Human Impact Project

Sithy Yi, a Cambodian Genocide survivor who arrived in the U.S. in 1981, was released from ICE detention following a federal judge's order. Yi was detained at a routine immigration check-in in Santa Ana on January 8 and held at the Adelanto Detention Facility for almost two months.

Dmytro Kulyk, 39, a Ukrainian who legally entered the U.S. under the Uniting 4 Ukraine program, was detained by ICE agents in a Walmart parking lot in Maple Grove, Minnesota on January 1st. He is currently held in Kandiyohi County Jail in Willmar, Minnesota, awaiting his fate while his re-parole application remains pending. His wife and daughter's applications were approved. Kulyk's attorney suggested his re-parole application may have been intentionally delayed to provide grounds for deportation.

A mother was detained by ICE after going outside to warm her car. She was able to contact someone to inform them that her children would be left alone as a result of her detention.

Maher Tarabishi was detained by ICE in October 2024 during a routine check-in at the Dallas Field Office. His son Wael, 30, who has Pompe disease and requires round-the-clock care, was hospitalized twice following his father's arrest. Wael died on January 23, 2026. Despite ICE detention standards allowing for emergency-supervised release to attend funerals and the family's humanitarian requests citing Maher's 14 years of compliance with supervised release requirements, immigration officials denied his request to attend his son's burial.

Mireya Lopez-Sanchez and her two-month-old son Juan Nicolas were held at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. The infant developed bronchitis while in ICE custody, and medical treatment was reportedly denied. A judge ordered their deportation to Mexico, and the family lost contact with relatives after being discharged from the hospital.

Thousands of protesters, including union members and families with children, marched to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in South Portland on Saturday to oppose immigration enforcement. Federal agents deployed tear gas, pepper balls, rubber bullets, and flash-bang grenades against the crowd, including children, after some protesters crossed onto the building's property. Portland City Councilor Mitch Green was tear-gassed and called for the abolition of ICE and DHS and prosecution of federal agents. Protester Malena Marvin, also tear-gassed, stated "This is like the big moral question of our time. Are we gonna let secret police kill people right in front of us?" and credited organized labor for the large turnout. Former OregonLive reporter Erin Hoover Barnett described the scene as terrifying, witnessing parents frantically tending to children in strollers and people on motorized carts struggling to escape the gas. Portland Mayor Keith Wilson characterized the demonstration as peaceful and called for ICE to leave the city, saying federal agents had "lost all legitimacy" through their use of violence.

A 31-year-old man was detained by ICE on January 29, 2026, during a traffic stop at a Home Depot parking lot while assisting his father with a home project. During the arrest, he shielded his father from being struck by agents. The government pressed charges against him, alleging he assaulted an officer. On July 16, 2026, a jury found him not guilty after he rejected a plea deal to fight the charges. He has lived in the United States for 22 years since being brought as a child, has three children, no criminal record, and has worked steadily. He now faces deportation proceedings.

A 57-year-old father was detained by ICE on January 29, 2026, during a traffic stop at a Home Depot parking lot while out with his son to purchase materials for a home project. ICE agents ran plates and targeted the father's truck. During the stop, agents pushed the father down, causing him to dislocate his shoulder when he fell. He had no criminal record. The father was deported two days later on Monday, February 2, 2026.

Carlos Chavez, a taco vendor and congregant at North Hills United Methodist Church in Los Angeles who helps with children's ministries, was detained by ICE agents on January 29 during a raid on the church grounds. The raid occurred while the church was conducting a food distribution ministry and hosting an event for mothers and children in the garden. According to church officials, agents forced their way onto the property despite being asked not to enter, carrying weapons and wearing masks, disrupting childcare and after-school programs and forcing attendees to shelter in a secure room for more than four hours. Chavez requested medical treatment for a respiratory illness while in detention, but his request was denied. He was subsequently deported to Mexico after signing a self-deportation order. The raid followed a 2025 policy change that rescinded the long-standing federal "sensitive locations" policy protecting houses of worship, and religious organizations have filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the policy.

ICE agents with guns approached a Korean bakery in Minneapolis, pointing weapons through the glass door at employees. A manager hid Korean immigrant coworkers in freezers during the encounter. Agents allegedly stated they did not need or care about a warrant. After an employee called 911, local police arrived and the ICE agents left the scene.

A Salem woman who is a U.S. citizen was pulled from her vehicle by federal law enforcement officers on January 29, 2026. After being boxed in by unmarked vehicles, agents broke her car window and pulled her to the ground. She suffered a concussion, torn rotator cuff, and bruised ribs.

NPR reporter Adrian Florido witnessed federal immigration agents arrest Jesús González, an undocumented fruit vendor he had been buying from for seven years in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. González was apprehended at his fruit cart stand and subsequently deported to Tijuana, Mexico after agreeing to be removed rather than face detention.

Federal immigration agents detained Thao Xiong, a community organizer and volunteer food shelf delivery driver, in the parking lot of the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center in St. Paul on city-owned property. The detainment occurred despite objections from community center staff and legal observers, and Xiong's U.S. citizenship or immigration status remained unclear. The incident occurred during Operation Metro Surge, which brought approximately 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota for immigration enforcement.

ICE agents detained multiple parents near a school bus drop-off spot in Ypsilanti while students were arriving or departing for school. Local school officials and the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office confirmed the detentions occurred near bus stops, though not on school property itself. The superintendent stated the school district does not voluntarily cooperate with ICE and described the circumstances as distressing.

A Mexican national who entered the United States without inspection in 1998 and has lived in the country for approximately 28 years was arrested on January 28, 2026, in St. Joseph County on drunken driving charges. ICE issued a detainer and an administrative warrant commanding his detention pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226. He was taken into ICE custody on February 24, 2026, and removal proceedings were initiated. On March 11, an immigration judge denied his request for release on bond, finding she lacked jurisdiction. He remained detained at the Clay County Jail without a bond hearing. He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the lawfulness of his continued detention. On April 23, 2026, a federal district court granted his petition, finding that his detention without a bond hearing violates the Immigration and Nationality Act. The court ordered respondents to either afford him a bond hearing before an immigration judge consistent with 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) and pertinent regulations, or release him from detention within seven days.

Wilson Andres Hernandez De Leon, a noncitizen, was detained on January 28, 2026, after previously being released on bond or conditional parole. The petitioner challenged his re-detention through a habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, arguing that the government violated his due process rights by failing to provide a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter before re-detaining him. The Eastern District of California found that the Due Process Clause requires the government to provide such a hearing before re-detaining a noncitizen who was previously released on bond, conditional parole, or humanitarian parole. The court granted the petitioner's motion for temporary restraining order and petition for writ of habeas corpus, ordering his immediate release with the same conditions he was subject to prior to his January 28, 2026 detention. The court also ordered that if the government seeks to re-detain the petitioner in the future, it must provide at least seven days' notice and hold a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter.

Multiple protesters were detained and injured during an anti-ICE demonstration at the Eugene Federal Building on January 27, 2026. Federal officers deployed tear gas, pepper balls, and flash-bangs, detaining at least nine demonstrators. Several protesters reported injuries including bruises, hyperextended limbs, and eye injuries sustained during the law enforcement response.

ICE officers conducted an immigration enforcement operation in the Eastside neighborhood of Santa Barbara on January 28, 2026. A masked ICE officer pepper-sprayed a community member who was documenting the activity, an incident captured on video. One person was detained by ICE, though the detention was reportedly unrelated to the pepper-spray incident.

A video shared on Instagram shows a man in New Prague, Minnesota arguing with suspected federal agents who questioned him about his citizenship status. The post's caption characterizes the interaction as racial profiling and harassment.

Jean Wilson Brutus, a 41-year-old Haitian man, died in December 2025 at Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, less than a day after being detained. Brutus suffered a medical emergency and was transported to University Hospital, but an ambulance transporting him was delayed by 5 minutes as officials prioritized allowing a van of new detainees into the facility. A medical examiner determined he died from a pulmonary embolism, though ICE initially described his death as suspected natural causes. His death was one of at least two deaths at the facility that prompted civil rights scrutiny, and one of 23 people to die in ICE custody during the year.