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.

Galo Suárez, a Nicaraguan asylum seeker with a valid work permit, was arrested by ICE agents on Milwaukee's South Side near El Rey Food Market after unmarked vehicles boxed in his car and agents broke his window with guns drawn. His fiancée, Reyna Elizabeth Garcia, 25, and her brother, Teodoro Rafael Garcia, 37, were also detained; agents allegedly called Garcia a "dog" and pushed her against the car. Suárez said an agent claimed his work permit was forged, despite his and his fiancée's eligibility for work authorization as asylum applicants. He was released the same day, but Garcia remains in custody in Kenosha County and her brother's whereabouts are unknown. Speaking through Voces de la Frontera at a press conference, Suárez described the arrest; the organization said it had corroborated 26-28 ICE detentions across Wisconsin during a broader three-day enforcement surge that saw nearly 60 arrests, including cases involving medical conditions and at least one person with a pending U-Visa application.

Diana Socha Torres, a 42-year-old Colombian asylum seeker, and her 8-year-old son were detained by ICE agents at their home in Wisconsin Dells on June 23, 2026. Socha Torres was wearing an ICE-issued ankle monitor and had no criminal charges or convictions in Wisconsin; agents told her they were there to conduct a monitoring system change but instead took her and her son into custody. A deportation order had been entered in April 2026 after she missed an asylum hearing, which she says she never received notice of; her attorney had filed an appeal, but ICE reported no record of it. The pair were taken to an ICE office in downtown Milwaukee and later transferred to the South Texas Residential Detention Center in Dilley, Texas. Their detention occurred during a three-day ICE enforcement surge in which nearly 60 people were arrested.

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.

Federal agents conducted a series of arrests across Milwaukee County, including one incident where masked agents surrounded and arrested a man outside a barbershop on Milwaukee's south side—a tactic that appears to violate a city ordinance prohibiting law enforcement from wearing face coverings. Galo Suárez, who has work authorization, says he, his fiancée, and her brother were chased and forcibly removed from a car by masked federal agents near El Rey on 13th Street; he was released after being handcuffed and searched, but his fiancée and brother remain in custody. Agents were also photographed staging at Mitchell Park, part of the Milwaukee County Parks System, which may violate a newly passed county resolution requiring prior written authorization for law enforcement staging.

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.

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, 51, fled sexual assault and domestic violence in Mexico at age 15 and has lived in Wisconsin for over 35 years, raising four U.S. citizen children with no criminal record. After she accidentally crossed into Canada during a family road trip in July 2025 and reentered the U.S., an immigration judge ruled in fall 2025 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 at the Milwaukee DHS office 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. A 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling against mandatory detention policy opened the door to a bond hearing, and on May 21, 2026, an immigration judge granted her $1,500 bond. She was released and checked in at the Milwaukee DHS office on June 1, 2026, with continued check-ins required 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.

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.

Carlton Junior Burke, a 25-year-old Jamaican national, was arrested by ICE at his home in Madison, Wisconsin on October 1, 2025, after overstaying a B2 tourist visa he entered on in 2021. Burke says his passport and driver's licenses were taken during detention and not returned to him, disputing DHS's claim that ICE does not confiscate documents. He had built a life in the U.S., married, and was attempting to adjust his immigration status when arrested. Burke was transferred through multiple detention facilities over several months, including county jails and a correctional facility in Indiana, where he raised concerns about food quality, limited medical assistance, and inadequate family communication. He was granted voluntary departure on January 7, 2026, and ultimately left the country on January 28, 2026, leaving his wife and young child behind in the United States.

On July 15, 2025, ICE agents arrested two men in a Walworth County, Wisconsin courtroom during traffic court proceedings. Court Commissioner Peter Navis demanded to see a warrant from sheriff's deputies before allowing the arrest, citing lack of lawful authority and a court order requiring warrants be presented before detention. Following the incident, three county judges confronted Navis over his handling of the arrests, told him he had misstated their position, and gave him an ultimatum to resign or be fired. Navis subsequently resigned.