Human Impact Project

The Guardian's investigation found at least 10 cases since January 2025 in which ICE subjected detained immigrants to involuntary force-feeding through nasogastric tubes. Three cases are detailed: an Afghan man force-fed daily for nearly six months at Port Isabel in Texas starting September 2025, after a federal judge ordered the treatment eight days into his hunger strike without a hearing or his input; a Ukrainian man with severe bipolar disorder, whose attorney intervened to stop his force-feeding at Krome Service processing center in Miami after 44 days on hunger strike; and a Saudi Arabian woman who went on hunger strike in Louisiana in June 2025 and was transferred to Texas, where ICE sought permission to force-feed her before she broke her strike. A doctor overseeing the Afghan man's case described him as frail and using a wheelchair after months without food, said he was restrained by a use-of-force team during feedings, and called the continued treatment "medically necessary." In six of the 10 cases reviewed, detained immigrants lacked legal representation during court proceedings.

Paola Vanessa Prieto Valles was detained by ICE, creating emotional and financial hardship for her family. Described as a caring family member and dear friend, her absence has deeply affected those who love and depend on her. Her family is raising funds to cover legal representation, court-related expenses, communication costs, and other essential needs during her detention.

Erick Lopez, a 29-year-old Honduran citizen with no criminal record, was stopped by Houston police for a traffic violation on June 17, 2026. According to his lawsuit, officers detained him for more than two hours after the traffic stop, prolonging it until ICE agents arrived to take him into custody. Lopez, who worked in tile and flooring and was supporting a girlfriend and her two children, was deported to Honduras on June 27. He has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against the City of Houston alleging that police violated his constitutional rights by unlawfully extending the traffic stop solely to facilitate his arrest by federal immigration agents, and seeking damages and an injunction against the practice.

A Guardian investigation found that ICE officials attempted to subject at least 10 hunger strikers in immigrant detention to involuntary medical procedures, including force-feeding, between 2025 and 2026. At least three detainees were definitely force-fed and two more probably underwent the procedure, while five others ended their strikes before it began; one Kurdish asylum seeker at Port Isabel Service Processing Center in Texas was force-fed for eight months, and another detainee there for six months. In six of the cases reviewed, the detainees had no legal representation, and judges reportedly issued the required emergency court orders quickly, before immigrants could object. DHS disputes reports of abuse and maintains detainees receive adequate care, while Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin dismissed the hunger strikes as involving only a “handful” of detainees protesting over food preferences.

Curtis Wright, a 40-year-old Edmonton-born permanent resident who moved to Houston as a child and worked in the oil and gas industry, was detained by ICE at a Houston-area airport in November 2025 after returning from a work trip to Mexico. Authorities cited a drug possession conviction from when he was 17, involving Xanax tablets found in a car he was in, for which he had already completed community service. During nearly nine months in detention across several Texas facilities, including the South Texas ICE Processing Centre, Wright described freezing cells, contaminated water, poor food, and being denied medication for a chronic condition. His attorney pursued appeals and a habeas corpus request, but a judge ultimately ordered his deportation, and Wright gave up further legal fights. His fiancée Kayla Thomsen said their toddler daughter learned to walk during his absence, while his two older sons, ages 8 and 11, remained in Texas with their mother. Wright was deported to Canada and is now staying with his parents in Kelowna, B.C., planning an eventual move to Edmonton.

Elton Purvis, a 55-year-old legal permanent resident from Trinidad and Tobago, Rastafarian priest, and father of nine U.S. citizen children, was detained by ICE at Boston Logan International Airport on May 13, 2025, while returning home for his sons' graduation ceremonies. A community fixture for more than 30 years, Purvis had Type 1 diabetes and was suffering from malaria upon arrival; he says ICE agents ignored his malaria symptoms for 12 days and confiscated his prescription diabetes and malaria medications. During roughly seven months in detention, mostly at the Geo Group-run South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, Purvis filed over 100 grievances, was found unresponsive in his cell at least three times, and was hospitalized multiple times for dangerously low blood sugar. Staff allegedly refused to accommodate his strict vegetarian, lactose-free diet required for religious and medical reasons, forcing him to eat leftover cornbread and filter dirty water himself. Purvis said he begged guards for help as he experienced shortness of breath, dizziness and hallucinations. He was deported to Trinidad and Tobago on December 6, 2025, and the ACLU Foundation of Texas filed a $10 million federal tort claim on his behalf, part of a nationwide effort that has filed more than 50 claims across 17 states and Washington, D.C. alleging medical and food neglect in immigration detention.

Arnoldo Bazan, a 16-year-old U.S. citizen and tenth grader at Alief Hastings High School in Houston, was beaten and placed in a chokehold by masked federal immigration agents on October 23, 2025, while riding with his father to school near Gessner Road and Beechnut Street. Agents in an unmarked vehicle chased the pair into a restaurant-supply store, slammed his father, Arnulfo Bazan Carrillo, an immigrant from Michoacán, to the ground, and restrained Arnoldo despite his telling them he was a minor and a U.S. citizen; bystander video captured the incident, and he was also subjected to racial slurs. Arnoldo suffered bruises and welts consistent with choking, required treatment, and was held for several hours before being released to family, including a sister who helps care for him. His father, who had a prior deportation and a misdemeanor DWI conviction, was intimidated into signing a voluntary departure form according to immigrant rights group FIEL Houston, and was deported to Reynosa, Mexico. ICE disputed the abuse allegations, claiming Arnoldo elbowed an agent and that Arnulfo rammed a federal vehicle and fled. Arnoldo later testified before Congress about the incident, and ProPublica cited the case as one of more than 40 instances of agents using banned chokeholds and restrictive moves.

Emely Charloth Suaza Chambo, a 16-year-old student at Churchill High School in San Antonio, was detained by ICE while on her way to church. ICE agents told her father, Fernando Suaza Ortiz, who was employed at the Hilton Garden Inn, to pick her up or she would be sent out of state. When he arrived at the location to collect his daughter, he was also taken into ICE custody. Both have pending asylum cases and are being held at the Dilley detention facility in Texas. Congressman Joaquin Castro shared their story on social media.

Mario Alfonso Rivera Santiago, detained at Rio Grande Processing Center in Laredo, Texas, filed a pro se Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 against the Department of Homeland Security and the Warden of Rio Grande Detention Center. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ordered respondents to submit their response by August 7, 2026, with Rivera Santiago able to reply by August 21, 2026. The court also ordered respondents to notify it at least five days before any anticipated transfer or removal of Rivera Santiago outside the Southern District of Texas.

An immigrant detained at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, Texas filed a habeas corpus petition. The court ordered respondents to provide information about when the petitioner entered the United States, whether the petitioner was previously apprehended and released by immigration authorities, and the status of the petitioner's immigration and removal proceedings. The court ordered respondents to file a response within 7 days of electronic service.

Darisbell Paola Quintero Morillo, a Venezuelan asylum seeker with a pending case, was detained by ICE on April 23, 2026, while attending a scheduled check-in at the Dallas ICE Field Office, despite complying with immigration requirements. She had entered the U.S. in April 2021 with her husband Gilbert Vicent, fleeing political persecution in Venezuela. She was transferred to Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, where a medical evaluation revealed she was pregnant. While detained, she reported inadequate nutrition, poor food quality, and insufficient medical care, and repeatedly requested attention for pregnancy complications. Her attorney filed a federal court petition and emergency motion for her release on parole, citing her compliance history and lack of criminal record, but the judge denied the motion. She later miscarried while in custody, and after a doctor informed her of the miscarriage at the hospital, ICE officers cuffed her ankles to the hospital bed.

Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego, 51, a Mexican citizen who has lived in the U.S. since 1998, was riding as a passenger in a van driven by his boss, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, when an ICE officer fatally shot Salgado Araujo during a traffic stop in Houston's Magnolia Park neighborhood on July 7, 2026. Rojas Pliego has no criminal record and is in a common-law marriage with a U.S. citizen, with whom he has several children and stepchildren. He was detained without an individualized bond hearing at the Montgomery ICE Processing Center in Conroe, and in a sworn statement disputed ICE's account of the shooting, calling it "a lie." U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison ruled that his continued detention violated his due process rights and ordered his release, which occurred on July 29, 2026. Rojas Pliego has a pending U visa application as a crime victim and now wears an ankle monitor while his removal case proceeds.

A Nepali national filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus challenging the constitutionality of his detention in federal immigration custody. He is currently detained at the Rio Grande Processing Center. The petition names Miguel Vergara (ICE-ERO Field Office Director), Markwayne Mullin (Secretary of U.S. Department of Homeland Security), Todd Blanche (U.S. Attorney General), and the Warden of the Rio Grande Processing Center as respondents. On August 3, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ordered respondents to file a response to the petition by August 10, 2026, with evidence from his A-file. The court directed notification to the U.S. Attorney and ordered respondents to notify the court and his counsel of any planned transfer or release.

Diana Avila's 20-year-old brother, who has autism since childhood and is described as intelligent, generous, and a good student, was arrested by ICE during an ongoing legal process and transferred between states. He is currently detained in Texas, where he reports being denied blankets, medicine, and adequate food. He developed a stomach infection and is experiencing high fevers but says staff insults and threatens him when he requests medical care, pressuring him to sign deportation papers. His family is unable to afford legal representation and fears for his safety.

Aurora, 24, and her six-year-old daughter were detained by ICE and sent to a family detention center in Texas. The daughter had arrived at the U.S. border alone and spent more than six months in a child migrant shelter before reuniting with her mother in late March. The detention occurred after the Office of Refugee Resettlement shared information about unaccompanied children, their sponsors, and household members with ICE.

Sister Leticia Ugboaja, a 56-year-old Nigerian-born nun and registered nurse with the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy, was arrested by ICE agents on June 28, 2026, while walking to Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen, Texas to distribute Holy Communion at Mass. Despite being a legal resident with valid immigration status, a valid work permit, and having worked as a registered nurse at local Texas hospitals for more than a decade, Ugboaja was detained and transferred to an ICE detention facility in Raymondville, where she was not allowed to access needed medication. In 2019, a federal judge had denied her asylum request but granted her protection from removal to Nigeria under the Convention Against Torture, finding she would likely be tortured if returned. After parish officials and colleague Sister Norma Pimentel contacted local leaders, including U.S. Representatives Monica De La Cruz and Henry Cuellar, Ugboaja was released from ICE custody the same day. She was distraught upon release, and the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville and civil rights organizations called for an investigation into the detention.

Nepthalí Zozaya Saucedo and Cinthia Saraí Cardona Otero, assistant pastors at Comunidad Cristiana Emanuel Assemblies of God in Edinburg, Texas, were detained by ICE on July 23, 2026, at McAllen International Airport while traveling with their church to a marriage retreat hosted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association—their first trip away from their three U.S. citizen children. The couple, who have served the church for over a decade, said agents mocked them and pressured them to sign voluntary deportation papers by threatening to separate them from their children at a Border Patrol processing center. DHS said the pastors had overstayed a visa that expired in 2022, but church leaders and faith organizations, including the Assemblies of God and the Latino Christian National Network, disputed this, saying the couple held valid R-1 religious worker visas. They were released on Saturday, July 25, and spoke publicly during a Sunday worship service and press conference. They must report to ICE in person every six months and call in monthly while their immigration case proceeds before a judge.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican citizen who had lived in Houston for nearly 35 years and worked as a homebuilder, was fatally shot by an ICE agent on July 7, 2026, while driving his construction crew to a job site after federal agents in unmarked vehicles pursued him. He had no criminal record and was reportedly close to completing the process of obtaining legal status. DHS and ICE claimed he rammed an ICE vehicle and ignored commands and said without evidence that he was undocumented, but passengers in his van and his family dispute this, saying he was shot through the passenger window while parking with no officer in danger. The FBI suggested bags found in his van contained drugs, but the Harris County district attorney later said they did not; his family said the substance was salt. His sons said they learned of their father's death from a social media video rather than from authorities and later testified at a congressional hearing demanding accountability. His death came within 24 hours of ICE fatally shooting another man, Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, during a traffic stop in Maine, prompting DHS to briefly pause most ICE traffic stops before Trump ordered agents to resume the practice. The shooting also prompted sustained protests in Houston, diplomatic complaints from Mexico, and a Harris County grand jury investigation of the agent who fired.

José Arturo Vilchez, a Venezuelan national, was detained by police during a traffic stop in Austin, Texas and transferred to ICE. According to his sister, Vilchez was stopped while driving his daughter to a heart specialist appointment; the child was born with a heart condition. His sister stated that Vilchez has no prior legal problems, has never been a public charge, and even paid for his sister-in-law's delivery expenses. She characterized the stop as racially motivated and said the family is now without their primary source of support.

A group of construction workers was detained by ICE agents while working at a construction site in Brownsville, Texas. According to a video recorded by the work supervisor, ICE agents arrived at the location and asked about two specific people; when workers said they did not know who those people were, agents began detaining other workers. The person recording the video was also detained after approaching one of their coworkers who was being questioned by agents.