Human Impact Project

Ruben Arguera Lopez, 39, a cook who holds a U visa for crime victims who assist law enforcement, was arrested without a warrant by ICE and CBP agents during immigration enforcement operations in North Carolina. He has lived in Charlotte for 15 years and obtained humanitarian protection after helping law enforcement investigate a serious crime. He is one of five plaintiffs—including four U.S. citizens—in a federal class-action lawsuit filed in February 2026 against the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, CBP, and Border Patrol, alleging that agents made warrantless arrests without probable cause. The lawsuit covers arrests made between January 20 and October 15, 2025, during which ICE arrested 3,304 people in North Carolina, more than 2.8 times the total during the same period in 2024.

On February 17, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained Sonia Espinoza Arriaga, a Mexican national, and her three children (ages 5, 16, and 18) in Soldotna, Alaska. The family had entered the United States in 2023 and declared themselves at the border seeking protection. Arriaga was married to a U.S. citizen and had been in regular contact with her immigration attorney, who believed no enforcement action would occur for 90 days. The detention followed Arriaga's missed immigration court hearing in January due to miscommunication about the date. Within 36 hours of detention, Arriaga and her two youngest children were deported to Tijuana, Mexico, while her 18-year-old son was transferred to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. An immigration attorney filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the legality of the detention, and the rapid deportation prompted an Alaska House Judiciary Committee investigation into ICE activity in the state.

Two Haitian girls, ages 4 and 5, were found dead in a septic tank at Casa Hogar Patos, a migrant transit center in Oaxaca, Mexico on February 24, 2026. The children had been admitted to the facility with their mother while awaiting immigration processing. The Support Group for Repatriated and Refugees (GARR) is demanding an investigation. Two officials have been dismissed but no one has been formally held responsible.

An ICE whistleblower testified before Congressional Democrats during a public forum titled "Our Values at Stake Pt. III: Terrorizing Communities Without Warrants and No Restraint." The whistleblower discussed concerns about defective training practices within the agency.

Jorfrank Lugo, a Venezuelan father of two young children detained by ICE on February 23, 2026 during a routine check-in appointment, filed a habeas corpus petition seeking his release. On April 29, 2026, a federal district court in Missouri denied the petition, ruling that he is subject to mandatory detention under federal law and that his continued custody during removal proceedings does not violate his due process rights. He and his wife Daniela remain asylum applicants, and his removal proceedings are now underway. His detention has left his wife, who cares full-time for their two young children, without their family's sole source of income while she tries to fund his legal defense.

A Mexican citizen who entered the U.S. in 2004 as a teenager was arrested by ICE on February 23, 2026, after receiving a citation for driving without a license in Wilson County, Tennessee. He was detained without a bond hearing despite having significant U.S. ties including a U.S. citizen spouse and three U.S. citizen children. The court stayed his transfer and ordered ICE to respond to his habeas corpus petition, requiring them to either distinguish his case from Lopez-Campos v. Raycraft or consent to his release.

Rep. Dan Goldman requested information from the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons regarding the treatment of over 191 ICE detainees at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Goldman raised concerns about inadequate medical care, barriers to legal counsel, and delays in court appearances, noting he had been denied access for inspections previously.

Juana Felipe Mateo, a Guatemalan mother of two, was deported from the South Texas Family Residential Center (Dilley) while 8 months pregnant with a third child after three months in detention. She alleges ICE and DHS deceived her into signing voluntary departure papers by offering $15,000 (which she says she never received) and obtaining a doctor's authorization to fly despite her advanced pregnancy. Juana reported that pregnant detainees, including herself, were hidden from U.S. Congressman Joaquín Castro during a facility inspection to prevent them from reporting lack of medical care and alleged mistreatment. She also described being placed in a cold room known as 'la hielera' for five days when her 2-year-old daughter developed fever. She learned of her unborn son's sex only on the day of her deportation.

Court documents revealed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego conducted surveillance on activists through Operation Road Flare, targeting individuals who document ICE activities such as Jeane Wong and Arturo Gonzalez. The operation began monitoring activists on October 23, 2025, and documents describe confrontations at the 47th Street Trolley Station on November 18, 2025, where Wong was accused of throwing belongings at agents during a crowd altercation. Wong subsequently pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault on a federal officer and received home detention.

In early January 2026, 16-year-old Sebastian, an asylum-seeker from Ecuador, was detained by ICE agents in north Minneapolis. He was misclassified as an unaccompanied minor and transported to a Christian youth shelter in Michigan operated by Bethany Christian Services instead of standard immigration detention. Federal authorities lost track of his whereabouts for over a week while his family searched for him. His father and attorney conducted investigative work to locate him and secured his release through legal action.

A 23-year-old woman was detained at a Border Patrol checkpoint on State Route 94 near Dulzura and charged with assaulting a federal officer after agents accused her of pushing an agent and throwing a punch. Body camera footage revealed agents had falsely told her they found "deleted evidence" on her phone, twisted her arm behind her back when she tried to retrieve it, and Tasered her as she turned away to enter a holding cell. The Taser prong struck her breast; her breastmilk was laden with blood for weeks afterward. Federal prosecutors dismissed the charge in August 2025. Her case is one of 10 of 22 assault-on-federal-officer cases dismissed in San Diego during Trump's second term, representing a 45% dismissal rate compared to 8% in Biden's final year.

Two Jamaican men held at Glades County Detention Center reported abuse and were subsequently subjected to retaliatory use of force during placement in solitary confinement. One man was beaten and maced; the other had his head dragged on the ground. Freedom for Immigrants filed a civil rights complaint with DHS CRCL.

An Ecuadorian asylum seeker who entered the US in October 2023 was arrested by ICE on February 22, 2026 and detained at California City Detention Facility. He had been working as an electrician since 2025 with no criminal history. The court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release, finding his detention violated due process.

Luis Beltran Yañez-Cruz, a Honduran immigrant, died while in ICE custody at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Imperial County. His daughter Jocelyn provided a statement read at a February 21, 2026 vigil calling for justice. Organizers documented conditions of medical neglect, overcrowding, and unsanitary conditions at the facility that they say contributed to detainee deaths.

A man who entered the United States in October 2014 was detained by ICE on February 21, 2026, as he was leaving his home to go to work. The detention occurred without any warning, paperwork, or stated legitimate reason. The federal court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release, while also enjoining ICE from re-detaining him without providing notice and a pre-detention hearing.

Huabing Xie, a Chinese national, died on September 29, 2025, at El Centro Regional Medical Center after suffering a seizure while detained at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Calexico, California. Xie had first been arrested by Border Patrol near Tecate on December 31, 2023, and released on recognizance, before being re-arrested in Indio on September 12, 2025, and transferred to ICE custody. Facility staff performed CPR and other life-saving measures before he was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His death marked at least the 20th death in ICE custody since Trump's inauguration in 2025, prompting immigrant justice groups to call for an investigation and public release of findings. On February 21, 2026, activists held an interfaith vigil outside the detention facility honoring Xie and another detainee who died there, citing concerns over medical neglect, overcrowding, and unsanitary conditions.

ICE agents arrested a man in downtown Santa Barbara after he allegedly slashed a tire on an ICE vehicle parked on East Carrillo Street. Community members and the man's parent followed ICE agents to the police station and filmed the incident. The Santa Barbara Police Department stated it was not notified in advance of ICE operations in the city.

A Mexican citizen who has resided in the United States since 2009 was arrested on February 21, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas for driving while intoxicated. He was transferred to ICE custody on March 2, 2026, and held at the Golden State Annex Detention Facility without a bond hearing. The court found he was unlawfully detained under mandatory detention provisions and ordered his immediate release, ruling he should have received a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) as a noncitizen already present in the country, not as a recently arrived applicant for admission.

Michael Opeoluwa Egbele, a Nigerian migrant who entered the U.S. in 2003, was released from ICE custody on February 20, 2026, after a federal court ruled the government acted unlawfully by revoking his supervised release without due process. The U.S. District Court in Minnesota granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release, noting he had remained in compliance with his supervision conditions for over a decade before his January 2026 detention during a routine check-in.

A man entered the United States on June 1, 2019, was initially detained at the border by immigration authorities, and was released on bond after eight months in custody. On February 20, 2026, he was re-detained by ICE. The federal court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release on the same conditions he had prior to re-detention.