Human Impact Project

Heber Sánchez Domínguez, a 34-year-old day laborer from Las Choapas, Veracruz, Mexico, who had lived in the U.S. for two years, died while in ICE custody at the Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility in Georgia. He was arrested on January 7, 2026, for driving without a license following a traffic incident, then transferred to the detention facility days later. On January 14, after about a week in custody, guards found him unconscious with a rope around his neck; resuscitation attempts failed and he was pronounced dead. His cellmate said he had complained of feeling sick beforehand, and his family said he was never allowed to contact them after his arrest. His brother Feliciano said, "We want justice because they should have given him medical attention," while his 102-year-old mother, Catalina Sánchez Domínguez, expressed anguish over his death. The Mexican Consulate and Foreign Ministry have requested a transparent investigation, and his family disputes the suicide finding, demanding answers about his medical care. He is survived by a wife and two children.

Pauline Nadege Binam, 36, a Cameroonian woman who came to the U.S. at age 2 and identifies as queer, remains held at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, as of August 2026. Advocates Noël Heatherland and Timoria McQueen Saba recently visited her through a glass partition for about 40 minutes, describing her as exhausted but hopeful, and noting she has found some solace reading nearly a book a day and bonding with other detainees, including another Cameroonian woman. She remains separated from her 17-year-old U.S. citizen daughter and continues to fear seeking medical care after a doctor removed one of her fallopian tubes during an earlier detention at Irwin County Detention Center without her consent. Her attorney is pursuing a U visa tied to her cooperation with authorities after surviving domestic violence and may seek to reopen her removal case based on fears of persecution if returned to Cameroon.

Alma Bowman, a 59-year-old Macon resident, was detained by ICE on March 26, 2025, during a routine check-in and held at Stewart Detention Center for 243 days until her release in late November 2025. Bowman claims U.S. citizenship as the daughter of an American Navy serviceman and was born in the Philippines. ICE asserted she was in the country illegally. This was her second detention; she had previously been held for three years (2017-2020) at Irwin County Detention Center following criminal convictions deemed deportable offenses. During her detention, Bowman reported inadequate medical care and overcrowded conditions. Her attorney argued the prolonged detainment violated her constitutional rights, and her citizenship status remained legally disputed throughout her custody.

Chong Leng Vue, 45, a Hmong man who has lived in the United States for 44 years since arriving as an infant, was detained by ICE on October 16 at an immigration office in Atlanta after appearing for a routine appointment in response to a mailed notice. Vue was born stateless in a Thai refugee camp after his family fled persecution in Laos during the Secret War; he has no ties outside the U.S. and is the sole provider for his family of seven, all U.S. citizens. DHS cited his 2004 removal order related to prior assault and firearm convictions. Vue is currently held at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, where his wife reports cold conditions, limited access to showers and hygiene supplies, and difficulty communicating with family and attorneys. His wife said the detention has forced the family to withdraw their children from extracurricular activities and left them struggling financially.

More than 300 South Korean workers among 475 people detained in a September 4, 2025 immigration raid at the Hyundai-LG battery plant in Ellabell, Georgia have begun filing administrative claims against nine federal agencies, the first step toward a federal lawsuit. The claims note that the search warrant used to enter the plant named only four targets, who court records describe as Hispanic, not Korean. Workers, including a lead organizer identified only as Kim, allege they were shackled, denied interpreters, pressured to sign documents they could not read, and held for about a week in overcrowded, cold cells with limited food and sanitation at a detention facility in Folkston, Georgia. One worker, Ryu, said he lost nearly 10 pounds in custody, while another, Choi, said he has since returned to work at the same plant but wants a government apology; Hyundai and LG have publicly distanced themselves from the litigation.

Orlais Lores Mayeta, a Cuban national, was detained by federal officers near his home in Stockbridge, Georgia on August 2, and is being held at the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia. His wife, Kayla Lores Mayeta, a U.S. citizen who is five months pregnant, says the detention stems from a paperwork error in which their attorney submitted his Cuban Adjustment Act application to USCIS instead of the immigration court, despite his open immigration case. An immigration judge denied him bail, and his final hearing is set for September 30. Kayla says the detention has left her covering household, pregnancy, and legal expenses alone, and the family has launched a fundraising campaign for support.

Alma Bella Bowman, a Georgia resident and immigrants' rights activist, was released from Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, after ICE agreed to her release following eight months in custody. Bowman was detained on March 26, 2025, during a routine check-in at the ICE Atlanta Field Office and continues to press the U.S. government to recognize her as a citizen based on her father's Navy service. She previously exposed non-consensual gynecological procedures at Irwin County Detention Center from 2017 to 2020.

Juana McIntosh, a Guatemalan national and spouse of a U.S. Air Force member, was detained by ICE during a green card interview appointment at a USCIS office in Atlanta while her husband was deployed overseas. She had been granted Parole in Place as a military spouse and was in the process of adjusting her status when she was taken into custody based on a previous removal order from 2012.

Eduardo Guzman Garcia was pulled over in Henry County on July 9, 2025, for a broken brake light while driving his toddler to school, then taken to jail for driving without a license. The Henry County Sheriff's Office said it was required to notify Homeland Security after finding a DHS detainer on him, and ICE agents arrested him at the jail with a warrant; the Henry County Police Department said it never contacted ICE. His wife, Amanda Guzman, said he came to the U.S. from Mexico more than 20 years ago and has spent six years working through the immigration process toward a green card, with a final interview pending. He has remained at an ICE facility in Atlanta since July 11, 2025, leaving behind their three children and a fourth on the way, as Amanda manages a high-risk pregnancy.

A Spanish-language journalist known for documenting immigration raids was detained by ICE after being arrested by police during a weekend protest outside Atlanta. The journalist faces charges of obstructing officers and unlawful assembly while covering the protest and could face deportation proceedings.

On June 11, 2025, ICE agents coordinated with Chatham County police to conduct traffic stops targeting immigrant workers near a mobile home park outside Savannah. Eight immigrant laborers were apprehended during two traffic stops. Body camera footage reveals ICE agents proposing ongoing collaboration with local police, with one agent offering to respond to future stops.

Ximena Arias-Cristobal, a 19-year-old Dalton State Community College student, was arrested on May 5 after a traffic stop for an improper turn on red and driving without a license. Police dashcam footage later revealed the officer had stopped the wrong vehicle—a black pickup truck committed the violation, not Arias-Cristobal's dark gray truck. Though local charges were dropped, she remains in ICE custody at Stewart Detention Center facing deportation proceedings.

Abelardo Avellaneda Delgado, a 68-year-old construction worker who had lived in the United States for 40 years, died on May 5, 2025, while being transported from Lowndes County Jail to Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. The coroner suspected an aortic aneurysm as the cause of death, though the exact cause remained under investigation. According to his family, Delgado had no prior health conditions but was placed in a wheelchair during his detention and given medications he had never taken before. He had been detained multiple times since 1979 as an undocumented immigrant.

Jessica Flores Marin, 44, a mother of three who has lived in the United States for 22 years, was detained by ICE on April 13 near her family's home in Georgia. She was taken into custody while an ongoing T visa application was being processed. Her detention came after an immigration judge denied her motion to reopen a decades-old deportation order from 2004.

Wilson Rogelio Velasquez Cruz, a Honduran asylum seeker, was detained by ICE agents in the parking lot of Iglesia Fuente de Vida church while attending Sunday service with his wife, Kenia Colindres, and their three children. Velasquez Cruz had fled gang violence in Honduras with his family in 2022, held a valid five-year work permit, and worked six days a week at a tire shop while awaiting a future asylum court date. He had been wearing a GPS ankle monitor since filing for asylum, which began buzzing as ICE agents called his phone before they apprehended him and placed him in a vehicle in front of his wife. His wife expressed concern about the family's future, saying he would be transferred to Stewart Detention Center and faced deportation without the ability to appeal to a judge.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers pulled over a father traveling with his children in Douglasville, Georgia. Officers instructed the father to contact his wife, and the family initially believed he was the target of enforcement action. However, when the wife arrived at the scene, authorities detained her instead.