Human Impact Project

A Filipino man who had lived in the United States for over 20 years as a lawful permanent resident, having first arrived through California in April 2004, was deported by DHS on August 18, 2026, following a final removal order issued by an immigration judge on July 2. DHS cited his affiliation with the Asian Boys gang and a California criminal record including convictions for voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault with a firearm, and drug possession, stemming from the 2018 death of a US Navy sailor on a San Diego freeway. He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and related charges and was sentenced in 2020 to nine years and eight months in California state prison.

ICE removed Rafael José Quero Silva, a former colonel in Venezuela's Bolivarian National Guard, to Venezuela on Aug. 18, 2026, following a Department of Justice immigration judge's removal order. ICE arrested him in Miramar, Florida in February 2025 after he overstayed his 2016 admission at Miami International Airport. Officials allege he oversaw the detention and torture of at least 74 anti-Maduro protesters in 2013 while commanding a National Guard detachment.

A noncitizen held at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility filed a habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging his arrest and continued detention by ICE, arguing he should be released and given a bond hearing before an immigration judge under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). The Government conceded that he is a noncitizen unlawfully present in the United States who had been detained under § 1226(a), and agreed the court should order a bond hearing under recent First Circuit precedent. The Government's only opposition was that he had not exhausted administrative remedies by requesting bond directly from an immigration judge, an argument the court rejected as futile since the Board of Immigration Appeals has held that immigration judges lack authority to grant bond to noncitizens present without admission. The court granted the habeas petition, ordering the Government to release him immediately, though it may transfer him to ICE's Boston Field Office solely to process his release and return property. The court denied the Government's request to place him under monitoring equipment pending a bond hearing. The Government was ordered to provide him a bond hearing within ten days, at which the immigration judge must consider alternatives to detention before ruling on flight risk or dangerousness, and to file a status report on the outcome within five days of that hearing.

A detained immigrant filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, challenging his immigration detention. He is currently held at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, Texas. The document does not specify the date or circumstances of his apprehension. The court ordered Respondents to file a response within 7 days addressing the date Petitioner entered the United States, whether he was previously apprehended and released by immigration authorities, and the status of his immigration and/or removal proceedings. The court also permitted electronic notice of filing to constitute proper service on the government respondents. Petitioner was granted 7 days to file a reply after the response is filed.

A man detained at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, Texas filed a habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. The court ordered the respondents, including named official Miguel Vergara, to respond within 7 days, addressing the date he entered the United States, whether he was previously apprehended and released by immigration authorities, and the status of his immigration or removal proceedings. The document does not specify his nationality, family ties, employment, or the circumstances of his apprehension. He is seeking relief through this habeas petition, though the specific relief requested is not detailed in this order. The court has permitted electronic notice of filing to constitute service on the Federal Respondents. He will have the opportunity to file a reply within 7 days after the response is filed.

A man is currently held in ICE custody at the McCook Detention Center in McCook, Nebraska. He filed a habeas corpus petition seeking immediate release from custody. The court issued an order to show cause requiring respondents, including DHS and ICE officials, to justify the legality of his detention. Respondents must submit a return by August 24, 2026, with affidavits, a legal memorandum, information on whether an arrest warrant was used, and any supporting documents. The petitioner may file a reply by August 27, 2026. The court also enjoined respondents from removing the petitioner from the United States or from Nebraska, and ordered his return to Nebraska if he has already been removed.

Volunteers and immigration advocates launched a 'Know Your Rights Week' campaign in Queens, going door to door to educate residents about responding to ICE encounters. The effort was inspired by volunteer Odilia Gonzalez, whose undocumented brother from Mexico was detained for months after being stopped on his way to work. Local officials said their offices have received numerous calls about ICE detentions in the community, and some also called for restoring Temporary Protected Status for Haitians after its termination.

Ana Kikabidze and her children, ages 11 and 14, were detained for months at the Dilley immigration detention facility in South Texas before an immigration judge ordered their deportation to Georgia. A federal judge found the Trump administration had repeatedly violated the Flores Settlement by detaining children far beyond legal limits, in some cases over 300 days. U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee appointed an independent monitor to oversee detention conditions for children at Dilley and other facilities.

Guillermo Gallardo Barrera, who lived in Arizona for more than 20 years with no criminal record, entered ICE detention able to walk but after more than a year at the Central Arizona ICE Detention Center can no longer stand without a cane. He reports severe pain, numbness in his hands, debilitating insomnia and an undiagnosed disability, saying ICE has only given him ibuprofen for treatment. He filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus and an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order in federal court, both of which were denied; an amended habeas petition was also denied in June 2026, allowing his detention to continue while broader legal challenges proceed. A new case against DHS Secretary Noem has since been filed on his behalf. "I'm terrified I won't make it out of here alive," he said. Advocates have launched a fundraiser to secure him an independent medical evaluation and legal support.

Kléber (also spelled Cleber) Guachilema, a 25-year-old Ecuadorian immigrant, was arrested by ICE agents during an operation in a Lawrence, Massachusetts neighborhood, with the arrest captured on video. His family describes him as the sole financial provider for the household and the father of a young child. Relatives say the arrest resulted from mistaken identification, and that his wife has recently had health problems. They say his son has been traumatized by the detention, repeatedly asking whether his father is dead.

Daysi, described as one of the top political consultants in the country, is facing an approaching deadline as her Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is set to expire. She must decide whether to self-deport or remain in the U.S. and risk the career and life she has built. A family portrait accompanying her story shows her with several relatives.

Katrina Castro-Menéndez, 41, a former municipal judge from Matanzas, Cuba, was detained by ICE agents outside her home in Cooper City, Florida, after her husband left for work and while her 15-year-old daughter slept inside. She was taken to ICE offices in Miramar and then to the Broward Transition Center, where she remains held pending removal proceedings. The Department of Homeland Security alleges she committed immigration fraud by concealing Communist Party membership on her asylum and residency applications, reasoning that her past judicial role implies such affiliation, but Katrina says a lawyer who charged her $3,000 never properly interviewed her and that mandatory Cuban civic groups she belonged to are distinct from party membership. She appeared before an immigration judge in Miami on August 5 without legal representation and testified she had never joined the Communist Party. Her husband, Deyni Rojas González, whose humanitarian parole documentation has expired, cannot visit her in person or maintain video calls, and she says she has rehearsed how to tell her daughter they may be deported to Cuba.

A man was detained by ICE agents in Newark, New Jersey, after visiting the food pantry at United Deliverance Tabernacle church. According to Iszzy Owens, who filmed the encounter, the man had signed up for food assistance and crossed the street to wait for a bus when two ICE agents surrounded him; a third agent then arrived and the man was handcuffed and taken away. Owens said the man visits the church pantry every Friday and does not bother anyone, describing him as "a good person."

José Mejía, a 45-year-old Mexican migrant, said he was detained by ICE agents on August 11 while on his way to work in Arlington, Texas. He said agents shocked him with a stun gun when he tried to flee and then physically assaulted him, leaving him with visible facial injuries. Mejía said he later woke up in a hospital in Washington, where he was admitted for three days due to the severity of his injuries. Days later, he said he still needed medical attention for his injuries but was denied permission to remove his ankle monitor so he could see a doctor.

Frander has been held in immigration detention for 250 days while his wife Maria awaits his return home to their daughters. In July, Frander won his case, giving the Department of Homeland Security 30 days to appeal the ruling. That deadline passed without any update on his status, though his family later reported possible progress toward his release.

Ambar Aguilar Gómez, a 27-year-old Venezuelan woman who is six months pregnant, was detained by Border Patrol on August 11 while riding as a passenger in her cousin's car near the Tohono O'odham reservation south of Tucson, Arizona, after agents found the vehicle lacked insurance. She remains in Border Patrol custody in Tucson, and it is unclear whether she will be transferred to an ICE detention facility. Her husband, Mevin Josué Guerra, said the couple, parents of two children with a third on the way, entered the U.S. from Venezuela in 2019 and applied for asylum. Guerra is recovering from a June car accident that left him in a 10-day coma with a tracheotomy and brain injuries, and told N+ Univisión, "She is my lifeline. We have no other family here." An immigration lawyer said her pregnancy and her husband's medical condition could be considered as evidence in the case, though the decision rests with a judge.

A Mexican national who had lived in the United States for years after entering without inspection was detained by ICE and held at a detention facility. He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention, arguing he was entitled to a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge rather than being held under mandatory detention rules. The government argued he was properly held under mandatory detention provisions as an applicant for admission. A federal district court disagreed, finding that because he had already entered and was living in the country, his detention was governed by discretionary detention provisions rather than mandatory ones. The court granted his petition, ordering that he receive a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge within seven days and barring immigration authorities from denying him bond or rearresting him except under limited circumstances.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national living in Maryland with his U.S. citizen family, was unlawfully deported to El Salvador's CECOT prison in March 2025 despite a 2019 court order protecting him from removal due to gang violence risks. The Supreme Court unanimously ordered his return, and he was brought back to the U.S. in June 2025, after which federal prosecutors indicted him on human smuggling charges in Tennessee. Costa Rica offered him refugee status in August 2025, but the administration instead pursued deporting him to African nations, including Liberia, which have resisted. A judge ordered his release from ICE custody in December 2025 after finding government lawyers misled the court, and later blocked his re-detention and deportation to Liberia. A federal judge dismissed the smuggling charges in May 2026 as vindictive retaliation for his legal challenge, but in August 2026 the Justice Department asked the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate the charges, a move his attorneys are contesting.

Armelle Bondonga, a 21-year-old who came to the U.S. from the Democratic Republic of Congo as a child under her father's asylum case, was detained by ICE agents on August 12 during her marriage-based green card interview at the USCIS field office in Louisville. Her husband, U.S. citizen Terrance Bradshaw, and their 19-month-old U.S. citizen son were present; agents separated the couple, and Bradshaw left with their son. Bondonga had a final removal order from November 2025 but was pursuing residency through marriage, with Bradshaw's I-130 petition still pending. Her attorneys, including Arianit Osmani, filed a habeas corpus petition arguing agents lacked a warrant and unlawfully detained her, while federal officials described the arrest as a lawful targeted operation. Bondonga is active in community organizations including Future Ancestors and Empower Youth; dozens of community members and elected officials, including state representative Sadiqa Reynolds, rallied on her behalf, describing her as a dedicated volunteer with no criminal record. She was held at the Clark County jail in Jeffersonville, Indiana, as attorneys sought a stay of removal and prepared for a bond hearing.

Women detained at the Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga, Oklahoma, allege in a federal lawsuit that they are suffering vaginal infections after being given used and unwashed underwear. A leaked video shared by the advocacy group Injusticias De ICE features a detainee saying in Spanish that 'almost all' female detainees at the facility have vaginal infections. The lawsuit, filed by lawyers for several women held at the facility, accuses ICE contractors and staff of 'systemic medical neglect,' including delayed responses to emergency symptoms, unfilled or delayed prescriptions, and postponed gynecological exams.