Human Impact Project

Arturo Ruvalcaba, a 38-year-old deaf man with a green card, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against ICE agents and federal officials after an encounter on September 29 outside Salt Lake Community College's Taylorsville campus. According to the lawsuit, three white Ford SUVs pulled up to a bus stop where Ruvalcaba was waiting, and agents in military-style uniforms approached him shouting commands without providing a sign language interpreter or accommodating his deafness. When Ruvalcaba attempted to communicate through gestures and sign language and retrieve his documentation, an agent pushed him down by his shoulders and another pulled forcefully on his arm, injuring his elbow. After presenting his legal status documents, he was released. Ruvalcaba subsequently experienced pain and swelling, required multiple medical treatments, and missed several weeks of work. His wife reported that the encounter affected the emotional well-being of their three adopted sons. On July 8, 2026, the parties filed a stipulated motion to dismiss the case without prejudice, and the court terminated the civil case on July 9, 2026.

Winston, an HVAC technician who has lived in Virginia for six years with his wife and 15-month-old son Luka, was detained by ICE agents in a Home Depot parking lot in New York while working on a maintenance contract along the East Coast. He studied and qualified as an HVAC technician in the United States to provide for his family. His detention has left his wife and young son without income and emotional support; his son searches for him each time the front door opens. His sister Bárbara is fundraising for legal representation costs (approximately $20,000), an immigration bond, and family support expenses while Winston remains detained and unable to work.

An Eritrean national ordered removed in 2016, was released on an Order of Supervision in 2016 and lived in the community for approximately 10 years before being re-detained in 2026. The court found that ICE failed to establish a significant likelihood of removal to Eritrea, which does not cooperate with the United States for repatriation. The court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release, also establishing procedural protections against removal to third countries.

Sergio Daniel Cerpas Garcia, 36, a Mexican citizen, was arrested by ICE agents at Stanislaus County Superior Court on July 9, 2026, before he could appear for his scheduled arraignment in a pending state criminal case. Cerpas Garcia had voluntarily appeared at court after posting $150,000 bail in May and was detained by federal immigration agents before the courthouse doors opened, according to his attorney Hector Alvarez. ICE stated Cerpas Garcia was deported from the United States in 2017 and later reentered without authorization. His sister Cecilia recounted watching three men handcuff her brother, place him in a black van, and provide no identification initially. The detention has disrupted his state criminal proceedings, in which he has not yet entered a plea to charges of committing a lewd or lascivious act on a child under 14. His defense is preparing a motion under California's Racial Justice Act challenging the circumstances of his detention.

Sergio, a Mexican national who immigrated to the U.S. decades ago to escape crime in Chihuahua, was arrested by ICE at a gas station in Colorado Springs on July 9, 2026. He has worked in construction for nearly 40 years while managing partial blindness and medical issues, according to his 22-year-old daughter Inez. Three other men were also detained in the same operation at an unmarked DHS facility in downtown Colorado Springs. Inez said her father "just wanted the American Dream" and described the arrest as "our worst nightmare."

Ryan Drury, a volunteer with VC Defensa, a community group that alerts residents when immigration agents are operating in the area, was confronted by an ICE agent on the 101 Freeway in Ventura on Tuesday morning. Cell phone video captured the agent stopping in the middle of the road, jumping out of his vehicle, and pepper spraying the air-conditioning vents of Drury's car. According to Drury, the agent then positioned himself in front of the vehicle, smiled, waved, and walked away. Drury stated the agent's actions followed a pattern he has witnessed before, where agents spray the air-conditioning vents so that if the driver turns on the air conditioning, the pepper spray comes through the vents.

Robinson, a father with a serious congenital heart condition who underwent open-heart surgery in 2008, was detained by ICE on July 9, 2026 while traveling to work in upstate New York. During his arrest, he experienced severe chest symptoms and suffered a leg injury, and was hospitalized at UHS Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City, NY for approximately three days. His 18-year-old daughter drove four hours to the hospital but was unable to visit him or obtain information about his condition due to ICE's policies; hospital staff threatened to involve police if she did not leave. Robinson has U.S.-citizen children and has lived in the United States for many years. He has since been discharged into ICE custody at Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, New York, where his family is concerned he receive prescribed heart medication and appropriate cardiology care while his immigration case proceeds.

A stay-at-home father of four young children, including a 4-year-old, was detained by five ICE agents in tactical gear from his front yard on July 9, 2026, while mowing his lawn. His wife was asleep inside and his children woke to find him gone without any opportunity for him to explain what happened. Neighbor Stephen Parish witnessed the arrest, which took only minutes, and noted the family's distress. As of July 10, the man remained in custody. His case exemplifies the dozens of ICE arrests reported across the Kansas City metro during an intensified enforcement surge in June and July 2026.

A Mexican national who re-entered the U.S. without inspection in 2021 and was living in Redwood City with his partner and three children was detained by ICE officers in his driveway on July 9, 2026, while taking his two-year-old child to daycare. Officers claimed to have an arrest warrant but only showed a zoomed phone screen and did not allow inspection. The warrant later produced was signed in June 2025 with handwritten markings added after arrest. The court found the warrant invalid because no basis for probable cause was checked, and the officers made no individualized determination that he was a flight risk as required by law. The court granted a temporary restraining order, ordering his immediate release and prohibiting re-detention pending an evidentiary hearing.

Jacobo Zapeta Castro, a Guatemalan baker and owner of El Quetzal Panaderia Y Cafeteria in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, turned himself in to ICE on July 9, 2026, after seeing immigration agents and Florida Highway Patrol officers outside his bakery. When officers threatened to enter the premises and detain his employees and children who were waiting in his car, Zapeta Castro voluntarily surrendered himself to protect them from enforcement action. His son sobbed as officers placed him in handcuffs. According to his nephew Gilbert Zapeta, who manages the bakery, Zapeta Castro had filed for asylum and possessed a valid Social Security number, work permit, and driver's license at the time of detention. He is described by family and staff as a devoted father and caring employer who frequently supported his workers and was active in his church community.

Jacob Zapeta Castro, a Guatemalan immigrant and owner of El Quetzal bakery in Lake Worth Beach, was arrested by ICE and Florida Highway Patrol on July 9, 2026, after a traffic stop attempt. Approximately 25 to 30 federal and state officers surrounded his bakery for hours. His teenage children, ages 13 and 15, were present during the operation and were questioned by officers; family members and advocates described the children as being used as leverage to force his surrender. ICE alleged Zapeta Castro had prior deportations and a criminal history including DUI arrests, hit and run, and resisting law enforcement, and claimed he attempted to ram an ICE vehicle before fleeing into the bakery. However, his family, coworkers, and community advocates disputed these characterizations, describing him as hardworking and tax-paying. Employee Gilmer Zapeta, who has worked for Jacob for three years, stated that Jacob voluntarily surrendered. Community advocate Mariana Blanco of the Guatemalan Maya Center confirmed Zapeta Castro held a valid work permit and driver's license. Officers cited a federal offense of illegal re-entry after prior deportation.

Marcos, an asylum seeker detained at Florence Correctional Center in Arizona, expressed fear for his safety while in custody. He fears becoming the next person to die in detention, referencing Emmanuel Damas. The facility was experiencing a measles outbreak at the time of contact.

Noslén Sendra, 41, a Cuban detainee, was detained during an appointment at the Miramar ICE office in November and spent five months at the Alligator Alcatraz detention center before being transferred to Krome in early April, and subsequently to the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami. Sendra is diabetic and suffered pancreatitis while in detention due to extremely high triglyceride levels, requiring hospitalization. His wife Anisley Cortés reports he is not receiving the medical treatment he needs at the FDC, with officials telling her they cannot provide additional medications because they say ICE is responsible.

Karina Alvarez San Juan, a Mexican national who has lived in the U.S. since age 12, was arrested during a traffic stop in Florida on May 6, 2026, for an allegedly broken taillight. She is the mother of four U.S. citizen children and was nursing her youngest child, born on January 7, 2026, at the time of her arrest. ICE transferred her to South Louisiana Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana, where she remained detained for over three months. Her attorney Michelle Borton reported that conditions at the facility were inadequate, with detainees lacking sufficient clean water for basic hygiene including bathing and flushing toilets. San Juan alleged due process violations, including a cancelled bond hearing and a denied emergency motion without explanation. On July 8-9, 2026, U.S. District Judge David C. Joseph, a Trump appointee, ordered ICE to release her within five business days after finding that the agency violated its own Directive 11032.4, which prohibits detention of postpartum and nursing mothers unless release is prohibited by law or exceptional circumstances exist. ICE officials stated they had no additional evidence to justify her continued detention.

Owen Ramsingh, a Netherlands native who arrived in the United States at age 5 in 1986 and held a green card for over 40 years, was detained by ICE at Chicago's O'Hare Airport in November 2025 based on decades-old drug convictions from 1997 and 2011. He was deported to the Netherlands in February 2026 after months in detention, receiving a lifetime ban from the United States. Ramsingh had been living in Columbia, Missouri with his wife Diana and daughter, working in property management and security at local venues. After finding conditions in the Netherlands difficult, Ramsingh and his family relocated to Mexico to be closer to U.S.-based friends and relatives while his wife pursues remote work opportunities, unable to visit his daughter's gravesite in the United States. Owen Ramsingh, a long-term green card holder who immigrated to the U.S. at age 5 in 1986, was detained by ICE at Chicago airport on September 30 while returning from a family visit to the Netherlands. DHS cited prior drug-related convictions from 1997 and 2011 as justification for his detention. Ramsingh, who had worked in property management and security at music venues in Columbia, Missouri, was held in ICE custody in Texas and New Mexico. In December, a New Mexico judge issued him a lifetime ban from the U.S., and he was deported to the Netherlands in February. Unable to secure housing or viable visa options in the Netherlands, Ramsingh and his family have since relocated to Mexico, where they are working on obtaining residency and rebuilding their lives closer to family and friends.

Micaela Mendez Sandiz, a 16-year-old from Chiapas, Mexico, contacted her family on July 8 to report that she and her cousin were traveling through the desert. She was abandoned in serious health condition, reporting lack of water and inability to continue. Her cousin is reportedly detained. The family is seeking information about Micaela's whereabouts.

ICE ERO Philadelphia arrested Mario Humberto Caal-Chop, 29, during a vehicle stop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 19, 2026, and detained him at Moshannon Valley ICE Processing Center. An immigration judge granted him voluntary departure on June 23, 2026, and he was transferred to Louisiana before being returned to Guatemala on July 8, 2026 via charter flight. ICE touted his removal as the agency's 100,000th of Fiscal Year 2026.

A 48-year-old citizen of Mexico who has lived in the United States for thirty years was detained by ICE agents on July 8, 2026 while standing at a bus stop in Brooklyn with other Hispanic men and asked to produce identification. He was arrested and taken to 26 Federal Plaza, then transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on July 15, 2026. On July 22, 2026, he filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, arguing his detention was unlawful. Respondents conceded that ICE detained him under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) without first conducting the individualized custody determination required by the court's prior ruling in H.A.C.F. v. Francis. The court issued a Temporary Restraining Order on July 24, 2026 directing his immediate release, and Respondents subsequently acknowledged that the H.A.C.F. precedent controlled the outcome of the case. The court granted the habeas petition on August 6, 2026 and enjoined Respondents from re-detaining him absent compliance with applicable regulations or prior court authorization.

Maisa Lopes Eliaser, a 32-year-old Brazilian national with no criminal record, was detained by ICE on July 8, 2026, during a scheduled green card adjustment-of-status interview in Montgomery, Alabama. She is married to Staff Sergeant Alexis Jaramillo, an active-duty Army soldier of 11 years. Lopes Eliaser legally entered the U.S. on June 18, 2019, with authorization to remain until December 2019, but overstayed her visa. She had previously applied for asylum and later sought permanent residency through marriage; her green card petition had been approved before her detention. Immigration officials indicated she missed a biometrics appointment related to her asylum case, resulting in a removal order from an immigration judge on April 15, 2026. She is currently held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana. Jaramillo stated he feels "betrayed" by the detention, believing the family was completing the legal process for her permanent residency. The detention has caused panic attacks for Jaramillo and emotional distress for their young stepson. Her case is now before the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Jaramillo, who has served in the Army for more than a decade, was forced to take administrative leave from his job training soldiers at Fort Polk, Louisiana after his Brazilian wife, Maisa Lopes Eliaser, was detained by ICE in early July 2026 following a missed asylum appointment. Eliaser is being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana and faces deportation. Jaramillo now cares alone for their 5-year-old son, Noah, who is missing his mother. Jaramillo said the situation is "really overwhelming" without family support and emphasized that his wife "is not a criminal" and is "trying to do the right thing to get a better life." He has applied for legal protections available to spouses of active-duty service members. Immigration attorney Aaron Cash noted that while some protections exist for military spouses, "ICE or whomever seems to be ignoring that these days." Jaramillo's case is one of at least 52 parents and spouses of active-duty service members detained since Trump took office for a second term.