Human Impact Project

Adimando Hernandez Cortez, a citizen of Mexico, has lived continuously in the United States for approximately thirty years, since his entry around 1996. He is married to a U.S. citizen spouse, and together they have a 14-year-old U.S. citizen son who has learning disabilities. He has no criminal history and no final order of removal. On July 1, 2026, he was arrested and detained by ICE and was held without a bond hearing at the Pike County Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania. He filed a habeas corpus petition arguing that his detention under the mandatory detention provision of 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b) was unlawful because that provision applies only to noncitizens actively seeking admission, not longtime residents, who are instead subject to the discretionary detention provision, 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), which entitles them to a bond hearing. On July 30, 2026, Judge Robert D. Mariani of the Middle District of Pennsylvania granted the petition, ordered the government to immediately release him, and permanently enjoined the government from detaining him under § 1225(b) absent a compelling change in circumstances, while requiring notice and a timely individualized bond hearing for any future detention under § 1226(a).

Jesús Bracho, a San Antonio father, and his 9-year-old daughter Katherine, a student at Bonnie Ellison Elementary School, were detained near Loop 410 and U.S. Highway 90 on July 1, 2026. Bracho maintains he was released from ICE custody in order to lure his daughter into custody with him, and the two are now held at the Dilley detention center. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro visited them and said Bracho was moved to tears with guilt, believing he was the reason his daughter was detained.

S, a Nigerian Christian, came to the United States in 2001 and applied for asylum based on her fear of religious persecution. A U.S. immigration judge found she would be persecuted if returned to Nigeria and granted her withholding of removal. She is the primary breadwinner for her four U.S. citizen children and her husband, who is disabled. At a routine ICE check-in in Los Angeles in July 2026, she was arrested, detained, and summarily deported to Ghana, separating her from her family and the country she called home for 25 years. Within 24 hours of her arrival, Ghanaian authorities refouled her to Nigeria, where she fears the persecution she fled.

Joel Anderson Sandoval Espinoza, a citizen of Peru, entered the United States on June 9, 2023, and has lived and worked in the country since then, employed in the A/C mechanics and warehouse industry while paying taxes and contributing to his community. He has two toddlers who are United States citizens. After presenting himself at a port of entry and expressing fear of returning to Peru, he passed a credible fear interview and was paroled into the country to pursue asylum, with his asylum application still pending in ongoing removal proceedings. On July 1, 2026, DHS detained him after he left his local DMV office, and he argued his parole and liberty had been unlawfully revoked without notice or justification. He was held at the Denver Contract Detention Facility and filed a habeas petition seeking immediate release or, alternatively, a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). The court found he was improperly subject to mandatory detention under § 1225(b)(2), citing prior rulings and a Tenth Circuit decision limiting that provision's application to noncitizens detained at the border. The court granted the habeas petition, ordered his immediate release without conditions such as GPS monitoring, enjoined his re-arrest absent a clear-and-convincing-evidence bond hearing, and denied his TRO/preliminary injunction motion as moot.

Daniel Ouguegazu, a Venezuelan asylum-seeker, was detained by ICE agents at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in July 2026 as he attempted to board a flight. Ouguegazu had filed an asylum application and was awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge. His family later filed a complaint alleging he faced persecution and that his case involved legal violations. According to DHS, he remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

Artemio Ortega Pochotitlan is a Mexican national who first entered the United States in February 2003 and has lived in the U.S. for over 20 years. He was apprehended by ICE in July 2026 during a routine check-in and taken into custody. Petitioner has an asylum application pending since May 1, 2023. He is currently detained at Golden State Annex Detention Facility in McFarland, California. On July 27, 2026, Petitioner filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention as violating Fifth Amendment Due Process rights. The court granted the petition in part and ordered that Respondents provide Petitioner with an individualized bond hearing before an immigration judge within 14 days, where the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a danger to the community or is a flight risk. If determined not to be a danger or flight risk, the immigration judge should consider alternative conditions of release based on his financial circumstances.

Carrera Macias, a Venezuelan national who entered the United States at age 17 and applied for asylum, was arrested by police in Salt Lake City, Utah in July 2026 and subsequently transferred to the ICE Processing Center in Adelanto, California. Macias filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention as unlawful under the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause and immigration statutes, and sought a temporary restraining order for immediate release. The court denied the temporary restraining order application, finding that the alleged harms could be addressed through the court's expedited habeas corpus process.

A man who was legally in the United States and in the asylum process was detained by ICE at Chicago airport, according to his immigration attorney Joe Moravec. He is currently being held by ICE.

An unnamed woman who entered the United States legally and is in the asylum process was detained by ICE at a Washington, DC-area airport this month while traveling home to Texas to attend her father's funeral, according to her immigration attorney Joe Moravec. She is currently being held in Virginia.

Juana Antonia Guzman-Gomez, a Honduran citizen, entered the United States without inspection near Presidio, Texas on May 6, 2019, and was encountered by U.S. Border Patrol. She was released from custody at that time with no Notice to Appear. She was subsequently placed in removal proceedings and issued an Order of Release on Recognizance in 2019. As of July 2026, she is detained at Richwood Correctional Center in Louisiana. The court denied her motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent her transfer or deportation, finding that such relief would circumvent the habeas corpus process and that she failed to meet the legal requirements for emergency injunctive relief.

Mitchell Arleth Soza-Lopez, a Nicaraguan citizen paroled into the United States in October 2022, was detained on July 1, 2026, when she appeared for a routine check-in appointment at the ICE Office in Los Angeles. She had complied with all release conditions, maintained employment, paid taxes, and had no criminal record for nearly four years. The court granted her petition for habeas corpus, finding that her re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated procedural due process, and ordered her release on her prior conditions within 24 hours.

Said Tawadros Wahba Tawadros, an Egyptian citizen and practicing Coptic Orthodox Christian who has resided in the United States since August 2023, was taken into ICE custody on July 1, 2026, during a routine ICE check-in. He was detained at the West Tennessee Detention Facility without an individualized determination regarding the necessity of continued confinement. The court stayed his transfer and required ICE to respond to his habeas petition, noting that under Lopez-Campos v. Raycraft, noncitizens who have spent significant time in the United States interior and have not committed disqualifying offenses may not be detained without an individualized bond hearing. Eshak Mamdouh Taki Ghaly, an Egyptian citizen and Coptic Orthodox Christian who fled religious persecution, was detained by ICE on July 1, 2026, at the West Tennessee Detention Facility. Ghaly had resided in the United States continuously since July 2023, maintained steady employment in Nashville, attended all required ICE check-ins, and had no criminal history. He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention without an individualized bond hearing. The court issued an order staying his transfer and requiring the government to respond within two business days, with instructions to either distinguish the case from Lopez-Campos v. Raycraft or consent to release.

Martha Alicia Hernandez Arroyo, a 52-year-old asylum seeker from Mexico, was detained on July 1, 2026, at an ICE check-in in San Francisco after ICE revoked her Order of Supervision without a hearing. She had been released under supervision after her 1999 removal order was reinstated on March 23, 2026, following a USCIS adjustment of status interview. The court granted her preliminary injunction, prohibiting re-detention without notice and a pre-deprivation hearing before a neutral decisionmaker, finding she had a constitutionally protected liberty interest based on the government's affirmative decision to release her.

John Jairo Suarez Rueda, a Colombian national who entered the U.S. without inspection in 2023 and was paroled after indicating credible fear of persecution, was detained by ICE on July 1, 2026, while delivering packages for Amazon with a valid work permit. DHS and EOIR ordered his mandatory detention without bond eligibility under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A). On July 10, 2026, the U.S. District Court for Idaho granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release, finding that § 1226(a) applies because he was already present in the country and was not subject to the cited detention statutes.

Clemente Lara-Hernandez, a Mexican citizen, was the subject of an ICE arrest operation in Harrisburg on July 1, 2026. According to ICE, agents attempted a targeted vehicle stop and Lara-Hernandez drove his car into an ICE vehicle, then drove the wrong way on a one-way street and hit a civilian vehicle. An ICE agent fired one shot at his vehicle; Lara-Hernandez fled the scene and remains at large. One ICE agent sustained a hand injury. The FBI is investigating the shooting.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained 15 people during raids in Bloomington-Normal from July 1-3, 2026, according to the Immigration Project. The detainees had entered the United States legally from Venezuela, Mexico, Ecuador, and Guatemala. Most were apprehended at their workplaces throughout the community. About half were described as long-term residents, while others had recently arrived. Many had been granted humanitarian parole under the Biden administration or had applied for asylum; a few had pending family petitions. One detainee was unaware of a missed immigration court date and was ordered deported in absentia. The raids separated families and caused significant emotional and financial hardship, particularly for families whose primary breadwinner was detained. One detainee was denied a breathing machine while in confinement. The detentions are part of a nationwide ICE enforcement effort that reportedly captured more than 10,000 people during a five-day period.

Fatima Eminzada, a 24-year-old citizen of Azerbaijan, was detained by ICE on April 4, 2026, and transferred to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana. She is pregnant in her first trimester with medical complications including hypothyroidism, possible UTI, and mild anemia. After bond was denied at a redetermination hearing on May 14, 2026, and an immigration judge denied her renewed motion for bond on June 12, 2026, she filed a federal habeas corpus petition on June 25, 2026, represented by attorneys Logan Joseph Duplessis and Giedre Stasiunaite. On July 1, 2026, the court issued a temporary restraining order and ordered ICE respondents to file a medical-status report addressing her current medical conditions, treatment, and access to medical care, with the deadline extended to July 13, 2026.

Between May 25 and May 30, 2026, ICE arrested nine individuals in New Jersey as part of enforcement operations. The arrests included: Esteban Pastor Montes Navarro (Mexico) on 5/25 with convictions for simple assault and possession of weapon; David Benitiz (Honduras) on 5/26 with convictions for simple assault, obstructing police, and public order crimes; Cesar Augusto Diaz Poveda (Ecuador) on 5/27 with arrests for assault and obstructing police; Jose Manuel Rivera-Mes (Guatemala) on 5/28 with a conviction for voluntary manslaughter and arrests for weapon offenses; Success Bounte (Ghana) on 5/28 with convictions for robbery, burglary, identity theft, and credit card fraud; Ismael Antonio Moreno-Javier (Dominican Republic) on 5/28 with arrests for terroristic threats, assault, child neglect, and fraud; Carlos Javier Llano-Batista (Dominican Republic) on 5/28 with arrests for fraud, larceny, burglary, and robbery; Jacinta Contreras Reyes (Mexico) on 5/29 with arrests for domestic violence, aggravated assault, and weapon-related charges; and Pabline Patricia Da Silva (Brazil) on 5/30 with arrests for burglary, larceny, and property damage. ICE conducted expanded enforcement operations across New Jersey, resulting in the arrests of several individuals. Marvin Miguel Perez, a Guatemalan national, was arrested on July 6 and had prior convictions in Mercer County Superior Court for unlawful possession of a weapon and theft. Jorge Vega-Meza, a Mexican national, was arrested on July 1 and had been previously removed from the United States with prior convictions related to drug distribution and racketeering. Fidel Rodriguez Lemus, a Cuban national, was arrested during the operations after being ordered removed in 2022 and having previously received a federal prison sentence in the Eastern District of Virginia. Kaitlyn Tracey, a Canadian national, was taken into custody by ICE after allegedly assaulting a teenage girl on the Point Pleasant Boardwalk, with the girl allegedly targeted for wearing pro-Trump and ICE clothing.

On July 1, 2026, Bozeman resident Brandi Straub was driving near Camp Equinox summer theater camp when ICE agents conducting enforcement operations pursued suspects across the street. An ICE agent pointed a gun through Straub's passenger side window as she braked to avoid an enforcement vehicle. Straub's 12-year-old daughter and a neighbor's 11-year-old were attending the camp, located three blocks away with approximately 120 children present. When Straub called 911 to alert authorities to the nearby ICE operation, dispatch informed her that local police could not intervene in ICE operations. The school had not been informed of the enforcement activity taking place in the area.

David Cortes-Torres, a 20-year-old man and primary caregiver for his grandmother who is undergoing cancer treatment, was detained by ICE agents in Bozeman on Monday. According to a federal habeas corpus petition filed by Upper Seven Law, agents held him for more than 24 hours at Helena Airport in a small holding room with over 15 other people, pressured him to voluntarily leave the country, and limited his attorney contact to a single three-minute phone call. His lawyers allege the arrest was part of an operation targeting Latinos in the area, and a federal judge ordered him to remain in Montana pending a hearing set for the following Tuesday.

A Pakistani national was held in an ICE facility in Louisiana for approximately 21 months without removal. ICE attempted to transfer him to the UAE, which declined, and sought responses from Saudi Arabia, China, Kosovo, and Moldavia without success. A federal court ordered his immediate release, ruling the prolonged detention unconstitutional under Zadvydas v. Davis because removal was not likely in the foreseeable future.

Rigoberto Santillan-Quiroz, a long-term U.S. resident married to a legal permanent resident and stepfather to a U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE following a traffic stop in late 2025. He was held for eight months without a bond hearing under a Trump administration policy that categorically denied bond hearings to noncitizens who entered without authorization. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled the detention policy unlawful, finding it violated due process rights by denying individualized review. The court ordered Santillan-Quiroz's release and reinstatement of bond hearing eligibility, reversing a district court decision and reaffirming that noncitizens have had bond hearing rights for nearly 30 years.

Seven more defendants were sentenced on July 1, 2026, for their roles in the July 4, 2025 protest at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas. Six who had pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists received sentences ranging from nearly two to 15 years. Ines Soto, who pleaded not guilty but was convicted, was sentenced to 50 years — the same sentence given the previous week to his wife Elizabeth Soto, who was among eight defendants convicted at trial. The six plea-deal defendants received significantly shorter sentences than the eight trial defendants sentenced on June 23, who received 30 to 100 years.

A mother was detained by ICE agents on June 29 while walking to a store to buy groceries for her family. Her family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for her legal defense, including paying for an ICE custody analyst and legal team to track her intake, pull her records, and analyze her custody status.

Dhavalkumar Patel, owner of Wallace's Market in Friendship, Maine, was detained by ICE agents on June 28, 2026, at his store. Patel entered the U.S. from India in 2010 and was arrested by Border Patrol on November 1, 2010, for illegal entry. He failed to appear for his immigration hearing and was issued a removal order on August 8, 2011. Following his detention, he was held at Plymouth County Correctional Center in Massachusetts. His attorney filed a habeas corpus motion in U.S. District Court, and a federal judge issued an emergency stay against deportation and a temporary order preventing his transfer for 72 hours, citing due process rights.

A man from the Dominican Republic was arrested by ICE agents at an immigration court at 290 Broadway in Lower Manhattan on Thursday, June 26, 2026. The man had fled persecution in his home country, entered the U.S., and was released from detention while his immigration case proceeded. He appeared at court as legally required for his scheduled hearing. ICE cited a conviction for trespassing as justification, but advocates with Make the Road New York argue the arrest violates a federal court order issued May 18, 2026, that barred ICE from making arrests at Manhattan immigration courts except in narrow circumstances. The man has since been transferred to ICE's Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, New Jersey.

On June 30, an unmarked ICE squad surrounded a work truck in Olathe and shattered the driver's window, dragging the man through the broken glass while morning traffic passed.

Pedro Antonio Ardila Cortes filed a second habeas corpus petition after being re-arrested by ICE on June 30, 2026, during a scheduled supervision check-in at the ICE ISAP office. He states he was not arrested on any criminal charge and did not violate any condition of his supervision. This follows an earlier habeas petition in which the same court ordered his release on May 21, 2026, and enjoined the government from detaining him under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A). Despite that injunction, he was taken back into custody about six weeks later and is now held at the West Tennessee Detention Facility. He is challenging his renewed detention without a bond hearing. The court ordered Respondent to either immediately release him or explain within three business days how his circumstances have changed since the prior order, and barred his transfer out of the facility while the case is pending.

Margarita Melgar, a mother from Honduras who had lived in the U.S. for 12 years, was given a choice by immigration agents: be detained indefinitely or self-deport. She chose to self-deport and left for Honduras on Sunday, taking her 10-year-old daughter Katherin, a U.S. citizen who has never been to Honduras. Her two older daughters, ages 17 and 20, remained in the United States. Margarita had fled Honduras after facing extreme violence. The family said goodbye at Logan Airport, with her eldest daughter Damary, a college student, remaining in Boston.

Ihor B., a Ukrainian citizen, was detained by ICE on June 30, 2026, following an encounter with Oklahoma Highway Patrol. He had been temporarily paroled into the United States for humanitarian reasons and had recently received re-parole approval from USCIS in May 2026, permitting lawful presence until April 2028. An ICE officer served him with a Notice to Appear and detained him at the David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center in Tulsa. The court summarily dismissed his habeas corpus petition, finding that the NTA constituted sufficient written notice of parole termination under applicable regulations and that his detention was lawful pending removal proceedings.

Video documented an incident in which a man struck his head on the ground during an ICE detention in a parking lot in Bethany, Oklahoma. The incident occurred amid reports of increased ICE activity in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.

Laura, a mother of four children including a 2-week-old newborn, is in immigration detention facing deportation proceedings. She has lived in the United States since age 9 and has no criminal record. Her children are being cared for by their grandmother while Laura's case moves through the legal system. The family is seeking financial support for food, childcare, rent, legal expenses, and other necessities while Laura is detained.

Bernard Kabore, a Burkina Faso citizen who fled violence and religious persecution and was lawfully admitted on a B-2 visa in November 2021, filed an asylum application within one year of arrival and maintained compliance with all USCIS requirements. ICE arrested him at his Portland home on June 30, 2026, and transported him to the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Rhode Island. The court issued a temporary restraining order enjoining ICE from removing Kabore from the District of Rhode Island pending resolution of his habeas corpus petition, with exceptions only for medical emergencies or bond hearings before an Immigration Judge.

Alberto Jose Mendoza, a 37-year-old Venezuelan national fleeing political persecution, was re-detained on June 20, 2026 when he arrived for a routine check-in at the ICE Los Angeles Field Office. He had been previously released on conditional parole under the Alternatives to Detention program, had complied with all check-in requirements, maintained employment as a payroll manager, and had no criminal history. ICE agents allegedly used excessive force, tackling him during arrest without notice or opportunity to be heard. The court granted his temporary restraining order, ordering his immediate release under the original conditions of supervision and enjoining re-detention without a custody hearing before a neutral arbiter.

On June 24-26, 2026, the US deported approximately 146 Venezuelans, including minors, on a repatriation flight to Venezuela. The deportees were placed in Hotel Santuario (also called Hotel El Santuario) in La Guaira while undergoing repatriation processing. Within hours, twin earthquakes struck Venezuela with magnitude and force sufficient to collapse the hotel. At least 2,200 people were killed and 50,000 reported missing across the country. Among the deportees, some were killed, others severely injured with amputations, and many remain unaccounted for. Families gathered outside the hotel rubble searching for information, hampered by limited rescue access and unclear communication from authorities.

Galo Suárez, a Nicaraguan asylum seeker, was arrested on S. 13th Street on Milwaukee's South Side when unmarked ICE vehicles boxed in his car. An agent broke his car window with gun drawn. Suárez, his fiancee Reyna Elizabeth Garcia (25), and her brother Teodoro Rafael Garcia (37) were all detained. All three are eligible for work permits as asylum applicants. Suárez alleged that an agent claimed his work permit was forged and that officers used excessive force, pushing his fiancee against the car and verbally abusing her. Suárez was released later that day but his fiancee remains in custody in Kenosha County and the whereabouts of her brother are unknown.

Luis Angel Velasquez-Montes, 27, was identified during a traffic stop in Chatham County between January and April 2026 and placed in ICE custody. He pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry after previous deportation and was sentenced to time served followed by immediate deportation. Miguel Aparicio-Ortiz, 40, was identified during a traffic stop in Chatham County between January and April 2026 and placed in ICE custody. He pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry after previous deportation and was sentenced to time served followed by immediate deportation.

On June 30, 2026, Homeland Security Investigations agents executed federal search warrants at Scholar Craft manufacturing plants in Birmingham and Irondale, Alabama, as part of an investigation into alleged identity fraud and unlawful employment practices. More than 30 people identified as being in the country without authorization were encountered and taken into custody pending immigration proceedings. The operation involved federal, state, and local law enforcement partners.

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that ICE's policy of mandatory detention without bond for noncitizens violates due process and federal law, ordering the release of Rigoberto Santillan-Quiroz. Santillan-Quiroz, who has lived in the U.S. for approximately twenty years and is married to a legal permanent resident with a U.S. citizen stepdaughter, was arrested during an interior traffic stop in November 2025 and held for eight months without a bond hearing under the Trump administration's July 2025 detention policy. The court found no justification for his detention, noting he posed no flight risk or danger to public safety and had never been charged with a crime. The court ordered the government to grant him a bond hearing within seven days or release him, and the ruling applies across the Tenth Circuit's six-state jurisdiction.

On June 29, four ICE vehicles conducted operations across Kansas City, Missouri. Agents moved down Truman Road and Indiana in the Northeast, then to an apartment complex at 23rd and Topping, where they demanded identification and dragged residents from their own doorways.

Alice Guillen Acosta, a Venezuelan national who presented at the El Paso port of entry on March 19, 2024, was released on her own recognizance and enrolled in an Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP). She complied fully with all terms including GPS monitoring and court appearances. On June 29, 2026, she was arrested without warning during a routine ICE check-in appointment and remained detained. The court granted her habeas corpus petition and ordered ICE to provide a bond hearing by July 31, 2026, requiring the government to prove by clear and convincing evidence that detention was justified.

Sid James Velasquez, an immigration detainee, petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus challenging his detention at Golden State Annex Detention Facility. The court found that Velasquez's case mirrored legal issues in multiple prior cases where the government's detention was found unlawful. The District Court granted the habeas corpus petition and ordered Velasquez's immediate release, prohibiting re-detention unless the government demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence at a pre-deprivation bond hearing that he poses a flight risk or danger to the community.

Daniel Alejandro Núñez Ramírez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan, was deported from the United States and arrived in Venezuela on June 24, 2026, as part of a group of 146 deported migrants. On the same day, two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela. Daniel was being held at the Santuario La Llanada hotel in La Guaira while repatriation procedures were completed. When the hotel collapsed during the earthquakes, Daniel was killed instantly. His mother, Oswadeliz Núñez Ramírez, spent five days searching for him in hospitals, morgues, and across La Guaira and Caracas before his body was recovered from the rubble. She identified him by a tattoo. Only 32 of the 146 deported migrants survived the disaster.

Isalia Martínez, a 46-year-old Mexican mother, was detained by ICE agents in the parking lot of Community Care clinic in Austin on June 29 while heading to a medical appointment. After six days in immigration custody and being transferred between two detention centers, she was deported to Michoacán, Mexico. Martínez has two sons, ages 17 and 22, who remain in the United States. She expressed devastation at the separation, saying she feels helpless being separated from her children and hopes to reunite with them someday.

Felipe Emeterio Coxaj-Tipan, a Guatemalan citizen residing in the United States since 2018, was detained by ICE on June 29, 2026, along with his two sons when ICE agents pulled over their family car and shattered the window. He was held without bond at Pike County Correctional Facility under the mandatory detention provision of 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A). The court granted his habeas petition, finding his detention unlawful, and ordered his immediate release, ruling that § 1226(a) discretionary detention with bond hearing rights applies to him instead.

Tania Hernandez's father was arrested on June 29, 2026, for driving without a license. After the family paid his bond and he was scheduled for release, ICE placed a hold on him at the detention facility, preventing his release. The family is now seeking legal representation to address the immigration enforcement action.

Roberto Antonio Avila Perla, an 18-year-old from El Salvador, was detained by ICE on June 29, 2026, and transferred to Golden State Annex Detention Facility in McFarland, California. Avila Perla entered the United States in May 2019 and was released on his own recognizance. He obtained Special Immigrant Juvenile status in September 2023 and had his removal proceedings administratively closed in October 2023, with no criminal history and no final removal order. The court granted his habeas corpus petition, finding his detention violated the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause, and ordered his immediate release with restrictions on future detention requiring advance notice and bond hearings.

Milana, a Russian immigrant and trafficking survivor, was detained at ICE's Oklahoma City office during a routine immigration check-in in September 2025. She arrived in the U.S. on a fiancé visa in the early 2000s, escaped an abusive first marriage involving human trafficking, and received a removal order in 2003 that was later converted to an order of supervision requiring routine check-ins. For over 20 years, she complied with these check-ins while building a life in the U.S., raising her U.S. citizen daughter, working consistently, and marrying Roger Swope, a U.S. Army veteran. On the day of her detention, ICE suddenly acted on the dormant removal order. Her attorney, Elissa Stiles, filed multiple legal challenges including habeas corpus petitions and argued Milana qualifies for a trafficking victim visa, but all were denied. A federal judge ruled on June 29, 2026, that Milana had not cooperated with Russian consulate authorities. ICE initially attempted to deport her to Russia despite the active war and closed airspace, then considered third-country removal options. Roger has spent over $20,000 on legal efforts. Since detention, Milana has been moved multiple times between facilities in Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas, shackled during transfers. Her attorney states the only remaining option is to appeal to ICE for humanitarian intervention, as Milana fears for her life if deported to Russia during the ongoing war.

ICE conducted multiple operations throughout the week of June 29 around Bozeman and Gallatin Gateway, detaining approximately 150 residents according to nonprofit Bienvenidos a Gallatin Valley, though other estimates put the number around 100. Following the arrests, fear gripped the local Latino community; many residents stopped leaving their homes entirely out of fear of arrest, and Latino business employees with valid visas ceased working. In response, Bienvenidos a Gallatin Valley organized emergency deliveries of groceries, toiletries, diapers, infant formula, and other household supplies to nearly 160 households across Gallatin County between June 26 and July 7.

Diana Socha Torres and her 8-year-old son were taken from their home in Wisconsin Dells in late June during the ICE surge. Socha Torres had an active asylum case, was wearing an ICE-issued ankle monitor, and had no criminal charges or convictions in Wisconsin. She and her son were transported to an ICE office in downtown Milwaukee and then transferred to the South Texas Residential Detention Center in Dilley, Texas. The arrest separated the child from their home and disrupted an active legal case.