Human Impact Project

Salah Sarsour, 53, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee and a lawful permanent resident for over 32 years, was detained by ICE on March 30, 2026, after armed plainclothes agents pulled him over in unmarked vehicles near Milwaukee. He is married to a U.S. citizen, has six U.S. citizen children, and has no U.S. criminal record. DHS alleged he lied on his 1998 green card application by omitting convictions from an Israeli military court when he was a minor, which Sarsour says were coerced under torture, and also alleged he was suspected of funding terror organizations. He was held 80 days at Clay County Jail in Indiana, where his unmonitored diabetes worsened, he faced religious liberty restrictions and inadequate medical care, and lost over 30 pounds. His attorneys, including the Muslim Legal Fund of America, argued he was targeted for his Palestinian background and advocacy, noting authorities had known of his prior convictions for 25 years. On June 18, 2026, U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon ordered his release, finding ICE likely detained him in retaliation for his Palestinian rights advocacy. Despite this, an immigration judge later ruled in September that Sarsour can be deported under a cold-war era law, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio citing his activism as grounds for removal; his attorneys plan to continue fighting the case.

Jaciel Cirrus Rojas, a Mexican national and Chatino-language speaker from rural Oaxaca, came to Racine in 2018 to reunite with his brother. In June 2025, ICE agents arrived at his home searching for a prior tenant and detained him as "collateral" despite no prior criminal convictions or civil citations. Held at Dodge County jail for nine months and separated from his partner and child, Rojas filed for asylum citing fear of torture if returned to Mexico. His attorney Jennifer Bizzotto challenged his detention through a federal habeas petition. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in his favor on July 31, 2026, rejecting the Trump administration's mandatory detention policy and allowing detainees like Rojas to seek bond hearings in immigration court.

ICE conducted enforcement operations at two laundromats in southern Madison on Tuesday, July 3, 2026, detaining five people total—three at the Fish Hatchery Road location and two at the Todd Drive location (Little Big Load Laundromat). According to laundromat owners Roger and Nancy Hansen, one detainee was bloodied after being slammed to the floor during the operation. The apprehension at Todd Drive occurred just after 1:45 p.m., with witnesses reporting two or three unidentified men were taken. Madison police reviewed video of the apprehension but were not requested to respond or informed of the operation by ICE. The detentions were part of a broader series of ICE enforcement operations across Wisconsin, with at least 10 people detained in the Madison area and 39 arrested statewide.

Galo Suárez, a Nicaraguan asylum seeker, was arrested on S. 13th Street on Milwaukee's South Side when unmarked ICE vehicles boxed in his car. An agent broke his car window with gun drawn. Suárez, his fiancee Reyna Elizabeth Garcia (25), and her brother Teodoro Rafael Garcia (37) were all detained. All three are eligible for work permits as asylum applicants. Suárez alleged that an agent claimed his work permit was forged and that officers used excessive force, pushing his fiancee against the car and verbally abusing her. Suárez was released later that day but his fiancee remains in custody in Kenosha County and the whereabouts of her brother are unknown.

Diana Socha Torres and her 8-year-old son were taken from their home in Wisconsin Dells in late June during the ICE surge. Socha Torres had an active asylum case, was wearing an ICE-issued ankle monitor, and had no criminal charges or convictions in Wisconsin. She and her son were transported to an ICE office in downtown Milwaukee and then transferred to the South Texas Residential Detention Center in Dilley, Texas. The arrest separated the child from their home and disrupted an active legal case.

Galo Suárez, 25, and his fiancée Reyna Elizabeth Garcia were arrested by ICE agents during a three-day surge near Milwaukee's El Rey Food Market. Suárez, who has a valid work permit, said masked agents pointed guns at them, broke their car windows without asking for identification, and called Garcia a "dog" before taking her and her brother into custody. Speaking through Voces de la Frontera at a press conference, Suárez described the arrest as he was released; Garcia and her brother remain detained. Voces de la Frontera has corroborated 26-28 ICE detentions across Wisconsin in recent days, including cases involving medical conditions, excessive force, and at least one person with a pending U-Visa application.

Estenderly Marte Polanco, a 31-year-old undocumented immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was arrested by ICE agents on June 27 during a traffic stop at 26th and Mitchell on Milwaukee's South Side while her 7-year-old daughter sat in the back seat. Videos and photographs documented that agents broke both the driver's and passenger-side windows of her car, pulled her onto the ground, and briefly pointed a taser at a cooperating driver. Family members shared photographs showing bruises, scrapes, and cuts on her neck, arms, and lip that they said were inflicted during the arrest. Wisconsin court records show no prior convictions or citations under her name. Her partner Frankeli, who is also undocumented, expressed concern about the welfare of their children. Polanco was held at Waukesha County jail and was among 39 people detained during a surge of ICE enforcement operations in the Milwaukee area. Legal experts who reviewed the incident questioned whether the window-breaking tactic was necessary or if adequate time was given for compliance.

A 32-year-old undocumented immigrant from El Salvador was arrested by ICE agents on Saturday outside Waukesha County Courthouse after appearing for a hearing in his ongoing immigration court case. He had not missed any court dates and had no prior criminal convictions in Wisconsin. His traffic citation—for driving without a license in May—is a common infraction for undocumented immigrants barred from obtaining licenses under Wisconsin law. He was transferred to Greene County, Missouri, and held in custody there as of Monday morning.

ICE arrested 39 people across Wisconsin over the final weekend in June, among the largest enforcement operations in the state since January 2025, with videos documenting agents drawing firearms, breaking car windows, and using tasers despite a lack of resistance. Advocacy group Voces de la Frontera said its volunteers recorded more than two dozen additional arrests in the following week, including three in Fitchburg, with some detainees held as far away as Florida. Officials said ICE agents used a Milwaukee police station parking lot and a South Side park as staging areas without authorization, violating city and county policies requiring permission; police said they did not consent and asked the agency to stop. Legal experts have raised concerns about the proportionality of the tactics used.

ICE agents detained 42-year-old Diana Socha Torres and her 8-year-old son at their home in Wisconsin Dells on June 23, 2026. Socha Torres was wearing an ankle monitor as part of her ongoing asylum case when agents arrived, claiming to conduct a monitoring system change but instead taking both into custody. A deportation order had been entered in April 2026 after Socha Torres missed an asylum hearing; she stated she never received notice of the hearing. An attorney had filed an appeal, but ICE reported having no record of it. Mother and son were taken to ICE offices in Milwaukee and subsequently transferred to Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas.

A 13-year-old child was restrained by Menomonee Falls Police Department officers in an encounter documented by body camera footage. The child's lawyer characterized the officers' use of force as excessive and has threatened to sue the department, calling for the officers' dismissal. The police department stated that officers used only the level of force necessary to detain the minor.

Elvira Benitez Suarez, a 51-year-old from Sheboygan Falls who emigrated from Mexico as a teenager, was detained by ICE after accidentally crossing into Canada during a family road trip in July 2025 and reentering the U.S. A federal judge ruled her eligible for a green card in fall 2025, but she was arrested again during a check-in at the Milwaukee DHS office in March 2026 while the agency appealed. A 6th Circuit appeals court ruling on mandatory detention allowed her to file for bond, which was granted at $1,500 on May 21, 2026. She was released and checked in at the Milwaukee DHS office on June 1, 2026, with continued check-ins required as a bond condition while the Board of Immigration Appeals considers DHS's appeal.

Yessenia Ruano, a teacher's aide at a bilingual Milwaukee public school and mother of twin daughters who are U.S. citizens, fled El Salvador in 2011 to escape gang violence and later became a victim of human trafficking in the U.S. She had attended 19 in-person ICE check-ins over 14 years and had a pending T-visa application for trafficking survivors when, at her final check-in in May 2025, officials told her she had to leave within days. Facing arrest and separation from her daughters, she self-deported to El Salvador in June 2025, taking her daughters with her while her husband, Miguel, stayed behind temporarily before joining them. Her Milwaukee community rallied around her, gathering 2,800 petition signatures within 24 hours and raising nearly $16,000 for her family. In May 2026, a federal judge ordered that Ruano and two other plaintiffs be allowed to return to the U.S., finding immigration officials had violated federal law and due process by automatically deporting crime victims without considering their pending applications. Her attorney said the government must now review her T-visa petition once she returns.

Elvira Benitez-Suarez, 51, a Mexican-born woman who fled sexual assault and domestic violence in Mexico at age 15, has lived in Wisconsin for over 35 years and is the mother of four U.S. citizen children with no criminal record. An immigration judge previously ruled that deporting her would cause exceptional harm to her children, canceled her deportation order, and approved her green card application, leading to her release in December. On March 10, 2026, ICE agents detained her again during a routine check-in in Milwaukee after the Department of Homeland Security appealed the ruling on the final day allowed, transferring her to Campbell County Detention Center in Kentucky. Her family and local activists held a press conference calling for her release, and her attorney filed a habeas petition. After more than two months in custody, a 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling against the administration's mandatory detention policy opened the door to a bond hearing, and on May 21, 2026, an immigration judge granted her a $1,500 bond, though the government retained a 30-day window to appeal.

Sundas Naqvi, a 28-year-old U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE agents at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on March 5, 2026, after returning from Turkey. She claimed a 43-hour ordeal involving transfer to Dodge County Jail in Wisconsin and was released early Saturday morning with a dead phone. Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt denied having any record of her at the facility, while DHS disputed her account by releasing surveillance footage showing secondary screening lasted less than an hour. In April 2026, Sheriff Schmidt filed a million-dollar defamation lawsuit against Naqvi, characterizing her detention claims as false and part of a "romantic scam" with her boyfriend. Naqvi's attorney provided location data and requested release of additional surveillance footage.

A detainee is being held at the Dodge County Detention Facility in Juneau, Wisconsin by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention, arguing he is properly categorized under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) rather than § 1225(b)(2), and that his continued detention without an individualized assessment of flight risk or danger to the community violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause, and the Fourth Amendment's Search and Seizure Clause. Along with his petition, he filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent his transfer to another detention facility during the litigation. On April 9, 2026, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin denied the motion for temporary restraining order, finding that he failed to make a specific showing of immediate and irreparable harm before the respondent could be heard in opposition, beyond the harm inherent in being detained unlawfully. The denial was issued without prejudice, allowing him to renew the request if warranted.

Noel Quintana, a 50-year-old legal permanent resident and owner of Señor Machetes restaurant in Madison, was detained by ICE at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on January 23, 2026, after returning from Mexico on a valid green card. DHS initiated removal proceedings based on a 2006 cocaine possession conviction. A federal immigration judge ordered termination of removal proceedings and granted bond, but DHS filed an intent to appeal, keeping Quintana detained at Miami Correctional Facility in Indiana. Community members organized fundraisers that collected over $50,000 in support, and local leaders including Rep. Francesca Hong criticized the detention.

Four men were detained during an ICE operation at a construction site in Altoona, Wisconsin on February 17, 2026. One was arrested at the scene; three fled to a neighboring residence where ICE deployed tear gas against unarmed individuals before arresting them. The men are now in ICE custody facing deportation proceedings while their families have lost their primary income sources.

Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan was convicted of obstructing federal agents from arresting an undocumented immigrant. Dugan allegedly helped an undocumented immigrant leave her courtroom in April to avoid arrest by ICE agents waiting in the hallway. She was acquitted of a misdemeanor charge.

Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, was sentenced to time served for illegally reentering the United States after spending nearly seven months in jail since his arrest outside the Milwaukee County Courthouse. He pleaded guilty and agreed not to fight deportation in exchange for prosecutors recommending a time-served sentence. He is now awaiting deportation from a county jail.