Human Impact Project

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted an operation at a Sheetz gas station on Freedom Road in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania on Tuesday morning, June 23, 2026. ICE officers, assisted by Butler County Sheriff's deputies, detained at least one person from a white van. Witnesses reported that ICE agents broke the vehicle's window to remove the individual within minutes. Video from the scene showed masked agents placing the person in handcuffs and loading them into a white van. Sheriff Slupe confirmed the person was wanted by ICE but did not provide details about the reason or the individual's immigration status.

ICE agents detained 42-year-old Diana Socha Torres and her 8-year-old son at their home in Wisconsin Dells on June 23, 2026. Socha Torres was wearing an ankle monitor as part of her ongoing asylum case when agents arrived, claiming to conduct a monitoring system change but instead taking both into custody. A deportation order had been entered in April 2026 after Socha Torres missed an asylum hearing; she stated she never received notice of the hearing. An attorney had filed an appeal, but ICE reported having no record of it. Mother and son were taken to ICE offices in Milwaukee and subsequently transferred to Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas.

Eight anti-ICE activists were sentenced to 30 to 100 years in prison on June 23, 2026, following convictions on federal charges including riot, material support for terrorism, and explosives-related offenses stemming from a July 4, 2025 noise demonstration at Prairieland ICE Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas. Benjamin Hanil Song received a 100-year sentence after being convicted of attempted murder for allegedly shooting a police officer during the protest. Daniel Sanchez Estrada, a lawful permanent resident who was not present at the protest, received a 30-year sentence for transporting a box of antifascist zines after his wife attended the demonstration. The remaining six defendants received 50 to 70-year sentences. Defendants and their supporters challenged the convictions, arguing the government presented insufficient evidence and that the prosecution constituted political persecution, but sentencing proceeded despite pending motions to overturn the convictions.

Janeth, a 50-year-old nursing assistant from Honduras with 23 years of experience, lost her job after the Trump administration revoked Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for her country, rendering her legally without status overnight. She had lived in the U.S. for over two decades under TPS and won seven prestigious national nursing awards. The policy is straining the healthcare system as approximately one in six hospital workers involved in patient care are immigrants, creating shortages that cannot be easily replaced.

Eighteen Venezuelan men expelled by the US to El Salvador's Cecot prison in March 2025 filed a petition before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights alleging torture, sexual assault, and medical neglect. The men, who were released and returned to Venezuela in July, detail a pattern of abuse including beatings, humiliation, and being held in windowless cells with constant bright lights. Human rights groups filed the petition on their behalf seeking international accountability for violations.

Following the September 11 attacks, over 1,000 South Asian and Arab men were arrested in sweeps across New York City and nationwide, primarily for visa overstays. Most were held in detention for months with limited contact with families and faced physical and verbal abuse, particularly at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. A Justice Department Inspector General review found the "hold until cleared" policy meant detainees stayed for months despite no evidence of terrorist connections, with officials questioning the legality of prolonged detentions.

Aliaksei Shcharbachenia, a 35-year-old asylum-seeker from Belarus, has spent nearly a year at Farmville Detention Center in Virginia, where he says he is experiencing medical neglect as a tumor grows on his arm. He claims the U.S. government attempted to illegally deport him back to Belarus in a botched operation, and that despite requesting specialist care in December, he has not received a diagnosis or seen a specialist for the growth.

A federal judge ordered the immediate release of seven immigrants who were separated from family members during the Trump administration's 2018 border enforcement crackdown and were later detained again by immigration officials. Two of the seven had already been released without explanation; the remaining five were ordered freed by U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw after the ACLU argued their detention violated a 2023 court settlement.

ICE agents conducted enforcement operations in Page County, Virginia on June 12, 2026, detaining 16 people in coordination with local law enforcement. Among those arrested was a 48-year-old woman who had lived in the U.S. for 18 years, was married to a U.S. citizen, and was in the process of obtaining her paperwork. She was detained at her home shortly after attending a church service at the REC Center, with her son present during the arrest. Pastor Audre King witnessed multiple ICE operations throughout Luray that evening and subsequently organized community efforts to educate immigrants about their legal rights.

Cameron Arnold, Savanna Batten, Zachary Evetts, Bradford Morris, and Elizabeth Soto were each sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for participating in the July 4, 2025 protest at Prairieland ICE Detention Center. All five were convicted on terrorism-related charges. Prosecutors pointed to defendants wearing black clothing and using encrypted messaging as evidence. The combined sentences for all eight defendants sentenced that day total 450 years — longer than any sentences given to January 6 Capitol assault participants.

A mother was detained by ICE while dropping her sister off at school. She was followed by unmarked government vehicles, cornered, and taken into custody. An ICE agent later returned her keys without explanation. The detention left her 20-year-old son responsible for caring for his two younger siblings and caused significant emotional distress to the family. The funds are being raised to help the mother get situated in Mexico and support the children's transition.

A Guatemalan citizen who entered the United States 22 years ago on a temporary visa was arrested by ICE on June 22, 2026, while on his way to work in Baltimore. He is married with a child who has special needs and requires frequent medical care. He is the sole financial provider for his family. He was arrested without a warrant and has not been presented with one. He filed a habeas corpus petition and application for temporary restraining order challenging the lawfulness of his warrantless arrest under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) and § 1357(a)(2). On August 7, 2026, the federal court granted his petition, finding that his warrantless arrest was unlawful because no statutory exception applied. The court ordered his immediate release and converted his temporary restraining order application into a preliminary injunction, also waiving bond requirements.

A 13-year-old child was restrained by Menomonee Falls Police Department officers in an encounter documented by body camera footage. The child's lawyer characterized the officers' use of force as excessive and has threatened to sue the department, calling for the officers' dismissal. The police department stated that officers used only the level of force necessary to detain the minor.

Sebastian Mihai Caraba, a Hungarian-Romanian national, was arrested by ICE on June 10, 2026, in Washington, D.C. for overstaying his visa and alleged credit card fraud. Caraba entered the U.S. on August 11, 2018, under the Visa Waiver Program via San Juan, Puerto Rico, and had previously visited the U.S. twice under the same program, departing within the authorized period each time. He was wanted in Fairfax, Virginia for illegal use of credit cards and had been convicted abroad for similar credit card fraud, receiving a three-year prison sentence. An immigration judge issued a final removal order on June 22, 2026.

A Mexican citizen was arrested by ICE on June 22, 2026 in Weber County, Utah while on his way to work. He had previously been removed from the United States in 2013 pursuant to a final removal order, but subsequently reentered illegally. He was detained in the Weber County and Tooele County detention centers. On June 23, 2026, he filed a habeas corpus petition seeking his release, but on July 2, 2026, the court denied his petition, finding his detention lawful under 8 U.S.C. § 1231, which mandates detention for previously removed noncitizens who reenter.

Roger Moisés Flores Oviedo, 19, a construction worker with no criminal record and a pending asylum application, was detained by ICE agents on Saturday as he left a gas station in Pompano Beach after buying lunch. He was placed in a van and taken to the Miramar ICE facility, where he was held in a room with 50 other men sitting on the floor with their hands behind their backs, given only one bottle of water a day and a piece of bread with peanut butter. He remained there until Tuesday, when he was transferred to the Krome detention center, where his wife Koren Noblig reports he was able to shower, sleep in a bed, and communicate with her.

Joel, a 25-year-old landscaper and father of a 10-month-old U.S. citizen daughter, was detained by ICE in an unmarked vehicle stop while en route to work. He was held for five days in an unapproved Baltimore detention facility where he reports being denied food and water and forced to sleep on the floor. He was subsequently transferred through Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and back to Pennsylvania before being deported to Guatemala without opportunity to say goodbye to his daughter, leaving his 22-year-old partner and infant child without income or support.

Edvin Obdulio Barnica-Esquivel was arrested by ICE agents at Danbury Superior Court on June 22, 2026, on a federal charge of illegally reentering the United States after prior deportations. According to federal records, Barnica-Esquivel had been deported to Guatemala twice previously (in 2012 and 2019) and had recent local arrests in Danbury for assault and arson-related charges. ICE executed a judicial warrant issued by U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti on June 10, 2026.

On March 11, 2026, ICE agents conducted an enforcement operation at a Dorset Street residence in South Burlington, Vermont, targeting one person on a warrant. Over 100 community members gathered to block the operation. ICE initially considered abandoning the effort but requested assistance from Vermont State Police, South Burlington Police, and Burlington Police. State and local officers deployed riot equipment, physically confronted community members, and cleared a path for ICE agents to enter the home. Three residents were detained, none of whom were named on the warrant: Cristian Jerez and sisters Johana and Camila Patin. Community members reported being pepper sprayed, shot with pepperballs, choked, and tackled. Within a week, a federal judge ordered all three released, finding the arrests unconstitutional. Internal police reviews concluded there were no excessive force violations by state or local officers, though civil rights advocates and political leaders condemned the operation and questioned police collaboration with ICE in violation of Vermont's Fair and Impartial Policing Policy.

Mutasim Ibrahim Abdoulrahman Nour, a Sudanese citizen, has been in ICE custody for 23 months without receiving a hearing to argue for temporary release on bond. He was apprehended upon entering the U.S. on July 7, 2024, initially held in Minnesota, then transferred to Muscatine County Jail in December 2025. A federal judge has ordered the government to explain the prolonged detention. Nour's lawsuit seeks his immediate release and a court order preventing his transfer outside Iowa while his CAT asylum case is pending.