Human Impact Project

An Indian national who entered the U.S. in September 2022 was arrested by ICE on July 21, 2026, immediately after an Immigration Judge ordered his removal at a scheduled hearing in Sacramento Immigration Court. He had been released on recognizance and enrolled in an Alternatives to Detention program, where he maintained lawful employment and complied with all requirements. On July 22, 2026, he timely appealed his removal order to the Board of Immigration Appeals, making it not administratively final. The court granted his habeas corpus petition, finding his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause, and ordered his immediate release.

The petitioner is a detainee in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), held at Imperial Regional Detention Facility since being detained on July 20, 2026. He filed a pro se Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, challenging his detention. The court found that appointment of counsel would serve the interests of justice given the complexity of the constitutional, statutory, and procedural issues raised, and conditionally appointed Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. to represent him. The court also issued an injunction barring the respondent and those acting on his behalf from removing the petitioner from the United States or the district while the case is pending. The court set a briefing schedule, allowing the petitioner to file an amended petition, ordering the respondent to file a Return showing cause why the petition should not be granted, and allowing the petitioner to file a Traverse in reply.

A Turkish national is an immigration detainee held at Mesa Verde Detention Center. He was previously released from immigration detention pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) but was subsequently re-detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A). He filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging his detention without a bond hearing. The court granted his petition, finding that the Due Process Clause requires a bond hearing where the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that he is a flight risk or danger to the community. The court ordered respondents to provide him with a bond hearing before a neutral decisionmaker within ten days, with the government bearing the burden of proof. The court directed that he be given 72 hours' written notice in a language he can understand, may be represented by an attorney, and that the decisionmaker must consider his financial circumstances when setting bond or alternative release conditions. If respondents fail to provide the hearing within ten days, they must release him.

A Salvadoran national entered the United States near the southern border on November 23, 2022, presented himself to immigration authorities, and was released on humanitarian parole. While released, he complied with all reporting requirements, filed a pending asylum application, obtained employment authorization valid through January 2029, and was issued a Social Security number. He has been steadily employed at a printing company in Los Angeles since March 2024, filed federal and state taxes, and has been married to a U.S. citizen since March 2026, serving as the principal financial provider for his household. On July 20, 2026, ICE re-detained him at his scheduled check-in appointment at the ICE Los Angeles Field Office without notice or a pre-deprivation hearing, despite his full compliance with parole conditions and lack of criminal history. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted his habeas corpus petition, finding that re-detention without a hearing violated procedural due process under the Mathews v. Eldridge test, and ordered his release on his prior conditions within 24 hours.

A professional drummer who entered the U.S. on a B-1 visa in July 2023 and filed for asylum a month later was arrested by ICE at Los Angeles International Airport on July 18, 2026, while returning home to Florida with his wife after a work trip teaching marimba to younger musicians. His visa expired in May 2024, but he was never detained; instead, he was granted employment authorization valid through February 2029 and continued performing for arts organizations. In 2024 he began dating a U.S. citizen, whom he married in August 2025, and shortly after marrying he filed an alien relative petition; both his asylum and relative petitions remain pending. He has no criminal history and was held at the Desert View Annex detention facility in Adelanto, California. He filed a habeas corpus petition seeking a bond hearing or immediate release, arguing the government's years of tolerance created a liberty interest requiring due process before detention. The court agreed, finding his detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated the Fifth Amendment, and ordered his release within 24 hours under the same conditions that existed before his detention.

Guadalupe Moreno Cristin is detained at Adelanto's Desert View Annex detention facility in California. During his detention, his health has worsened significantly. He spent four days in the hospital due to internal bleeding, and according to his account, doctors recommended he remain hospitalized for two additional days, but ICE returned him to the detention facility before completing the recommended care. The Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice is advocating for his release and access to necessary medical treatment.

A non-citizen from El Salvador who entered the United States in 2021 was arrested and detained by ICE agents outside his apartment building in San Francisco on July 17, 2026. ICE agents arrested him without presenting a warrant at the time, claiming it was at their office. He has no criminal record, filed an asylum application, received work authorization, and is the sole provider for his pregnant wife and two young children. The court granted his temporary restraining order requiring immediate release and prohibiting re-detention without a pre-deprivation bond hearing where the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that detention is necessary to prevent flight or protect the public.

Two construction workers from National City were arrested by federal immigration agents around 7 a.m. on July 17, 2026, outside a residential construction site in Cardiff. According to a co-worker, the brothers have worked at construction sites for nearly two decades. One is married with two children; his son is now an adult aspiring to become an architect. The arrest occurred quietly and quickly in unmarked vehicles, with some neighbors unaware of what happened despite being nearby. The workers' silver Nissan Frontier was left abandoned at the scene with their equipment and lunch still inside.

A 72-year-old citizen of Nigeria was admitted to the U.S. in B-2 visitor status in October 2020 and later overstayed her authorized stay; her asylum application has been pending with USCIS since June 2024 and she held a valid work permit through December 2026. She has no criminal history. She is insulin-dependent with type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and a diagnosed psychotic disorder, requiring nightly insulin, twice-daily glucose testing, metformin, and aripiprazole. ICE arrested her on July 14, 2026 at Los Angeles International Airport as she boarded a domestic flight, and she has since been detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center for 27 days without any Notice to Appear being filed or produced. Her counsel made three attempts to obtain a custody/bond hearing from the Adelanto Immigration Court, all of which were rejected on shifting and contradictory administrative grounds, while EOIR's own systems disagreed about whether a removal case was even pending. Counsel also reported that she went several days without her metformin and aripiprazole medications, with no confirmation the interruption was resolved. She filed a habeas petition and TRO application seeking release, a custody hearing, medication continuity, and other relief. The court granted the petition in part, ordering an initial § 1226(a) bond hearing within seven days, denied outright release, dismissed her medical/conditions claims without prejudice to a civil action, ordered preservation of records and no transfer out of the district without notice, and required Respondents to file a status report on her medications within 48 hours.

A self-represented immigration detainee filed a second habeas corpus petition seeking release from the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. She initially obtained a May 28, 2026 order for individualized bond hearings before an immigration judge, but subsequently withdrew her request. She then filed a new action with an ex parte application for a temporary restraining order. The court denied the application for procedural deficiencies and referred the matter to the Federal Public Defender's office for potential counsel appointment.

A 30-year-old man from Morocco who entered the U.S. on a visa in 2025 was detained by ICE and State Department Diplomatic Security Service agents on Woolsey Street in Berkeley. According to ICE, he later violated the terms of his visa. The operation was conducted on June 9, 2026, without notification to Berkeley city officials or police, despite the city's sanctuary policy prohibiting police cooperation with immigration enforcement. The person was held at ICE's Golden State Annex facility in McFarland, Kern County, pending legal proceedings. This marked the first known ICE operation in Berkeley during the second Trump administration.

A man who entered the U.S. on a valid visa and had complied with immigration appointments for seven years was arrested in the middle of his asylum interview. He faced transfer to a detention center near Bakersfield, separated from his American spouse and U.S.-born children. Attorney Elizabeth Knowles from the Bay Area Habeas Network filed an emergency habeas petition after midnight, and a federal judge ordered his immediate release within five hours.

Carlos Roberto Montoya Valdez, a 52-year-old day laborer from Guatemala who had lived in the U.S. about three years, died after being struck by an SUV traveling roughly 60 mph while fleeing across Interstate 210 during a federal immigration enforcement operation at a Monrovia Home Depot. He worked to support his wife of 35 years, Ana María Vásquez, their four daughters, and grandchildren in Guatemala. His daughter Ana Victoria recalled his final phone call the night before his death, in which he spoke of hoping to return to Guatemala once he had saved enough to start his own business; his wife described him as 'a light' who brought joy to everyone, especially his grandchildren. Between eight and ten other day laborers from Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras were also arrested in the operation. The Department of Homeland Security has denied that agents chased or pursued him. Community advocates, including the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, have blamed the enforcement tactics for causing the panic that led to his death and are demanding Home Depot release security footage, while state lawmakers have renewed calls for the REPAIR Act (SB 1103) requiring large retailers to disclose immigration enforcement activity on their property.

An Iranian man who was previously arrested, suspended from university, held in solitary confinement, and threatened with death in Iran for publishing political opposition magazines was arrested by ICE during a routine check-in in February 2025 after an immigration judge canceled his bond. He had twice been granted asylum by immigration judges, but the government appealed both grants and the Board of Immigration Appeals had not yet ruled on the merits when Judge Linda Lopez of the US District Court for the Southern District of California denied his habeas petition on July 13. Lopez said her hands were tied under a Ninth Circuit ruling and that his prolonged detention, while lengthy, was not indefinite.

A mother and her adult son have lived in the United States since December 2022, when they were paroled into the country. The mother worked at a laundromat and supported her son's education, while the son worked at a food-packing facility, attended school, and earned his high school equivalency diploma. Both had complied with all ICE reporting requirements and had no criminal history. On July 13, 2026, over three and a half years after entering the country, they were detained without warning at a routine ICE check-in. They were held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center and filed petitions for writs of habeas corpus arguing their re-detention without notice or a hearing violated their Fifth Amendment due process rights. The government did not oppose their claims. The federal court granted the petitions, finding their re-detention violated due process, and ordered their release within 24 hours under their prior conditions of release, with return of their personal belongings and immigration documents.

A Chinese national admitted to the U.S. on a valid B-1/B-2 visa on April 4, 2024, was re-detained by ICE on July 13, 2026, at Los Angeles International Airport without notice, warrant, or hearing. During her two+ years in the country, she had been granted employment authorization, worked lawfully, established community ties, and maintained a clean criminal record while her asylum application was pending. The court ordered her release on her prior conditions within 24 hours, finding her re-detention without pre-deprivation process violated Fifth Amendment due process rights.

Scull Delgado arrived in the US during the 1980 Mariel boatlift, fleeing Cuba's mandatory military service. He settled in California, married a U.S. citizen, raised three children and four grandchildren, and worked for decades while building toward retirement—just one month away when immigration agents arrested him during a routine annual sign-in at a U.S. immigration office. He had served his time for a crime committed in the 1990s and maintained a clean record afterward. By November 2025, he had been transported to Mexico, separated from his family after nearly 46 years in the country.

Jaime Alanis Garcia, a 57-year-old farmworker at Glass House Farms in Camarillo, California, died from injuries sustained during a federal immigration raid in July 2025. While fleeing federal immigration agents who deployed rubber bullets, tear gas, and stun guns, Garcia fell approximately 30 feet from a greenhouse roof, sustaining a broken neck and skull fractures. He was placed on life support before his family decided to discontinue his care. Garcia's wife and daughter filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Glass House Farms and the federal government, alleging that federal agents' use of excessive force caused Garcia to seek shelter on the roof. The raid resulted in more than 360 arrests of undocumented workers across Camarillo and Carpinteria locations. The Department of Homeland Security stated that Alanis was never in custody and was not being chased by federal agents. Community members later marched through Carpinteria to commemorate Garcia's death and demand accountability.

José Luis, a Mexican man nicknamed 'El acomedido,' was detained by ICE on a street in southern California and held at the GEO Group-run Adelanto detention center, where he was paid just $1 a day to clean tables, bathrooms, dining areas and other common spaces through the facility's Voluntary Work Program. He said he took the work because his family could not deposit money into his account, leaving him needing income for basic items like instant noodles, toothpaste and soap that the facility was supposed to provide. He returned home with a fungal nail infection he suspects came from cleaning toilets, and as the sole provider for his family, his wife and children were left without support during his detention. Advocates, including Juan José Gutiérrez of the Full Rights Coalition for Immigrants, describe the $1-a-day wage as labor exploitation by GEO Group, a company valued at roughly $4 billion. The account comes amid a separate case in which GEO Group agreed to pay California regulators over $100,000 after Cal/OSHA found the company failed to provide protective equipment or training to detainees at its Golden State Annex facility who cleaned mold and handled toxic chemicals.

Severo Gonzalez Reyes, a Mexican national who has lived in the United States since 1999, was detained by ICE on May 3, 2026, while preparing to leave for work in Oxnard, California. He was transferred to the Desert View Facility in Adelanto, California, where an immigration judge denied him bond, citing his immigration history and unauthorized work as flight-risk factors. Gonzalez Reyes filed a federal habeas case, Severo Gonzalez Reyes v. Jaime Rios et al., challenging the denial. The federal court found the immigration judge had abused his discretion and ordered Gonzalez Reyes released immediately under reasonable conditions of supervision.