Human Impact Project

Jean-Pierre Obiang, an 18-year-old University of Southern Maine student, was detained by ICE agents on January 21, 2026, after a minor vehicle accident near a Market Basket parking lot in Westbrook. The agents ran the license plates of the vehicle Obiang was in and detained him despite having no criminal record and being enrolled in school. Obiang's family are asylum-seekers from Gabon who have been living in Maine for three years.

ICE agents arrested Hassane Barry, a 38-year-old asylum seeker from Guinea, on Preble Street in Portland on January 21st. Agents shattered the driver's side window of his car, spraying glass over his 1-month-old baby's car seat, and left his wife Nene and the infant alone in the vehicle in freezing conditions. The arrest was part of an intensified ICE enforcement operation in Maine, though Barry has no known criminal history and had filed for asylum upon arriving in the U.S. in 2023.

Juan Carlos Aguilar Sr., who claimed to be a dual U.S. citizen born at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center, was detained by ICE agents on January 20, 2026, while doing landscaping work in East Long Beach. In a video of the incident, Aguilar told agents in Spanish that he was a U.S. citizen, but ICE detained him anyway. His daughter Genesis Aguilar posted a GoFundMe seeking funds for legal counsel and basic needs while he is held in ICE custody.

A man who has lived in the United States for eighteen years was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on January 20, 2026. ICE charged him with entering the United States without inspection. He is currently detained at the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora, Colorado. On April 2, 2026, he filed a Verified Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, requesting a bond hearing. The central dispute was whether his detention should be governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) (which provides for bond hearings) or § 1225(b)(2)(A) (which permits mandatory detention). On April 17, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado granted his habeas petition, finding that § 1226 applies to his case based on precedent from multiple similar cases. The court ordered respondents to provide him with a bond hearing under § 1226(a) within seven days, with the government bearing the burden of proving that his continued detention is justified.

Federal Border Patrol agents detained two men working as gardeners in Long Beach's University Park Estates neighborhood on January 20, 2026. One of the men claimed to be a U.S. dual citizen and stated he was born at a local medical center. A third gardener who produced documents was not arrested.

Federal immigration agents in Minnesota stopped an off-duty police officer, drew guns, and prevented her from recording the interaction, according to local police chiefs. The chiefs stated that immigration agents have been stopping American citizens without cause. The incidents occur as part of "Operation Metro Surge," which federal authorities describe as an immigration enforcement operation.

Daniel Granados, a landscaper working in East Long Beach, was detained by ICE agents on January 20, 2026, while doing lawn work a few blocks from Kettering Elementary School. According to a GoFundMe created by his cousin, Granados was the primary provider for his family, and his sudden detention has left them in emotional and financial hardship. Local officials and community advocates expressed concern about the detention of what they describe as a hard-working community member.

Victor Acurio Suárez, a 52-year-old Ecuadorian man with autism and aphasia living in Seaford, Delaware, was arrested by ICE in a Lowe's parking lot in September 2024 and held in detention. His younger brother, Lenin Suárez, had served as his primary caregiver, and a medical assessment submitted with his asylum application documented his disabilities and trauma. Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer wrote to the presiding immigration judge calling his potential deportation "cruel" and "egregious," noting Suárez has no criminal history and cannot safely care for himself or represent himself in legal proceedings without family support. Despite this, an immigration judge denied his asylum request and issued an order of voluntary departure on January 20, 2026, and he now faces deportation to Ecuador.

On January 18, 2026, ICE agents raided the Saint Paul, Minnesota home of ChongLy Scott Thao, a U.S. citizen with no criminal record, pointing guns at family members and handcuffing him without a warrant in front of his 5-year-old grandson. After fingerprinting confirmed his citizenship, ICE released him without apology or explanation. The incident prompted a protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, where ICE St. Paul field office director David Easterwood serves as a pastor. Federal prosecutors subsequently charged dozens of protesters—reported as 30 or 39 depending on the source—under statutes criminalizing interference with religious freedom, including civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong, journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, and photographer Junn Bollman. The arrests of the journalists drew condemnation from press freedom advocates.

Jelili Qudus, a Nigerian described in court filings as a Muslim faith leader who conducts weekly prayers, visits the sick, and distributes food to people in need, was re-detained when he appeared for his annual ICE check-in in Chicago after approximately 17 years of complying with an Order of Supervision. He was subsequently held at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas. A federal judge later granted his habeas petition and ordered his immediate release under supervision, finding that immigration authorities violated his due process rights by re-detaining him without providing required notice or an opportunity to respond.

A man was arrested by a masked, armed federal ICE agent inside the Connecticut Superior Court building at 121 Elm Street in New Haven on the morning of January 20, 2026, just before 8:55 a.m., after he fled into the courthouse following a nearby car crash. The Judicial Branch was not notified of the arrest in advance, as required by Connecticut state law, and the arrest also violated court rules established in September 2025 requiring a signed judicial warrant or documentation of non-protected status before detaining someone on courthouse grounds. Connecticut Chief Justice Raheem L. Mullins said in a statement Thursday that the incident violated the court's policy but did not appear to be an intentional violation, describing it as a rapidly evolving situation involving multiple individuals breaching court security due to activity outside the building.

ICE conducted Operation Catch of the Day, a five-day enforcement sweep in southern Maine beginning January 20, 2026, that detained nearly 200 people. Federal data released in March showed only 11 of those detained had recorded criminal records, with roughly 80% arrested solely on immigration violations. At least a quarter of those arrested subsequently challenged their detention in federal court and many were released.

Milo Miles, a Canadian adult-film model, was detained by U.S. Customs at Toronto's Pearson Airport for eight hours across two separate interrogations before being banned from the U.S. for 10 years. Border agents questioned him extensively about his sexuality, clothing, and PrEP medication, and discovered his adult film work and escort activities through his devices. Miles was pressured into confessing to prostitution despite agents finding no proof of money-for-sex exchanges or lined-up clients.

Tomas Orellana, a Great Neck resident, was detained by ICE in early January while attending a mandatory probation hearing at a courthouse for a DWI conviction. His wife Claudia says he was detained inside the courthouse without being shown a warrant, in potential violation of New York's Protect Our Courts Act. Community groups, churches, and residents have rallied to support the family of eight children, raising approximately $28,000 on GoFundMe to help cover legal fees.

ICE removed Jose Serrano-Maldonado, a Maryland father with no criminal record, to El Salvador on January 20, 2026, despite two court orders prohibiting his removal and a clear "do not remove" banner in his file. Federal authorities admitted the mistake during an emergency hearing but did not provide explanation for why the deportation occurred. The judge ordered daily status updates and the government is working to return him to the United States.

D.E., a 44-year-old Mexican national who has lived with a brain tumor for 12 years, was arrested by ICE without a warrant just blocks from his home in Long Branch, New Jersey, days before he was scheduled to begin chemotherapy. He was initially held at Delaney Hall in Newark before being transferred to the California City Detention Center, a CoreCivic-run facility, where a guard was more than five hours late delivering his twice-daily seizure medication, Keppra, resulting in a severe nighttime seizure. D.E. said he jammed his arm between his bed frame and the wall to keep from falling into a nearby toilet during the convulsion. He filed a written medical grievance requesting a radiation and chemotherapy specialist that went largely unanswered. His case was cited in a broader investigation finding that the ICE detention grievance system, meant to allow detainees to report medical neglect and abuse, has collapsed after the Trump administration cut oversight offices, including the Office of Detention Oversight, the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, and the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

A 48-year-old Mexican citizen who has lived in Pomona, California for over 17 years with his spouse and four U.S. citizen children was arrested during an interior immigration enforcement operation on January 19, 2026. He has been detained at the Adelanto Detention Facility since his arrest, with an Immigration Judge denying his bond request. The federal court granted a temporary restraining order requiring his immediate release, finding his bond hearing violated due process.

Video shows an ICE agent entering Thai restaurant Eastside Thai in St. Paul, Minnesota, with his handgun drawn while searching for a person who had run past the restaurant. Co-owner Kou Lee said the agent accused them of hiding "the kid," while co-owner Elle Lee said the agent was shouting as he entered and that multiple customers and staff were traumatized. Elle Lee said the incident disrupted her business and left staff hesitant to return to work, with some employees showing up worried and scared despite needing to pay bills. St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her told PBS Newshour that "people are afraid, they are frustrated, they are angry" regarding immigration enforcement in the area.

A lawsuit alleges that an ICE detainee was repeatedly denied his antipsychotic medication while in custody. The denial of medication allegedly resulted in cascading symptoms that caused the detainee to harm himself and lose vision in one eye.

Thierno Diallo, a Guinean national previously granted withholding of removal to Guinea, was detained by ICE during a routine check-in at 26 Federal Plaza in New York after the agency moved to deport him to Ghana as a third-country national. He was then transferred to the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, New Jersey. Diallo filed a federal habeas corpus petition challenging his detention, and a district judge granted the petition in part, ordering relief while denying other requested relief.