Human Impact Project

Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a 24-year-old Venezuelan man, was shot in the leg by ICE agent Christian Castro through the door of his North Minneapolis home during a January raid connected to Operation Metro Surge. His partner, Indriany Mendoza Camacho, said agents fired as Sosa-Celis fled inside and then threw tear gas into the home, which had children present, before entering to detain him. Federal prosecutors initially charged Sosa-Celis and his cousin, Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, with assaulting officers using a snow shovel and broom, but surveillance video contradicted the officers' sworn testimony. A federal judge dismissed the charges with prejudice, and ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons acknowledged two officers may have lied under oath, placing both on administrative leave. Minnesota prosecutors later charged Castro with assault and false reporting, and he also faces a federal indictment for false statements; Texas Governor Greg Abbott refused to extradite him, prompting a lawsuit from Minnesota's attorney general.

The petitioner filed a habeas corpus petition on August 25, 2026, challenging her detention by immigration officials and seeking to stop her removal from the United States. She had previously been held within the District of Kansas, but by the time her petition was filed she had already been transported outside Kansas en route to a detention facility in Texas for her removal by charter flight. She sought a temporary restraining order to block her removal to an alternative third country, arguing due process required certain procedures first. The court held it lacked jurisdiction because she was not confined within the district at the time of filing, and found no evidence the government concealed her location or moved her to evade habeas jurisdiction. The court also concluded that 8 U.S.C. § 1252(g) stripped it of jurisdiction to enjoin execution of her removal order. As a result, the court denied the TRO motion and ordered respondents to file a status update on her removal by September 2, 2026.

The petitioner filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order after being told his removal from the United States would occur within hours. He also filed a habeas petition challenging his detention and pending removal. The court found that immigration authorities appeared to have failed to comply with the procedural requirements set forth in 8 C.F.R. § 241.4(l), which governs continued detention review. Given the imminent likelihood of removal, the court granted the TRO and imposed a stay of removal pending a ruling on the underlying habeas petition. The court denied the petitioner's separate request for an expedited hearing on the matter. No details regarding the petitioner's nationality, family circumstances, employment, or the location of his detention were provided in this order.

Cornelio Estrada-Gonzalez, a Guatemalan national living in the U.S. without authorization, was arrested by ICE on Aug. 22 during a targeted enforcement operation in Chantilly, Virginia, after he got out of a car his brother was driving and ran from officers before being caught following a brief foot chase. DHS said his criminal history includes convictions for assault, felony public records forgery, felony identity theft, driving while intoxicated, felony reentry after removal, and possessing or selling a fake driver's license, and that he had previously been deported in 2011 and 2016. He was issued a final removal order on Aug. 22 and deported three days later.

Emmanuel was detained by ICE at a license checkpoint and has since been arrested and held in detention. His wife, Jazmin, says he is the family's main provider and a hard worker who poses no threat to society. The couple has two children together, including a newborn only 20 days old, and Jazmin is still recovering from childbirth and on maternity leave from work. She is raising money to cover legal fees to help bring him home.

Miguel Sanchez-Clemente, 40, was arrested by the Bay County Sheriff's Office on August 25 after a traffic stop for a suspended registration revealed he was in the country without legal status. During the stop, deputies also found two minors in the vehicle who were undocumented and worked for Sanchez-Clemente. Investigators say Sanchez-Clemente admitted to an ongoing sexual relationship with one of the minors and was charged with sexual battery. He was placed on an ICE detainer following his arrest.

A man detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the legality of his arrest and continued detention. The government argued he was lawfully held under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(1), the expedited removal statute, but the court found that provision did not apply because he was not 'arriving in the United States.' The court instead determined his detention was governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), which applies to noncitizens present in the country without admission. He was being held at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility. The court granted his habeas petition, ordering his immediate release, and directed the government to provide him a bond hearing before an immigration judge within ten days. The court denied the government's request to impose monitoring equipment on him pending that hearing. The government was also ordered to file a status report on the outcome of the bond hearing.

The petitioner is currently detained at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, Texas. He filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging his immigration detention. The court ordered federal respondents to file a response within 7 days addressing the date he entered the United States, whether he was previously apprehended and released by immigration authorities, and the current status of his immigration or removal proceedings. The petitioner was granted the opportunity to file a reply within 7 days after the response is filed. The document does not provide further details regarding his nationality, family circumstances, or the specifics of his apprehension.

A video posted online showed five ICE agents in Danbury attempting to wrestle a man's arms behind his back while he lay on the street in front of a preschool center. A masked agent pointed a canister of what appeared to be pepper spray at the man's face, warning, "You're going to get sprayed," while another agent ordered him to put his arms out. The incident occurred during a week in which ICE agents made a sharp uptick in arrests across Danbury, with local advocacy group Danbury Unites for Immigrants confirming dozens of arrests in the city.

Victor Martinez Nieto and his 5-year-old son, Liam Tadeo, were detained by ICE agents during a traffic stop in North Austin on August 16, 2026, while driving to a children's soccer game. Video showed Liam crying and clutching his handcuffed father's hands; a family spokesperson said Liam had been due to start kindergarten that week. The two were held together at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, where attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said officials denied requests to release Liam to his mother in Austin rather than risk him being placed alone in Office of Refugee Resettlement custody. DHS said Martinez Nieto had entered near Laredo in 2022, was arrested in November 2025, and had reentered after a prior deportation. Lawmakers Joaquin Castro, Greg Casar, and James Talarico called for the pair's release and for Dilley's closure, with Castro denied a facility visit. Martinez Nieto agreed to depart voluntarily with his son, and the two were deported to Mexico, reuniting with relatives with help from the Mexican Consulate, while Liam's mother sought ways to reunite with him.

Matthew Petti, a reporter for Reason, was pulled into secondary inspection at a U.S. airport while returning from abroad with his newlywed foreign wife. CBP agents held him for roughly four hours without explanation, refusing to let him use a landline to contact a lawyer. When Petti pointed out that an American citizen cannot be held indefinitely, the agent at the desk simply replied, "We'll let you know." He was eventually cleared to enter the country but was never told why he had been detained. Petti later filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking records on his detention, and a source told him it was possible he had been flagged by an automated watch-list or itinerary alert.

Marili Tomas was livestreaming on Facebook when ICE agents and Florida Highway Patrol officers smashed her car window and pulled her from the vehicle in Fort Myers, Florida. The live video cut off abruptly during the incident and remained her last Facebook post as of the following day. She was taken to Lee County Jail and charged with two counts of resisting an officer; she was not placed in ICE custody, and her bond was set at $3,000. ICE agents in Florida operate with local and state law enforcement under the 287(g) program, which has reportedly been used to target people documenting ICE activity.

A Mexican mother experienced a tense week after ICE agents arrived at her home, an episode that culminated in an immigration court appearance. During the ordeal, her child wrote a handwritten letter pleading, "Please ICE, don't take my mom," after agents came to their house.

A 36-year-old asylum seeker from Haiti who fled the country in 2017 after receiving death threats was arrested by local police in Key West and turned over to ICE. He worked as a cook and supervisor at the Half Shell Raw Bar and was described by his manager, Bobby Kuchinsky, as "an excellent worker" and "a family man" who was the main provider for his family. Kuchinsky declined to identify him publicly out of concern for his safety while in ICE custody.

Patricia, a 19-year-old Honduran woman living in Austin, was separated from her 8-month-old breastfeeding son after she called 911 to report abuse by her boyfriend but was instead arrested on an assault charge. Prosecutors later dismissed the charge, but ICE took her into custody and held her nearly six weeks at the South Texas Detention Complex, where she suffered painful, swollen breasts and pleaded for a breast pump while her son stayed with a family friend. Patricia said she fled Honduras two years earlier after being raped by a gang member who continued to harass her, and that she had sought asylum in the U.S. Attorneys with the nonprofit American Gateways sued for her release, and U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia in San Antonio ruled that the government had violated the Constitution by detaining her without a hearing, ordering ICE to release her within two days. She was reunited with her son, but still faces a deportation order that her lawyers are appealing.

Sisi Rose, 33, a member of the Cheyenne River and Sisseton-Wahpeton tribes, was tased and tackled to the pavement by police while protesting outside the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations office in Sacramento, California. An officer allegedly shot pepper spray into her mouth and then arrested her for assault after she spit it out, while officers knelt on her neck with their body weight. Rose said she has been protesting for months against what she calls ICE's unlawful detentions of Native Americans and U.S. citizens, saying, "My kids could be snatched up off the streets, and we're from here, and that scares me."

Luis Manuel Aviles, 48, a Nicaraguan handyman who has lived in Key West, Florida for about 19 years, was detained by Border Patrol agents during a traffic stop while driving to drop his car off at a mechanic near a Publix supermarket. Family members said he holds a work permit, Social Security card, and driver's license, has a pending asylum application, and has no criminal record. His son, Navy sailor Joshua Aviles, was more than nine months into a deployment aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East and called his father a 'hardworking, humble man,' describing the arrest as heartbreaking. His wife, Argelia Aviles, said, 'He dedicates himself only to work so he can put food on the table at home. He is a good father,' while his stepdaughter said her half-brother struggled to sleep and eat afterward. DHS said having a family member in the military does not confer legal status or immunity from enforcement. An immigration judge dismissed the case against Aviles days later, and he was released from custody, with his family thanking supporters and asking for privacy. His case is among dozens identified nationally involving parents and spouses of active-duty troops.

Grace Stephanie Calero Cabanilla, 39, and her 19-year-old daughter Giulianna Mía Carriel Calero, Ecuadorian nationals who fled Ecuador three years earlier due to death threats, were taken into ICE custody at HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital near Kissimmee after a highway rollover crash. Polk County Sheriff's Office deputies, operating under a 287(g) agreement with ICE, ran a database check during the crash investigation and said it revealed the women had overstayed their visas, prompting ICE detainers. Grace, still sedated and in a cervical collar, was handcuffed at her bedside, while Giulianna, who has epilepsy, suffered a seizure and was handcuffed in her hospital gown and led out in front of other patients and staff. Family members said agents did not identify themselves or produce a warrant, and the family's attorney said both women had pending asylum claims with valid work permits and visas, though the Sheriff's Office disputed this, said neither had a criminal or gang history, and stated no state charges were filed. Video of the arrest circulated widely, prompting a press conference from local immigrant advocates, while Sheriff Grady Judd said he approved of how deputies handled the arrests. Fearing for her daughter's health in detention, Grace signed voluntary departure paperwork and the pair returned to Ecuador.

Benito Miranda Hernandez, brought to the U.S. from Mexico as a baby, joined the Navy after 9/11 and served three tours during the Iraq War. His mother, Maria Miranda, said he returned traumatized and unrecognizable, later serving years in prison on felony drug and weapons convictions and probation violations. After his green card was reinstated in November 2025, federal immigration agents detained him in June as he left a reentry halfway house in Barrio Logan, San Diego, where he had completed a sentence and was trying to turn his life around. He is now held at Otay Mesa Detention Center facing possible deportation. Advocates including deported Army veteran Hector Barajas and James L. Smith II say he struggles with PTSD from his deployments, and his case is part of a broader trend of immigrant veterans facing deportation despite military service.

Venkata Vasamsetty, a 59-year-old green card holder who moved to the U.S. from India in 1999, works as a special-needs substitute teacher with Wake County Public School System in Cary, North Carolina, and is a grandmother with a husband, two U.S.-citizen daughters, and grandchildren. Her immigration troubles began after a 2022 trip to India to care for her ill father, during which she contracted COVID-19 and remained abroad for more than seven months, prompting DHS to allege she had abandoned her permanent residency. An immigration judge dismissed that case in May after DHS missed a court deadline, but she was detained anyway during a check-in at the Charlotte ICE office her attorney said she was not legally required to attend, and was transferred to the Irwin County Detention Center in rural Georgia. Her daughter Teja, an immigration attorney, said she was shackled during the arrest while family pleaded with officers. Family and her attorney, Helen Parsonage, said her type 2 diabetes worsened in custody, with low blood sugar, weight loss, and the facility largely ignoring requests for an adequate vegetarian diet respecting her Hindu dietary restrictions. After more than two weeks in detention, an immigration judge in Georgia granted her release on a $7,500 bond, citing her long-standing U.S. ties, a home, tax returns dating back to 2012, her teaching job, and her history of never missing a court appearance or check-in.