Human Impact Project

Carlos Hugo Betancur, a 52-year-old Colombian national, was detained by ICE on July 8, 2026, while pumping gas at a Marathon station in Doral on his way to work. An immigration officer approached him from behind, asked for identification, and detained him after he provided his Florida driver's license. Betancur had filed a political asylum application in January 2023 and possessed both an employment authorization card and a Florida driver's license. He spent 8 days at the Miramar Processing Center and 8 days at Krome Detention Center before being released on electronic monitoring. At Miramar, he described severe overcrowding, with 93 to 104 detainees held in a single room with insufficient space for everyone to sit or sleep simultaneously. His daughter, Maria Alejandra Betancur, disputed the detention, noting he had valid asylum and work authorization documents. He is now required to wear an ankle monitor while his immigration case proceeds before an immigration judge.

A native and citizen of Mexico has been present in the United States since 2018. On July 24, 2026, he was detained by immigration officials in Ocean City, Maryland and taken into custody at the Farmville Detention Center in Virginia, where he remained for over a week. He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his classification as an "applicant for admission" subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), arguing instead that he should be subject to discretionary detention under § 1226(a) with the right to a bond hearing. The federal government argued that anyone in the United States without lawful admission is subject to mandatory detention. The district court agreed with him, finding that § 1226(a) is the applicable detention scheme for noncitizens already present in the country. The court granted the habeas petition, ordering he be released from custody and provided an individualized bond hearing before an Immigration Judge within 14 days, where the judge must determine whether he poses a danger or is a flight risk.

A Guatemalan national was ordered removed to Guatemala but granted withholding of removal on September 17, 2018. She was released on an Order of Supervision and granted employment authorization by the Department of Homeland Security. She complied with all immigration requirements, including scheduled check-ins with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). On July 24, 2026, while attending a scheduled ICE check-in, she was detained by ICE and presented with a Notice of Removal to Mexico, which she was forced to sign. Petitioner contends she received no meaningful notice or opportunity to present a fear-based claim to challenge her removal to Mexico. ICE scheduled her removal for August 8, 2026. On August 5, 2026, the court issued a temporary restraining order preventing her removal from the United States and prohibiting her transfer outside the Central District of California pending resolution of her habeas corpus petition.

Yasmin Suarez Reyes, a 45-year-old Venezuelan citizen with dual Spanish citizenship, was arrested by ICE agents at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport on July 24, 2026, while preparing to travel with her fiancé, Texas businessman John Gannon. Suarez Reyes entered the U.S. legally in October 2023 under the Visa Waiver Program and filed for asylum in January 2024 before her initial 90-day stay expired. While her asylum case remained pending, she obtained a work permit and Texas driver's license and had no criminal record. According to Gannon, ICE officers "swarmed" Suarez Reyes without explanation and "wrestled her off into a car." DHS said she was detained for illegal overstay after her lawful admission expired on January 19, 2024, noting that pending asylum applications do not confer legal status. Suarez Reyes was being held at Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas for deportation processing. Gannon told media he regretted voting for Trump, saying agents are "picking up law-abiding citizens" and "destroying families."

Adrián was detained by masked immigration agents outside his Chicago home on the morning of July 24 as he prepared to leave for the day, while his wife and children watched. According to his neighbor Sánchez, an immigration assistant who filmed the incident, agents emerged from several black vans, chased Adrián as he tried to return to his house, and subdued him on the ground with approximately six officers. During the detention, Adrián called out to his wife that he loved her and asked her to care for their children. Sánchez said one agent struck Adrián on the legs and another threatened him with an electronic device; when she asked whether agents had an arrest warrant, they said yes but did not show it. She said she was insulted while recording, and after roughly 15 minutes Adrián was transported to a processing center in Indiana.

Napo, a Mexican national, was detained by ICE in Tulsa, Oklahoma on July 24, 2026, while traveling to a work conference to receive an award. According to his wife MaKayla, he is hard-working, a dedicated partner, and has never had a criminal record. His detention has created severe financial hardship for the family: MaKayla lost her job while completing her graduate degree, Napo was their sole income, and she is now at risk of losing their home and may be forced to relocate to Mexico within weeks. The family is uncertain whether Napo will be deported or if they can fight the case, and faces significant anticipated attorney fees.

Luiz, a husband and father of four, was arrested by local police on July 24, 2026, while attending court to pay a traffic ticket. He was immediately reported to ICE and is now in ICE custody awaiting an immigration hearing scheduled for October 1, 2026. His wife Simone is left alone caring for their four children, including Lucas (16, autistic), Guilherme (13), Sarah (6, U.S. citizen), and Monica (22 months, U.S. citizen). With no family support in the U.S. and very limited income, Simone faces overwhelming financial and emotional pressure while friends work with an immigration lawyer to secure Luiz's release.

Raul Raagas, a 63-year-old Filipino immigrant from Cebu City, was detained by ICE on July 24, 2026, while commuting to work in New Jersey, and is being held at the CoreCivic Elizabeth Detention Center in Elizabeth. Raagas has lived in the United States for over three decades, settling in Jersey City in the late 1990s where he met his wife Janet and raised two children while working in sanitation services. He is a member of LIUNA Local 741 and is described as "a quiet, hardworking man who keeps to himself and always shows up for others." His detention has caused emotional and financial hardship for his family, as he is the primary household provider. Jersey City Councilman Rolando R. Lavarro Jr. and New York State Assemblymember Steven Raga, the first Filipino American elected to the New York State Legislature, have mobilized to secure his release, coordinating legal support and pushing for a bond hearing or humanitarian release while his case is reviewed.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested at least six people in Western Kentucky on Thursday. Several of those arrested are now being held at the Hopkins County Jail, where 185 other immigrants are awaiting deportation. Community members, including a former Hopkins County judge, have criticized the arrests, raising concerns about racial profiling and due process.

During a traffic stop in Fort Pierce, Florida, ICE officers allegedly crashed their vehicle into a man's car. The man's 18-month-old child was left unattended in the back seat after the father fled the scene. Strangers found the child at La Central & American Grocery store on Okeechobee Road and are attempting to locate the family.

Jesus Acevedo Sanchez, a 39-year-old father of two U.S. citizen daughters from Mexico, was arrested by ICE agents on June 11 outside Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School in East Baltimore while dropping off his children. Unmarked ICE vehicles cut off his SUV at Dundalk Avenue and O'Donnell Street; armed agents in plain clothes with guns drawn broke his driver's side window. Believing he was being carjacked and fearing for his children's safety, Acevedo Sanchez drove to the school seeking protection. He sustained injuries including bleeding from his leg and face during the extraction. His partner, Adriana Gavilan Sanchez, 37, a mother of two U.S. citizen daughters from Mexico, was also detained by ICE that same day outside the school. She reported feeling terrified and experiencing nightmares following her detention. U.S. District Judge Julie Rubin ruled that ICE lacked probable cause and violated due process in Acevedo Sanchez's arrest, calling it a "stomach churner" and stating his detention was not justified. Judge Rubin ordered his release from Farmville Detention Facility. His attorney Rachel Girod said the judge reached the right result, noting that any other outcome would have been "rubber-stamping lawlessness." U.S. District Judge Matthew Maddox ordered Gavilan Sanchez's release from immigration detention, and she was freed on July 15 from Caroline Detention Facility in Virginia.

Dr. Badar Khan Suri, an Indian postdoctoral fellow and peace scholar at Georgetown University, was arrested without a warrant by ICE agents in March 2025 after expressing pro-Palestinian views on social media. He was held in multiple detention facilities for nearly six weeks and subjected to conditions including denial of religious accommodations. A federal court ordered his release on bail. The Trump administration attempted to re-detain him, arguing federal courts lacked jurisdiction to review his case. In July 2026, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the administration's re-detention attempt, upholding habeas corpus protections that allow immigrants to challenge their detention in federal court.

A Mexican citizen was detained by ICE officers in Wyoming on July 23, 2026, following her arrest for driving under the influence. She was not provided with a warrant for her arrest or a Notice to Appear, and immigration officers made no individualized determination that she was likely to escape before a warrant could be obtained. She was subsequently transferred to and held at the ICE Detention Facility in Aurora, Colorado. On August 28, 2026, she filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus seeking release, a prohibition on her removal from the state, and attorney fees. The government did not contest the facts or argue that the warrantless arrest was lawful, instead requesting only a bond hearing. The court found the warrantless arrest and continued detention unlawful because officers lacked probable cause to believe she was a flight risk, and ordered her immediate release within 24 hours rather than a bond hearing.

Five landscaping workers were arrested by ICE on July 23, 2026, during operations on Rutgers Street and Van Reyper Place in Belleville. Each person is accused of being unlawfully present in the United States. ICE stated all will remain in custody pending removal. No Belleville officials were notified in advance, and the town's police department was not involved in the operation.

Pastors Nepthalí Zozaya Saucedo and Cinthia Saraí Cardona Otero, who have served at Comunidad Cristiana Emanuel Assemblies of God in Edinburg, Texas for over 10 years, were detained by ICE on July 23, 2026, at McAllen International Airport while traveling to a marriage retreat in North Carolina. According to church leaders, the couple held valid R-1 religious worker visas. The pastors and their church representatives reported that ICE agents pressured them to sign voluntary deportation papers under threat of separation from their three U.S. citizen children at a U.S. Border Patrol processing center in McAllen. DHS claimed the pastors overstayed their visas. Faith leaders, including the Assemblies of God and Latino Christian National Network, called for their immediate release and an investigation into ICE's conduct.

Chansareth Hong, 50, a Cambodian refugee who arrived in the United States as an infant in 1978 and has lived in Rhode Island for nearly 50 years, was taken into ICE custody on July 22, 2026, while attending a required in-person check-in at the Warwick field office—a practice he had maintained for nearly 28 years. Hong is the sole caretaker of his nonverbal 9-year-old autistic son and his elderly mother; his son's mother died in 2025 and Hong's father died in June 2026. In his late teens and early 20s, Hong pleaded no contest to drug-related charges but maintained a clean record for three decades without missing a single ICE check-in. He was transferred to the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls. Over 100 community members, including members of the Cambodian Society of Rhode Island and other refugee advocacy organizations, gathered outside the ICE office to protest his detention. Governor Dan McKee, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, 13 members of the Providence City Council, and U.S. Representative Seth Magaziner sent letters to ICE urging his release, citing his rehabilitation and essential role as family caretaker. Over 2,000 people signed a petition on his behalf. A federal judge ordered that Hong cannot be moved out of Rhode Island without 72 hours notice, and his legal team filed a habeas petition in federal court challenging his detention.

Marlon Andres Torres Gomez, a Colombian national, was granted voluntary departure by an immigration judge and ordered to leave the United States by June 11, 2026. He purchased a one-way plane ticket to Colombia departing June 10 and repeatedly contacted ICE to coordinate his departure. However, ICE detained him and prevented him from boarding the flight. When the June 11 deadline passed, the government argued Torres Gomez was subject to mandatory detention because he had failed to depart. U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz ruled on July 22, 2026, that ICE violated Torres Gomez's due process rights by preventing him from complying with the voluntary departure order and then using that failure as justification for continued detention. The judge ordered his immediate release.

Eight people were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Thursday morning in Henderson. At least three of those arrested are members of Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, described by the pastor as prominent and longstanding members of the Spanish-speaking Catholic community. Henderson County sheriff's deputies assisted federal agents in the operation, which lasted from approximately 5:30 a.m. to noon.

Two people from Mexico were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after fleeing from federal agents during a commercial vehicle enforcement operation near Lock 10 of the C&O Canal and Clara Barton Parkway in Montgomery County, Maryland on Wednesday. The two individuals were taken into custody pending deportation. A third person fled the scene by swimming across the Potomac River and remains at large.

More than 50 employees at Premier Packing, a seafood processing plant in Lynden, Washington, have been detained by ICE since March 2026 through a series of coordinated arrests designed to bypass a new state law requiring employers receive five business days' notice before I-9 inspections. The detentions have occurred through multiple methods: roadside stops and checkpoints on county roads using unmarked vehicles with flashing lights, arrests during employees' commutes, and on July 22-23, ICE agents posed as members of a religious organization handing out free water bottles across the street from the business to lure workers off the property before arresting at least two to four employees. Local volunteers documented an uptick in ICE detentions in Whatcom County, increasing from two to four individuals per week to approximately two arrests per day, with advocates estimating about a dozen of the detained workers have since been deported. The business owner acknowledged that while some detainees may have committed crimes, "a lot of people that haven't done anything wrong are getting picked up too," and said there is "a better way." Immigration advocates characterize the operation as a pattern of intimidation tactics designed to circumvent legal workplace raid procedures.