Human Impact Project

Four journalists and an attorney were detained by plainclothes police in Yaounde, Cameroon on February 19, 2026, while investigating Trump administration deportations of third-country immigrants to the African nation. The journalists were beaten during the detention, and their equipment was confiscated. They were attempting to interview recently deported individuals and film a facility holding deportees. All five people were later released. Press freedom groups raised alarm over the incident, which occurred as some deported immigrants were sent to Cameroon in violation of court orders protecting them from deportation to their home countries.

The Department of Justice filed a denaturalization case against former North Miami Mayor Philippe Bien-Aime, alleging he misrepresented his identity and immigration history during his naturalization process in 2006. According to federal prosecutors, Bien-Aime entered the United States in 1997 using a fraudulent passport under a different name, was ordered removed in 2000, but remained in the country under an assumed identity. The complaint also alleges he obtained permanent resident status through an invalid marriage to a U.S. citizen using a fraudulent divorce certificate.

Liam Azizi and his wife Hananeh Alikaram, Iranian converts to Christianity fleeing religious persecution, were separated after only Azizi received asylum approval. Alikaram's asylum request was denied and she is being held in Louisiana awaiting deportation to Iran, where she faces prosecution for her religious conversion.

Juan Parra, a tattoo artist, provided services at ICE protests and donated half the proceeds to support protesters. He was assaulted and detained for participating in a protest. He later spoke at a Pro-Palestine rally and encouraged support for protesters outside a detention center.

Nikita, Oksana, and their three children—fleeing Russia due to Nikita's outspoken opposition to President Vladimir Putin—were released from the Dilley Immigration Processing Center after more than four months in federal custody, exceeding the 20-day limit for holding minors set by federal court settlement. The family reported enduring worms and mold in food, hourslong waits for medicine in bitter cold or rain, repetitive and sometimes inedible meals, and nonexistent schooling. Their daughter Kamilla suffered a recurring ear infection that, compounded by what parents described as lax medical care, resulted in partial hearing loss. The family was freed following legal intervention by their attorney, a Columbia Law School professor, and media coverage by NBC News, which documented their case. After their release, other detainees erupted in applause and celebration in the dining hall.

Rigoberto Soto Jimenez, a Mexican immigrant, was ordered released by a federal judge in Minnesota but ICE released him in Texas without his driver's license, work permit, or Mexican consular ID card. The Department of Justice failed to comply with the court's February 9 order to return his belongings by the February 17 deadline. At a February 18 show cause hearing, U.S. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Isihara was found in civil contempt of court, and Judge Laura M. Provinzino ordered him to pay $500 daily fines beginning February 20 until the documents were returned. On February 19, the DOJ returned Soto Jimenez's documents via overnight delivery, and the judge dismissed the contempt order without imposing fines.

A noncitizen who had been previously released on bond or conditional parole was re-detained by immigration authorities on February 19, 2026, without being provided a pre-deprivation bond hearing. The court found this violated his due process rights and ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he had prior to detention. The court ruled that the government must provide at least seven days' notice and a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter if they seek to re-detain him.

Javier Abreu-Vasquez (also referred to as Javier Ubreu), a 38-year-old kidney transplant recipient from the Dominican Republic with legal status in the U.S., was arrested by ICE agents in Rochester, Minnesota on February 5 while delivering groceries for his church's mutual aid group after officers rammed his car and broke a window. He was transferred to a facility in El Paso, Texas, where he faced delays and reportedly incorrect dosages of the immunosuppressant medication needed to prevent rejection of his donated kidney. His wife and Minnesota state Rep. Kim Hicks attempted to deliver his medication to federal authorities but were initially turned away. After intervention from Senator Tina Smith's office and Mayo Clinic physicians, he gained access to medication, and a federal judge ordered his release on bond. His attorney confirmed he has no prior criminal convictions. He returned home to Rochester on February 19 after roughly two weeks in custody, with next steps in his immigration case unclear.

Victor Jardon-Reyes, a 33-year-old DACA recipient from Guerrero, Mexico, lost his job on February 18, 2026, after his DACA renewal application stalled for months. He applied to renew his DACA in November 2025, received an appointment for fingerprinting in January 2026, but his work permit expired before the renewal was processed, causing him to lose work authorization and legal protections from deportation. Jardon-Reyes, a homeowner in Chicago's Belmont Cragin neighborhood with a mortgage and college enrollment, is now afraid to leave his home due to risk of ICE detention. His situation exemplifies a nationwide problem of DACA renewal delays affecting an estimated half million recipients.

A Guatemalan citizen who has lived in the U.S. for 14 years with two U.S. citizen children was detained by Florida Highway Patrol during a traffic stop on February 18, 2026, while driving to work. He was transferred to Border Patrol custody and later moved to California City Immigration Processing Center. The federal court ordered his immediate release, finding his detention without a bond hearing violated due process rights.

A mother of three was detained by ICE on February 18, 2026 at her workplace. She is being held in Adelanto, California, miles from her family who depend on her as their main provider. Her family states she has no criminal record and is fundraising for legal representation and bond to secure her release.

Juan Nicolás, a two-month-old infant, was deported to Mexico on February 8, 2026, hours after being discharged from hospital treatment for bronchitis and respiratory illness. He was detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, alongside his mother Mireya López Sánchez and 16-month-old sister after his mother was apprehended near Eagle Pass on January 21 while seeking asylum. During detention, Juan Nicolás developed severe breathing problems, vomiting, and gastroesophageal reflux disease; his mother reported he became unresponsive and was "choking on his own vomit" while hospitalized. After hospital discharge, he was immediately deported with only $190 from the family's detention commissary account. With assistance from journalist Lidia Terrazas and advocacy groups, the family secured shelter and medical care, where Juan Nicolás was diagnosed with RSV and severe bronchiolitis. The family later relocated to Guatemala where they have relatives. Rep. Joaquin Castro criticized the deportation as "heinous."

Noel Quintana, a 50-year-old legal permanent resident and owner of Señor Machetes restaurant in Madison, was detained by ICE at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on January 23, 2026, after returning from Mexico on a valid green card. DHS initiated removal proceedings based on a 2006 cocaine possession conviction. A federal immigration judge ordered termination of removal proceedings and granted bond, but DHS filed an intent to appeal, keeping Quintana detained at Miami Correctional Facility in Indiana. Community members organized fundraisers that collected over $50,000 in support, and local leaders including Rep. Francesca Hong criticized the detention.

A Wilson County man spoke out against a rumored ICE detention center, expressing that he feels safer with undocumented immigrants than with ICE agents. Sheriff deputies responded to the man during his protest, though the ICE detention center plan was subsequently abandoned.

A U.S. District Court in Minnesota ordered ICE to immediately release Michael Opeoluwa Egbele, a Nigerian immigrant detained in January 2026, ruling that the government unlawfully revoked his supervised release without due process or prior notification. Egbele had entered the U.S. unlawfully in 2003, was charged with a drug offense in 2012, but was released on supervised release where he remained compliant for over a decade before his arrest during a routine check-in.

A 48-year-old father of five with pending U-visa protection for victims of crimes cooperating with law enforcement was released from detention at Whipple Federal Building with only his belt, glasses, and wallet. ICE agents withheld his work permit, Social Security card, and consular card, claiming they did not know where the documents were. He has remained largely confined to his house out of fear.

About 150 students at Grand Island Senior High School walked out to protest ICE activity on February 17. During the protest, a 54-year-old man exchanged blows with students near West Lawn Elementary School. A water bottle was thrown through the man's car window during the altercation. The man was arrested for assault on a juvenile, and at least one juvenile was cited for assault; additional citations may follow.

A noncitizen single mother of two US citizen children was arrested by ICE on February 17, 2026 in Victorville, California. She was charged as inadmissible under Section 212(a)(6)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and detained at the Adelanto Detention Facility without being afforded a bond hearing. The court ordered that she must be provided an individualized bond hearing before an immigration judge within 7 days.

Three women employed at The Dots Corp, a printing and marketing business in Irvine, were detained by ICE officers on February 17, 2026, when four tinted SUVs surrounded their vehicle in the parking lot at 8:30 a.m. Officers showed a purported warrant through the vehicle's window before taking the women into custody. The City of Irvine stated its commitment to providing services to all residents regardless of immigration status.

Nenko Gantchev, a 56-year-old Bulgarian national who lived in Chicago for 30 years, died on December 16, 2025, while in ICE custody at North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin, Michigan, operated by GEO Group. He had been arrested in September 2025 during an immigration enforcement operation. Gantchev had type 2 diabetes and deteriorating health conditions that advocates say went untreated. His death prompted calls from his family and U.S. Representatives Haley Stevens and Hillary Scholten for an immediate investigation. The lawmakers toured the facility and expressed frustration that the Department of Homeland Security has not responded to their inquiries about his death, which ICE attributed to natural causes. Immigrant rights advocates, including the ACLU of Michigan and Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, documented that multiple detainees at the facility have been denied emergency and routine medical care, prescription medications, and follow-up care after hospitalization. Gantchev's family has sought a private autopsy.