Human Impact Project

Carlos Della Valle, a Mexican national and long-term resident of Chester County, Pennsylvania, was detained by ICE in December 2024 after being arrested at an airport in St. Thomas while on family vacation. He was held across 12 different detention facilities, including centers in Louisiana and Florida, and reported inhumane conditions during his confinement. Despite claiming a judge had declared him not guilty, Della Valle was detained under a 1997 deportation order. His wife Angela, a U.S. citizen, and supporters rallied for his release. He was released in late April 2026 after 258 days in custody and returned to his home in Chester County.

Masked federal agents detained at least six workers outside the Hilltop Community Children's Center in Pittsburgh's Knoxville neighborhood on the morning of May 6, 2026. The operation occurred in a parking lot across the street from the daycare while parents were dropping off children at a nearby elementary school. Daycare staff used whistles and a toy drum to alert neighbors. Three of the detained workers, employed by a local roofing company, were subsequently released; several others remained in custody.

ICE agents raided OK Service, a gutter company in Mount Oliver, Pennsylvania, on the morning of May 6, 2026, detaining six workers at a job site. Surveillance video captured employees running as agents chased them near the work location. The business owner stated that the workers had documentation showing they were in the immigration process, with at least one holding a valid green card. At least three of the detained workers were released within hours of the detention. Immigration agents detained at least six or seven employees at OK Service LLC, a roofing and construction company in Pittsburgh's Knoxville neighborhood, in an apparent ICE raid on Tuesday. Video showed masked agents detaining workers in the parking lot across from Hilltop Community Children's Center, causing a chaotic scene. Three of the detained workers were subsequently released. ICE officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ian Hill, a Springdale resident protesting the borough's ICE partnership, was confronted by a passing ICE supporter who stopped his car; the supporter punched a different protester while video showed Hill neither striking nor being struck. Nearly three months later, Hill was charged with simple assault and terroristic threats over social media posts, but all charges were later dropped.

A Carnegie man with valid work authorization was taken into custody by ICE. A local congressman investigated the detention and confirmed the man's valid work authorization status at the time of arrest. A federal judge subsequently granted the man a bond hearing.

A vigil titled "Disappeared in Berks" was held at the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Reading to commemorate 75 immigrants discharged from Berks County Jail to ICE between March 2025 and March 2026. Seventy-five pairs of empty shoes were displayed to represent those taken. The event featured testimonies including a letter from Gladis Garzon about her husband Carlos Gonzalo, who has been in ICE custody for eight months after being transferred from the county jail, and has been moved between detention facilities in multiple states.

A federal judge in Philadelphia ordered the Trump administration to pay nearly $40,000 in legal fees to an immigrant who sued ICE over its attempt to require him to wear an ankle monitor. U.S. District Judge Kai N. Scott found that ICE's actions were unlawful and that the agency offered no factual basis to justify requiring the monitor as the man's immigration case proceeded. The man, identified only by his initials N.N., had been released on bond by an immigration judge who determined he was neither a safety nor flight risk.

Ulugbek Badalov, held at Philadelphia Federal Detention Center, filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus challenging his mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225. On April 27, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted his petition, finding he was not subject to mandatory detention. The court ordered Badalov's immediate release from custody and temporarily enjoined the government from re-detaining him for seven days. If the government seeks to re-detain Badalov after the seven-day period, it must first provide him with a bond hearing before a neutral immigration judge to determine whether detention is warranted pending resolution of his removal proceedings.

William 'Danny' Rosenmund, a Springdale resident who regularly spoke at borough council meetings, was forcefully pulled from the podium and taken to the ground by Springdale police during an April 21 public meeting. He had repeatedly questioned the borough's 287(g) agreement with ICE and criticized officials for approving it without a public vote.

William "Danny" Rosenmund, a library board member, was arrested at a Springdale Borough Council meeting on April 21 while speaking about the borough's 287(g) agreement with ICE. He was charged with two counts of aggravated assault and five misdemeanors after exceeding his three-minute speaking time and continuing to speak after being ordered to stop. The county's acting chief public defender called the charges "inappropriate" and said he would push for them to be dropped or reduced.

Nearly 100 detainees at Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County launched a hunger strike between April 16-19, 2026, to protest detention conditions and medical care. The strike began after a detainee became ill with influenza on April 16, with 50-70 detainees in the same housing pod initially refusing an evening meal due to food contamination concerns. Advocacy groups reported that detainees were protesting unsafe living conditions, including contaminated food, inadequate medical care, and staff indifference to medical emergencies, with reports of a recent medical emergency in which a detainee lost consciousness without receiving proper care. Advocacy group Frontline DIGNITY called for the facility's shutdown and independent investigation. Clearfield County commissioners met with GEO Group leadership, the facility operator, to address the incident.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained two Bhutanese refugees from Central Pennsylvania over the weekend. Both men are permanent residents on a path to U.S. citizenship. The detentions are part of an ongoing pattern where the Trump administration is deporting Bhutanese refugees back to Bhutan, which then re-deports them to India without travel documents, leaving them stateless.

Bruno Guedes da Silva, a Brazilian man who fled to the U.S. in 2022 seeking asylum, was detained by ICE agents in Sewickley, Pennsylvania on February 21, 2026, despite possessing valid work authorization, a Social Security number, and a driver's license. ICE cited a warrant for felony charges related to firearms and falsification of documents, though those criminal charges were later dropped related to allegedly lying about his immigration status on a firearm purchase application in July 2024. His 6-year-old daughter, Maria, began chemotherapy treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma shortly after his detention. Da Silva was held at Northern Regional Jail in Moundsville, West Virginia, until a judge granted him bond on immigration charges in April 2026, allowing him to reunite with his daughter.

On April 4, 2026, ICE agents arrested 13 undocumented individuals from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan at a PennDOT driver's license center in Kittanning, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. A website error had directed individuals seeking commercial driver's license renewals to the facility, resulting in an unusually large crowd of over 100 people. East Franklin Police received reports of the gathering and contacted ICE. During the operation, multiple people fled the scene, some abandoning vehicles and running through residential yards to evade agents. One person resisted arrest and allegedly assaulted a law enforcement officer. PennDOT stated it follows federal law and uses the SAVE database to verify legal presence for license applicants.

A 76-year-old Indonesian father was detained by ICE agents outside the Philadelphia Criminal Justice Center on April 7 while attempting to drop assault charges against his 47-year-old son in court. The father was released shortly after his detention, but his son remained in immigration detention over two weeks later. The incident has raised concerns among advocates about immigrants risking deportation when participating in the justice system. Advocates have called for restrictions on ICE activity at the courthouse, where dozens of immigrants have been arrested in the past 15 months.

A man detained under immigration law filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus challenging his detention. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted his petition on April 7, 2026. The court ordered respondents to immediately release him from custody and return all personal belongings and identification documents confiscated during his detention. The court enjoined respondents from detaining him for seven days following his release based on 8 U.S.C. §§ 1225 or 1226. If the government seeks to detain him after seven days, it must provide a bond hearing within 48 hours or his remedy will recur. The petitioner may submit a motion for attorney fees within 60 days of the order.

Subramanyam "Subu" Vedam, a 64-year-old legal permanent resident from India, won an immigration hearing to remain in the United States after his 1980 murder conviction was vacated in 2024 following over 43 years in prison. Immigration Judge Adam Panopoulos ruled that Vedam's lengthy wrongful imprisonment, spotless prison record, and demonstrated rehabilitation outweighed prior drug convictions from the early 1980s, finding he poses no danger to the community and possesses good moral character. Vedam had been taken into ICE custody after his conviction was dismissed and was days away from naturalized citizenship when the deportation case was heard.

Subramanyam "Subu" Vedam, 64, spent over 40 years in prison after a 1983 first-degree murder conviction that was vacated in August 2025 when prosecutors were found to have withheld ballistics evidence. Upon his conviction being overturned, ICE detained him based on a longstanding deportation order tied to a prior drug-related conviction. On April 1, 2026, an immigration judge ruled that Vedam could remain in the United States, citing his personal transformation during incarceration, including academic study and mentoring nieces he came to know only while behind bars. His sister testified in support of him staying, and Vedam said in a statement he was grateful for the support of his family and friends. DHS has until May 4 to appeal the decision, and Vedam must still file a bond request for release from custody.

Nine clergy members and one immigration activist were arrested on Monday morning while blocking the ICE headquarters garage in Center City Philadelphia as part of a "Week of Action Against ICE and Collaborators." Homeland Security officers forcibly removed the protesters from the garage doors and took them into custody around 9:45 a.m. All were charged with obstructing access to the garage under federal security infrastructure rules and issued violation notices requiring $530 in penalties or a federal court appearance.

Charles Wongso, an Indonesian national and longtime Philadelphia resident, was detained by ICE on December 11, 2025, while leaving for work. He was initially held at Philadelphia Federal Detention Center before being transferred to Moshannon ICE detention facility. His adult children, Jacqueline and Johnson, have been fighting to have his case reopened through proper legal channels, arguing ICE is attempting to proceed with deportation without following due process for the motion to reopen. As of March 27, 2026, his stay of removal was denied. The family is filing a Mandamus Injunction to stop the deportation and prevent a 10-year reentry ban, and has sought community support for the case.