Human Impact Project

A native and citizen of El Salvador who entered the United States in 2019 after fleeing persecution and torture. He was apprehended near the San Ysidro Port of Entry and expressed immediate fear of return. In August 2019, an Immigration Judge granted him withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), finding he faced torture if returned to El Salvador due to false gang affiliation accusations by Salvadoran authorities. He was released on an Order of Supervision and faithfully complied with all conditions for nearly seven years, attending every ICE check-in, obtaining continuous employment authorization, working legally since 2021, and living in California with his partner and their seven-year-old daughter. On April 14, 2026, he voluntarily appeared for his routine ICE check-in in Los Angeles but was re-detained without any pre-deprivation notice, hearing, or explanation of the basis for detention. He was transferred to Adelanto ICE Processing Center and then moved out of jurisdiction to El Paso, Texas without required notice. DHS issued notice of intent to remove him to Mexico, a third country not designated in his original removal order. On May 7, 2026, the federal court granted his temporary restraining order (TRO), ordering his immediate release under previous supervision conditions and enjoining his removal to any third country without notice and opportunity to be heard on fear-based claims.

Daniel Torres, a Chicago-area man, self-deported to Mexico due to concerns about his immigration status and federal enforcement. He left behind his dog, Coffee, who was brought to animal control in February. Animal rescue organizations, including Microchip Hunters and Border Tails Rescue, used the dog's microchip to locate Torres through social media and coordinated the transportation of Coffee to Mexico, where the two were reunited.

Miguel Lopez, who lived in the U.S. for over 27 years, was deported to Mexico in 2025 after appearing at a San Francisco courthouse for a routine immigration check-in. A federal judge dismissed his civil case on April 3, 2026, finding it time-barred under the six-year statute of limitations, but Lopez's attorney plans to appeal to the Ninth Circuit. Judge Trina Thompson acknowledged in her decision the "bureaucratic labyrinth" of immigration law and the "generational trauma" the ruling will cause Lopez's family. The appeal represents his remaining legal pathway to return to his wife and three children.

ICE agents conducted a high-risk traffic stop around 9 a.m. on April 14, 2026, near Beakes Street and North Fifth Avenue outside a children's daycare in downtown Ann Arbor, taking the driver into custody. Agents surrounded the vehicle with multiple cars, approached with guns drawn, and left the scene before local police arrived, abandoning the suspect's vehicle in a bike lane. Ann Arbor's mayor and police chief say the arrest occurred without their knowledge or participation, with the mayor criticizing the tactics as designed to intimidate the community. The identity and current location of the arrested individual remain unknown as federal authorities have not responded to requests for information.

ICE detained Rafael Zaga Tawil, a Mexican businessman, at Glades County Detention Center in Florida on April 13, 2026. Mexican authorities are seeking him in connection with a $294 million housing fraud scheme involving the National Workers' Housing Fund Institute (Infonavit), along with allegations of organized crime and money laundering. The fraud involved contracts signed in 2014 with the private company Telra Realty that were terminated in 2017, after which the institute authorized an illegal indemnity payment of over 5 billion pesos. Mexican prosecutors may request his extradition for prosecution.

Alexandre Ramagem, 53, former head of Brazilian intelligence, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on April 14, 2026, following his flight from Brazil. Ramagem was convicted in September 2024 for his role in a coup conspiracy with former President Jair Bolsonaro, including charges of armed criminal association, attempted coup d'état, and attempted violent abolition of the rule of law, and was sentenced to 16 years in prison. He had entered the United States using a diplomatic passport and was living in exile in Florida when taken into custody following a traffic stop. Brazilian authorities formally requested his extradition in December 2024, and the arrest resulted from collaboration between U.S. and Brazilian law enforcement. He reportedly has a pending asylum request under review.

ProPublica and FRONTLINE investigated more than 300 arrests of protesters and bystanders during Trump administration immigration enforcement sweeps in Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Charlotte. Over one-third of cases were dismissed, acquitted at trial, or never prosecuted. Video evidence and other documentation repeatedly contradicted officer statements, and prosecutors struggled to substantiate charges such as assaulting federal officers or interfering with law enforcement. Federal agents, largely inexperienced in crowd control, made widespread arrests that ultimately failed legal scrutiny.

Gilbert, an Immokalee high school graduate, was unlawfully detained in LaBelle, Florida. Community members are organizing a support action scheduled for Friday at 8:20 AM.

Yelitza Perez, a 29-year-old Venezuelan mother of two, spent weeks attempting to voluntarily return to Venezuela through the CBP Home app following her husband's deportation. She initially registered for voluntary departure but faced multiple obstacles, including lack of required Venezuelan travel documentation and airline verification issues. After being denied boarding at Miami International Airport in early April, she obtained a salvoconducto (safe pass) from Venezuelan authorities. Faith-based organizations including Hermanos de la Calle and Discerning Deacons provided shelter and assistance during her stay. Perez and her daughters successfully departed for Venezuela in mid-April after obtaining the required travel documentation.

On April 4, 2026, ICE agents arrested 13 undocumented individuals from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan at a PennDOT driver's license center in Kittanning, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. A website error had directed individuals seeking commercial driver's license renewals to the facility, resulting in an unusually large crowd of over 100 people. East Franklin Police received reports of the gathering and contacted ICE. During the operation, multiple people fled the scene, some abandoning vehicles and running through residential yards to evade agents. One person resisted arrest and allegedly assaulted a law enforcement officer. PennDOT stated it follows federal law and uses the SAVE database to verify legal presence for license applicants.

A Venezuelan citizen who entered the U.S. without inspection in September 2023 and was released on recognizance was arrested by ICE in Lakeville, Minnesota on April 13, 2026. He challenged his mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) through a habeas corpus petition, arguing he should be eligible for bond under § 1226(a). The court denied his petition, ruling that under Eighth Circuit precedent, noncitizens present in the U.S. who have not been admitted are necessarily "seeking admission" and subject to mandatory detention.

A 56-year-old Colombian citizen who had been granted withholding of removal was detained without a warrant by ICE officers in Baltimore on March 31, 2026, when he reported for a scheduled check-in. He had been complying with supervised release and had a home visit scheduled for April 1, but ICE instructed him to report in-person on March 31 instead. The court granted his temporary restraining order motion and ordered his immediate release, finding ICE violated his due process rights. A second man was placed in removal proceedings in August 2023 and charged with inadmissibility for entering the United States without inspection. He was released from immigration custody on an Order of Recognizance but was subsequently arrested by immigration authorities and is currently detained at the Adelanto ICE Detention Facility. The court granted his temporary restraining order requiring an individualized bond hearing within seven days.

Yousef Azizi, an Iranian researcher, journalist, and Virginia Tech PhD candidate who lived in the U.S. for 13 years with valid legal status, was arrested in a pre-dawn operation outside his Maryland home on April 13 shortly after dropping his children off at school. Heavily armed FBI agents with rifles drawn handed him over to ICE, and during three months in detention he was shackled and transferred over six days from Maryland to Louisiana, Arizona, and California, including two nights in a freezing Arizona facility with 30 others. Authorities alleged without presented evidence that he had been affiliated with the Basij organization, and a judge denied bond despite 250 pages of support letters from professors at the University of Michigan, Harvard, Virginia Tech, and other institutions. Azizi, a regular media commentator critical of U.S. and Israeli foreign policy, said an FBI agent twice threatened his wife, and he ultimately took a voluntary return to Iran, where he hopes to defend his dissertation remotely.

Yousof Azizi, a 40-year-old Iranian PhD candidate at Virginia Tech, was detained by Homeland Security Investigations agents outside his Germantown, Maryland home on April 13 and transferred to an immigration detention facility in Arizona. His wife denies DHS allegations that he lied on his student visa application about membership in Iran's Student Basij Organization and claims his visa status issue was a pretext, asserting he was speaking publicly about U.S.-Iran relations based on his academic research.

An immigration attorney reports that approximately 80% of his clients granted bond by a judge are held for days beyond their legal release date by ICE. The case of Deonicio Castillo, a Colorado resident detained in January 2026, exemplifies the pattern—he was held six days after a judge granted his $2,500 bond. The attorney argues the delays violate constitutional rights and represent a departure from prior practice where bond releases typically occurred within hours.

Several ICE detainees were hospitalized after suffering heat-related illnesses while being transported by bus in Oklahoma on April 13, 2026. The transport bus, which was carrying detainees to an ICE facility in Watonga, stopped in Canadian County to provide medical assistance. Multiple detainees required hospital treatment for heat-related conditions.

A father named Adith was detained by ICE outside his workplace. He is a working man who provides for five children. His family is seeking financial assistance to bring him home, as the legal process to do so is expensive.

Rev. Yeison Cortes Vasquez, a 46-year-old evangelical pastor at The Gathering Place Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey, was detained by ICE on March 20, 2026, while working a food delivery job. ICE cited an overstayed tourist visa from Colombia that expired in 2016, though church members stated Vasquez had an active asylum case and was following legal processes. During his approximately three-week detention at Delaney Hall in Newark, church leaders reported he was denied access to a Bible for at least a week; DHS denied these allegations and stated detainees may request religious items. While in custody, Vasquez ministered to other detainees. Members of Congress visited the facility and raised concerns about detention conditions. Vasquez was released on bond with GPS monitoring while awaiting removal proceedings. The National Latino Evangelical Coalition confirmed he has no criminal record.

A 23-year-old Honduran man granted legal status and work authorization under a federal court settlement for families separated by the Trump administration's zero tolerance policy was arrested by ICE in October 2025 after Louisiana wildlife officers reported him for target shooting in a protected area. Despite possessing valid immigration documents and parole status, he was detained for over five months and issued a deportation order on January 6, 2026. At least 25 other people with similar legal protections have been detained or deported by ICE in recent months. The government has also imposed new $1,000-per-person fees and canceled contracts with legal service providers, violating the terms of the federal settlement agreement. The ACLU filed a motion for his release on April 1, 2026.

Maryam Tahmasebi, a psychology and statistics professor at Los Angeles Pierce College, and her son have been detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center since April 9, 2024. Her husband, Eissa Hashemi, a professor at The Chicago School's Business Psychology department, was taken to the South Texas Detention Center in Pearsall, Texas. All three are legal permanent residents with valid green cards and no criminal record. The Trump administration is seeking to revoke their green cards and deport them based on Hashemi's mother's alleged role as a translator during the 1979 U.S. Embassy hostage crisis in Tehran—an event that occurred before Hashemi was born. According to their lawyer, Curtis Morrison, there are no specific allegations against the three individuals other than their familial relationship. Friends and colleagues describe Tahmasebi as highly intelligent and dedicated to her work as an educator, and Hashemi as kind and joyous. The family is allowed to speak for only 10 minutes every two weeks under supervision, and Tahmasebi reports their physical and mental health have deteriorated significantly. A federal judge temporarily barred the government from deporting the family after they filed petitions challenging the legality of their detention.