Human Impact Project

Ezequiel Vélez Cáceres, a 32-year-old Venezuelan physician, was detained by ICE at a Border Patrol checkpoint in Sarita, Texas on April 9, 2026, while traveling with his U.S. citizen spouse after his Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was cancelled. Vélez entered the U.S. legally in 2018 on a student visa to revalidate his medical credentials and had been working at a hospital in McAllen before resigning after losing TPS eligibility. He was in the process of obtaining a work visa when detained. On April 15, 2026, his immigration attorney appeared before a federal court judge arguing for his release. His attorney described him as "an example of the type of migrant our country should have," and the court ordered his release from the McAllen immigration detention center, despite prosecution arguments citing flight risk.

Annie Yaritza Ramos Alvarado, a 22-year-old Honduran-born immigrant who arrived in the U.S. as a toddler in 2005, was detained by ICE agents on April 2, 2026, at Fort Polk military base in Louisiana while attempting to complete paperwork to move in with her spouse, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Matthew Blank, 23, whom she had recently married. Ramos was a college student with no criminal history who had applied for DACA status in 2020, though her application was never processed. She was working with a lawyer to adjust her immigration status through marriage, a process that typically allows spouses of U.S. citizens to obtain legal permanent residency. She had been subject to an outstanding removal order issued in 2005 after her family missed an immigration court hearing when she was 22 months old. After being held for nearly a week at an ICE detention facility in Basile, Louisiana, Ramos was released on April 7 and ordered to wear a GPS monitor while removal proceedings continue.

Tania Warner, a 47-year-old Canadian citizen from Penticton, B.C., with a valid U.S. work visa through 2030 and a Social Security number, and her seven-year-old autistic daughter Ayla Lucas were detained at a Border Patrol checkpoint near Sarita, Texas, on March 14, 2026, while returning from a baby shower with Warner's American husband Edward. The family, who had lived in Kingsville for five years, was separated from Edward and held at the Ursula Central Processing Center in McAllen, sleeping on the floor of a cold cellblock for five days before being transferred to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center. Warner said guards were "sadistic, inhumane and abusive," taunted her for being Canadian, and pressured her to self-deport, telling her she could do it "the easy way or the hard way." Ayla suffered chemical burns and a stress-related rash from harsh cleaning products, and the family reported inadequate healthcare, food shortages, and insufficient schooling during roughly three weeks in custody. Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boultbee called the detention "extrajudicial," and Congressman Vicente Gonzalez said neither Tania nor Ayla should have been detained. Warner was released on bond of $9,500 on April 2-3, 2026, fitted with an ankle monitor she is contesting in court, and plans to file a lawsuit alleging unlawful detention and harm to her daughter.

Dr. Rubeliz Bolívar, a 33-year-old Venezuelan emergency medicine resident working at South Texas Health System in McAllen, Texas, was detained by Customs and Border Protection agents at McAllen International Airport while traveling with her 5-year-old U.S. citizen daughter to California for a scheduled asylum interview. Bolívar entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2016, held a valid work permit through 2030, and had an active asylum case and pending green card application; CBP said she had overstayed her visa since 2017. Her daughter was also held, for about 19 hours, before being released to a relative. Bolívar was transferred to ICE custody at El Valle Detention Center and missed the asylum interview, which her husband, Milenko Faria, attended alone. The American College of Emergency Physicians and the Emergency Medicine Residents' Association have advocated for her release and called for a national-interest exemption for physicians.

Actress Natasha Lyonne claimed she was detained by ICE after being removed from a Delta flight from Los Angeles to New York on April 7, 2026. She stated she took Lunesta, a sleeping medication, after boarding the red-eye flight and was removed after not responding to flight attendants' requests to close her laptop and fasten her seatbelt before takeoff. Eyewitnesses reported she appeared disoriented while still wearing her outfit from the Euphoria Season 3 premiere she had attended earlier that evening. In a social media post on April 11, Lyonne wrote that she was detained by immigration agents instead of arriving in New York for a scheduled appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, saying "ICE had other plans & I was detained instead." The Department of Homeland Security denied her claims, stating "Neither ICE nor TSA escorted or detained Natasha Lyonne." Lyonne later appeared at a premiere in New York City.

Brandon, a U.S. citizen, was detained for eight hours at the Whipple building during Operation Metro Surge and reported appalling detention conditions including unresponsive guards, unsanitary facilities, and interrogations. After his release, he was hit with pepper balls and exposed to tear gas and flash bangs as ICE agents confronted a protest outside the facility.

ICE agents arrested a U.S. citizen in Chicago after alleging she made a threat. The woman and onlookers disputed the allegation. Agents forced her to the ground and zip-tied her hands. The arrest followed a failed ICE attempt to access a nearby laundromat, where protesters had gathered.

Haydee Mercado-Rodriguez, 34, of El Salvador, was arrested April 9, 2026, during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas. ICE identified her as an MS-13 gang member and foreign fugitive convicted in El Salvador of homicide-related and other offenses. She remains in custody pending removal. Minh Duy Tong Nguyen, 54, of Vietnam, was arrested April 16, 2026, during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas. ICE reported he was convicted of murder in Houston in 1991 and had a longstanding removal order. He remains in custody pending removal. Carlos Carmona-Palomo, 29, of Mexico, was arrested April 6, 2026, during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas. ICE identified him as a foreign fugitive wanted for homicide. He was deported April 21, 2026. Leobardo Nieves-Vasquez, 35, of Mexico, was arrested April 7, 2026, during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas. ICE reported he was convicted of intoxication manslaughter in Angelina County, Texas. He was deported April 9, 2026. Eric Eusevio Cortez, 44, of Mexico, was arrested during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas between April 6 and April 17, 2026. ICE reported he had prior convictions for sexual offenses involving minors. Some individuals with such convictions have been deported while others remain in custody pending removal proceedings. Manuel Navarrete-Arellano, 43, of Mexico, was arrested during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas between April 6 and April 17, 2026. ICE reported he had prior convictions for sexual offenses involving minors. Some individuals with such convictions have been deported while others remain in custody pending removal proceedings. Yeslin Orellana Manchame, 30, of Honduras, was arrested during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas between April 6 and April 17, 2026. ICE reported she had prior convictions for sexual offenses involving minors. Filiberto Aleman Sanchez, 55, of Mexico, was arrested during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas between April 6 and April 17, 2026. ICE reported he had prior convictions for sexual offenses involving minors. Brian Rivera Santoyo, 22, of Mexico, was arrested during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas between April 6 and April 17, 2026. ICE reported he had prior convictions related to drug offenses, immigration violations, or other crimes. Heros Cantu, 33, of Mexico, was arrested during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas between April 6 and April 17, 2026. ICE reported he had prior convictions related to drug offenses, immigration violations, or other crimes. Jose Artemio Sanchez-Garcia, 61, of Mexico, was arrested during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas between April 6 and April 17, 2026. ICE reported he had prior convictions related to drug offenses, immigration violations, or other crimes. Javier Ramirez, a U.S. citizen and single father of two, was arrested during a Border Patrol roving patrol at a tow yard in Montebello and charged in federal court with assaulting, resisting, or impeding a federal officer. According to a federal criminal complaint, agents conducted a roving patrol and engaged subjects in a consensual encounter in a parking lot on West Olympic Boulevard. Security camera video showed agents entering the fenced property, and Ramirez was wrestled to the ground while shouting. His attorney contests the charges, stating that Ramirez did not assault anyone, raised his hands when confronted, and was not attempting to flee. The incident occurred as part of broader Border Patrol enforcement operations in Southern California. Pedro Joel Martinez, 52, of El Salvador, was arrested during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas between April 6 and April 17, 2026. ICE reported he had prior convictions for sexual offenses involving minors. Some individuals with such convictions have been deported while others remain in custody pending removal proceedings. Cristian Muratalla Rodriguez, 29, of Mexico, was arrested during an ICE enforcement operation in Southeast Texas between April 6 and April 17, 2026. ICE reported he had prior convictions related to drug offenses, immigration violations, or other crimes.

Juan Chavez Velasco, a 35-year-old DACA recipient who arrived in the U.S. from Colombia at age 8, was detained by ICE agents on February 18, 2026, while driving to deliver breast milk to his premature daughter in a hospital NICU in Weslaco, Texas. Chavez Velasco holds two bachelor's degrees and works as a medical laboratory scientist with no criminal history. He is married to Stephanie Villarreal, a U.S. citizen, and has three U.S. citizen children. His DACA renewal application, submitted in November 2025, remained unanswered and his status expired on March 10, 2026, while he was in custody. DHS cited a 2005 removal order issued before his DACA approval in 2012, arguing that DACA does not confer legal status. He is detained at Webb County Detention Center in Laredo, Texas.

Abel, an undocumented immigrant who has lived in Minnesota for 29 years and raised four U.S.-born children, was detained by ICE agents in January 2026 while delivering groceries to neighbors in Burnsville as part of a church-coordinated effort to assist families in hiding. The detention occurred during Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration's expanded enforcement operations in Minneapolis. Abel was later released from immigration detention, but the incident left his sons traumatized after witnessing federal agents detain their father during a routine community service activity.

Jesus Vazquez, a 25-year-old Fort Worth resident who came to the U.S. as a baby, was deported to Mexico in March 2026 after three months in ICE detention following an arrest during a routine ICE check-in in November 2025. His American citizen wife Cassidy and their four children, ages 6 months to 8 years, remain in Fort Worth while working with an attorney to find a way for him to return to the U.S., though he is currently barred from re-entry for 10 years due to a 2022 marijuana possession conviction.

Dr. Ezequiel Veliz, a Venezuelan physician working as a resident at UT Health Rio Grande Valley/Knapp Medical Center in Texas, was detained by Border Patrol at the Sarita checkpoint in April 2025 after his Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was revoked in October 2024. Veliz is married to a U.S. citizen, had a pending green card application, and was carrying required immigration documents at the time of detention. Following outcry from the medical community and intervention by U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a judge granted him bond during his immigration hearing, allowing his release from custody. Another Venezuelan colleague was also detained within the same week.

On August 27, 2025, Vasquez (49) and Ramirez (40), a married couple from Mexico, were arrested by ICE during a traffic stop in Tulsa despite having pending U visa applications and federal deportation protections as crime victims who assisted law enforcement in prosecuting a serial rapist. Ramirez was held for four months at Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Texas, where she was denied access to seizure medication for her epilepsy. Vasquez was detained for over seven months at a CoreCivic facility in Cushing, Oklahoma, and attended 13 immigration court hearings before winning a habeas corpus lawsuit granting him a bond hearing. The prolonged separation and detention resulted in job loss, eviction from their home in Broken Arrow, and approximately $12,000 in accumulated legal debt. Vasquez was released in April 2026 on deferral of removal grounds, followed by Ramirez's release. Both remain without legal status and are working to recover financially while awaiting U visa hearings.

Sinri Baltazar, a member of the Afro-indigenous Garifuna community from Honduras, was first separated from her then-5-year-old daughter in 2018 under the Trump administration's family separation policy. In 2024-2025, immigration officials presented her with a document they claimed would allow her family to stay together, but it actually facilitated their removal. She was deported with her three children, including one who is a U.S. citizen. Under a federal judge's order in April 2026, she was allowed to return to Louisiana with her three children. The family is currently living with an acquaintance from church while working to reestablish stable housing. Baltazar expressed gratitude that her children could seek a better life but emphasized the family's desire for a safe home of their own.

Daniela, originally from Colombia, came to the United States on a work permit and is married to a U.S. citizen with a pending green card application. For months, she cooperated with a detective from the Florida Department of Financial Services, answering dozens of questions and providing documentation about insurance fraud committed by her former employer. When the detective asked her to meet in April to discuss the case, Daniela was instead detained, handcuffed, and arrested. "It's very cruel the way they arrested me," she said; neither the detective nor the department responded to requests for comment. She has no criminal record. She was taken to the Palm Beach County jail and then transferred in chains to ICE facilities in two different states before being released on bond in May. The 287(g) Task Force program now includes more than 1,300 law enforcement agencies across 32 states and two U.S. territories deputized to enforce federal immigration laws.

Omar Salazar, an SMU graduate and Dallas community leader, was ordered deported to Mexico after losing his immigration case on April 2, 2026, following seven months of detention at ICE's Bluebonnet Detention Facility. He was detained after a traffic stop in August 2025 when he presented a Mexican ID and lacked a valid U.S. driver's license. Salazar, who was brought to the U.S. as a minor and did not qualify for DACA, has 60 days to depart voluntarily. His legal team said that while an appeal is possible, it could extend his detention another 8-12 months, and he would likely face a 3-6 year wait before reentry despite being married to a U.S. citizen.

Rudy Villeda Mejía, a 47-year-old Honduran roofing business owner who has lived in Washington state since 2010 after being kidnapped and held for ransom by Los Zetas cartel members, was arrested by ICE at Denver International Airport on March 30, 2025. He had attended routine immigration check-ins for years without incident and had a pending T visa application as a trafficking victim, which his attorney argued was his only lawful path to remain with his U.S. citizen wife, Mabel Shaffer, and her three children. During roughly four months in ICE custody in Aurora, Colorado, his health declined, including worsening Bell's palsy symptoms, back pain, and weight loss, while the family's roofing business lost contracts and his wife struggled to manage it alone. A federal judge initially denied his habeas petition, but later ordered his release under a court order barring detention of pending T visa applicants; ICE had already transferred him to Louisiana and released him there without his ID, passport, or work permit. His wife flew to Louisiana to drive him home, and his stepson said he immediately returned to work at the family business.

Patience Gore, a 44-year-old Zimbabwean national who has lived in the U.S. for about 24 years, was seized by undercover plainclothes ICE agents at a United Airlines gate at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport after a gate agent repeatedly called her name over the loudspeaker. Gore, who held a withholding of removal order, has sole custody of her 11-year-old U.S. citizen daughter and is married to U.S. citizen Olaoluwa Omotosho; she had been traveling home to Maryland with her partner after attending a friend's wedding. She was held for nearly two weeks across three Arizona detention facilities in what her lawsuit describes as degrading, squalid conditions, including sleeping on a mattress on the floor, being denied a change of clothes, and being denied sunglasses despite light sensitivity. The detention disrupted a time-sensitive IVF cycle, and a subsequent replacement cycle did not result in pregnancy. A federal judge granted her habeas petition and ordered her release on March 27, and she and her husband are now suing United Airlines, alleging it colluded with ICE to lure her to the gate.

A U.S. lawmaker confronted the Border Patrol commissioner during a Congressional hearing about an incident where Border Patrol agents allegedly pepper sprayed a U.S. citizen family—including a baby—through their vehicle window as they attempted to leave a parking lot. The commissioner acknowledged that pepper spraying into a moving vehicle window is not proper procedure and said he would follow up on whether any agents were investigated or disciplined.

Arnoldo Bazan, a 16-year-old U.S. citizen and student at Alief Hastings High School in Houston, was beaten and choked by masked ICE agents on October 23, 2025, when they stopped his father, Arnulfo Bazan Carrillo, during a drive to school near Gessner Road and Beechnut Street. Bystander video showed agents restraining Arnoldo with an arm around his neck while he told them he was a minor and a citizen; he was also subjected to racial slurs and later treated for bruises and welts consistent with choking. He was held for several hours before ICE confirmed his citizenship and released him. His father, an immigrant from Michoacán with a prior deportation and a misdemeanor DWI conviction, was arrested and, according to immigrant rights group FIEL, intimidated into signing a voluntary departure before being 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.