Human Impact Project

A Mexican citizen who entered the United States in July 2004 without inspection was arrested and detained by ICE on June 26, 2026 at the Philadelphia Federal Detention Center. He had previously been detained in 2018, released on bond in May 2018, and had his immigration proceedings taken off calendar in December 2022. The government sought to detain him without a bond hearing under INA § 1225, claiming he was "seeking admission." The court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release, finding the government's interpretation of the mandatory detention statute unlawful and unwarranted as applied to someone already present in the country for over two decades.

Three Mexican citizens without lawful immigration status were arrested by ICE agents on June 26, 2026, in San Francisco after leaving a residence during an operation targeting another individual. The agents conducted warrantless arrests without making any individualized assessment that the petitioners were likely to escape before a warrant could be obtained, violating 8 U.S.C. § 1357(a)(2). The court found the arrests unlawful and issued a temporary restraining order directing their immediate release from custody.

Wilbur Garcia, an 18-year-old honors high school graduate from South Los Angeles, was detained by ICE during an asylum appointment scheduled one day after his graduation. Garcia, whose family fled political persecution in Nicaragua and has been in the asylum process for years, was held at the Adelanto ICE detention center for over two weeks in poor conditions including sewage overflow in cells and showers, and insufficient food provisions. After public defenders challenged ICE's justification for detaining him—that he was no longer covered under his mother's asylum application upon turning 18—a judge ordered his release on June 26. Garcia said he was helped by older detainees who treated him like family. He plans to pursue pre-med classes in college.

A Guatemalan national who entered the United States in 2007 was arrested by immigration authorities on June 26, 2026, while traveling to work. He was detained at the Philadelphia Federal Detention Center under mandatory detention provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1225 without a bond hearing. On June 30, 2026, the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted his habeas corpus petition, finding his detention unlawful because he was not 'seeking admission' under the statute, and ordered his immediate release.

Tania Romero Naranjo, a 24-year-old Cuban from the Isle of Youth, was detained by ICE on June 26 while attending a routine supervision appointment in Portland, Texas. Romero Naranjo entered the United States four years ago with an I-220A form, which allows release under conditions while migration proceedings continue but does not provide definitive legal status. She is the mother of a three-year-old U.S. citizen child who has been left in the care of his father since her detention. She had no criminal record and worked in a high-risk job involving fireproof materials at oil refineries. Her family is demanding she not be deported to Cuba, as it would separate her from her American citizen son.

Eight children from three South Florida families departed Miami International Airport on a flight to Guatemala City to reunite with relatives after their parents were deported or chose to leave the country. Three of the children are U.S. citizens. The Guatemalan-Maya Center coordinated travel logistics, provided chaperones, and supported the families through the separation.

A 44-year-old man from Ukraine suffered a stroke while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and did not receive suitable medical care despite showing clear signs of medical emergency, including seizure-like movements. The case was highlighted in a joint report by Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights documenting that the rate of people dying in ICE custody has reached its highest level in over a decade, with at least 52 deaths reported since Trump's second term began in January 2025.

ICE conducted an enforcement operation in Columbus and Platte County, Nebraska on June 26, 2026, targeting individuals who had failed to comply with previously issued deportation orders. One person was taken into custody during the operation. The detained individual had been previously deported. No further details were released by Columbus Police or ICE.

Arturo, a Guatemalan man who fled extortion and violence, was detained by ICE while returning home from a work shift. He was scheduled for hernia surgery and has Type II diabetes, but is receiving no medical attention in out-of-state detention. His family—wife Maricel and three children—faces financial hardship due to loss of his income.

On May 28, 2026, ICE agents detained multiple employees at Don Patron Mexican Restaurant locations in Weston and Bridgeport, West Virginia, including Erick Cristal Cumes and Jose Cruz Castro. More than a dozen workers were taken into custody at each location. The detainees' families reported poor detention conditions, including spoiled food and limited contact with relatives. On June 25, 2026, habeas corpus petition hearings were held in U.S. District Court in West Virginia to determine whether ICE had legal authority to continue holding the detainees. A judge issued a ruling allowing at least one detainee's case to remain in West Virginia federal court.

Antonia Escobar's father was detained by ICE on June 25, 2026, while returning home from work. According to his daughter, he came to the country through legal means and has no criminal record. He was initially held at an ICE detention center in Broward County, Florida, before being transferred to the Otero County Processing Center in New Mexico. His bond request was denied, and the family is appealing the decision. His daughter, who is turning 18, is fundraising to cover legal fees and other costs associated with his case, as her mother stopped working to manage family affairs and the legal proceedings.

Gavilan Sanchez, a Mexican national without legal immigration status and mother of U.S. citizen children, was arrested by ICE agents during the same operation that resulted in the detention of her husband, Jesus Acevedo Sanchez, outside a Baltimore school in June. According to her attorney, when agents told her to cooperate, they threatened to do to her "what we did to your husband or worse." ICE arrested her for assault, claiming she punched agents during the incident. In early July, a federal judge ordered her release. Since the arrest, her daughters have been staying with relatives.

Leidys Barrabi, a 25-year-old Cuban mother, revealed on Instagram that she received a deportation order after four years in the United States. Barrabi built a beauty salon, Heaven's Spa Miami, from scratch and established a stable life for her daughter and family. In a video posted June 25, 2026, she expressed disbelief at the order but stated she would continue fighting and believes God has control of her life. The post garnered over 757,000 views and thousands of supportive comments from followers urging her to appeal.

An ICE detainee held at California City Immigration Processing Center filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention. He received an initial bond hearing on March 17, 2026, where the immigration court determined he was a flight risk and danger to the community. At a second hearing on May 28, 2026, the immigration court denied his bond redetermination request by claiming lack of jurisdiction based on mandatory detention. The federal court ordered respondent to determine his eligibility for a bond hearing under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.19(e) within seven days and, if eligible, to conduct the hearing within fourteen days, or immediately release him.

A detained immigrant was held pending removal proceedings without being afforded a bond hearing. He challenged his detention through a habeas corpus petition in federal court. Following the Sixth Circuit's decision in Lopez-Campos v. Raycraft, the court granted the petition and ordered respondents to provide him with a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) within ten days or release him from custody.

A 29-year-old Dominican Republic citizen who entered Puerto Rico without inspection in 2021 was arrested by ICE agents on June 25, 2026 during a traffic stop in San Juan. He had been living in Puerto Rico for nearly five years with no criminal record, had married a U.S. citizen, had an approved I-130 family petition, and had a pending provisional unlawful presence waiver application. The court granted a temporary restraining order preventing his transfer outside Puerto Rico and ordered he receive a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge, finding he likely fell under discretionary detention provisions rather than mandatory detention.

A 39-year-old man from Mexico died from cardiac arrest likely caused by septic shock after his requests for medical help regarding an infected abscess were mishandled while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. The case was documented in a joint report by Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights examining deaths in ICE facilities, which found that at least 52 deaths have been reported in ICE custody since January 2025, with the mortality rate up 140 percent compared to the previous year.

Ozgur Demirkan, a 30-year-old Turkish national and former Kirkwood Community College student, was detained by ICE agents at his Iowa City apartment on June 25, 2026. Demirkan had lived in Iowa since 2018 on a student visa and returned to the United States in 2022 during the Turkey-Ukraine conflict. According to community organizers, he fears forced military enlistment if deported to Turkey and aspires to continue studying medicine. The detention occurred following Congress's approval of a $70 billion funding increase for ICE and Border Patrol.

Lisbeth Portillo, 58, was deported to Venezuela on June 24, 2026, on Flight 164 carrying approximately 146 people. She was housed at Hotel Santuario La Llanada with over 100 other recently deported Venezuelans, in a second-floor room with 16 other women. Twin earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude struck hours after her arrival, causing the building to collapse. Portillo was buried under a beam but escaped the rubble, surviving with bruises covering her body. She was reunited with her children the following night. Portillo had crossed the U.S. border in November 2021 with a pending asylum claim and had lived in South Florida for more than four years before her deportation.

Anderson Daniel Salcedo, 22, a construction worker who had lived in the U.S. for three years, was deported to Venezuela on June 24, 2026 via Flight 164. Upon arrival, he was taken to Hotel Santuario La Llanada in La Guaira for processing. Twin earthquakes struck hours later, collapsing the hotel. Salcedo was trapped in the rubble for 40 hours without access to his phone or documents—which had been withheld by authorities—leaving his family unable to locate or contact him during the crisis. He was rescued and admitted to Caracas's university hospital, where both of his legs were amputated due to his injuries.