Human Impact Project

On May 14, 2026, ICE allegedly arrested at least five people in Geneva, New York, including a U.S. citizen at a Byrne Dairy gas station and four men stopped while driving to work. One person was later released after providing proof of citizenship. Community protests and rallies organized by local advocacy groups, including the Finger Lakes Rapid Response Network and Geneva Women's Assembly, continued into late May with marches to the arrest locations.

Marlon Juvenal Chavez Merchan, a native and citizen of Ecuador, is currently detained at Otay Mesa Detention Facility in ICE custody. He filed a habeas corpus petition alleging that ICE violated his due process rights by detaining him without a bond determination hearing. The court conditionally appointed counsel and issued a limited stay to prevent his removal from the district pending a reasoned decision.

Federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations executed coordinated search warrants on May 13-14, 2026, targeting VC Defensa, an immigrant rights organization in Ventura County, California. Over 100 agents raided the homes of multiple volunteers and the organization's Oxnard office, seizing electronic devices including phones, computers, and USB drives. During the operations, agents pointed guns at residents, handcuffed activist Leonardo Martinez and the 16-year-old son of volunteer Alexandria Quintanar, and broke down doors. No arrests were made and authorities did not publicly disclose the basis for the searches or specific criminal allegations. All detainees were released from federal custody, and VC Defensa and allied organizations stated they would contest the raids in court.

Suzy Gerónimo, a transgender activist and founder of Fuerza y Unión Múltiple in North Carolina, was detained by ICE following a traffic stop in Franklin County in March 2026 and transferred to Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. She reported being housed in a male unit despite being a transgender woman, and faced harassment, unsafe conditions, lack of Spanish-speaking staff, and inadequate privacy. During her April 28 bail hearing, her legal team announced plans to file an asylum application. A judge ordered DHS to provide accommodations, though implementation has been inconsistent. The community organized support funds and legal defense for her case.

A 33-year-old man from the Middle East was detained by ICE in December 2024 after a scheduled check-in with immigration officials. While held in solitary confinement, he experienced panic attacks and chest pains, and repeatedly struck his head against a door. According to his brother, he is a Christian who fled religious persecution in his home country and has no criminal record. An ICE officer informed him he could be deported to Uganda. Facing indefinite detention, he chose to voluntarily depart the United States rather than continue in custody.

Seven people believed to be immigrants from Mexico and Honduras died from heat stroke while being smuggled in a sealed Union Pacific boxcar in South Texas. Six bodies were discovered inside the boxcar at a rail yard in Laredo on May 10, 2026, when temperatures reached 97–105 degrees. The victims ranged in age from 14 to 56, with three from Mexico and three from Honduras. A woman inside the container called her sister reporting dangerous heat and physical distress, prompting a police response. A seventh body was found near railroad tracks in Bexar County, approximately 150 miles north of Laredo, on May 11 and is believed connected to the incident. Authorities attributed the deaths to heat-related illness and contacted the Department of Homeland Security, with federal officials leading the investigation into the human smuggling operation.

Maria Betania Uzcategui Castillo, a Venezuelan asylum-seeker with valid work authorization through 2030, and her two children, 11-year-old Victor Uzcategui-Labrador Jr. and 8-year-old Monserrat Uzcategui-Labrador, were detained by ICE agents at a school bus stop in Alamo Heights, Texas. The family had arrived at the U.S. border in 2021 seeking asylum, complied with prior immigration requirements, and had a court date scheduled for 2027. Both children attended Cambridge Elementary in the Alamo Heights Independent School District and were reported as deeply traumatized by the detention. The family spent 17 days at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, the country's largest family detention facility, while community members organized a rally and a fundraising campaign that raised more than $28,000 for legal fees. Her husband, Victor, and the family's attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, worked to secure their release. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia ordered the family released, and they were freed pending future immigration hearings.

Cecilia, a 29-year-old pregnant Venezuelan asylum seeker, voluntarily surrendered to ICE with her three sons (ages 6, 9, and 12) on May 5, 2026, at the Centennial field office in Colorado. The family had walked to the U.S. in 2024 seeking stability, but lost their apartment and income after Cecilia's husband Ronald was arrested at an ICE appointment in November 2025. Facing homelessness and unable to support her children as her pregnancy became visible, Cecilia chose assisted voluntary departure. The family arrived in Caracas, Venezuela on May 13, 2026.

A 33-year-old Indian citizen who entered the United States near Lukeville, Arizona in December 2022 had lived in the country for nearly four years before his arrest. After entering, he was released on his own recognizance by DHS after expressing fear of returning to India and being deemed neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community, and he later filed an I-589 application for asylum and withholding of removal. He complied with all conditions of release, including appearing for immigration check-ins, and has no criminal convictions anywhere. He was arrested by ICE on May 13, 2026 without written notice, a warrant, or any individualized flight-risk determination, and no removal proceedings were pending against him at that time. He was first held at Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, where a federal court later ordered a bond hearing at which an immigration judge improperly placed the burden on him to prove he was not a flight risk and denied bond; he was later transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he has remained in custody for over three months. He filed an emergency habeas corpus petition seeking immediate release, arguing his detention violated his constitutional and statutory rights because he never received a pre-detention bond hearing. The court found he was likely to succeed on the merits and ordered his immediate release, enjoined the government from re-detaining him without prior court authorization, and set a briefing schedule for further proceedings on the petition.

Julio was detained by ICE while traveling to work. He has no criminal history and was actively pursuing naturalization. His detention has left his wife Maria managing household expenses and bills on a single income while facing legal fees and bond expenses.

Dany Donaldo Hernández, a Guatemalan man with stage 4 cancer, was detained by ICE on May 13, 2026, while en route to a chemotherapy appointment at UAB Hospital in Birmingham. Hernández, who arrived in the U.S. in 2019 seeking asylum with his son, had been undergoing cancer treatment after a 16-hour surgery two years ago and was recently found to have recurrent cancer and lymph node involvement. Since his arrest, he has missed at least two chemotherapy sessions and his family is seeking humanitarian parole to allow him to continue treatment outside of custody.

ICE agents pepper-sprayed 47 detainees in an enclosed room at the Arizona Removal Operations Coordination Center at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in late February, causing at least one detainee to experience a seizure. The incident occurred at a facility designed to hold 157 detainees but was holding 332 at the time, with detainees packed into rooms with double their intended capacity.

Two undocumented men fled from their vehicle during an ICE operation in Thousand Palms. One man was apprehended inside a business. Both men were confirmed to be undocumented; one had prior arrests for driving under the influence and drug possession, the other had two prior DUI arrests.

Dr. Rubeliz Bolívar, a Venezuelan physician working at South Texas Health System, was detained by CBP in mid-April 2026 at McAllen International Airport while attempting to board a flight with her five-year-old U.S. citizen daughter. CBP claimed she had overstayed a visa that expired in 2017, despite her holding a valid work permit and having a pending green card application and active asylum proceedings. Her daughter was held briefly before being released to her maternal grandparents. After approximately one month in El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, a judge ordered Bolívar's release on bail on May 13, 2026, and she was reunited with her family. Her attorneys are appealing ICE's allegations that she violated visa conditions.

Federal DHS agents conducted at least three immigration-related arrests in Waukegan on Wednesday morning. The first arrest occurred around 9:30 a.m. near Belvidere Road and Powell Avenue; the second around 11:15 a.m. at a Uline warehouse on Lakeside Drive where a man was detained and transported in an unmarked black SUV; and the third around 10:30 a.m. near Catrachos Restaurant on Green Bay Road. At least one detainee was transported to the ICE processing facility in Broadview.

A man was detained by ICE agents in The Colony, Texas after a customer called ICE to avoid paying for auto repair work. According to his daughter, agents pepper-sprayed the man after he was already on the ground and handcuffed. The incident involved an alleged dispute over payment for completed vehicle repairs.

A Honduran immigrant alleges that improper placement of an electronic ankle monitor by ICE resulted in a skin infection and emotional distress after extended wear of the device. The incident highlights concerns about the physical and psychological effects of electronic monitoring on detained immigrants.

A noncitizen is currently detained at the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora, Colorado. He filed a habeas corpus petition seeking immediate release from custody along with a motion for temporary restraining order. The court ordered that respondents cannot remove him from Colorado or the United States until the court or appeals court vacates the order.

A Cuban national ordered removed in 2019 was released on supervised release due to medical concerns after DHS detained him to execute his removal order. On May 12, 2026, DHS revoked his supervised release without demonstrating changed circumstances or that his removal was reasonably foreseeable. The court found the revocation unlawful and ordered his immediate release, finding that DHS failed to meet its burden under 8 C.F.R. § 241.13(i)(2) to show a significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future.

Dionel Florian-Garcia, a Guatemalan citizen who worked at an Arlington grocery store for 12 years, was arrested by ICE on January 14, 2026, outside his workplace on a charge of illegal reentry subsequent to a felony conviction. Florian-Garcia had been removed from the U.S. twice previously (in 2010 and 2012) and reentered the country. He was indicted on February 12 and pleaded guilty in federal court on February 24, 2026. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 12, 2026.