Human Impact Project

A Mexican migrant identified in court filings as 'John Doe,' a father of two who cooperated with the U.S. Department of Justice and testified against members of Mexican drug cartels, was deported three times by ICE despite holding protection under the Convention Against Torture. He was first removed to Guatemala on July 10, then twice to Mexico, most recently to an area with significant cartel activity, where he has been in hiding fearing torture or death. U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher ordered the government to take active steps within 14 days to facilitate his return, writing there is an 'immense public interest' in protecting those who risk their safety to assist government prosecutions. Before his deportation, he had been held for six months at a Louisiana detention center after ICE detained him during a routine immigration check-in.

Inocencia Rodríguez, a 32-year-old Dominican mother of an eight-year-old daughter, was detained by ICE officers at a security checkpoint while driving to take a friend to work. She possessed a document proving an ongoing immigration process to regularize her status, including an I-130 petition filed by her permanent resident husband and an approved provisional I-601A waiver. ICE used information from her driver's license—shared by Puerto Rico's Department of Transportation with federal authorities in early 2025—to locate and arrest her. A federal judge found her detention "illegal" and ordered her immediate release, and she was released after posting a $5,000 bond. She now faces deportation proceedings despite her legal documentation and family ties to the U.S. territory.

An immigrant who is married to a U.S. citizen was detained by ICE agents in New Jersey on July 10, 2026. The person's U.S. citizen spouse contacted immigration attorneys for assistance with the case. The detention occurred shortly after the law firm had warned that spouses of U.S. citizens are being targeted by ICE.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 309 people during a four-day operation in Palm Beach County from July 6 through July 10, 2026. The operation was a joint effort involving federal, state, and local law-enforcement agencies that made more than 100 agents available. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office participated in the operation under the state's 287(g) immigration enforcement agreements mandated under Governor Ron DeSantis. Of the 309 arrested, only 11 had legal violations beyond their immigration status, such as DUI, drug charges, or driving without a license. One person was identified as a suspected member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The arrests represent the largest ICE operation in Palm Beach County since January 2025.

About 10 employees at Ternerita Steakhouse in Orlando were detained by ICE on the night of July 10, 2026, after an employee called police following a workplace dispute, prompting an inspection of the restaurant. Owner Luis Tarrés said authorities found the restaurant fully compliant with licensing and operational requirements, but officers detained and handcuffed workers who lacked U.S. citizenship or permanent residency, including some with valid work permits and Social Security numbers, leaving only citizens and residents behind. Tarrés, describing the business as family-run, said the restaurant has been unable to reopen since the raid due to lack of staff, and that prospective hires he has since approached fear suffering the same fate. The employee who initially called police has not publicly explained what prompted the call.

Between July 6–10, 2026, federal, state, and local law enforcement arrested 309 undocumented immigrants during a five-day immigration enforcement operation in Palm Beach County conducted under the federal 287(g) program. More than 100 federal, state, and county personnel participated, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Border Patrol, Florida Highway Patrol's Criminal Apprehension Team, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, with support from the Florida National Guard and Florida State Guard. Jacob Zapeta-Castro was among those detained during the enforcement activity, arrested at his bakery where he worked. The operation drew community concern and outrage over the detention methods and scope of the sweep.

Jonathan Delgado was detained by ICE agents in a Food City parking lot in Mesa, Arizona, while his wife Cindy Mendoza recorded the encounter. Delgado is the primary breadwinner for his family and father of three children, including a 6-year-old son with autism who is nonverbal. According to Mendoza, she had only seconds to process the situation and say goodbye as her husband was taken into custody.

A Nicaraguan immigrant and his son were arrested by ICE at their home in Florida three weeks after attempting to claim a $1,000 lottery prize from a Mega 7 drawing. The family alleges that lottery officials retained the ticket and alerted ICE to their address. The father's license was expired due to the revocation of TPS (Temporary Protected Status) for Nicaraguan nationals, which prevented them from claiming the prize at the time.

A 45-year-old Honduran national who entered without inspection over 20 years ago was arrested without an immigration warrant on July 10, 2026, while traveling to work in Florida. He has four U.S. citizen children, stable employment with a valid Employment Authorization Document, deep community ties, and no criminal history. His removal proceedings were administratively closed in 2015. He was detained at Krome North Service Processing Center without a bond hearing, and the petition challenges his detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A), arguing he should be detained under § 1226(a) with bond eligibility.

An Armenian national with a final removal order since 2020 was released on supervision on July 8, 2026, following a prior court order. When he reported to ICE on July 10, 2026, he was re-detained after ICE obtained travel documents from Armenia and scheduled his removal for July 26, 2026. The court denied his emergency request to be released again, finding he did not show a likelihood of success on the merits of his three grounds for relief challenging the revocation of his supervision order.

David, a hardworking resident of Chicago who worked at La Mijikana, was arrested by ICE. He had been sending his paychecks home to support his family in Mexico, where his mother is facing a serious medical problem. With David now in ICE custody, his family is struggling to cover both his mother's medical treatment and legal fees.

Marcelino Gutiérrez, a pastor and church leader, was stopped during a traffic stop on July 10, 2026, and arrested for not having a valid driver's license. He had entered the United States legally with a visa on February 14, 2015, and has spent the last 11 years working, serving his church, and supporting his wife and four daughters. After his arrest, an ICE immigration hold was placed on him, and he was transferred to immigration detention. His family is raising funds for legal representation and to support his wife and daughters during his detention.

Tou Lue Vang, a Laotian citizen who legally entered the United States in 1994, was convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for repeatedly sexually assaulting a child between 2002 and 2004. He was ordered deported in October 2006 but remained in the country for approximately 20 years because Laos restricted deportee acceptance. ICE arrested Vang on December 10, 2025, with plans to deport him based on his prior conviction. A federal judge in the District of Minnesota ordered his release from ICE custody on February 19, 2026. The Minnesota Clemency Review Commission granted Vang a pardon on June 10, 2026, which removed the conviction from his record. Despite the pardon, Secretary of State Marco Rubio terminated Vang's legal status, and ICE deported him to Laos on July 10, 2026. DHS argued that the pardon did not prevent removal, and the agency criticized the clemency decision.

ICE agents conducted enforcement operations in Clark County on Wednesday and Thursday, detaining at least 28 people who are being held at Clark County Jail. The Clarksville Police Department headquarters served as a staging area for federal agents. Community members reported increased ICE presence at locations including a Home Depot parking lot in Clarksville where Latino workers typically seek employment. Noe Muñoz, owner of El Mañanero Breakfast Spot, closed his restaurant Thursday due to community fear after his brother was pulled over by a Corydon police officer in an unmarked vehicle on Wednesday during what appeared to be a pretextual traffic stop that resulted in no citation. Local activism groups expressed concerns about the enforcement operation.

The Bay County Sheriff's Office conducted multiple immigration enforcement operations in partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, resulting in 55 arrests for allegedly being in the United States unlawfully. The operations were conducted by deputies assigned to the 287(g) program in partnership with ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations and Homeland Security Investigations units.

Eight workers were detained during an ICE and Homeland Security Investigations operation at La Fontanella Foods, a food manufacturing warehouse in Kansas City's Historic Northeast, on July 9, 2026. The operation began around 9:45 a.m. and lasted approximately two and a half hours, involving seven to ten federal agents and Jackson County sheriff deputies. A worker reported that agents initially stated no one would be taken into custody and were there only to obtain documents, but later detained the eight people. Agents removed boxes of documents and computers from the facility. Federal officials claimed they were executing a federal criminal search warrant, but no witnesses or employees saw the warrant, and one officer acknowledged not personally carrying a copy. The operation was part of intensified ICE enforcement across the Kansas City metro during June and July 2026.

The petitioner, a citizen of Colombia, entered the United States in June 2017 and filed an asylum application in December 2017. She was detained by ICE on July 9, 2026, and has been held since at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana. There is no final removal order in her case. On July 24, 2026, an Immigration Judge denied her request for release on bond. She filed a habeas petition seeking immediate release, or alternatively a transfer to a facility in South Florida, or alternatively a new bond hearing. She also filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction seeking the same relief. The federal district court denied the emergency motion, finding it was essentially an attempt to obtain a merits ruling on the habeas petition through injunctive relief, and stated the issues should be addressed through ordinary adjudication of the habeas petition.

Jacob Zepeta-Castro, owner of the El Quetzal bakery in Lake Worth Beach, was arrested by ICE agents and Florida Highway Patrol troopers after an hours-long standoff that drew a crowd of officers, protesters and passersby. He was charged with defying deportation orders by returning to Florida more than once from his native Guatemala; his family said he was working legally and had a pending asylum application. Zepeta-Castro's family and advocates disputed ICE's claim that he tried to ram an agent's car, saying he locked the bakery's doors to protect his employees and surrendered voluntarily as his distraught children watched. A federal judge has ordered him held without bond at a Stuart detention facility, ruling his asylum application is no defense against the reentry charge.

Yeferson Jose Canamo-Jordan, a 28-year-old Venezuelan national, and Felipe Fernando Reymundo, a 23-year-old Guatemalan national, were arrested by ICE during vehicle stops in Upper Marlboro on July 9, 2026, after being released from Prince George's County Detention Center. Both men had been released from county custody after their charges were dismissed or resolved. Canamo-Jordan entered the U.S. in August 2022 and has been convicted of driving without a valid license and recently charged with assault. Reymundo entered without inspection and has faced arrests since 2025 on charges including arson and motor vehicle theft. ICE alleged Canamo-Jordan was affiliated with Tren de Aragua. The arrests followed Prince George's County's decision to decline ICE detainers; the county executive signed an executive order in February banning the use of county property as immigration detention facilities.

A Nicaraguan national who entered the U.S. in September 2022 and was released on recognizance with asylum pending was arrested for driving under the influence on July 4, 2026. He reported to ICE offices on July 9, 2026 pursuant to his release conditions and was detained at Golden State Annex Detention Facility. The court granted his habeas corpus petition, finding his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause, and ordered a substantive bond hearing within 14 days where the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a danger or flight risk.