Human Impact Project

The petitioner, a citizen of Armenia, entered the United States in 2021 on a visitor visa and has had an application for asylum and withholding of removal pending since October 2023. He was detained by ICE on August 22, 2026. On August 29, 2026, he filed a Motion to Schedule Initial Bond Redetermination Hearing in Immigration Court. He then filed a federal habeas petition and an emergency TRO application seeking immediate release or, alternatively, an order requiring prompt resolution of his bond hearing request. Respondents disputed his claim that he was arrested without a warrant, providing evidence of an arrest warrant, but conceded he appears entitled to a bond hearing under recent Ninth Circuit precedent. The district court denied the TRO application, finding no imminent irreparable harm and noting the case would proceed on an expedited habeas briefing schedule.

Joselyn Rodriguez's father was arrested by ICE in front of his home after returning from grocery shopping, having just dropped his children off at school. No reason was given for his detention, leaving the family shocked and struggling to understand what happened. His daughter is raising funds to help pay for legal fees and consultations as the family seeks to bring him home.

Silvano (also reported as Silvino) López Domingo, a Guatemalan man, was detained and physically restrained by ICE agents while waiting to pick up his laundry at a laundromat in New York state. Neighbors who filmed the arrest said four agents forcibly took him away and threatened him with an electric shock. His wife, Milvia Chávez, currently in Guatemala with their 5-month-old daughter, said he has no criminal record and is asking for help to secure his release. Witnesses who saw the arrest expressed concern about the increase in immigration enforcement operations in the state.

Federal immigration agents were seen detaining a man in the parking lot of a Grocery Outlet on South First Street in Yakima, Washington. Witnesses recorded video of the encounter as it unfolded in broad daylight. The man's identity and immigration status have not been confirmed.

Ernesto Alejandro Perez-Garcia, a Mexican national, was arrested by ICE agents while on his morning walk along the Redondo Beach esplanade. He initially denied his identity but admitted the truth after agents showed him a previous mugshot. Perez-Garcia has a lengthy arrest history dating to 2003 and had previously been deported, later re-entering the U.S. multiple times; he said his children live in the United States and he does not know what will happen next. Redondo Beach police had twice declined to honor ICE detainer requests for him, in 2020 and 2026.

Degnis Nelson Bofill Miranda, a 39-year-old Cuban-born percussionist, composer, and founder of the group Golpes Libres, was detained by ICE agents at Miami International Airport on August 19 immediately after returning from performances and a music conference in New York. He entered the U.S. legally in April 2023 through a State Department-backed music exchange visa program and has a pending asylum petition that had not yet reached its initial interview stage. His wife, Mara Delgado, said agents were waiting for him at the arrival gate and that he was initially not listed in ICE's detainee locator, complicating efforts to secure legal representation, before he was moved to the Krome North Service Processing Center. ICE said he had not complied with the terms of his 2023 admission but would receive due process, while Delgado said she fears he will be deported to Cuba and separated from her. Delgado described him as a beloved figure in Miami's Cuban music community who teaches local workshops, and fellow musicians publicly voiced support for him. A GoFundMe campaign for his legal defense raised more than $45,000 from over 500 donors within two days.

Luis Adolfo Nouel Gonzalez, a Venezuelan immigrant who worked in construction helping build the QTS data center in Fairfax, Iowa, was detained by ICE after appearing for a scheduled check-in appointment at the Cedar Rapids ICE office. Gonzalez had lived in Iowa for three years with his wife and daughter, was inspected and paroled into the U.S., applied for asylum and Temporary Protected Status, and has no criminal record in Iowa. Advocacy group Escucha Mi Voz said he complied with all conditions of his parole, with member Rogelio Lagunas stating, "Luis did everything the government required of him." His attorney, Raziel Argueta, said the detention followed the Trump administration's termination of TPS for Venezuela, which was upheld by a court in June. The Department of Homeland Security said Gonzalez entered the country near San Luis, Arizona in 2022 and does not hold lawful immigration status. He is being held in Hardin County.

Godfrey Wade, a 65-year-old Jamaican-born U.S. Army veteran and lawful permanent resident who came to the U.S. at 15 in 1975 and lived in the country for over 50 years, was deported to Jamaica on February 5, 2026, while his appeal remained pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals. Wade worked as a chef, tailor, tennis coach and fashion designer while raising six children and three grandchildren with his fiancée April Watkins. He was detained by ICE for nearly five months after a September 2025 traffic stop for driving without a valid license, held first at Stewart Detention Center in Georgia and later Richwood in Louisiana, where he endured overcrowding, inadequate food, a 48-hour water outage, and illness that caused him to lose 20 to 30 pounds. His deportation stemmed from a 2014 removal order based on 2006 misdemeanor convictions and a 2007 bad check charge, which his legal team says he never received proper notice of due to a mailing error. His daughter said he was removed without warning or signing paperwork, arriving in Jamaica with only the clothes he wore before being hospitalized for pneumonia. His fiancée and daughter, who visited him weekly, said he drew portraits of fellow detainees to lift their spirits and are now raising funds and a petition seeking him a day in court.

Federal immigration authorities arrested 17 employees of Melhorn Sales Service and Trucking in and around Mount Joy Borough, Pennsylvania, in a series of early-morning traffic stops between August and September 2026. ICE agents stopped company vehicles on West Main Street on Aug. 21 and Sept. 17, arresting four workers each time, and stopped a van near a Sheetz on Route 230 in Rapho Township on Aug. 31, arresting nine additional workers. Mount Joy Borough police Chief Robert Goshen said the stops were 'targeted enforcements' carried out with warrants, and that ICE agents knew the identities of those they were arresting in advance; some employees who showed proof of legal status were not detained. The four individuals arrested Aug. 21 were identified as Guatemalan nationals.

The petitioner entered the United States without inspection in June 2021 and was apprehended by immigration authorities upon arrival. He was released on parole about two weeks later. On or about August 21, 2026, he was re-detained by immigration authorities. He is currently held at the Golden State Annex Detention Center. He filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus and a motion for a temporary restraining order challenging his renewed detention. Respondents conceded the case was not materially distinguishable from prior rulings by the same court. The court granted the habeas petition, ordering his immediate release on the same conditions as before his re-detention, and enjoined the government from re-detaining him without notice and a pre-deprivation bond hearing before an immigration judge, at which the government must justify detention by clear and convincing evidence.

Arturo Garcia Becerril was pulled over and arrested on August 21 while traveling between jobs, then taken into ICE custody where he has remained in detention. His children say he has a clean record and has always worked hard to support his family, but ICE is allegedly conflating him with another person who has had prior immigration issues. His family is worried about his well-being in detention because he has diabetes, and they are raising money to cover his attorney fees.

The petitioner is an immigration detainee who filed a habeas corpus petition and a motion for a temporary restraining order in federal court. The court had previously ordered respondents to show whether any facts distinguished this case from its prior rulings on detention. Respondents conceded that a recent Ninth Circuit decision established that 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) applies to individuals in the petitioner's circumstances, meaning he is entitled to a custody redetermination hearing before an immigration judge. The court granted the habeas petition and ordered that he receive a bond hearing before a neutral arbiter within ten days. The order requires 72 hours' written notice of the hearing in a language he understands, allows for representation by an attorney, and requires the decisionmaker to consider his financial circumstances and alternative release conditions. If no bond hearing is held within the deadline, respondents must release him. He is currently held at the Golden State Annex detention facility.

A young mother in Miami is caring alone for her one-year-old twin daughters after her husband was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The family is now facing unexpected expenses for housing, food, diapers, formula, childcare, transportation, and legal assistance related to his immigration case. A GoFundMe campaign was created to help support the mother and her daughters during this time.

A close family friend, described as a father of two, uncle, and brother, was arrested by ICE. According to the organizer, he had worked and paid taxes in the U.S. for years without incident. The family started a fundraiser to help cover future costs related to his detention, citing uncertainty over his timeline in the detention facility.

A father was detained by ICE while at work in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Friday, August 21st. His daughter started a fundraiser to cover potential bail, which the family's lawyer said could range from $5,000 to $10,000, plus legal fees. The family describes him as 'the pillar' of their household.

Gustavo was arrested by ICE on a Wednesday morning while on his way to work. His wife, Flor Cecilia, who is unable to work due to health issues, and their children Kenia and Gustavo Jr. are struggling financially as a result. The family is raising money to hire an attorney to secure his release from jail and fight his deportation case.

Heriberto 'Eddie' Reyes-Ochoa, a 34-year-old marine construction worker who came to the U.S. from Minatitlán, Veracruz, Mexico as an unaccompanied 14-year-old and has lived in the country for 20 years, was detained after a minor traffic accident near Kiln, Mississippi. A Mississippi Highway Patrol trooper cited him for following too closely and driving without a license, then informed him of an immigration warrant and determined he lacked legal status; he was taken to Hancock County jail before ICE took custody and transferred him to Adams County Correctional Center in Natchez. Reyes-Ochoa had been in the final stages of obtaining a green card through consular processing and was awaiting a visa interview when detained. He has been married for over a decade to U.S. citizen Catherine Cool, who is pregnant with their first child due in January. DHS initially claimed he had been charged with felony hit and run, a claim Hancock County officials disputed. His wife and attorneys are pursuing a habeas corpus petition seeking his release on bond.

A Black man with no connection to an ongoing traffic stop was questioned and handcuffed by a US Border Patrol agent at an Orion gas station in Lake Worth Beach, Florida. Video shows the agent demanding his identification and telling him it was 'because you're an immigrant' before officers forced his arms behind his back and restrained him. He was released minutes later after a status check cleared him. A second man who appeared Latino was seized shortly afterward, and an older man filming the encounter was ordered to move away from the scene.

A Mexican mother of three said ICE agents attempted to detain her in Los Angeles during an enforcement operation in a residential neighborhood. A neighbor intervened, which prevented the arrest from happening. The woman said she now fears being deported.

More than 160 people were deported from the U.S. to Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, on a flight Thursday, the first such deportation since the Trump administration ended Temporary Protected Status for Haitians. The group included TPS holders who had lived and worked legally in the U.S. since 2010, as well as people of Haitian descent born in the Dominican Republic who are not recognized as citizens there. One deportee, Jean Diane Louis, told reporters he left Haiti at age 5, that his family lives in New York City, and that ICE detained him without questioning before sending him back. Upon arrival, Haitian immigration officials offered deportees a maximum of $65 along with food and water, and many said they had nowhere to go and no family remaining in Haiti.