Human Impact Project

John Bol Ajak, a 26-year-old former Syracuse University basketball player, was taken into ICE custody in early March 2026 following his arrest in Syracuse on charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. His student visa had expired in 2023 after his graduation. He was held at Buffalo Federal Detention Facility and Moshannon Valley Processing Center for over a month. During a virtual hearing with Elizabeth Immigration Court in New Jersey on April 2-3, 2026, an immigration judge found that Ajak had overstayed his visa. Ajak agreed to voluntary deportation to South Sudan and was scheduled for removal within 60 days.

Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a 56-year-old nearly blind Rohingya refugee from Myanmar who spoke little English and relied on a cane to walk, was released from Erie County jail on February 19, 2026, after Border Patrol agents determined he was ineligible for deportation. Agents dropped him off at a Tim Hortons north of Buffalo without notifying his family or attorney. Surveillance footage contradicted DHS claims that the location was safe and open, showing the store was closed except for its drive-thru. Alam went missing for several days before his body was found on February 24 near KeyBank Center, about four miles from where he was left. Local officials ruled his death a homicide, caused by complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer worsened by hypothermia and dehydration. Governor Kathy Hochul later cited his death as an example of harm caused by federal immigration enforcement.

Rafael Concepcion, a Syracuse University professor, developed DEICER, a crowdsourced mapping app that alerts users to ICE activity and agent locations. After the app gained 30,000 users, the Department of Justice pressured Apple to remove it from the App Store in October 2025. Concepcion lost his university job and received death threats but continued developing modified versions of the tool.

Carlos Corte-Corte was arrested on March 28, 2026, after leading a four-year-old child out of a laundromat in Patchogue, New York; the child was found at a nearby library. ICE arrested him on March 31 and initiated removal proceedings. According to DHS, Corte-Corte illegally entered the U.S. at least four times since 2020, with three prior removals. He was charged with second-degree kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child.

A Dominican Republic native with an approved juvenile immigrant visa was detained by ICE on January 16, 2026, while traveling to work in Syracuse after being stopped by agents at a work site. He was held at detention facilities in Batavia and Louisiana, including Jackson Parish Correctional Center, for approximately nine weeks, during which he experienced illness including fever, sore throat and muscle aches. With support from his Syracuse community, including All Saints Catholic Church members who raised money and wrote letters on his behalf, he was released on bond with an ankle monitor on March 18, 2026; a stranger named Alexandra helped him resolve an issue with his withheld passport so he could fly home. He returned to Syracuse to reunite with his family, including his infant son.

Andrei Bankevich, a Belarusian asylum seeker who had been granted relief from deportation to Belarus under the Convention Against Torture, was arrested on a drunken driving charge in Minnesota in February 2025 and transferred into ICE custody. After ICE detention facilities filled during Operation Metro Surge, he was moved to the Muscatine County Jail in Iowa in December 2025, where he was held for more than a year despite officials lacking legal authority to continue detaining him. ICE claimed it had been pursuing potential third-country removal options since September 2025 but provided no documentation to support this. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger ruled that ICE had detained Bankevich beyond the six-month legal limit, violating federal law and his due process rights, calling the detention "prolonged and seemingly interminable" and "untenable," and ordered his immediate release.

Jiaye You, a fourth-year Chinese-American student at University at Buffalo, was arrested by ICE after attending a routine immigration hearing in New York City and is currently held at Jackson Parish Correctional Center in Louisiana. The reason for his detention remains unclear. His professor has launched a GoFundMe campaign that has raised over $24,000 for legal fees, and the university has expressed support for his case.

Alvaro Velasquez, a high school senior at Roosevelt Schools in Nassau County, New York, was detained by ICE in May 2025 weeks before graduation. He was held at a detention center in Texas for several months before self-deporting to Guatemala. Superintendent Dr. Shawn Wightman traveled to Guatemala at his own expense to deliver Velasquez's cap, gown, and diploma in person after being denied access to him at the detention facility.

Rafael Rubio, a New York City Council data analyst, was ordered deported to Venezuela by a federal immigration judge after being detained by ICE for more than two months. The judge deemed Rubio's asylum application abandoned due to a missing signature on paperwork. Rubio had overstayed a 2017 tourist visa. According to DHS, he has a prior arrest for assault.

Five Venezuelan construction workers with valid work permits were detained by federal immigration authorities on March 6-7 while working on Buffalo Bills stadium construction. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, two of the men crossed the border illegally and three overstayed their visas. All five are being held at Batavia Federal Detention Facility awaiting removal hearings.

A Guatemalan national who entered the U.S. on a Visa Waiver Program is detained by ICE and challenging his mandatory civil detention through a federal habeas corpus petition. He has a child in the United States, lives with the mother of his child, has resided at the same address for several years, and has construction employment. He was arrested following what his counsel characterizes as a selective, racially targeted ICE field operation. His only cited criminal history involves two alcohol-related driving matters: a November 2023 plea to driving while ability impaired (classified as a traffic infraction under New York law) resulting in a conditional discharge, $300 fine, and 90-day license suspension, and an earlier dismissed and sealed matter. The Immigration Judge found him a danger and flight risk and set no bond. He seeks immediate release pending adjudication of his habeas petition and asylum claim, proposing strict conditions including a $10,000 cash posting, driver's license surrender, absolute driving prohibition, home detention or curfew, and alcohol treatment and testing.

Irvi Cruz, an undocumented Mexican national married to Rachel, a U.S. citizen public school teacher, decided to self-deport to Mexico with their two U.S.-born daughters after the 2024 presidential election. Despite building a life in New York over nearly two decades, including home ownership and stable employment, the family chose to leave voluntarily due to the political climate and deportation threats. Irvi departed first in early 2025 before Trump took office, with Rachel and the girls planning to follow after the school year.

Kamal Morales, a 40-year-old counselor at Community Healthcare Network's South Bronx HIV clinic, was detained during a routine immigration check-in and deported to Venezuela after 12 years in the U.S., despite having no criminal record and consistently attending required appointments. Morales had fled Venezuela in 2019, was detained for 11 months, denied asylum, and later released on parole, remaining at risk after Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans ended. He married his husband, U.S. citizen Miguel Garcia, and the couple fought his case together. Federal Judge Michael J. McShane ruled that Morales' re-detention lacked legal basis and ordered the government to show cause by April 7, but immigration authorities deported him before responding, according to Garcia and court documents. His South Bronx community rallied behind him following the deportation.

Jin Hao Zhang, 56, who ran the China Moon restaurant on Main Street in Camden for nearly 20 years, was detained by ICE agents in June 2025. Reports indicate Zhang entered the U.S. on a fraudulent visa in 1990, and an immigration court judge ordered him to leave the country in 2000, but he remained for 25 years. His detention forced the restaurant's closure. Zhang was held at an ICE facility in Batavia for eight months before winning an appeal and being released, returning home to his family in March 2026.

Hugo Leonel Ardon Osorio, a Guatemalan immigrant who worked as a truck driver and construction worker at Marcello Masonry on Shelter Island for over 20 years, was detained by ICE agents on February 4, 2026, at approximately 6:30 a.m. while commuting to work at the North Ferry terminal in Greenport. He had no criminal background and was the primary breadwinner for his wife and newborn daughter. During his 23-day detention, Ardon Osorio was held first at a facility in New Jersey for three days, then transferred to a holding facility at 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan, where he was chained by wrists and ankles in an extremely overcrowded room and described the conditions as "really bad." His employer, Bobby Marcello, hired an attorney and described him as "a stand-up guy in every respect" who was deeply integrated in the community, even caring for his boss's children when needed. Community members and OLA of Eastern Long Island organized fundraising efforts to support his family during detention. Ardon Osorio was released in March and returned to work at Marcello Masonry.

Maykel and his five cousins were detained in shelter facilities for four months after trekking hundreds of miles to reunite with their mother Maria. Under Trump administration rules, the children remained in detention despite their parent being available to care for them. Families across New York and the country are using habeas corpus petitions as a legal tool to challenge prolonged detentions of unaccompanied minors.

Elaina Aghayeva, an Azerbaijani national and senior neuroscience researcher at Columbia University, was detained by Department of Homeland Security agents at a university residential building on February 26-27, 2026. DHS agents entered without a warrant and falsely claimed to be searching for a missing child. DHS stated Aghayeva's student visa had been terminated in 2016 for failing to attend classes, though her attorney and the university stated she was a current student in good standing. After approximately nine hours in custody, Aghayeva was released following intervention by NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who met with President Trump regarding the case. Aghayeva's attorney filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court, and the detention prompted student protests at Columbia University.

Elmina Aghayeva, a senior at Columbia University's School of General Studies from Azerbaijan, was detained by federal immigration agents who entered her university-owned residence by falsely posing as New York police officers, according to university officials. University security who asked to see a warrant were turned away, and Aghayeva texted fellow students for help before posting on Instagram that agents were trying to take her away. She filed a habeas corpus petition in the Southern District of New York and was released from custody the same afternoon. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani reportedly raised her case with President Trump, who called to say she would be freed. DHS said her student visa had been revoked a decade earlier for failing to attend classes and that she has been placed in removal proceedings. Aghayeva later posted that she was "safe and okay."

Rep. Dan Goldman requested information from the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons regarding the treatment of over 191 ICE detainees at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Goldman raised concerns about inadequate medical care, barriers to legal counsel, and delays in court appearances, noting he had been denied access for inspections previously.

Cary López Alvarado, a U.S. citizen from Hawthorne, California, was arrested by ICE agents while nine months pregnant as she exited immigration court in New York City alongside her husband, a Guatemalan immigrant. Agents held her overnight and released her only after confirming her citizenship status. Footage of the arrest shows agents restraining her hands behind her back, despite guidance against physically restraining pregnant individuals. Immediately after release, she experienced sharp stomach pains and gave birth days later. Her husband has since been deported, leaving her without income and relying on family to help care for her newborn. Alvarado has filed a claim seeking $1 million in damages from Border Patrol and ICE, citing unlawful arrest and unconstitutional conduct.