Human Impact Project

On May 28, 2026, ICE agents from the Champlain sub-office detained 14 people in a raid at a parking lot on Mirror Lake Drive in Lake Placid. The detainees included approximately a dozen roofers working on a short-term roofing project for a local business and staying in employer-provided workforce housing, as well as a local man with several years of community ties, valid work authorization, and a pending asylum case. According to advocacy groups including North Country Immigrant Allies, all detainees possessed work authorization and were legally permitted to reside and work in the United States. All detainees were transported to a detention facility in Batavia, approximately 300 miles away. Local law enforcement was not aware of the operation.

Aldo Garcia was detained by ICE on May 28 at approximately 8:06 a.m. while on his way to work near Highway 99 in Colony Ridge. He has been the primary provider and caregiver for his family since marrying his wife when the subject poster was 7 years old. His detention has left his family of four—including two children ages 8 and 9—in financial and emotional distress as they seek legal representation to prevent his deportation.

A Guatemalan mother and her three children were detained by ICE on May 28, 2026, at a Ferndale facility during what they believed was part of the CBP Home self-deportation process, and were deported to Guatemala on May 30. The family had visited a government office in Tukwila on May 27 as part of the voluntary departure process with a scheduled June 19 departure date. According to her attorney, the mother was told through the CBP Home app that she needed to retrieve her passport and have an exit interview at the Ferndale appointment, but ICE staff later indicated the appointment was specifically intended for detention and removal. The family's 14-year-old son, who entered separately with his father, was left behind.

Under a $7.5 million Trump administration agreement, Equatorial Guinea has detained at least 32 asylum seekers at the Bamy Hotel on Bioko Island since November 2025. All detainees had previously been granted some form of protection by U.S. judges. Twenty-five have been forcibly returned to their African countries of origin—Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Mauritania—where they face persecution, while others remain detained and under pressure to leave. Detainees report psychological distress, inadequate medical care, threats from authorities, and monotonous conditions. Human rights advocates argue the deal exploits a loophole to circumvent U.S. court protections and international asylum norms.

Margoth Paredes, 47, an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador, and her 14-year-old son Dilan were detained by ICE after being found in a vehicle suspected of involvement in immigrant smuggling. While in custody, Paredes was taken to Cecil Shamley School in Tempe to formally withdraw her son from eighth grade during the final week of classes. The family was subsequently transported to the Dilley Family Detention Center in Texas. Paredes' two older children also remain detained in Arizona, and the detention sparked protests outside the school.

Sister Agnes, a Catholic nun from China who had won asylum in the United States, was detained by ICE earlier this year. Even after she won bond in court, ICE refused to release her and kept her in prison for months. She was eventually released to be with her religious community.

Mauricio Castellanos-Gorra, a Cuban national and lawful permanent resident with a 2004 deportation order, was placed in ICE custody in October 2025 after 21 years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Kyle Dudek ordered his release in May 2026 after finding the government failed to meet its burden of proving removal was reasonably foreseeable under the Zadvydas standard. The government did not respond to the court's order requesting details about attempted removals to Mexico.

An immigration detainee was detained under immigration law 8 U.S.C. § 1225 at Orange County Jail in Florida. The court granted a temporary restraining order on May 6, 2026, enjoining respondents from detaining him and ordering his immediate release if held on immigration charges. Orange County Jail released him in accordance with the court order, making the habeas corpus petition moot. A man who entered the U.S. without inspection in December 2022 but was formally paroled by DHS and had complied with all conditions for 3.5 years was arrested during a routine traffic stop in Oklahoma and taken into immigration custody. He was transferred between detention facilities before arriving at Golden State Annex in California. The court granted his habeas petition and ordered his immediate release, finding his detention without pre-deprivation process violated due process rights.

The ACLU of Wyoming is investigating 287(g) agreements across the state following its lawsuit against Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak, who signed three ICE partnership agreements without county commission approval or public input. The organization has sent records requests to the Wyoming Highway Patrol and seven other counties, with plans to pursue additional lawsuits if investigations reveal similar violations of state law.

Harold A., a 58-year-old Cuban national, was arrested during a routine ICE check-in, detained for several months, and deported to Mexico without documentation, money, or personal belongings. He arrived in Mexico unable to afford food or rent. According to a Human Rights Watch report, Harold A. was one of more than 4,300 Cubans deported to Mexico between January 2025 and March 2026 under the Trump administration's expanded mass deportation plan, most of whom were never taken before a judge to contest their deportation despite expressing fear for their safety.

A man who entered the United States as an unaccompanied child in 2016 was initially placed in Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) custody. He was released after ORR determined he posed neither a flight risk nor danger to the community. On May 27, 2026, ICE re-detained him following multiple law enforcement encounters. The court granted his habeas corpus petition, finding that his prior release created a protected liberty interest requiring a pre-deprivation hearing before re-detention, and ordered his immediate release.

A Mexican national entered the United States without inspection on June 24, 2021. He was not encountered by immigration authorities at the time of entry, and his first interaction with the Department of Homeland Security occurred during his arrest on May 27, 2026, when he was stopped by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and taken into custody. He was detained without being provided a bond hearing, with the government arguing he was subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2). On June 25, 2026, he filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the lawfulness of his detention and seeking either immediate release or a bond hearing. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California granted his petition, finding that he is not subject to mandatory detention under § 1225(b)(2) and that his detention is instead governed by § 1226(a), which requires a bond hearing. The court ordered his immediate release and stated that if the government seeks to re-detain him, it must provide seven days' notice and hold a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter.

ICE arrested Lins Dos Santos-Melo, a Brazilian national, on Interstate 81 in Virginia for operating a tractor-trailer without a required commercial driver's license. Dos Santos-Melo possessed a valid Massachusetts driver's license but lacked the proper credentials for the vehicle he was operating. The arrest was part of ICE enforcement operations targeting undocumented immigrants operating commercial vehicles.

Luis Villalobos, a legal permanent resident who has lived in El Paso most of his life, was arrested by ICE agents on May 27 as he left his driveway for work. Agents claimed there was a warrant but refused to provide documentation. His family is struggling with legal fees and bills.

A father and grandfather were detained by ICE in the same operation. The family cannot afford legal representation and has lost their primary income source, as the father was the sole earner. The family is seeking $3,000 to hire a lawyer to investigate the case.

A woman was detained by ICE in El Monte, California on an unspecified date after being followed from her home to a shopping mall. She was taken into custody at 11 am and transferred to LA County detention, then to Adelanto ICE facility. Her daughter Kandie Cortes is seeking funds for legal representation to fight the case.

A woman was taken into ICE custody while a passenger in a car on her way to a church event. She was reportedly going through the legal visa process and had legal representation. Her family is raising funds to cover immigration lawyer fees, legal filings, and other expenses while fighting for her release, as she is the primary caretaker for her sister who has leukemia and type 1 diabetes.

Oscar Andres Moreno Castrillon, a Colombian father, is urgently seeking legal help to establish paternity of his biological daughter before her mother is deported by ICE. The child's mother, who is currently detained by ICE and faces potential deportation, never allowed Moreno Castrillon to be fully involved in the child's life or have his name placed on her birth certificate. Moreno Castrillon fears his daughter may be taken out of the country before he can legally establish his parental rights and ensure she remains in the United States with family.

Dhaval Amratbhai Patel, an Indian national living in the U.S. without authorization, was arrested by Worcester Police on May 16, 2026, for assaulting a customer with a baseball bat at a liquor store where he worked. Local authorities released him from jail without notifying ICE. Federal immigration officials arrested Patel on May 18 after his release. DHS subsequently criticized Massachusetts sanctuary policies for the lack of cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Karliana Yosdeylin Perdomo-Gotopo, a 20-year-old women's soccer player and business major at Cleary University in Michigan, was detained by ICE on May 26, 2026, during a traffic stop in Lincoln Park. Perdomo entered the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor in September 2022 at age 15, fleeing political persecution in Venezuela, and graduated high school with honors in Detroit in 2023. She had a pending asylum application and her mother believed she held valid Temporary Protected Status documentation through October 2026, though the Trump administration had previously ended TPS protections for Venezuelan nationals. A witness reported the stop appeared targeted based on her Latina appearance. Perdomo was transferred to North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin, Michigan.