Human Impact Project

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.

Corrections Officer Bill Bassikissa Bounguiena was detained by ICE in South Portland in June 2026. The Cumberland County 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 United States until 2030, and the Sheriff's Office said it had no additional information about why ICE detained him.

ICE agents pulled 28-year-old Johnny Queda from his truck in Danbury, Connecticut, on August 27, 2026, as he drove home from a construction job. His fiancée, Kimberly Rivas, said Queda, who is from Ecuador and has lived in the U.S. for five years while pursuing citizenship, pays taxes, has legal representation and had no criminal history. "It's just so sad ... he does everything right," Rivas said. The arrest, captured on video by a local shop owner, occurred amid a broader week of intensified ICE enforcement in the city.

In April, immigration officers arrested a mother and her two children in Alamo Heights, Texas, while they were waiting for a school bus, according to the San Antonio Report. The case is cited as part of a broader pattern of ICE enforcement operations occurring near school bus stops across the country.

Aracelio "Mike" Hernandez, who came to the United States at age 4 and has lived there for 60 years, was picked up by ICE and is being held for deportation. His family describes him as a dependable, hardworking community member, a devoted husband to his wife Katie, and a loving father and grandfather. His family is raising funds for legal fees to fight his deportation and to support his wife and family during the ordeal.

Johnny Ojeda was detained by ICE agents on West Street in Danbury last week, according to video of the incident. His fiancée said he has never committed a crime and was in the process of applying to become a U.S. citizen. She said he was transferred to a detention center in Rhode Island and is scheduled to make his first appearance in federal court.

Jay Dabelus, a professional boxer born in the Bahamas who left as a child and spent more than two decades living in the United States, was deported to Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, saying he has never lived there and has no family or resources to rely on. He was among more than 50 people deported on the flight, including two minors, according to Haiti's National Office of Migration. The flight landed in Cap-Haïtien rather than Port-au-Prince because the capital's main airport is considered too dangerous amid gang violence. It was the second U.S. deportation flight to Haiti since Temporary Protected Status was ended for roughly 350,000 Haitians living in the U.S.

A man detained by the Department of Homeland Security and ICE at the McCook Detention Facility in McCook, Nebraska, filed a habeas corpus petition seeking immediate release from custody. The petition does not detail his nationality, family circumstances, employment, or the circumstances of his arrest. The federal court issued an order to show cause, requiring the government to certify the cause and duration of his detention and justify why the writ should not be granted. The court ordered respondents to file a return with supporting affidavits, a legal memorandum, and copies of any arrest warrant by September 2, 2026. The petitioner may file a reply by September 9, 2026. The court also enjoined the respondents from removing him from the United States or from Nebraska, and ordered that if he had already been removed from the state, he must be immediately returned.

The petitioner filed a motion for a temporary restraining order on August 28, 2026, seeking to prevent his transfer out of the Western District of Washington. Federal Respondents confirmed that he is currently detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. Under the court's scheduling order, immigration officials are required to give 48 or 72 hours' notice before transferring him out of the district. Because his location was confirmed and no transfer notice has been issued, both parties jointly asked the court to withdraw the pending TRO motion. The court granted the joint motion and withdrew the TRO. The order notes that the petitioner may again seek emergency injunctive relief if federal officials later provide notice of a transfer.

A Danbury, Connecticut construction worker, identified by family as Edel Hernandez Cervantes, was tackled, kicked, and repeatedly tased by ICE agents on August 27, 2026, after he and coworkers noticed an ICE vehicle following them on their way to a job site and turned back home. Neighbors' video and a 911 call showed as many as five agents surrounding the vehicle, pinning him face-down, and shocking him with a Taser while he complained of hypertension and was reported to be convulsing. Family described him as an expert baker who once owned a bakery in Mexico known for bread made for Día de los Muertos and Three Kings Day, and who always kept the radio on and loved to sing. He was taken by ambulance to Danbury Hospital, where staff and ICE denied his family and an attorney access to him, telling them there was no record of him as a patient. Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves said he had already been transferred to ICE custody in Hartford before officials could intervene, and his whereabouts and condition remained unclear for days afterward.

Soumia Bensalah, a French Moroccan immigrant with a pending green card application, was repeatedly released from Pinellas County Jail and rebooked every 72 hours to be transported shackled to an ICE office and back, a practice she said left her exhausted and humiliated. Legal experts say these 'rebookings' circumvent federal rules limiting how long county jails can hold immigrants for ICE. ProPublica found Pinellas County rebooked 174 immigrants and Orange County, Florida rebooked 559 immigrants this way, far more than any other jails nationwide, due to a shortage of ICE detention space.

Johnny Queda, a 28-year-old construction worker from Ecuador, was pulled from his truck and taken into custody by ICE agents while driving home from a job site in Danbury, Connecticut. His fiancée, Kimberly Rivas, said Queda has lived in the U.S. for five years while working toward citizenship, pays taxes annually, and has retained an attorney. She said he had no criminal record, adding, "It's just so sad because he had nothing criminal going on. He pays his taxes every year. He has a lawyer. He does everything right." The arrest was part of a broader ICE operation in the Danbury area that detained more than 50 people in a week.

Moises Velasquez, a Venezuelan asylum-seeker with a work permit and an upcoming December immigration hearing, was pulled from his car by ICE agents in Lakewood while waiting for his shift to start at a barbershop. Cellphone video shows agents smashing his car windows before dragging him out; his fiancé, who was eight months pregnant, heard his screams for help over the phone during the arrest. His attorney, Bart Klein, said ICE had been searching for a Mexican national but arrested Velasquez by mistake and sent him to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma even after realizing the error. Velasquez was released after his attorney filed a habeas corpus petition and has since returned to work.

Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter is weighing whether to sanction ICE after the agency re-detained a habeas petitioner just four days after an immigration judge had found him suitable for release. The government has been given until Friday to explain why it should not face sanctions and has requested more time to compile the relevant information Neureiter requested.