwasher at a Cracker Barrel, was detained by ICE agents during a vehicle stop near Culebra Road and North Navidad Street in San Antonio's Woodlawn Lake area on Monday morning while returning home from driving his brother-in-law to work. His sister said he previously applied for asylum and has work authorization while his immigration court case proceeds, with his next hearing scheduled for January. DHS stated that Colina Torres was in the country illegally and would remain in custody during removal proceedings, though his family said they entered through an official port of entry two years ago to escape dire economic conditions in Venezuela. He was sent to the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, the same facility where his friend and fellow mariachi musician Hebert Kaleth Ibarra Castro was detained in late June before being released on bond.

Carolina Molina, a U.S. citizen and licensed mental health therapist who works with immigration lawyers, was confronted at gunpoint by a masked ICE agent on August 10, 2026, in a Falls Church, Virginia parking lot. Molina was distributing business cards for immigration legal services when she witnessed ICE agents detaining two Latino men and shouted at the officers from her car. ICE vehicles boxed in her car and an agent drew his firearm, pointing it at her through the driver's-side window while accusing her of trying to run officers over. Molina denied the allegation, saying she was turning her car to avoid drawing attention to the attorney's office, and recorded the encounter on dashcam and cellphone video that she later shared publicly. DHS claimed she was 'weaponizing her vehicle,' but no charges were filed. Democratic Representatives Don Beyer and Suhas Subramanyam called for accountability, with Beyer describing Molina as a mother and citing a pattern of DHS misconduct.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 14 people during an immigration enforcement operation near Hackettstown, New Jersey on August 6, 2026. According to DHS, all 14 individuals entered the United States illegally and are now in removal proceedings or undergoing removal. Two of those arrested had prior criminal histories: Rafael Salazar, a Dominican Republic national previously arrested twice in Miami on cocaine possession charges, and Luis Rivera Guillen, a Honduran national with prior convictions in New York. DHS did not provide details about the circumstances of the operation or identify the remaining 12 people arrested.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a husband and wife outside the Cumberland County courthouse in Portland after they left the building on Tuesday. According to ICE, both are from African countries and had entered the U.S. legally approximately 10 years ago but overstayed their authorized periods of stay. One of the two had been scheduled to be arraigned that afternoon on a theft charge. The Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition said the arrests were the first it was aware of occurring outside the Cumberland County courthouse and expressed concern that such enforcement near courthouses discourages immigrants from reporting crimes, testifying as witnesses, or attending their own court proceedings.

Fabián Guarín, a Hispanic immigrant and asylum applicant with valid work authorization and a current driver's license, was detained by ICE during a traffic stop in Provo, Utah. His wife Natalia says he is the sole economic provider for their family of five, including three young children, and that he has no criminal record and proper documentation. The family is seeking financial support and assistance to secure his release.

Luis Morales, a Venezuelan-born Seventh-day Adventist pastor who has overseen four churches in the Houston area since January 2023, was detained by ICE agents at George Bush Intercontinental Airport on August 6, 2026, while traveling with his wife for vacation. According to ICE, Morales's Temporary Protected Status was revoked on November 20, 2025, and he remained in the country afterward. His wife, Karina, said the couple has a pending asylum claim. The Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists stated that Morales holds valid employment authorization and expressed concern for him and his family.

A 14-year-old girl from Guatemala was detained by ICE and deported while pregnant. She is now in a rural area of Guatemala preparing to give birth to a baby boy with a due date of August 15th. The mother and her 14-year-old boyfriend, a U.S. resident, had planned to raise their child together in the United States, but her deportation has separated the young family. The family is seeking legal assistance to establish the baby's citizenship, determine the mother's immigration options, and reunite all three in the U.S.

The petitioner was paroled into the United States on June 26, 2019, and issued a Notice to Appear; he later filed for asylum and withholding of removal, and an immigration judge dismissed his Notice to Appear. On August 11, 2026, ICE apprehended him in Burbank, California, following his arrest for possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, and he was served a new Notice to Appear the same day. He has since been detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. His family lost contact with him on August 19, 2026, and his attorney later learned he had suffered a possible stroke, was hospitalized for one night, and then returned to detention, where he says he needs prompt surgical evaluation; he also alleges the facility has withheld timely health information from his counsel. He filed a habeas petition and sought a temporary restraining order seeking immediate release, telephone access to counsel and family, a medical evaluation, or a bond hearing. The court found he was denied constitutionally required pre-detention process and granted the TRO, ordering his immediate release under his prior conditions of supervision and referring the underlying habeas petition to a magistrate judge.

Jimy Samuel Godoy Alfaro, an 18-year-old Honduran man, was confronted by ICE agents in the parking lot of a market in Columbia, Maryland, after agents mistakenly linked his vehicle to another person with a deportation order. When agents ordered him out of the car and tried to break his window, he drove off, striking an ICE agent who was later treated at a hospital for trauma and abrasions. Godoy Alfaro turned himself in to Howard County Police on hit-and-run related traffic charges and is being held without bond at the Howard County Detention Center, while ICE has lodged a detainer seeking custody of him.

A 49-year-old citizen of the Dominican Republic entered Puerto Rico without inspection around 1998 and has lived in the United States for more than 28 years without any reported criminal history. He has two U.S.-citizen children, ages 20 and 12, whom he financially supports, and he also supports his U.S.-citizen mother, who has documented illnesses; his mother twice filed I-130 petitions on his behalf, both of which were approved. On August 11, 2026, seven masked ICE agents approached and detained him in San Juan, Puerto Rico while he was waiting to retrieve electrical materials for a job, and he was taken into immigration custody without prior warning. He is currently detained at the GSA Guaynabo Immigration Center. He filed a habeas corpus petition arguing his detention violates the INA and his Fifth Amendment due process rights, along with an emergency motion for a TRO seeking to block his transfer out of Puerto Rico and to obtain a bond hearing. The court found he is likely governed by the discretionary detention framework of 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) rather than mandatory detention, and granted the TRO, ordering that he not be transferred outside the District of Puerto Rico and that he receive a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge by August 25, 2026. The habeas petition itself was held in abeyance pending further briefing from the government.

A 9-year-old child with special medical needs and their parent, Adrián Espinoza De La Cruz, were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents on August 11 and are being held at the Havre Border Patrol Station, according to a petition filed in federal court by attorneys with Upper Seven Law. The petition alleges the arrest was made without a judicial warrant and that the facility lacks basic amenities such as proper bedding, despite the family's ties to Billings, where the parent has lived for four years and the child for three years while attending elementary school. The child has upcoming medical appointments, including bloodwork and an ultrasound, that took months to schedule. The U.S. Attorney's Office acknowledged the warrantless arrest but argued releasing the parent and child would not be appropriate, while attorneys are seeking their immediate release or a bond hearing as part of a broader case alleging the government is unlawfully detaining 17 people at the Cascade County Detention Center.

An Indian national is detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. He first filed a habeas petition and TRO motion on December 17, 2025, after which a district judge ordered an individualized bond hearing and barred his transfer out of the district; an immigration judge subsequently denied bond on the merits. After briefing on the merits, the parties voluntarily dismissed that case without prejudice on August 5, 2026. Six days later, with new counsel, he filed a second habeas petition seeking the same relief—immediate release or a bond hearing—along with another emergency TRO application, citing ongoing detention, an unevaluated cardiac abnormality (documented via ECGs showing sinus tachycardia and T wave abnormality), and the lapse of the prior no-transfer order. The magistrate judge denied the TRO application without prejudice, finding no showing of imminent irreparable harm beyond what standard expedited habeas briefing could address, noting his own dismissal created the transfer risk, and pointing to General Order 26-05's two-day transfer notice requirement. The court ordered the government to answer the petition by August 18, 2026, with the matter to be submitted for final disposition shortly after.

Petitioner, a national of Honduras, is currently detained at ICE's Washington Field Office in Chantilly, Virginia under 8 U.S.C. § 1231 pursuant to a final order of removal. An Immigration Judge previously granted her application for Withholding of Removal, which legally prohibits her removal to Honduras. Despite this protection, she remains in ICE custody and fears she may be removed to a third country instead. She filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 arguing that her continued detention violates her due process rights under Zadvydas v. Davis. She also filed a Motion for Temporary Restraining Order seeking to block her removal to a third country while her habeas petition is pending. The court granted the TRO, enjoining respondents from removing or transferring her from the district, and ordered respondents to show cause by August 17, 2026 why the habeas petition should not be granted, with any reply due by August 21, 2026.

Daniela, a Salvadoran woman, was detained by ICE while three months pregnant. She suffered a miscarriage during her detention. She now wears an ankle monitor and fears deportation to El Salvador, the country she fled after being a victim of crime.

Venkata Vasamsetty, a 59-year-old green card holder who moved to the U.S. from India in 1999, works as a special-needs substitute teacher with Wake County Public School System in Cary, North Carolina, and is a grandmother with a husband, two U.S.-citizen daughters, and grandchildren. Her immigration troubles began after a 2022 trip to India to care for her ill father, during which she contracted COVID-19 and remained abroad for more than seven months, prompting DHS to allege she had abandoned her permanent residency. An immigration judge dismissed that case in May after DHS missed a court deadline, but she was detained anyway during a check-in at the Charlotte ICE office her attorney said she was not legally required to attend, and was transferred to the Irwin County Detention Center in rural Georgia. Her daughter Teja, an immigration attorney, said she was shackled during the arrest while family pleaded with officers. Family and her attorney, Helen Parsonage, said her type 2 diabetes worsened in custody, with low blood sugar, weight loss, and the facility largely ignoring requests for an adequate vegetarian diet respecting her Hindu dietary restrictions. After more than two weeks in detention, an immigration judge in Georgia granted her release on a $7,500 bond, citing her long-standing U.S. ties, a home, tax returns dating back to 2012, her teaching job, and her history of never missing a court appearance or check-in.

Magdalena Jimenez Juan and her husband Antonio Pedro Andres came to the United States from Guatemala over 25 years ago seeking medical treatment for their son Rafael, who has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a genetic neurological disorder causing progressive muscle weakness. The couple has four American citizen children, including their 18-year-old son Yoni who also has the same rare disorder and requires wheelchair assistance. Despite ICE permitting them to live and work in the country for decades and their documented medical hardship and clean criminal record, ICE denied their stay of removal on June 23 without explanation. Antonio is detained at Krome Detention Center in Miami awaiting deportation to Guatemala, and Magdalena has until August 27 to self-deport or face detention. If deported, Yoni and Rafael will be placed in state custody while their 22-year-old brother Ervi becomes the sole guardian of their 15-year-old sister Erica.

A member of the Delgado family was arrested by ICE in San Antonio, Texas. According to community members, the family has been part of the San Antonio community for a long time, with children attending local schools and parents involved in community activities including youth sports and advocacy for community rights.

Daniela lost her three-month pregnancy while in immigration detention custody. She was transferred between detention facilities across multiple U.S. states over nearly four months and reports she did not receive appropriate medical treatment for her pregnancy while detained.

Indoniel Lázaro Barrio, a 15-year-old Cuban boy, was deported from the United States to Guyana with his father. After his father's sudden death, the boy was left alone in Guyana. His mother, Indala Saura, a legal resident in Miami, is seeking urgent help to bring her son back to Florida, where he had lived and studied for the past four years.

The United States has deported hundreds of unaccompanied Mexican children on flights to southern Mexico cities including Tapachula, Villahermosa, and Mérida, where human rights organizations confirm more than 350 cases. Many children lack resources to return home safely and have become stranded in unfamiliar cities with inadequate local support services. Some children have disappeared from shelters, and human rights advocates have received information suggesting possible deaths of at least three children attempting to return to their home communities. The policy, discovered in December 2024, represents a shift from prior practice of rapid deportations at the land border where children received care through Mexico's child welfare system.

Jasmir Urbina, a 35-year-old Nicaraguan asylum-seeker living legally in New Orleans with her husband, was defrauded by a scammer posing as attorney "Susan Millan" affiliated with Catholic Charities USA. Through WhatsApp messages and fake documents, the scammer convinced Urbina she had won residency in a virtual hearing and instructed her to skip her real immigration court check-in scheduled for November 24, 2025. Urbina and her husband paid nearly $10,000 through Zelle for the fraudulent services—money they had saved to purchase their first home. After reporting the fraud to authorities, ICE changed her scheduled December virtual check-in to an in-person meeting. When Urbina appeared for the in-person appointment, ICE agents arrested her, shackled her hands and feet, and deported her to Nicaragua in January 2026. She is now living with her mother in a remote village in Nicaragua, separated from her husband who remains in the U.S. Her case was documented in a ProPublica investigation revealing that immigration scam complaints have doubled since Trump's election, with victims reporting at least $94.4 million stolen over five years.

The petitioner is a 23-year-old native and citizen of Russia who entered the U.S. with his parents and siblings in October 2022 and has remained continuously in the country since, complying with all reporting and immigration court requirements with no criminal history. He and his family applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. He suffers from moderate atopic bronchial asthma requiring inhaled medication and severe, recurrent leg cramps aggravated by confinement. After an immigration judge ruled against him and his family on August 3, 2026 (an appeal now pending before the BIA), he was instructed to report to ICE for a scheduled check-in, where officers took him into custody without prior notice or an opportunity to contest the detention, and denied his requests to contact family or obtain his medication. He was transported to and remains held at Adelanto Detention Facility without a bond hearing. He filed a habeas petition and TRO application seeking immediate release, and the government did not oppose the petition. The court granted the petition, ordering his immediate release and barring re-detention absent notice and a hearing showing materially changed circumstances.