Human Impact Project

Dayton Andre Lindsay, a Jamaican green-card holder who has legally resided in the United States for over 28 years, was detained by ICE on February 27 at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport upon returning from vacation in Jamaica. Lindsay is married to Benji Lindsay and has a blended family of five children and seven grandchildren. Before his arrest, he worked as an employee at a Walmart Distribution Center in Joliet, Illinois, and as a chef at several local restaurants. A judge's ruling noted that while his individual prior offenses were "not particularly serious," together they displayed a "habitual disregard for the law." He remains in ICE custody at Hopkins County Jail in Kentucky and his attorneys filed a federal habeas corpus petition challenging the legality of his detention.

Alberto Gutiérrez Reyes, 48, a construction worker from Veracruz who had lived in the United States for nearly 25 years, was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol on January 9, 2026, in Los Angeles for lacking authorization to reside in the country. He was transferred to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center on January 12, where he had pre-existing diabetes and high cholesterol. Throughout February, he experienced persistent fever, headache, sore throat, dizziness, body aches, high blood pressure, and elevated glucose levels. Despite repeatedly requesting medical attention and filling out medical request forms, he was denied proper care. His wife Patricia Martínez reported seeing yellowing of his skin, face, and eyes during visits. On February 25, he reported feeling faint and weak and was transferred to Victor Valley Global Medical Center with chest pain and shortness of breath. He became unresponsive and died on February 27 of cardiac arrest. His wife and 19-year-old son Erick, born in Los Angeles and the family's sole financial provider along with his father, were not immediately informed of his death. Mexico's Office of Foreign Affairs demanded an investigation into the conditions that led to his death. According to local officials, Gutiérrez Reyes was the ninth detainee to die in ICE custody since the beginning of 2026.

Cynthia Raygoza, 38, of Riverside, and Ashleigh Brown, 38, of Aurora, Colorado, were convicted on February 27, 2026, of stalking an ICE agent after following him from downtown Los Angeles to his home in Baldwin Park on August 28, 2025, and livestreaming the pursuit on Instagram. The two women were acquitted of conspiracy to publish protected personal information, though Brown did disclose an address near the agent's home during the livestream. A third defendant, Sandra Carmona Samane, was acquitted of all charges. The incident prompted the agent's family to relocate to another county, and prosecutors stated the agent's 3-year-old son, who has a disability, lost access to social and health care services as a result.

ICE officers pepper sprayed approximately two dozen detainees at a Mesa Gateway Airport holding facility on February 27, 2026. A 911 call made at 2:13 a.m. reported that one detainee appeared to be having a seizure following the incident, and one man was hospitalized with an asthma episode. The facility was significantly overcrowded, holding 332 people despite a maximum capacity of 203.

Nearly a dozen 911 calls placed from the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas since September document medical emergencies involving children in the facility, including infants and young children experiencing respiratory distress, fever, seizures, and other serious conditions. EMS crews were dispatched to the facility at least 11 times, with some children transferred to specialized pediatric hospitals in San Antonio, while Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro has called for the closure of the detention center.

Suraj Vasal, an Indian national detained by ICE after a February traffic stop, secured a third judicial order for a bond hearing after U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher ruled the government violated his due process rights. Locher rejected arguments that the government could retroactively change decades of practice regarding bond hearings for detainees and noted Vasal is gainfully employed with no evidence of being a flight risk. The judge ordered the government to provide a hearing by April 30, 2026, or immediately release Vasal from the Polk County Jail.

The South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, operated by CoreCivic, faced multiple documented problems affecting detained immigrant families and children. Emergency responders handled at least 11 medical emergencies since September 2025, including respiratory distress, seizures, and fever in infants and young children. Detainees reported finding worms, bugs, and mold in food, contaminated drinking water, and inadequate nutrition, leading to a confirmed measles outbreak in early 2026. Children experienced inadequate medical care, 24-hour lighting, and some were detained beyond the 20-day legal limit. A 13-year-old girl denied prescribed anxiety medications experienced a mental health crisis and attempted suicide before deportation. Following media coverage and a January protest, facility staff increased confiscation of art supplies, drawings, and personal items from detainees, and restricted communications with family and lawyers through Google services and video calls. A federal judge ruled some detentions unconstitutional, and medical advocates and congressional representatives called for facility closure.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents conducted an immigration enforcement operation on Wednesday morning, detaining approximately a dozen workers traveling to Backyard Farms greenhouses in Madison. This was the second enforcement operation at the facility in recent weeks; a similar operation on February 10 detained 17 workers from the same agricultural employer. A judge ordered the release of one detainee from the February 10 operation, a Venezuelan man who had entered as an unaccompanied child, and two other Venezuelan men withdrew habeas petitions shortly after filing them. The fate of most detainees from both operations remains unclear. Advocates and attorneys have characterized the operations as planned and representing an escalation in enforcement tactics.

An Indian citizen entered the United States on June 17, 2023, and was initially detained and released on conditional parole on June 19, 2023. Over the following two years, he complied with all ICE reporting requirements, attended scheduled check-ins, obtained employment authorization, and worked lawfully as a commercial truck driver. He also filed an asylum application in October 2023 with removal proceedings still pending. On February 25, 2026, after obtaining required ICE permission, he commenced a work trip. The next day, ICE officers approached him, claimed he had an ICE violation, and took his biometrics despite his assertion that he had prior authorization. He was transferred to Indio, California, where his phone and wallet were confiscated, then detained in El Centro for two days before being transferred to Imperial Regional Adult Detention Facility. He was never provided written explanation of the alleged violation, supporting documentation, or opportunity to contest his arrest. On April 1, 2026, he filed a habeas corpus petition claiming his detention violated the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause. The court granted his petition, finding that ICE's revocation of his conditional parole without a pre-deprivation hearing violated due process rights, and ordered his immediate release subject to the conditions of his preexisting parole.

An ICE enforcement operation in Newark, New Jersey on February 25-26, 2026 resulted in a multi-vehicle crash with injuries. ICE agents attempted to pull over a van during an arrest operation near a bus stop where fourth and fifth grade students were waiting for their school bus early Thursday morning. When the driver fled, the pursuit caused a crash involving multiple vehicles, including one carrying three children who were injured. The van driver was also injured and taken to the hospital. Armed and masked ICE agents were present near the bus stop, with some students reporting that agents followed them home. Ring camera footage captured the incident. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka criticized ICE's actions as reckless and dangerous, stating the operation violated New Jersey state law prohibiting law enforcement vehicle pursuits in densely populated areas without an immediate threat to public safety.

Yubizay del Carmen Torrealba Linarez, a 20-year-old Venezuelan single mother, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on Wednesday while traveling to her job at Backyard Farms greenhouses in Madison. She fled political violence in Venezuela after her family experienced violent repression by the Maduro regime, including a 2024 home invasion where agents beat her husband and threatened her 2-year-old daughter. She was paroled into the United States in December 2024 and has been awaiting an asylum decision. Her attorney filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court challenging the legality of her detention; a judge ordered her kept in Maine pending review and ordered the government to respond by Wednesday. Since her detention, her sister has been caring for her 4-year-old daughter.

Elmina Aghayeva, a senior at Columbia University's School of General Studies from Azerbaijan, was detained by federal immigration agents inside her university residential building. According to the university's acting president, agents gained entry by falsely claiming to be police searching for a missing child, and university security officers who asked to see a warrant were rebuffed. Aghayeva texted fellow students "Ice is in my house... They are trying to take me away. Can someone help me," and later posted on Instagram asking for help. She filed a habeas corpus petition in the Southern District of New York, and was released after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani raised her case with President Trump, who called to say she would be freed. DHS stated her student visa had been revoked a decade earlier and that she has been placed in removal proceedings.

Ellie Aghayeva, a Columbia University General Studies student from Azerbaijan, was arrested by ICE agents early Thursday morning at her university-owned residence. According to University President Claire Shipman, federal agents impersonated New York Police Department officers to gain entry to the building. Aghayeva was released from ICE custody Thursday afternoon and posted on Instagram that she was "safe and okay." Her student visa had been terminated in 2016 for failing to attend classes.

Álvaro Salguero was detained by ICE on February 26 despite having no criminal record and an ongoing immigration process. He is a father of two young children, including a newborn. His wife Karen is now solely responsible for legal fees, rent, utilities, and household expenses.

Ramon Checo Hilario was arrested on February 26, 2026, on shoplifting charges at a Cranston Sunglass Hut based on a flawed police investigation that failed to properly compare surveillance footage with his license photograph. After his arraignment, ICE detained him for 56 days in Plymouth, Massachusetts, pending deportation. The shoplifting charge was dismissed in the interest of justice, and Hilario has since been released on bond. He is now suing the Cranston Police Department, the city, Sunglass Hut, and others for false arrest, negligence, malicious prosecution, and emotional distress.

A father was detained by ICE on February 26, 2026, while picking up his children from school near Escondido Library. His family launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover legal fees and basic living expenses, as he was the primary wage earner and the family has fallen three months behind on rent.

A widowed undocumented Mexican mother describes losing her husband, Jesús Juárez Cruz, after he avoided seeking medical care due to fear of ICE deportation. The man died without receiving medical treatment. The widow, who requested anonymity due to concerns about Trump administration retaliation, shared her story through an Instagram post and news article.

Joytu Chowdhury, a 24-year-old former student at Illinois Wesleyan University from Bangladesh, was arrested by ICE in December 2025 after his F-1 student visa status lapsed due to transfer-related administrative issues. After months in immigration detention across multiple facilities in Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana, Chowdhury alleged inhumane conditions including inadequate medical care and severe mental stress; DHS disputed these claims. He self-deported and returned to Bangladesh in February 2026, leaving behind his U.S. citizen wife. Chowdhury stated that detention conditions forced him to abandon his legal fight and accept voluntary departure.

Estela Ramos Baten was detained during a mandatory immigration check-in and deported to Guatemala with her teenage daughter Nory Sontay Ramos on July 4. Ramos Baten had lived in Los Angeles since 2016 and suffered from liver cirrhosis and high blood pressure. She died nine weeks after deportation from complications of liver cirrhosis. Her teenage daughter remained in Guatemala.

A 21-year-old Hispanic man identified as Juan Miguel Munoz Penalver died in Louisville Metro jail on February 26, 2026, while subject to an ICE immigration detainer. He had been in custody since February 14 on criminal assault charges and was held under an ICE detainer that could have extended his detention beyond his scheduled release. The death is under investigation by LMDC's Professional Standards Unit and Louisville Metro Police's Public Integrity Unit.