Human Impact Project

ICE arrested Lins Dos Santos-Melo, a Brazilian national, on Interstate 81 in Virginia for operating a tractor-trailer without a required commercial driver's license. Dos Santos-Melo possessed a valid Massachusetts driver's license but lacked the proper credentials for the vehicle he was operating. The arrest was part of ICE enforcement operations targeting undocumented immigrants operating commercial vehicles.

Luis Villalobos, a legal permanent resident who has lived in El Paso most of his life, was arrested by ICE agents on May 27 as he left his driveway for work. Agents claimed there was a warrant but refused to provide documentation. His family is struggling with legal fees and bills.

A father and grandfather were detained by ICE in the same operation. The family cannot afford legal representation and has lost their primary income source, as the father was the sole earner. The family is seeking $3,000 to hire a lawyer to investigate the case.

A woman was detained by ICE in El Monte, California on an unspecified date after being followed from her home to a shopping mall. She was taken into custody at 11 am and transferred to LA County detention, then to Adelanto ICE facility. Her daughter Kandie Cortes is seeking funds for legal representation to fight the case.

A woman was taken into ICE custody while a passenger in a car on her way to a church event. She was reportedly going through the legal visa process and had legal representation. Her family is raising funds to cover immigration lawyer fees, legal filings, and other expenses while fighting for her release, as she is the primary caretaker for her sister who has leukemia and type 1 diabetes.

Oscar Andres Moreno Castrillon, a Colombian father, is urgently seeking legal help to establish paternity of his biological daughter before her mother is deported by ICE. The child's mother, who is currently detained by ICE and faces potential deportation, never allowed Moreno Castrillon to be fully involved in the child's life or have his name placed on her birth certificate. Moreno Castrillon fears his daughter may be taken out of the country before he can legally establish his parental rights and ensure she remains in the United States with family.

Dhaval Amratbhai Patel, an Indian national living in the U.S. without authorization, was arrested by Worcester Police on May 16, 2026, for assaulting a customer with a baseball bat at a liquor store where he worked. Local authorities released him from jail without notifying ICE. Federal immigration officials arrested Patel on May 18 after his release. DHS subsequently criticized Massachusetts sanctuary policies for the lack of cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Karliana Yosdeylin Perdomo-Gotopo, a 20-year-old women's soccer player and business major at Cleary University in Michigan, was detained by ICE on May 26, 2026, during a traffic stop in Lincoln Park. Perdomo entered the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor in September 2022 at age 15, fleeing political persecution in Venezuela, and graduated high school with honors in Detroit in 2023. She had a pending asylum application and her mother believed she held valid Temporary Protected Status documentation through October 2026, though the Trump administration had previously ended TPS protections for Venezuelan nationals. A witness reported the stop appeared targeted based on her Latina appearance. Perdomo was transferred to North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin, Michigan.

ICE agents in unmarked gray and blue SUVs conducted a roundup operation in McMinnville, Tennessee on May 27, 2026, detaining multiple people. Initial reports indicated at least 6 people were taken into custody, with subsequent reports showing 11 people detained and one released. Video footage showed agents exiting unmarked vehicles, handcuffing individuals, and approaching workers outside a Lowe's store. Those taken into custody were transported to Putnam County Jail and held overnight before potential transfer to other facilities.

Alina Rosales Aguirreurreta, a physician and daughter of historic Cuban general Ulises Rosales del Toro, was detained by ICE in South Florida in May 2026. She had entered the United States in 2023 on a B1/B2 tourist visa issued at the U.S. Embassy in Havana and was living in South Florida while seeking to regularize her immigration status. ICE confirmed her detention but did not publicly disclose the specific reason for the detention or the facility location.

Herber Aquino, a father of four with no criminal record and an ongoing immigration case, was detained on May 27th by multiple armed, masked agents in unmarked vehicles during a work stop in Riverside. According to accounts, agents surrounded his work truck, forcibly removed him from the vehicle, drew weapons, struck his head, and transported him and his work crew in unmarked vehicles. His family launched a fundraising effort to cover legal defense costs, bond, and living expenses while his wife recovered from childbirth.

Federal officers in tactical gear and unmarked vehicles arrested a man outside his home in San Francisco's Sunnyside neighborhood on a Wednesday morning. Witnesses reported the officers, wearing vests identifying themselves as federal and police, restrained the man and transported him in vehicles without license plates. An activist later observed the man being escorted into the ICE field office on Sansome Street.

A father was detained by ICE agents on May 27, 2026, at 5:40 AM in Eastvale during a traffic stop while traveling to work with two of his brothers. Agents initially confused him with his older brother due to sharing the same name before ultimately detaining him. The father is the primary financial provider for his family, which includes his mother and three younger brothers, one of whom has autism. He has severe diabetes and requires daily medication. His family is seeking legal representation and financial assistance to secure his release and ensure he receives necessary medical care.

U.S. Representatives Wesley Bell and Nikki Budzinski visited Ste. Genevieve County jail on May 26-27, 2026, and found ICE detainees in overcrowded conditions, some sleeping on thin trays instead of beds, with insufficient access to clean water, medical care, and legal representation. The facility, which houses over 150 ICE detainees on contract, was found to have gaps between stated conditions and detainee experiences, with particular concerns raised about a pregnant detainee's lack of prenatal care and vitamins. Both representatives committed to following up with jail staff and detained constituents to ensure improved conditions and fulfillment of commitments made during the visit.

Senator Andy Kim visited Delaney Hall, an ICE detention center in Newark, to mediate between protesters and detainees conducting a hunger strike. ICE agents fired tear gas at Kim and demonstrators while the senator stood between them with his arms raised. Kim reported witnessing detained individuals, including an 18-year-old high school student and a woman who had suffered a miscarriage, under poor conditions. New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill was denied entry but heard complaints from family members about spoiled food and lack of medical care.

A Human Rights Watch report documents that the Trump administration deported over 4,300 Cuban nationals to Mexico between January 2025 and March 2026, many sent to high-violence border areas where they lack legal status, citizenship, or prior ties. Based on interviews with 41 deported Cubans and migrants from other countries, the report reveals that deportees experienced inhumane detention conditions in U.S. facilities, were pressured into going to Mexico under threat of prolonged detention or deportation, and now face severe conditions including homelessness, lack of access to food and healthcare, vulnerability to violence from organized crime, and inability to regularize their status or return to Cuba. The U.S. and Mexican governments maintain an undisclosed agreement to deport Cubans to Mexico despite Cuba's refusal to accept such deportations.

Luis Fernando Cabrera, an 18-year-old senior at Northeast Early College High School in Austin, was detained by ICE on May 1, 2026, after a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper pulled him over for expired vehicle registration. Body camera footage shows the trooper photographed Cabrera's school ID and used the encrypted messaging app Signal to contact federal immigration agents, receiving a message instructing him to "detain." Cabrera, who had an active pending asylum case dating to 2019 with no deportation order or criminal history, was transferred to Karnes County Immigration Processing Center over 100 miles away. His detention sparked protests from classmates and community members, with support from his school and St. James Episcopal Church. On May 20, a federal judge ordered ICE to release Cabrera, barring deportation and allowing him to graduate and take his final exams.

Henry Morales Hernandez, 55, a former Venezuelan Army Major with an active asylum case, has been detained by ICE since May following a traffic stop in Florida. Prosecutors dismissed the driving under the influence charge, with breath test results below the legal limit. Morales Hernandez arrived legally on a tourist visa in 2021 and has been granted Temporary Protected Status while his asylum case proceeds in immigration court.

Erik Maradiaga Alvarado was detained by ICE without warning or judicial warrant. He is the sole provider for his family, which includes two sons, one with a medical disability (Apert Syndrome). His wife is seeking funds for legal fees, rent, and living expenses during his detention.

Ruben Ray Martinez, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen from San Antonio, was fatally shot by Homeland Security Investigations Agent Jack Stevens on South Padre Island while traveling with his best friend, Joshua Orta, to celebrate his birthday. Federal officials claimed Martinez struck an agent with his car after refusing orders, but bodycam footage obtained through public records requests and a FOIA lawsuit showed his vehicle stationary or barely moving, with brake lights on, when he was shot three times; he was then pulled from the car, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed before receiving medical care. Orta, the only civilian witness, told investigators Martinez was 'hesitant' and 'scared'; Orta died in a car crash less than a year later. Martinez's mother, Rachel Reyes, said Texas Rangers investigators told her the footage contradicted the agents' account, and her attorneys say no one was near the car when Martinez was shot. A Texas grand jury declined to indict Stevens, and the family filed a tort claim against the federal government.