Human Impact Project

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 206 undocumented immigrants in Maine during a multiday operation in January 2026. According to data from the Deportation Data Project, only 6% of those arrested had criminal convictions, while 80% had neither criminal charges nor convictions. Maine Public is tracking several cases using interviews, court records, and reporting from other media outlets. Since the operation, 37 of those arrested have been deported or voluntarily left the country.

A Natalia high school junior attended what was supposed to be a routine U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-in appointment in San Antonio to update his photograph. The appointment resulted in his arrest and detainment, leaving a toddler and stepfather behind for months.

Federal immigration agents detained an employee at NATIFS, an Indigenous-focused nonprofit restaurant in Minneapolis owned by chef Sean Sherman, outside the restaurant on February 2, 2026. Agents blocked a vehicle carrying staff members, pulled the employee from the car at gunpoint, and stated they were checking paperwork. The employee was transferred to Texas overnight without access to needed medication and without the family being notified in advance. Chef Sherman stated the employee had legal documentation and characterized the armed enforcement as inappropriate.

Guillermo Aguilar, a DACA beneficiary and business owner who lived in the United States for nearly 40 years, was arrested on February 3, 2026, while driving to work in North Carolina and deported to Mexico two months later. His wife was pregnant at the time of his arrest and experienced health complications following the incident. His infant son, Guillermo, was born prematurely on May 11, 2026, with six months and two weeks of gestation and remains hospitalized. Aguilar says he has been denied access to the assets and property he built in the U.S. and cannot be with his family during this critical time.

Ismael Avalos, owner of Viper Auto Body in West Valley City, and his employee Wilmer Menjivar were detained by CBP agents during a forced entry on January 31, 2026. Menjivar, a Salvadoran national with no criminal record, believed he was being followed by unmarked vehicles as he arrived at work, ran into the shop, and locked the door behind him. Agents then broke through the locked glass door, entered the business, and detained both men. Menjivar's wife, Lilly, confronted agents and asked for a warrant; an agent responded that one was not needed. An immigration attorney stated the circumstances raise serious Fourth Amendment concerns, as agents lacked a judicial warrant and no legal exceptions for warrantless entry appeared to apply. Menjivar's family believes the men were profiled based on appearance and ethnicity. Community activists later protested the arrests.

Martin Soto, a 30-year-old Peruvian national and father of two young children, was detained by ICE on February 1, 2026, while returning home from buying diapers for his 11-month-old son in Kearny, New Jersey. Soto entered the U.S. in late 2023 and had lived in the country for two years with no criminal record, waiting for a court hearing scheduled for 2028. He is married to Gabriela, a U.S. citizen, and has a pending asylum case. Soto was held at Delaney Hall, an ICE detention facility in Newark operated by the for-profit GEO Group. According to his wife, he experienced medical neglect, poor food conditions, and staff abuse during his detention, losing approximately 51 pounds. In May 2026, he was transferred to Elizabeth Detention Center after participating in a hunger strike and his wife publicly exposed conditions at Delaney Hall. Soto had been the family's primary breadwinner working full-time in a restaurant kitchen. Martín Soto, 30, was detained by ICE on February 1, 2025, while buying diapers for his children near sunset, and transferred to Delaney Hall detention center in Newark. A Peruvian national who crossed the U.S. border unauthorized in Arizona in late 2023 and filed an asylum claim, he was released after four months with a court date set for 2028 and began working as a cook at an Italian restaurant in Kearny. His wife, Gabriela Soto, 28, a U.S. citizen born in Peru who immigrated as a child, is six months pregnant with their third child; the couple has a toddler daughter and infant son. After Gabriela led protests outside Delaney Hall calling for his release, guards offered to free Martín if she would stop demonstrating—which he refused—and later confiscated and tore up a drawing their daughter made during a visitation. He was subsequently transferred to Elizabeth Detention Center, where he remains while his wife launches a petition seeking his discretionary release.

An attorney stated that ICE arrested a mother. The attorney noted that ICE enforcement priorities differ from focusing on individuals with criminal records.

Steven Saari, a Marine Corps veteran, was detained by federal immigration agents at the scene of Alex Pretti's killing in Minneapolis on February 3, 2026. During his six-hour detention at a federal building, agents collected his biometric data, forced a DNA sample, and copied his cell phone without a warrant or authorization. Saari was denied access to an attorney despite repeated requests and was released without charges.

Carlos Chavez, a taco vendor and father of three active in children's ministries at North Hills United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, was chased and detained by masked, armed ICE agents on January 29 during a raid on church grounds. The raid occurred while the church was hosting a food distribution ministry and an event for mothers and children, forcing attendees to shelter in a secure room for over four hours. Chavez had no criminal record or outstanding warrant, and church leaders described him as a devoted participant in the church's children's programs. He said he was denied medical treatment for a respiratory illness and anxiety while in custody and, out of fear, signed a self-deportation order, resulting in his deportation to Mexico within a day of his arrest. His wife and children have not seen him in person since, and the church has since moved its food ministry and after-school programs online. The raid followed a 2025 policy change rescinding the federal 'sensitive locations' protections for houses of worship, which religious organizations have challenged in a lawsuit.

Oscar Isidro, a U.S. citizen from North Texas, was found dead last month after being missing for two weeks. His death came amid family trauma, including his father's deportation to Peru the previous year and his sister's detention by ICE.

ICE agents smashed the windows of a car and arrested a man without a warrant while his wife held their crying baby and pleaded with the agents. During the arrest, the man briefly escaped from the ICE van while still wearing handcuffs.

A Chinese national was re-detained by ICE on February 2, 2026, after previously being released on supervised release in October 2023 following a removal order. He had complied with all terms of his supervised release. The court granted his motion for preliminary injunction and ordered his immediate release on the same conditions as his prior supervised release.

Medina, an asylum applicant with a valid work permit, was detained by ICE on February 2, 2026, after appearing at a scheduled court date in San Diego. He was transferred to Otay Mesa Detention Center and is scheduled to remain detained at least until his next court date on February 24. Medina has lived in the United States since adolescence, is married to a U.S. citizen, and has two U.S. citizen children. His detention has caused financial hardship for his family, who lost his primary income.

A 19-year-old anti-ICE protester was sprayed with chemical agent by a federal officer during a protest in Portland. The protester was vocal but nonviolent and standing still when sprayed. Video evidence documents the incident.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained several residents in Hudson County, New Jersey on Sunday using unmarked vehicles. An ICE agent told a city councilman that warrants are not needed to conduct their operations. Local officials reported that ICE arrested at least three people, including two workers at local businesses, without advance notification to local police.

Federal ICE agents were present outside the Ventura County Sheriff's Office on Monday, February 2, 2026, where protesters and observers had gathered. During the encounter, an ICE agent threw a woman to the ground and subsequently used pepper spray on the crowd. Witnesses stated they were documenting the ICE operation and posed no physical threat to officers. At least one person was detained during the incident. The woman who was thrown to the ground declined to speak about what happened.

Jhony Gonzalez Merino, a Mexican national from the Triqui Indigenous group, was arrested by ICE agents in Anchorage in February 2026 after dropping off his son at school. He had applied for asylum. After initial detention at the Anchorage jail, Gonzalez Merino was transferred to the federal immigration detention center in Tacoma, Washington, where he remains.

An Iranian couple seeking asylum in the U.S. was detained and interrogated by ICE/DHS agents at their apartment less than a week after U.S.-Israeli military strikes against Iran in late February 2026. The couple had entered the U.S. legally on tourist visas in November 2024 and filed for asylum after receiving threats from the Iranian government, holding pending asylum applications with work permits. The husband was held for three weeks at the ICE detention facility in California City before an immigration judge granted his release on bond. His pregnant wife was questioned for hours but not arrested due to her pregnancy. Immigration attorneys said the case reflects a broader pattern of heightened scrutiny of Iranians following the strikes.

A Venezuelan woman identified only as 'Flora' to protect her safety was arrested during a routine ICE check-in and remains detained, despite pending asylum and trafficking visa applications. Flora says she was trafficked to the U.S. in 2023 and subjected to sexual assault, forced labor, and physical abuse, and her lawyers say she had recently reported herself as a trafficking victim to federal authorities before her detention. She is now held at a facility in Monroe, Louisiana, while her two children, ages 18 months and four years, have been separated from her and remain in the care of volunteers at the Maryland church where the family had previously sought refuge. Her alleged trafficker remains free. Her legal team has filed a habeas corpus petition arguing her detention violates the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, noting that at least 41 other trafficking survivors have filed similar petitions since early 2025.

Jose Lozano, a 28-year-old Worthington resident with a valid temporary permit allowing him to remain in the U.S. for five years, was detained by ICE agents on February 1, 2026, while attempting to jumpstart his minivan. Lozano, who arrived from El Salvador as an asylum seeker ten years ago, was working as a mechanic and attending college when detained. He was being held in a Minneapolis detention center with a hearing scheduled for February 28, 2026, though an earlier bond hearing was possible.