Human Impact Project

The Trump administration is detaining DACA recipients at increasing rates, treating them as deportable despite their protected status. The article documents cases of multiple DACA holders detained for months, including some with no criminal records, and highlights how long renewal processing times and mandatory detention policies are creating uncertainty for the roughly 600,000 DACA recipients in the U.S.

Mauro Yosueth Henriquez, 18, a senior at Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology Center in Houston and varsity soccer team co-captain, was detained by ICE on December 16, 2025, during a routine immigration check-in with his father. He was held at multiple ICE facilities including Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe and Livingston before being transferred to federal detention. After nearly four months in custody, Henriquez was deported to Honduras in February 2026. His detention prompted Houston students to organize protests calling for his release so he could graduate with his class. Elected officials and Houston-area Democrats responded to the case, while Texas Republican leaders declined to comment. Mauro Yosueth Henriquez, a senior captain and midfielder on the Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology Center soccer team, and his father Mauro Rigoberto Henriquez were detained by ICE on December 16 and are reportedly held at a detention center in Conroe. The younger Henriquez is also a volunteer soccer coach in the community. Neither has a criminal record according to Harris County District Clerk's Office, and both are originally from Honduras. Community members organized a protest on Tuesday evening calling for Henriquez's release so he can graduate with his class. Mauro Henriquez, an 18-year-old senior and soccer team captain at Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology Center in Houston, was taken into custody by ICE along with his father while attending an immigration meeting in early December 2025. Henriquez and his father, both from Honduras, were seeking asylum in the U.S. and have been detained at Montgomery Processing Center for over 50 days. Henriquez is an A and B student who has lived in the U.S. since grade school and serves as a volunteer soccer coach at his church. Christian Jimenez, a 17-year-old US citizen and senior at McMinnville High School, was detained by ICE officers after they smashed the window of his father's car during his lunch break. Despite repeatedly asserting his citizenship, an officer broke the car window and ordered him out of the vehicle. Jimenez was taken to an ICE facility in South Portland and held for several hours before being released that evening. Authorities later attempted to charge him with interference or obstruction of investigation.

A Colombian national who entered the United States in 2022 was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on April 9, 2026, at a USCIS office in Tustin, California while attending an interview for his pending asylum application. He had been living in Compton, California with his girlfriend and their child and had previously been appearing for immigration court hearings before those were terminated. He was held virtually incommunicado, denied contact with family and counsel for two days, and permitted only one 15-minute phone call with his attorney. The court found that his arrest without notice or a pre-deprivation hearing violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and his Fifth Amendment due process rights. On April 20, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release without conditions, finding that he had developed a substantial liberty interest in remaining free based on his four years of residence in the United States and his family connections.

A Venezuelan citizen who entered the U.S. in 2023 was granted withholding of removal to Venezuela in February 2025. On April 9, 2026, he was detained by ICE during a routine check-in. His wife was informed that authorities intended to remove him to Africa, despite his withholding protection. The court issued a habeas petition order requiring respondents to show cause why the petition should not be granted and ordered advance notice of any removal.

A 52-year-old asylum seeker from China who has lived in the United States since December 2019 was arrested by ICE immediately after attending a scheduled interview on his pending asylum application at a USCIS office. He had entered lawfully on a B-2 visitor visa, filed for asylum in 2021, and was granted employment authorization while his case remained pending. During his time in the US he started his own business, held a valid driver's license, paid taxes, and became an active member of his church, being baptized in 2025. He had no criminal convictions and had complied with all immigration appointments. His arrest was based on a foreign warrant referral from Chinese authorities, though the government did not submit the warrant or supporting evidence at his bond hearing, and an immigration judge denied him bond. He was transferred to and remains detained at the Adelanto Detention Facility. He filed a habeas petition arguing his detention violated procedural and substantive due process because he received no pre-deprivation notice or hearing, and the court granted the petition, ordering his immediate release and barring re-detention without prior notice and a hearing.

Genesis, 11, and Denis, 6, students at Burton Magnet Elementary School in Durham, were detained and deported to Honduras along with their parents in April 2026. The family had lived in the United States for four years after seeking asylum from Honduras in 2022. According to Siembra NC, the family was detained during a regularly scheduled asylum administrative appointment and then deported. ICE stated the family failed to appear for an immigration hearing and had no pending asylum claims. State Senator Sophia Chitlik and advocacy groups argued the family's due process was violated and that they were doing everything required by the immigration system.

Hayam El Gamal, a mother of five detained at the Dilley Immigration Detention Center in Texas, was taken to the emergency room on April 9 after weeks of being denied medical care for an abnormal chest growth. She had been requesting a CT scan since February 17, but center officials repeatedly denied the referral, instead offering only ibuprofen and generic advice. When finally taken to the ER, she rated her pain as 11 out of 10. The ER CT scan revealed fluid around her heart (pericardial effusion), and the ER doctor recommended an ultrasound, which DHS, ICE, and CoreCivic subsequently denied. Three independent physicians reviewed her case and concluded that ICE and CoreCivic are systematically denying her medical care and that her condition poses an urgent threat to her health and potentially her life. El Gamal and her four minor children have been detained at Dilley for over 10 months, far exceeding the 20-day legal limit for detaining children.

A 17-year-old Hispanic minor was detained by ICE agents at a Target store in Richfield, Minnesota, during Operation Metro Surge. Federal Judge Eric Tostrud concluded that the minor was detained solely because of his race or ethnicity, without reasonable suspicion or probable cause. The incident is part of an ongoing ACLU lawsuit challenging ICE's racial profiling practices in Minnesota.

A 24-year-old Hispanic man and City University of New York graduate was arrested by federal agents on his way to the Long Island Rail Road in Hempstead. He was released from federal custody after lawyers filed an emergency lawsuit challenging his arrest. The incident is part of a class action lawsuit filed by civil rights organizations alleging that ICE is unlawfully arresting immigrants in New York based solely on race or ethnicity.

A 36-year-old Hispanic man was arrested by federal agents while entering his apartment building in Bushwick, Brooklyn, after coming home from work. He was released from federal custody after lawyers filed an emergency lawsuit challenging his arrest. The incident is part of a class action lawsuit filed by civil rights organizations alleging that ICE is unlawfully arresting immigrants in New York based solely on race or ethnicity.

Juan Carlos Quintero, 41, was arrested by federal agents in three unmarked cars while watching a game of dominos in Staten Island after saying he did not have an ID. He was released from federal custody after lawyers filed an emergency lawsuit challenging his arrest. The NYCLU, Make the Road New York, and the Legal Aid Society filed a class action lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of eight immigrants, alleging that ICE is unlawfully arresting people in New York based solely on race or ethnicity.

A Mexican national who entered the U.S. as a child in 1989 was arrested by ICE on April 9, 2026, after reporting to the Santa Ana Enforcement and Removal Operations office. He is married with six U.S. citizen children and has a pending application for adjustment of status. The court granted his request for an individualized bond hearing while denying his request for immediate release.

Hilda Sucely R.M.D.E., mother of two U.S. citizen children who lived in the U.S. for nearly 25 years, was arrested by immigration authorities on April 9, 2026, when she appeared for a fingerprinting appointment in connection with seeking relief under the Violence Against Women Act. She had been released on bond after entering without inspection in 2003 and had an in absentia removal order from September 2003 that she never received notice of. The court ordered her immediate release from immigration detention, finding violations of federal regulations requiring pre-deprivation process.

Diego Cabrera Gonzalez, a 9-year-old with cerebral palsy, and his family from Ecuador face possible deportation after an immigration hearing scheduled for later in April. The family came to the U.S. in 2023 seeking medical care for Diego, who has undergone four surgeries and has improved significantly since arriving. Their legal case was jeopardized when they hired someone who failed to properly file asylum paperwork, but they have since secured new legal representation and are fundraising to cover legal fees.

Washington state won a federal court ruling in November 2025 allowing health inspections at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, operated by private contractor GEO Group. However, state inspectors have been denied entry nine times since 2023, including after the court ruling. Advocacy groups report over 3,500 detainee complaints including concerns about religious accommodations during Ramadan, food quality, and medical care.

Brandon, a U.S. citizen, was detained for eight hours at the Whipple building during Operation Metro Surge and reported appalling detention conditions including unresponsive guards, unsanitary facilities, and interrogations. After his release, he was hit with pepper balls and exposed to tear gas and flash bangs as ICE agents confronted a protest outside the facility.

A man detained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is currently held at the Joe Corley Processing Center in Conroe, Texas. Represented by counsel, he filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging his continued confinement and a motion for a temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction seeking his immediate release pending judgment on the merits of his petition. On April 3, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued an Order to Answer requiring the respondent (the Warden) to file an answer or appropriate responsive pleading and response to the motion by April 17, 2026. The petitioner was given ten days to respond to any answer or dispositive motion and to the respondent's response to the motion for temporary restraining order.

A Chinese woman, a petitioner detained at Desert View Annex Detention Facility following a routine immigration check, filed for immediate release from custody through a habeas corpus petition. She argued her ongoing detention constitutes constitutional deprivation and feared potential transfer to another facility would impair her access to counsel. The court denied her emergency application for temporary restraining order but ordered the government to show cause why habeas relief should not be granted under an expedited briefing schedule.

A detainee is being held at the Dodge County Detention Facility in Juneau, Wisconsin by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention, arguing he is properly categorized under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) rather than § 1225(b)(2), and that his continued detention without an individualized assessment of flight risk or danger to the community violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause, and the Fourth Amendment's Search and Seizure Clause. Along with his petition, he filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent his transfer to another detention facility during the litigation. On April 9, 2026, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin denied the motion for temporary restraining order, finding that he failed to make a specific showing of immediate and irreparable harm before the respondent could be heard in opposition, beyond the harm inherent in being detained unlawfully. The denial was issued without prejudice, allowing him to renew the request if warranted.

A Mexican national filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his immigration detention that has lasted nearly two years. The court found his petition unclear about whether he is detained under pre-removal or post-removal statutes. The court denied his motions for emergency relief and appointed counsel but ordered the government to respond and clarify the legal basis for his continued detention.