Human Impact Project

Alex Ramirez Gonzalez and Yan Vasquez Hidalgo, a married Cuban couple working in environmental services at SUNY Upstate Medical University, were detained by ICE after appearing for a scheduled immigration hearing in Mattydale, New York. The couple had fled Cuba, entered the U.S. in 2021, turned themselves in to seek asylum, and held valid work authorization. They said they were handcuffed and chained before being transported to a federal detention facility, where they were held for nearly four months, mostly separated from each other. In January, two immigration judges ruled they could not seek asylum in the U.S. but could pursue it in Ecuador, a country to which they have no connection; their lawyer appealed, and the case remains pending. They were released on bond, with one required to wear an ankle monitor, and have returned to their jobs and families in Syracuse. A third coworker, Mohamed Fofana, remains in ICE custody in Texas.

Maisa Lopes Eliaser, a 32-year-old Brazilian national married to Fort Polk Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Jaramillo, was detained by ICE on July 8, 2026, after missing an immigration appointment and overstaying a tourist visa she had used to enter the U.S. in 2019. She spent more than a month held at the ICE processing center in Basile, Louisiana, separated from the couple's five-year-old son. On August 14, she was placed on a deportation flight to Brazil, but after a stop in Bogotá, Colombia, ICE officers received a call and gave her the choice to return to the U.S., which she took, and she was released from custody. Eliaser said she struggled to sleep and felt dehumanized by the detention experience. Following media coverage and a Congressional inquiry into deportations of military family members, she has a new immigration appointment to reopen her case and pursue her green card application, while the family's appeal remains pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Josue Isai Pire-Hidalgo, a 31-year-old custodian at Farnsworth Elementary School in Chicago Public Schools, was detained by ICE on July 17 during what he believed was a routine immigration appointment tied to his family's asylum case. Pire-Hidalgo, a Venezuelan national with Temporary Protected Status and a pending asylum application, has no criminal record. His wife, Yulexis Padilla Julio, and their two children, ages 13 and 6, were detained alongside him but released; his wife was fitted with an ankle monitor and continued advocating for his release. Their 6-year-old daughter has asthma requiring daily medication, and Pire-Hidalgo has hearing loss in both ears and relies on hearing aids. He was held at a jail in Clay County, Indiana, describing the conditions as difficult, while the school community and SEIU Local 73 organized support including a GoFundMe that raised nearly $15,000 and meal trains for the family. After 42 days in ICE custody, he was released and reunited with his family.

A man was hospitalized after being Tased by an ICE agent during his arrest in Danbury during a targeted enforcement operation. City officials said ICE called 911 around 6:45 a.m. reporting the man had been Tased and needed medical attention, and a city ambulance transported him to Danbury Hospital, where he was discharged later that morning. A DHS spokesperson said the man physically resisted arrest and reached for a pocketknife, and that he was carrying a counterfeit lawful permanent resident card and fake Social Security card. Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves called the incident 'deeply concerning' and said the community deserves transparency about what occurred and why that level of force was used.

Sergio Zárate, a father of six who has lived in the U.S. since 2002, was detained by immigration agents in Yakima, Washington, while he was in the state for work. He had traveled there from his home in Oakley, California, in search of employment. His daughter, Yisleth Zárate, said he has long been the family's main provider and is well regarded by his community and church. He is now being held at a detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, hundreds of miles from his family, who say the detention has caused emotional and financial strain and are seeking help covering legal costs.

Hleb Matskevich, who came to the U.S. from Belarus at age 14 under asylum protections and later built a life in Palm Coast, Florida, where he owns two businesses, was detained by ICE agents at a Pennsylvania airport after flying in for his fiancée's grandfather's funeral. His fiancée, Alessandra Robinson, said agents cited an expired visa despite his pending case with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Matskevich is being held at Pike County Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania while the couple pursues a bond request and plans to marry while he remains in custody.

Ivan "Sergio" Chapparo, a shift supervisor at the Oceanview Diner in Berkeley who had worked there for more than six years, was detained by federal immigration agents as he was boarding a flight to Las Vegas at either Oakland or San Francisco International Airport. Friends say Chapparo, a father of three, does not have immigration documents and is currently being held in a detention facility. Restaurant co-owner Will Bishop described him as friendly and well-liked by customers and coworkers, and a friend set up a GoFundMe to help cover his legal costs.

A video circulated by Yakima Community Aid showed a person detained by immigration enforcement agents immediately after being released from Yakima police custody on a Monday. Yakima Police Chief Shawn Boyle said officers did not coordinate with ICE, explaining that ICE and other agencies simply monitor publicly available county jail rosters to learn release times. Boyle defended an officer seen in the video handing the detained person's bag of belongings to an ICE officer, calling the action reasonable given the situation. The incident prompted discussion at a town hall about the Keep Washington Working Act, which restricts local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration enforcement.

A relative of Brenda Dumas who holds a valid work permit was detained by ICE in Port Isabel and, after being held, was released with an ankle monitor, becoming one of more than 50,000 people the agency is tracking with the devices. The family member requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation from the federal government. Dumas said she now uses a phone app to track family members' locations and stays in constant communication with them out of safety concerns.

A court filing revealed that earlier this year four ICE vehicles sped past a stopped school bus with its lights flashing in New Jersey before heading toward an apartment complex where elementary school children were waiting for another bus. The children scattered and ran away in fear. Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of America's Voice, said the incident showed immigration agents treating young children on their way to school as targets.

Bill Bassikissa Bounguiena, a Cumberland County corrections officer, was detained by ICE in South Portland in June 2026. The Sheriff's Office said he had been hired in August 2024, had no discipline issues, and 'demonstrated dedication to his duties' by often working overtime. He held an employment authorization document confirming he could legally work in the U.S. until 2030, and the Sheriff's Office said it had no further information on why ICE detained him.

Jesús Bracho, a San Antonio father, and his 9-year-old daughter Katherine, a student at Bonnie Ellison Elementary School, were detained near Loop 410 and U.S. Highway 90 in San Antonio. Bracho said ICE agents arrested him during a traffic stop, then released him and forced him to lure Katherine out of their home so agents could detain her as well. The two were held together for more than a month at the South Texas Immigrant Processing Center in Dilley. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro visited the family and said Bracho was moved to tears with guilt, believing he was responsible for his daughter's detention. Their case drew concern from family members, activists, and Katherine's classmates before the two were released together from Dilley.

A 51-year-old native of Mexico who entered the U.S. lawfully in 1993 and remained for 33 years while raising a family was detained on May 29, 2026, during a routine traffic stop after local law enforcement learned of his immigration status. He had been cooperating with immigration authorities, submitting applications for lawful permanent residency that were approved by USCIS and appearing for required biometrics appointments. The court granted his preliminary injunction petition, finding he possessed a constitutionally protected liberty interest and was entitled to pre-deprivation process before detention, ordering his immediate release.

A Haitian couple and their two sons, ages 5 and 3 — the youngest a U.S. citizen — were deported to Haiti on August 27, 2026, after Canadian authorities returned them to the United States. The parents and older son were TPS beneficiaries who had also applied for asylum, with a court hearing scheduled for 2029; fearing detention when Haiti's TPS designation ended on July 27, the family crossed into Canada on August 14 to seek asylum there but was handed back to ICE. ICE held the family at a detention center in New York state, separated the father from his wife and children, and did not allow him to call a lawyer, he told a Human Rights Watch researcher. He recalled an ICE officer telling him his youngest son could stay in the United States only in government custody, saying, "You will lose him."

ICE, the Florida Highway Patrol, Lee County Sheriff's Office, Florida National Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other state and local agencies arrested more than 500 people during a four-day immigration enforcement operation in the Fort Myers area of southwest Florida, conducted between Aug. 24 and Aug. 27 under Florida's 287(g) program. Officials said those arrested included people with final orders of removal, repeat immigration violators, and individuals with criminal histories involving domestic violence, drug offenses, DUI, assault, and other offenses. ICE publicly detailed 10 individuals arrested, mostly from Guatemala and Honduras, including a Haitian national facing charges connected to a premeditated murder case and a Honduran national accused of molesting two children. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis credited the operation's success to the state's 287(g) Task Force Model, which allows cooperation between ICE and state and local law enforcement across all 67 county sheriffs.

John Phillips, a U.S. citizen and frequent traveler with TSA PreCheck, was handcuffed by ICE agents at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport while boarding a Delta flight to Las Vegas. Delta employees had directed him to board last, citing technical issues, before agents stopped him on the jetway, pinned him against the wall, and handcuffed him despite his telling them he was a citizen. Agents held him for several minutes, using facial recognition on his phone and showing him a photo of a British national who shared his name and birthdate, before confirming his identity and releasing him to board his flight. Phillips said the experience was a "big awakening" that gave him new empathy for immigrants who fear being targeted by ICE. He is seeking clarification about Delta's role in the incident, including what information the airline may have provided to ICE. DHS acknowledged the case, saying the agency takes responsibility for protecting the public and conducting operations professionally and lawfully.

An Ecuadorian man who entered the U.S. in October 2022 and was released the next day on conditional humanitarian parole had lived in Long Beach, California with his wife, two daughters, and several U.S. citizen family members, including grandchildren. He worked as a cleaner at a laundromat and in production at a seafood company, attended church weekly, cared for his family, and sent money to his ailing mother in Ecuador. He is a derivative of his wife's pending asylum application based on gang violence and retaliation in Ecuador. He was detained by ICE on August 27, 2026 after appearing for a scheduled check-in, despite having complied with all reporting requirements and having no criminal history. He is held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, where he has not received medical care for back and hip pain following a recent surgery. He filed a habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 arguing his re-detention violated procedural and substantive due process, and because the government failed to respond, the court granted the petition on procedural due process grounds and ordered his release within 24 hours.

A four-day, multi-agency operation across the Fort Myers area of Southwest Florida resulted in about 500 arrests between August 24 and August 27, 2026. The operation involved U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Florida Highway Patrol, the Lee County Sheriff's Office, the Florida National Guard, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, conducted under Florida's participation in the federal 287(g) Task Force Model. Those arrested included nationals of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela and Haiti, some with final orders of removal, repeated unauthorized reentries, or criminal histories involving battery, DUI, hit-and-run, domestic violence, drug offenses, assault and sex crimes. ICE named a suspected Mexican cartel member and a Honduran man accused of molesting two children among those arrested, though it has not released a full breakdown of how many of the 500 have criminal records versus civil immigration violations. Florida has more 287(g) deputizations than any other state, with all 67 county sheriffs enrolled in the program, and ICE officials along with Gov. Ron DeSantis described the operation as an example of federal, state and local law enforcement cooperation.

A 36-year-old father who worked in a factory in Indiana and has two U.S.-citizen daughters was detained by ICE during his lunch break in early August 2026 and deported to Haiti on August 27 after the Supreme Court allowed the administration to end temporary protected status for Haitians. He fled Haiti in 2023 after criminal groups killed his parents, and he had lived and worked in the U.S. under TPS with a pending asylum application. He told a Human Rights Watch researcher he cannot return to his Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Carrefour-Feuilles: "Criminal groups control it. If I go back, they will kill me too."

On August 27, 2026, 57 Haitians, including five children, arrived at Cap-Haïtien on a U.S. deportation flight after the Supreme Court allowed the administration to end temporary protected status for about 350,000 Haitians. Deportees told a Human Rights Watch researcher they had worked in the U.S. as nursing assistants, factory and farm workers, and in construction and hotels; many said they were detained shortly after their TPS ended and that ICE officers did not give them an opportunity to contact a lawyer, even when some had pending asylum cases. The overwhelmed reception site was an outdoor canopy with one working toilet and no running water, and each deportee received about US$77 from Haiti's National Migration Office. Most did not get back their phones, clothes, or identity documents, and after registration at a police station they were left without reintegration support amid widespread violence.