Human Impact Project

Stephanie Kenny-Velasquez, a 25-year-old Venezuelan national and wife of a U.S. Army Reserve Black Hawk pilot, was detained by ICE in Houston on December 5, 2025, during a routine check-in despite having been released in 2021 pending her asylum claim and consistently complying with all required appointments and hearings. She was held at the Houston Contract Detention Facility for approximately four months. A federal judge found due-process violations and ordered her release within 48 hours, permitting her to continue her immigration case outside of detention. Kenny-Velasquez reported poor conditions including overcrowding (60 women), lack of privacy, inadequate food, anxiety attacks, and limited access to medical care.

A Chinese national filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging his prolonged immigration detention without a bond hearing, arguing it violated due process rights. The government conceded that he was entitled to a bond hearing and agreed to bear the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a danger to the community or risk of flight. On March 26, 2026, the federal court granted his petition and ordered respondents to arrange a bond hearing before an immigration court within seven days. The court declined to order his immediate release or issue further declaratory or injunctive relief. He must pursue any request for attorneys' fees through a separate noticed motion.

Efrain C.G., a Mexican citizen who entered the U.S. in 1993 and has been working since arrival, was arrested by ICE on April 7, 2026, at the Fresno County Superior Courthouse while inquiring about charges from a December 2025 domestic violence incident. He had no prior criminal history except traffic violations and no prior immigration history. The court ordered he receive a bond hearing within 14 days or be immediately released.

Lydia Rabara Swinburne, a 39-year-old Filipino national, was detained by ICE on April 7, 2026, during a green card interview after local authorities arrested her on domestic violence charges that were later dropped. On May 2, while in custody at the California City ICE facility, she suffered a medical emergency after being given unrecognized medication; her husband alleges a medication error occurred. A federal judge ordered her release on May 18 after her family filed a habeas corpus petition challenging her detention.

A man was arrested by DHS federal agents in the 500 block of Moffet Road in Lake Bluff on Tuesday morning. The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights reported it as an immigration arrest, though DHS has not confirmed the reason. Video showed the man telling agents he does not speak English as they asked about weapons and referenced his paperwork. Lake Bluff Police were not present and DHS had not communicated with local authorities about the arrest.

A 76-year-old Indonesian father was detained by ICE agents outside the Philadelphia Criminal Justice Center on April 7 while attempting to drop assault charges against his 47-year-old son in court. The father was released shortly after his detention, but his son remained in immigration detention over two weeks later. The incident has raised concerns among advocates about immigrants risking deportation when participating in the justice system. Advocates have called for restrictions on ICE activity at the courthouse, where dozens of immigrants have been arrested in the past 15 months.

Otofu Ayaku, a UT Austin graduate originally from Nigeria, was arrested during a traffic stop in March and detained for approximately one month in two Houston-area facilities. Though their criminal charges were dropped, Ayaku was released on bond with an ankle monitor while their immigration case continues. Ayaku has described their detention experience as dystopian, noting the lack of privacy and control, and has remained connected to other detained migrants they met during their time in custody.

Carmen F., an immigrant from South America, called police on her abusive husband and he was deported. She applied for a U visa, which provides crime victims a pathway to permanent residency if they cooperate with law enforcement. However, with a backlog causing wait times exceeding 15 years, the Trump administration has been deporting U visa applicants contrary to longstanding ICE policy. Carmen was detained and deported back to her home country with her young son, where her abusive ex-husband was waiting at the airport.

A father of two disabled children was deported to Mexico after being pulled over by ICE while driving to his drywall installation job. The deportation occurred despite his family obligations and care responsibilities for his disabled children.

Salah Sarsour, 53, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee and a lawful permanent resident for over 32 years, was detained by ICE on March 30, 2026, after being pulled over while driving in the Milwaukee area. DHS alleged he provided false information on his 1998 green card application, citing convictions from an Israeli military court when he was a minor for throwing Molotov cocktails and weapons possession. Despite having no U.S. criminal record, being married to a U.S. citizen, and having six U.S. citizen children, he was transferred to detention facilities in Chicago and Clay County jail in Indiana. Within 24 hours, the Muslim Legal Fund of America filed in federal court seeking immediate relief. His attorneys disputed the allegations and claimed he was being targeted for his Palestinian background and pro-Palestinian advocacy, noting that U.S. authorities had long known about the prior convictions.

Haydee Mercado-Rodriguez, 34, of El Salvador, was arrested April 9, 2026, during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas. ICE identified her as an MS-13 gang member and foreign fugitive convicted in El Salvador of homicide-related and other offenses. She remains in custody pending removal. Minh Duy Tong Nguyen, 54, of Vietnam, was arrested April 16, 2026, during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas. ICE reported he was convicted of murder in Houston in 1991 and had a longstanding removal order. He remains in custody pending removal. Carlos Carmona-Palomo, 29, of Mexico, was arrested April 6, 2026, during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas. ICE identified him as a foreign fugitive wanted for homicide. He was deported April 21, 2026. Leobardo Nieves-Vasquez, 35, of Mexico, was arrested April 7, 2026, during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas. ICE reported he was convicted of intoxication manslaughter in Angelina County, Texas. He was deported April 9, 2026. Eric Eusevio Cortez, 44, of Mexico, was arrested during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas between April 6 and April 17, 2026. ICE reported he had prior convictions for sexual offenses involving minors. Some individuals with such convictions have been deported while others remain in custody pending removal proceedings. Manuel Navarrete-Arellano, 43, of Mexico, was arrested during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas between April 6 and April 17, 2026. ICE reported he had prior convictions for sexual offenses involving minors. Some individuals with such convictions have been deported while others remain in custody pending removal proceedings. Yeslin Orellana Manchame, 30, of Honduras, was arrested during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas between April 6 and April 17, 2026. ICE reported she had prior convictions for sexual offenses involving minors. Filiberto Aleman Sanchez, 55, of Mexico, was arrested during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas between April 6 and April 17, 2026. ICE reported he had prior convictions for sexual offenses involving minors. Brian Rivera Santoyo, 22, of Mexico, was arrested during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas between April 6 and April 17, 2026. ICE reported he had prior convictions related to drug offenses, immigration violations, or other crimes. Heros Cantu, 33, of Mexico, was arrested during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas between April 6 and April 17, 2026. ICE reported he had prior convictions related to drug offenses, immigration violations, or other crimes. Jose Artemio Sanchez-Garcia, 61, of Mexico, was arrested during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas between April 6 and April 17, 2026. ICE reported he had prior convictions related to drug offenses, immigration violations, or other crimes. Javier Ramirez, a U.S. citizen and single father of two, was arrested during a Border Patrol roving patrol at a tow yard in Montebello and charged in federal court with assaulting, resisting, or impeding a federal officer. According to a federal criminal complaint, agents conducted a roving patrol and engaged subjects in a consensual encounter in a parking lot on West Olympic Boulevard. Security camera video showed agents entering the fenced property, and Ramirez was wrestled to the ground while shouting. His attorney contests the charges, stating that Ramirez did not assault anyone, raised his hands when confronted, and was not attempting to flee. The incident occurred as part of broader Border Patrol enforcement operations in Southern California. Pedro Joel Martinez, 52, of El Salvador, was arrested during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas between April 6 and April 17, 2026. ICE reported he had prior convictions for sexual offenses involving minors. Some individuals with such convictions have been deported while others remain in custody pending removal proceedings. Cristian Muratalla Rodriguez, 29, of Mexico, was arrested during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas between April 6 and April 17, 2026. ICE reported he had prior convictions related to drug offenses, immigration violations, or other crimes.

Arpine Misakyan, a Southern California resident with a pending asylum case, was taken into custody after a domestic altercation with her husband at The Buffet at Wynn in Las Vegas. Although the Clark County District Attorney's office declined to pursue a domestic battery charge against her, ICE arrested her while she was being held at the Clark County Detention Center. She was transferred to the Henderson Detention Center and then to the Adelanto ICE Processing Facility, where she filed a lawsuit challenging her detention before ultimately withdrawing it and agreeing to voluntary departure to Armenia three months after her arrest.

Dr. Ezequiel Veliz, a Venezuelan-born family-medicine resident physician at Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco who had lived in the U.S. lawfully for about nine years, was detained by Customs and Border Protection agents at the Sarita Border Patrol checkpoint while driving with his husband, Joseph Williams, from the Rio Grande Valley to Houston. Veliz had lost his work permit in late 2025 when the Trump administration terminated Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans and was pursuing a green card based on his marriage to Williams, a U.S. citizen. Agents transported him to a detention facility in McAllen, and CBP said his pending green card application did not qualify as a valid visa. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro criticized the detention, noting Veliz served a medically underserved region. Veliz was released on an $8,000 bond on April 16, 2026, after ten days in ICE custody in Laredo, and has an immigration court hearing scheduled in July in Houston.

Steven Davis, an observer with Tucson Rapid Response, was pepper-sprayed by a masked, plain-clothed ICE officer while documenting an immigration enforcement operation at a Walgreens in South Tucson on April 6. Davis said he was non-violently exercising his rights to record and observe when he was sprayed without warning or identification from the officer. He fell to the ground and was stunned by the impact. ICE stated officers deployed pepper spray because protesters were impeding their exit from the parking lot, though Davis said he had been following officers' instructions about where to move and film.

Cristina Mejia, 21, has assumed responsibility for her household in Waco, Texas, after her mother Elizabeth was detained by ICE on January 5, 2026, following an altercation. She now manages bills and cares for her two younger brothers, ages 16 and 5, while her mother awaits case updates at a detention facility in Houston. Mejia has limited contact with her mother through three daily phone calls and started a GoFundMe campaign to help cover family expenses during the separation.

Juan Chavez Velasco, a 35-year-old DACA recipient who arrived in the U.S. from Colombia at age 8, was detained by ICE agents on February 18, 2026, while driving to deliver breast milk to his premature daughter in a hospital NICU in Weslaco, Texas. Chavez Velasco holds two bachelor's degrees and works as a medical laboratory scientist with no criminal history. He is married to Stephanie Villarreal, a U.S. citizen, and has three U.S. citizen children. His DACA renewal application, submitted in November 2025, remained unanswered and his status expired on March 10, 2026, while he was in custody. DHS cited a 2005 removal order issued before his DACA approval in 2012, arguing that DACA does not confer legal status. He is detained at Webb County Detention Center in Laredo, Texas.

Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old Ecuadorean boy, and his father Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias were detained by ICE agents in the driveway of their Columbia Heights, Minnesota home on January 20, 2026, after Liam returned from preschool, and flown the next day to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ordered their release on January 31, criticizing the administration's pursuit of deportation quotas as 'ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented,' and Rep. Joaquin Castro personally escorted the pair home to Minneapolis on February 1, where Liam was reunited with his mother, Erika Ramos. Days later, DHS filed a motion to expedite the family's deportation, which their lawyer, Danielle Molliver, called 'retaliatory' and 'extraordinary'; the family's asylum hearing was moved up, and an immigration judge granted a continuance. On March 19, an immigration judge denied the family's asylum claim and ordered them deported to Ecuador, a ruling Molliver called 'misguided' and said the family plans to appeal. By April, Liam's parents said he continued seeing a psychologist, avoided classmates and certain activities, and grew fearful at the sight of police, telling his mother 'It's ICE, Mommy.' His father said he still does not understand why the family was targeted, calling it 'an injustice.'

Abel, an undocumented immigrant who has lived in Minnesota for 29 years and raised four U.S.-born children, was detained by ICE agents in January 2026 while delivering groceries to neighbors in Burnsville as part of a church-coordinated effort to assist families in hiding. The detention occurred during Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration's expanded enforcement operations in Minneapolis. Abel was later released from immigration detention, but the incident left his sons traumatized after witnessing federal agents detain their father during a routine community service activity.

Michel Proenza Martínez, an undocumented Cuban citizen with a final deportation order, was apprehended by ICE in Newark immediately after his release from federal prison. He has a criminal record including burglary, vehicle theft, drug-related offenses, and federal robbery under the Hobbs Act. Proenza Martínez is being processed for removal from the United States as part of intensified ICE enforcement targeting undocumented immigrants with criminal backgrounds.

According to reporting from SA Current, a pregnant woman named Juana was ordered deported by ICE when she was near her due date. Medical professionals and airlines told ICE she was too pregnant to safely fly, but ICE continued seeking officials willing to authorize her travel anyway. The case highlights failures in ICE's own policies protecting pregnant detainees.