Human Impact Project

Edgar Martinez, 33, was detained outside his West Phoenix home after men allegedly posing as electricians cut power to check a breaker box, according to his partner, Marisol Lopez. Lopez said the agents never identified themselves or showed a warrant before pinning Martinez to the ground and taking him into custody. She said Martinez had no serious criminal record and was in the process of applying for a T visa as a victim of human trafficking. ICE said Martinez lacks lawful status and cited two prior domestic violence misdemeanors on his record. Martinez was being held at a detention facility in Florence, Arizona, due to capacity issues at other facilities and was set to appear in immigration court.

An unnamed client of immigration attorney Javier Rivera, a victim of domestic violence with legal protections meant to shield her from removal, was deported to Nicaragua in August. A federal court has already ordered her return to the United States. Rivera said the administration is 'in such a hurry to kick people out... that they aren't actually looking at the legality of some of this stuff.'

Post Falls police announced they made 15 arrests of people suspected of violating federal immigration law after joining the 287(g) program with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE agents accompanied Post Falls officers during joint patrol operations from Aug. 24 to Aug. 28, resulting in 13 arrests, with two additional arrests made later. The department said it does not anticipate the number of arrests during the training period reflects future operations.

Deng Deng, a 19-year-old Southern Connecticut State University basketball player originally from Aweil, South Sudan, was arrested by ICE agents at Tweed New Haven Airport on September 4, 2026, while boarding a flight to visit his girlfriend in North Carolina. Deng attended high school in New Jersey and was lawfully admitted to the U.S. as a minor on an F-1 student visa; he has a pending asylum application based on fear of persecution in South Sudan and holds a valid Employment Authorization Document. A witness described the arresting officers as "very aggressive." His attorneys, Glenn Formica and Steven Strom, filed a habeas corpus petition arguing an officer falsely claimed Deng was violating Temporary Protected Status he never held, that he has no criminal history, and that the arrest violated his Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights. A federal judge barred his transfer to any ICE facility beyond 150 miles of the Connecticut border, though the case was later moved to the District of Massachusetts; he remains held at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Rhode Island. SCSU said it is in contact with him and assisting where appropriate.

An Afghan man who worked as a U.S. military interpreter and cultural adviser during Operation Enduring Freedom was detained by ICE and FBI agents outside his St. Louis County home as he left for a morning run. He entered the U.S. legally in 2014 through the Special Immigrant Visa program and is a green card holder who built a life with his wife, Cata Estrada, and their children, including one born weeks before his arrest. A scientist with multiple degrees who hoped to become a doctor, he is also a plaintiff in a 2023 federal lawsuit over being placed on terrorist watchlists. ICE alleges he provided material support to a terrorist organization, citing a 2021 FBI search warrant linking him to a group associated with al-Qaida, and claims he lied on his 2019 naturalization application. He denies the allegations, says his rights as a permanent resident have been violated, and is seeking a jury trial. He is being held at the Ste. Genevieve County Detention Center in Missouri, with an immigration court hearing scheduled for Sept. 14 in Kansas City.

Jose Mejia Hernandez, a 45-year-old Mexican immigrant who has lived in the U.S. for 18 years, was walking to work along Columbia Pike in Arlington, Virginia on August 11 when plainclothes ICE agents in an unmarked vehicle approached him without identifying themselves. He fled, was struck by a vehicle, and was shocked with a stun gun before losing consciousness, waking hours later at George Washington University Hospital with two black eyes, facial lacerations, brain swelling, and a subarachnoid brain bleed. He was hospitalized for several days with ICE officers stationed in his room, returned for an MRI on August 14 due to worsening symptoms, and was later fitted with an ankle monitor he says delayed further medical testing. His attorneys, Denisse Gastélum, Carlos Jurado and Margaret Hellerstein, say he now struggles to eat, sleep, speak normally, or work, and have filed a police report seeking criminal charges against the officers and driver, notified federal agencies of intent to sue under the Federal Tort Claims Act, and are pursuing a U visa on his behalf. DHS disputes his account, saying officers used necessary force after he attempted to flee, and cites a prior voluntary return to Mexico and a 2020 public intoxication conviction. He has been placed in deportation proceedings with a hearing scheduled for September 14. Virginia officials including Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and Reps. Don Beyer, Suhas Subramanyam and James Walkinshaw have criticized the circumstances of his arrest, and Arlington County Police have opened an investigation. Separately, the Arlington County Board approved $50,000 in emergency grants, distributed through Arlington Thrive, to support families whose primary wage earner was detained during a broader ICE enforcement surge that led to roughly 1,300 arrests across the D.C. area in August.

Sirena Prosper, a hairdresser and mother of seven who owns Royal Hands Salon in Pompano Beach, Florida, was detained by ICE agents at her shop's back door on September 14, 2026, while her three youngest sons, ages 14, 12 and 10, watched, one recording on his phone. Family members said agents refused to return her son's ID unless she came to the door, then grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her out of the shop; ICE said she resisted arrest. Prosper was born in the Bahamas to Haitian immigrant parents and has lived in Florida since infancy, but faces deportation to Haiti, a country relatives say she has never known, based on a 2002 final removal order tied to a 1998 armed burglary and larceny conviction. Her family said her removal had previously been canceled due to a medical emergency and that she had complied with ICE check-ins for two decades. She is being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, a facility advocates say saw two deaths over the summer. Relatives, who describe her as a loving mother and hairdresser, held a prayer vigil outside her salon and are caring for her children while seeking to halt her deportation.

ICE agents detained five men in Montclair, New Jersey on Sept. 14, 2026, while they were on their way to a construction job, and detained at least one more man in neighboring Bloomfield the same day; a community group estimated about 10 people were detained across both towns. Witnesses said agents smashed a truck's passenger window and forcibly pulled one man from the vehicle by his leg while handcuffing the others against the truck. ICE said the driver had refused to comply with officers' commands, but attorney Joseph Fortunato filed habeas corpus petitions arguing the men were detained without individualized custody determinations. A federal judge signed an order Friday night blocking the transfer of two of the men to Louisiana, and they were returned to Delaney Hall in Newark; supporters are raising money through a community bail fund to pay a $7,500 immigration bond for one of the men, a 24-year-old construction worker identified as Kevin. Montclair Mayor Renee Baskerville said she found the enforcement activity "deeply disturbing" and stressed the need to recognize the men's humanity.

In late August, ICE deported three Nicaraguan men to the Central African Republic, even though none of them had ties to that country and at least two had protections in place that barred their return to Nicaragua. The men reported being transported in handcuffs under duress and were left stranded in Bangui with uncertain immigration status. The deportations are part of a broader U.S. policy of sending migrants to third-party African countries when legal barriers prevent their return to their countries of origin.

Gerardo Chavez Lopez, a longtime Clatsop County resident who owned and operated businesses in the area, was arrested by ICE officers in June along with at least one other person. ICE officers used property at the Port of Astoria to move people between vehicles during the arrests, prompting complaints to the Oregon Department of Justice over a potential violation of the state's sanctuary laws. The Port of Astoria said staff faced a difficult situation and did the right thing by allowing ICE agents access to port property.

ICE agents detained several men in Montclair's Fourth Ward on the morning of September 14, 2026, stopping a pickup truck near Elm Street and Bloomfield Avenue as the men were driving to perform construction work at The Vestry, a luxury apartment building. Witnesses said agents smashed the truck's window, forcibly pulled one man out by his leg, and pushed others against the vehicle while handcuffing them, just a block from Charles H. Bullock Elementary School as children arrived for the day. One detained man, a 24-year-old construction worker identified as Kevin, was held on a $7,500 immigration bond, with community members raising funds through the Envision Freedom Fund. Mayor Renee Baskerville and Deputy Mayor Susan Shin Andersen said ICE had not notified local police of the operation. After attorney Joseph Fortunato filed habeas corpus petitions, a federal judge ordered two of the men returned to Delaney Hall in New Jersey after ICE had already placed them on a bus bound for a flight to a Louisiana detention facility.

As the school year began in Queens, immigrant families expressed fear over ICE activity in their neighborhoods. In one incident, a father was detained by ICE agents while running morning errands in Corona before he could return home to drive his son to school, prompting his wife to rush to the scene in tears. Community members and local advocates, including the group Las Doñas, responded to support the family, while other parents like Margarita described ongoing anxiety about enforcement affecting daily routines like school drop-offs.

Matías Alejandro Pourrain, a 34-year-old Argentine soccer player for Miami United FC and youth coach, was detained by ICE agents at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on August 6 while preparing to travel with his team to a championship match. He had lived in South Florida since 2019, held a work permit, Social Security number, and Florida state ID, and said he had no criminal record. Pourrain was transferred across multiple facilities, including Krome, one in Miramar, and one in Laredo, Texas, describing being shackled for extended periods, held in overcrowded rooms, and given little or moldy food. His teams, Miami United FC and Club de Lyon FC, described him as an exceptional player and beloved member of their organizations, while his wife, Stefi Almandoz, remained in Miami during his detention. His attorney, Regina Borges, secured a bail hearing, and he was released on a $20,000 bond on August 28 after nearly three weeks in custody, opting for phone check-ins instead of an ankle monitor so he could continue coaching. DHS said Pourrain had overstayed his authorized six-month stay and disputed his claims of inhumane conditions.

The petitioner is currently detained at the T. Don Hutto Detention Center and has filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, challenging his ongoing detention without an individualized bond hearing. He is being held as an applicant for admission subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A). The court found that, on the face of the petition, he may be entitled to relief and ordered the government to show cause by September 18, 2026, why the writ should not be granted. The petitioner may reply by September 21, 2026, and either party may request a hearing. The court further ordered that he not be removed from the United States or transferred outside the Austin Division of the Western District of Texas while the case is pending.

A Colombian mother seeking asylum after fleeing domestic violence says she has suffered months of delayed and inadequate medical care for a serious kidney and urinary tract infection while detained at Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego. She crossed the border in the San Diego-Tijuana area in September 2025 and has been held since October while her asylum case, which the government sought to redirect to Honduras, remains on appeal. Medical records show repeated visits for pain, bleeding, and blood in her urine that went undertreated for months, including delayed antibiotics, a delayed ultrasound and CT scan, and two emergency room visits before she was hospitalized and diagnosed with pyelonephritis. She said a guard mistreated her, including a 30-day suspension of her phone privileges that cut off contact with her two children.

Gabriel Johnson, a 55-year-old pastor and father originally from Liberia who had held legal status since age 15, was detained by ICE in Cary, North Carolina in mid-July, which his family described as stemming from a misunderstanding over a missed immigration appointment. His daughter, Gabri Johnson, said officials later pursued his removal under a broader immigration policy change, and that ICE denied him consistent food, water, and medication for more than 16 days in custody. On July 30, Johnson suffered a stroke that left the left side of his body completely paralyzed. His family said ICE initially refused to let hospital staff contact his daughter and denied the family visits, calls, or health updates, and that he was unable to access needed rehabilitation care while detained. ICE denied mistreatment allegations, stating Johnson was taken to a hospital after showing stroke-like symptoms and remained under medical care. An emergency stay of removal was filed on his behalf, and he has since been released from ICE custody and is moving to a 24-hour rehabilitation hospital for treatment.

Jose Rafael Alambarrio, a Venezuelan national who fled political persecution and arrived in the U.S. in 2023, was detained on January 15, 2026 during a routine annual check-in at the Dallas ICE office while applying for a green card and pursuing asylum. He had no criminal record and had faithfully attended all previous check-ins. He was initially held at Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, before being transferred without notice to an ICE facility in Mississippi. His wife, a McKinney teacher and U.S. citizen, has publicly pleaded for his release and continues to fight for him from a distance. Nine months later, Alambarrio remains in detention while appealing the denial of his asylum application, with a decision on his residency process still pending.

ICE agents conducted a targeted enforcement operation in Woodstock, Illinois, arresting six men ranging in age from 23 to 48. Those detained were identified as Alex Francisco Diaz-Quintanilla, 47, of El Salvador; Israel Espinal-Diaz, 48, of Mexico; Daniel Nehemias Martinez-Esteban, 30, of Guatemala; Lazaro Cruz-Morales, 43, of Mexico; Gabriel Martinez-Quintanar, 26, of Mexico; and Jayson Josiel Ruiz-Figueroa, 23, of Honduras. At least one man was taken into custody in the parking lot of Woodstock Automotive Service. ICE said Diaz-Quintanilla had a 2024 weapons conviction, and all six remain in custody pending removal proceedings, with several held at the Clay County, Indiana Jail and one at Miami Correctional Center in Indiana. A separate federal drug trafficking warrant was served at the same location about two and a half hours later by DEA, Illinois State Police, FBI and local agencies, which authorities said was unrelated to the immigration enforcement action.

Marco was recently detained by ICE, according to his daughter Leire, who is raising money to cover immigration legal representation and attorney fees. The family is working to secure his release and asked for donations, prayers, and help sharing their story.

Jorge was detained by ICE agents who followed him until he stopped his vehicle on his way to work. His brother Geovanni describes him as a hard worker with no criminal record who has lived in the U.S. almost his entire life, and a devoted father whose four children depend on him. The family is raising funds to hire a lawyer to fight his deportation and seek his release on bail while he remains in detention.