Human Impact Project

A Venezuelan man detained at a Vermont immigration facility developed a severe infection from flesh-eating bacteria on his leg after staff failed to bring him to a scheduled doctor's appointment. His leg became purple and swollen as a result of the missed care. His case is among hundreds documented across at least 33 states where detainees allege medical neglect in ICE facilities.

A Honduran mother of two was hospitalized for a heart problem after being denied blood pressure medications while detained in a Florida immigration facility. Her case is among hundreds documented across at least 33 states where detainees allege medical neglect in ICE custody.

An Albanian man held for months in a New Mexico immigration detention center experienced unbearable tooth pain that was left untreated, ultimately leading him to pull out his own tooth. His case is documented among hundreds of detainees across at least 33 states who allege severe medical neglect in ICE custody, including denied medications for chronic conditions and requests for help that go unanswered for weeks.

Vardan Gukasian, a political dissident and former paramedic from Armenia, was detained in Henderson, Nevada for over 13 months despite serious health problems including uncontrolled high blood pressure. In June 2025, while experiencing dizziness, a nosebleed, and severe headache, his cellmate and then an entire cell block banged on doors requesting medical help; assistance did not arrive until he was hospitalized that day. In a court declaration filed in March 2026, Gukasian, who spent years imprisoned in Armenia, wrote he had never witnessed such medical neglect anywhere. The city of Henderson stated medical care was always available and that no court orders for care changes had been issued.

Jose-Antonio Segismundo, 48, was detained for over seven months at the Alligator Alcatraz facility in Florida and the Folkston D Ray ICE Processing Center in Georgia with untreated abdominal cancer. He was arrested approximately five weeks before a scheduled appointment with a cancer specialist, and despite his wife providing medical records and explaining his condition to officials, he received no cancer treatment—only Tylenol for severe stomach pain. In spring 2026, he was deported to Mexico, a country he had left nearly 30 years prior. He must now restart his cancer care search in Oaxaca.

Edison Sinchi Taipe, 19, an Ecuadorian student at Framingham High School, was arrested by ICE while working a roofing job in New Hampshire to earn money for graduation expenses. He was detained and feared deportation to Ecuador, but was released in time to walk across the stage and receive his diploma on June 5, 2026. His community rallied to secure legal representation, and he now awaits an immigration hearing scheduled for July 15.

Gordo was detained by ICE on June 5. He arrived in the United States at age 13 and has been married to his sister for 8 years. The family now faces financial hardship and emotional trauma as his wife, a stay-at-home mother, cares for their four young children alone, including one recently diagnosed with autism.

Avelino Lage was detained by ICE for five months at Alligator Alcatraz facility. While he was detained, his apartment was robbed and he lost all his belongings. He also lost access to his bank accounts during detention, resulting in his car being repossessed. He is now rebuilding his life from scratch.

A husband was detained by ICE while traveling to work, leaving his wife and children without immediate answers about his whereabouts. His wife discovered his detention through a Facebook post after hours of unsuccessful phone calls and searching. The family is now facing legal expenses, household bills, and childcare costs while navigating the immigration legal process to reunite.

Enrique Martínez Chávez, a 32-year-old former Mexican military officer, was detained by ICE in Hawthorne, California on June 4, 2026, during an immigration enforcement operation. Martínez Chávez is wanted in Mexico for enforced disappearance in connection with the 2014 disappearance of 43 student teachers from Ayotzinapa, Guerrero. Mexican authorities have an active arrest warrant against him for forced disappearance charges. He is being held at a processing center in Adelanto, California, pending immigration proceedings and potential extradition to Mexico. Mexican President Sheinbaum clarified that he was arrested during a routine ICE immigration enforcement operation rather than a specific operation targeting him for the Ayotzinapa case.

Diego Armando Gonzalez-Rosales, a former kitchen manager at Zipps Sports Grill, was sentenced to five months in prison after pleading guilty to sharing another person's driver's license and Social Security card to help a friend get hired at the restaurant chain. Gonzalez-Rosales came to the U.S. in 2006 and started as a dishwasher at Zipps before working his way up to kitchen manager, a role in which he vetted and hired new kitchen staff, and he also used fake identification himself to obtain employment. He was arrested during a January raid on Zipps' 15 Valley locations stemming from a Homeland Security Investigations probe into undocumented workers, one of only four employees indicted despite 39 people being arrested that day. His attorney, Debbie Jang, said he was the only person in a management position to face charges and called him a 'pawn' and 'scapegoat' for a company she said systematically engaged in unlawful hiring practices. He faces potential deportation upon release from prison.

A 48-year-old Guatemalan man detained at Stewart Detention Center suffered a severe E. coli infection in his leg after being injured while shackled in a transport vehicle and forced to sleep on a dirty concrete floor with leaking toilets. Medical staff did not adequately respond to his requests for help until he collapsed and required hospitalization; a doctor told him he narrowly escaped amputation. He was released in October 2025 as a legal permanent resident but struggles with lingering pain that prevents him from returning to construction work. The case is one of hundreds documented across at least 33 states where detainees allege medical neglect in ICE custody.

ICE and South Carolina law enforcement agencies raided Burnstein Von Seelen Precision Casting in Abbeville County on June 3-4, 2026, detaining 48 workers, most from Mexico and Guatemala, on suspected immigration violations. The operation, called Operation Ghost Story, stemmed from a two-year investigation that began in October 2024. Company managers Christopher Douglas Ramey and Sandy Lynn Willis were arrested and indicted for failing to verify employee identities and facilitating employment of undocumented workers using forged documents. Four additional defendants, including Xavier Martinez Adorno of Horry County, were indicted on state charges for manufacturing and selling counterfeit driver's licenses, Social Security cards, and green cards, some using real U.S. citizens' identities. None of the 48 detained workers faced criminal charges, though officials said some had prior ICE interactions or deportation orders. One detainee, eight months pregnant, was released under an ankle monitor and now faces deportation proceedings, while others remained in custody. Officials said further arrests are expected.

Andrea Pedro-Francisco, a 23-year-old Guatemalan asylum seeker who fled to the U.S. with her mother in 2019, was arrested on February 5, 2026, by federal agents during a traffic stop while driving to work in Minnesota. She was immediately transferred to Camp East Montana, a tent detention facility at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, where she was held for nearly four months in crowded conditions. Pedro-Francisco had a golf-ball-sized ovarian cyst that required surgery before her arrest; nine independent physicians concluded the procedure was medically necessary to prevent serious complications including infertility and potential death. ICE repeatedly denied approval for the surgery and provided only over-the-counter pain relief despite a doctor's opioid prescription. Her mother, who has two younger U.S. citizen children, was released at the scene. Following legal motions, advocacy by U.S. Representatives Angie Craig, Greg Casar, and Veronica Escobar, Senator Tina Smith's intervention with DHS, and sustained efforts by lawyers and organizers, Pedro-Francisco was released in early June 2026 with GPS monitoring and her case transferred back to Minnesota for a July hearing.

Marvin Godoy Calderon, a 45-year-old Peruvian immigrant with valid work authorization through 2030, was arrested outside his Sunnyside home on May 27, 2026, while sitting in his parked car waiting to go grocery shopping with his roommate. ICE agents removed him from the vehicle without showing a warrant and pressed him facedown on the asphalt, with multiple agents striking him across the back and head while pinning his arms and placing knees on his shoulders and neck. Calderon works two jobs as a janitor and dishwasher to support his four children in Peru. After being detained for approximately 13 hours in a cold metal cell at immigration court, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order mandating his immediate release, prompted by video footage of the arrest and legal advocacy. Medical evaluation at SF General Hospital revealed a head injury and fluid in his left knee from the arrest. Following his release, Calderon raised $900 through selling pollada (a Peruvian chicken dish) to make rent after losing his restaurant job shifts, and continues working and attending church while awaiting a June 10 hearing.

A non-citizen man was stopped based on an alleged traffic violation on June 4, 2026, and subsequently detained by ICE. He is currently being held at the Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana. Proceeding pro se, he filed a Petition for Temporary Restraining Order asking to be immediately released under appropriate conditions of supervision and asking that respondents be enjoined from 're-detaining' him. The court found that the bare allegations he raised were insufficient to show a substantial likelihood of success on the merits. Accordingly, the court denied his Petition for Temporary Restraining Order.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection air interdiction agents and the U.S. Coast Guard rescued 240 Haitian migrants from an overcrowded vessel taking on water in the Atlantic Ocean near South Florida. CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said the operation prevented a potential catastrophic loss of life while halting a maritime migration attempt. The Department of Homeland Security issued a separate statement declaring U.S. borders closed to those attempting entry by land or sea. The rescue comes amid an ongoing humanitarian crisis in Haiti, where gang violence and collapsing medical infrastructure have displaced more than 1 million people, according to UN estimates.

ICE agents arrested two members of a roofing crew on June 4, 2026, in the parking lot of Sabores Latinos, an Ecuadorian restaurant on North Main Street in Brockton, Massachusetts. At least six ICE vehicles surrounded the crew's van as they arrived to pick up coworkers for a job in Boston. Tony Heredia, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen and member of the crew, was handcuffed and punched three times in the face by an agent after he demanded badge numbers; he said his wrists were left swollen from the cuffs and that he is consulting an attorney about possible charges against the officer. ICE accused Heredia of spitting at an agent, which he said was saliva that flew while he was yelling, though video he posted afterward shows him spitting on an ICE vehicle as agents left. ICE said one of the arrested men had prior arrests including operating under the influence and unlicensed operation of a vehicle, with pending charges, while the other had prior arrests for driving after a suspended license and hit-and-run property damage and was subject to a final order of removal; ICE said both men will remain in custody pending removal.

Charles González, a 28-year-old Venezuelan father, was detained by ICE on June 1, 2024, after a traffic stop in Farmington, Utah, where state police discovered his driver's license had expired. González entered the U.S. on a tourist visa four years ago and has been working full-time at a restaurant while doing gig work in his spare time to support his family. He holds Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and has no criminal record. His wife, Elimar Romero said their 4-year-old son is asking for his father and the family is struggling emotionally and financially during the separation. González was transferred to Davis County Jail after the traffic stop, where ICE placed a hold on him, and he remains in ICE custody. His family is raising funds to cover legal defense costs and bail to allow him to continue his case while with his family.

A Nicaraguan national was arrested and re-detained on June 4, 2026, while attending a routine ICE check-in in Los Angeles. He had been released on supervised release in 2024 after the Immigration Court granted him withholding of removal to Nicaragua, but was arrested without prior notice explaining the basis for revocation. ICE indicated he could not be removed to Nicaragua but would be sent to an unspecified third country. The court issued a temporary restraining order on June 13, 2026, blocking his removal from the United States pending resolution of his habeas corpus petition challenging the legality of third-country removal.