Human Impact Project

A cellphone video recorded Feb. 14 along Staples Avenue in Key West shows a Border Patrol agent struggling with 19-year-old Luis Sandoval Gomez on the ground while repeatedly warning he would be tased. A bystander who recorded the encounter said Sandoval Gomez was not resisting or trying to flee and was simply sitting on his phone before the agent threw him off his bike. His aunt said he has a valid work permit, has been going through the asylum process since 2022, works preparing food at a local restaurant, and has no criminal history according to Florida public records. He is currently being held at the state-run detention facility known as "Alligator Alcatraz," and his family hopes he will be released on bond.

Fadya Contreras de Rondon and Johnny Rondon Rodriguez, both real estate agents in Central Florida with valid driver's licenses, Social Security cards, work permits, state Realtor licenses, and pending asylum cases, were detained by federal immigration agents on January 9, 2026, while driving to work together. U.S. District Judge John Antoon ordered Rondon Rodriguez released from Orange County Jail about a week before ordering Contreras de Rondon's release on February 13, after finding the arrest warrants used to justify their detentions were invalid. During her nearly month-long detention, Contreras de Rondon was repeatedly transferred between the Orange County Jail, a South Florida facility, and the ICE office in Orlando whenever her 72-hour jail hold expired, and her husband said guards grew upset over simple requests such as medication. Their attorney, Phillip Arroyo, said the couple was shocked by their treatment despite holding legal documentation but remain hopeful about their future in the country.

Nicolth Hernandez-Lucero, a 24-year-old Colombian national, was detained by federal immigration agents on Wednesday night while driving home near St. Ambrose Episcopal Church in Fort Lauderdale. Her husband, Noah Lazega, recorded the encounter as agents told her she would be detained. Hernandez-Lucero entered the U.S. legally at age 15 and has been in the country for nine years with no criminal record, working as a surgical technician at a local hospital and going through the asylum process with her family. She is now held at a detention facility in Pompano Beach, and her attorney has filed for a bond hearing.

Civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups, including the ACLU of Florida, issued a travel alert on February 5 urging international tourists attending the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Miami to exercise caution due to expanded immigration enforcement. The advisory highlighted risks from Florida's statewide partnerships between local and federal immigration authorities, noting that visitors could face detention during routine activities like traffic stops. Groups cited the case of Carlos Gonzalez Meza, a Mexican tourist with a valid U.S. visa who was detained for 10 days after a traffic stop in Orlando. The coalition emphasized the alert is informational and not a call for boycotts.

Susanne García Nazco, a Cuban woman who entered the U.S. through the southern border in 2022 and received an I-220A form, has been detained for more than six months at a facility in Louisiana. She says she submitted a document to immigration authorities and a judge that she believed confirmed approval of her parole application, and that ICE agents at their Miramar, Florida office even told her she no longer needed to check in. She was arrested in February 2026 as part of an ICE investigation into alleged immigration fraud and remains held without bond while her family appeals. Her husband, a U.S. citizen, said the family has spent about $30,000 on attorneys and started a GoFundMe campaign to help cover legal costs, while her mother, who is battling cancer, continues to support her case.

Bradford County commissioners voted 3-2 to move forward with a proposal to convert the Douglas Warehouse in Starke into a 3,000-bed ICE detention center. The decision allows Sabot Consulting to present design plans to ICE for approval. A protest challenging the proposed facility is scheduled for Saturday at 209 S. Temple Ave. in Starke.

Two former detainees at the Everglades immigration detention center in Florida testified in federal court that they faced retaliation for trying to access legal representation while in custody. They described monitored phone calls being dropped when attorneys were mentioned and being denied access to pen and paper to communicate with lawyers. One detainee, from Haiti, alleged he was forced to sign self-deportation papers he did not understand without being allowed to consult an attorney beforehand. Civil rights attorneys cited these accounts as part of a push for a temporary injunction requiring the facility to provide detainees the same legal access afforded to those held in federally-run facilities.

Roberto Betancourt, a Venezuelan journalist who fled to Miami with his wife in 2014 after years of armed attacks and death threats from pro-government colectivos over his political reporting, produced political analysis of Latin America in the U.S. alongside exiled journalist Patricia Poleo. An immigration judge granted him deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture in 2024, barring his return to Venezuela. Under a February 2025 DHS directive to re-detain people with CAT protections for third-country removal, ICE took him into custody on July 14, 2025, and over six months transferred him between 12 detention facilities, holding him in shackles for up to 25 hours and in rooms so cramped detainees took turns lying down. Agents tried to push him across the border at Tijuana in December 2025, then tried to force him onto a plane to Venezuela at Arizona's Mesa Gateway airport until a U.S. Marshal intervened. On January 26, 2026, four armed agents at the Nogales port of entry told him "they'll deport you with punches if it's necessary"; he refused to sign the removal notice but was forced onto a Mexican bus and arrived at Tapachula's Siglo XXI migration center on January 28, where deportees were given ten days to seek refugee status or leave Mexico. He later won permission to travel to Mexico City, where he applied for refugee status and launched a sports journalism platform while his wife, seven-year-old son, and ten-year-old daughter remain in Miami. As of September 2026, he remains in Mexico still awaiting resolution of his case, which is among roughly 20,000 third-country removals to Mexico carried out under the policy. "I need to find a way to guarantee stability for my family, for my kids," he said.

Javier Gimenez Rivero is a high school student from Venezuela living in Orange County with a pending asylum claim and valid U.S. Employment Authorization. He was arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol and held in Orange County Jail for 18 days without criminal charges, a notice to appear, a warrant, a hearing, or written notice of the basis for his detention, according to a federal judge's order. His attorneys, Phillip and Josephine Arroyo, say Rivero is devastated and traumatized. A federal judge ordered his release, stating "In this country, we don't enforce the law by breaking the law," and found numerous constitutional violations in his detention. Rivero now has a hearing scheduled for 2028 to review his asylum claim.

A protester was arrested outside an Orlando ICE facility during a rally against mass deportation after placing their hand on a vehicle at the facility's entrance. Witnesses reported law enforcement tackled and arrested the protester. The demonstration was related to concerns over ICE's authority to enter homes without judicial warrants.

On August 23, 2025, about 40 people gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center to protest ICE raids. Jessica Ramirez Vasquez, a social worker and community volunteer, was detained after using a bullhorn during the protest. Officers fired pepper balls and rubber bullets at the crowd. Jessica was arrested and charged with felony assault on a federal officer. Livestream video documented the incident.

A Honduran national was arrested for larceny on January 14, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Florida. ICE issued a detention order the same day. After criminal charges were dismissed on March 12, 2026, he was taken into ICE custody despite being scheduled for release. He has been detained at Golden State Annex in California since March 20, 2026, with a pending asylum case. The court granted his habeas petition, finding he was wrongfully denied a bond hearing and ordered ICE to provide one within 14 days or release him immediately.

Jose 'Joey' Martinez, a U.S. citizen and Coast Guard veteran, was detained by CBP officers aboard a Carnival Cruise Lines ship in Miami after his name matched that of someone with outstanding warrants, despite other identifying information not aligning. He was forcefully removed from his stateroom while sleeping, handcuffed, and held in an immigration cell until he could verify his identity with official documents. His wife, Tamara Verhas, was tackled by agents who confiscated her phone to stop her from recording, and the couple was later forced to delete photos and video of the incident. Martinez was eventually released without charges, compensation, or an apology. Carnival Cruise Lines reportedly knew of the name issue but did not inform him before the ship's arrival.

A Cuban citizen who entered the U.S. through the CBP-1 Application in January 2025 was arrested for a moving traffic violation in Miami-Dade County, Florida on January 6, 2026, and subsequently transferred to ICE custody. He was later detained at California City Detention Facility in California. The court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered the government to provide him with an individualized bond hearing within 14 days.

Angel Camacho, a Venezuelan asylum seeker with temporary protected status and a valid work permit, was arrested by Border Patrol agents at a Dania Beach station on January 6, 2025, despite being cleared and approved to perform IT work there. Camacho is married to a U.S. citizen, has American-born children, and was in the process of applying for permanent residency at the time of his detention. He spent 30 days detained at an Everglades detention facility before being released on bond.

Sam Rivera, who held an asylum visa, was detained by ICE for nine months starting in January before being released. Before his detention, he had built a small home renovation business in South Florida, but during his time in custody his business collapsed, his car was repossessed, and he lost the tools he used for work. He was also transferred to a detention facility in California, far from his home and community, and now faces $10,000 in immigration legal fees as he tries to rebuild his business and life.

Malik Velimetov, 21, born in Turkmenistan but raised in Key West, was taken into custody by US Border Patrol on December 28, 2025, while traveling with his family on US 1 in Marathon. He was detained for a month at Florida's immigration detention center in the Everglades due to his pending asylum case and was released with an electronic monitor. His family, including his parents and 17-year-old sister, were also taken into custody and separated from him.

Jose Gonzalez, a 53-year-old Mexican national who worked as a maitre d' at an upscale Palm Beach restaurant for 20 years, was detained on December 10 during a traffic stop and held at Alligator Alcatraz detention facility. Gonzalez was transferred to Krome Detention Center on December 22. He had a pending asylum application and valid work permit at the time of his detention.

The Miccosukee Tribe is pursuing legal challenges against the "Alligator Alcatraz" immigrant detention facility in the Everglades, arguing that Florida's acceptance of $608 million in federal funds for the facility strengthens their case. The Tribe contends the facility was constructed unlawfully on public lands without required environmental review and poses risks to their 11 villages and the fragile ecosystem. Multiple lawsuits have been filed opposing the detention center, including claims regarding inadequate legal access for detainees and lack of federal authority for state operation.

A 20-year-old from Guatemala who received legal status in 2022 under the child separation settlement was arrested by ICE agents at a gas station in December 2025. He was detained in Florida before being transferred to Louisiana. On December 18, 2025, despite ACLU lawyers emailing Department of Justice officials to contend that an existing court order should prevent his deportation, Homeland Security placed him on a flight to Guatemala.