Human Impact Project

A federal immigration detainee filed a pro se Application for a Writ of Habeas Corpus Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 while detained at the ICE Contract Detention Facility in Aurora, Colorado. The court found deficiencies in his filing and ordered him to cure them within 30 days, including submitting a proper 28 U.S.C. § 1915 Motion and Affidavit or paying the $5.00 filing fee. The court warned that failure to cure the deficiencies within 30 days would result in dismissal without prejudice.

Victor Alfredo Perez Martin, a Guatemalan national, was arrested by ICE on July 6, 2026, outside Sentara BelleHarbour outpatient campus in Suffolk during a targeted enforcement operation. Bystander video documented ICE agents tackling him to the ground and repeatedly striking him with punches and knees to the stomach and back while attempting to handcuff him. ICE initially claimed Perez Martin had accepted voluntary departure, but his attorney James Reyes withdrew that acceptance and requested a notice to appear in immigration court. On July 16, U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles ruled that ICE had detained him under the wrong statute and ordered his release, finding he was entitled to a bond hearing. Perez Martin was released the same day and will proceed with immigration court proceedings where he will seek bond and face removal.

Liam, 15, was arrested by local police in May 2025 following a fight; ICE agents separated him from his father who arrived to pick him up and took both into custody. Liam was held in an ICE office in Burlington, Massachusetts, then transferred to an ORR shelter in Texas for three months before being moved to Groton, Connecticut. Whether ICE ever properly contacted his mother to inform her she could pick him up remains disputed; she said ICE called her while he was in Burlington but did not tell her she could retrieve him, and she did not hear from him again until he was in Texas. The government made contradictory statements about the mother's availability, at one point claiming ICE couldn't locate her, then claiming ICE asked her to pick him up but she refused, while also stating she was at the police station during his arrest. Liam grew anxious and depressed in the shelters; a psychological evaluation recommended his release "as soon as possible" for his well-being. Federal Judge Vernon Oliver called the government's claims "disturbing" and "full of significant incongruities," and ordered Liam's release 27 days after the lawsuit was filed; his mother picked him up the following day after 255 days of detention.

Jean, a 12-year-old from Haiti, was detained at the U.S. border and held in federal custody for 505 days, spending his 13th birthday in an ORR shelter in California and later a foster care program in New Haven, Connecticut. His family in Fort Lauderdale—his father, stepmother, and two sisters—had completed all required vetting, background checks, and home studies, yet the Office of Refugee Resettlement repeatedly requested documents his family could not obtain, including a Haitian death certificate from territory controlled by gangs. After his sisters were released to their stepmother, Jean remained detained; ORR cited a DNA test showing his father was not his biological parent, though his father said this changed nothing. A federal judge ultimately ruled the government's process "arbitrary and capricious" and ordered Jean's release in a case where the judge noted that unlawful detention "results in an injury that really can never be remedied."

A native of India entered the United States in June 2024 at the Mexican border and was released to live in Philadelphia while in removal proceedings. On July 15, 2026, DHS officials arrested him at a scheduled immigration check-in and detained him at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia without a bond hearing. The government relied on a July 8, 2025 ICE policy interpreting the Immigration and Nationality Act to subject all noncitizens without admission status to mandatory detention without bond eligibility. He filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus arguing the detention violated the INA and the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause. The federal court granted his petition, finding that he should be detained under the discretionary provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), not the mandatory detention statute, and that he is entitled to a bond hearing before an immigration judge.

A Cuban citizen who entered the United States in 2022 was taken into ICE custody on July 15, 2026, and detained at the West Tennessee Detention Facility. He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his continued detention without a bond hearing. The court stayed his transfer and ordered ICE to respond to the petition, requiring them to either distinguish the case from Lopez-Campos v. Raycraft or consent to release, as that precedent prohibits detention without individualized bond hearings for noncitizens who spent significant time in the U.S. interior and are not ineligible under § 1226(c).

Alvaro Anastacio Garcia Tevalan, a 20-year-old Guatemalan citizen, entered the United States without authorization in November 2016 at age 11 and was released to his mother's custody in Clarion, Iowa, where he has lived for nearly a decade. He has a U.S. citizen child and maintained compliance with the terms of his release during that period. On April 29, 2026, he was arrested on a domestic abuse assault charge, and ICE took custody of him on May 1, 2026. Federal Judge Stephanie Rose ruled that the government violated his due process rights by re-detaining him without a hearing after allowing him to live freely in the country for nearly 10 years, and ordered that either he be released or given a bond hearing to determine his eligibility for release.

Styrobert, a defected Venezuelan military officer who fled Venezuela in 2019 after opposing government corruption and human rights violations, was taken into custody at his routine ICE check-in appointment on July 14, 2026, despite appearing with his attorney and having a pending asylum petition. The ICE officer aggressively confined him to a separate room, insulted his attorney, and confiscated his phone, wallet, and clothing. Styrobert was transferred between multiple detention facilities—ICE Baltimore to Farmville, Virginia; then to Richmond ICE processing center; and finally to Wynn Detention Center in Louisiana. His attorney filed a Habeas Corpus Petition on 7/17 and a Temporary Restraining Order on 7/19 to prevent further transfers or deportation. Styrobert faces grave danger if deported to Venezuela, where he is considered an "Enemy of the State" and would face imprisonment and torture in the country's notorious prisons.

A self-represented immigration detainee filed a second habeas corpus petition seeking release from the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. She initially obtained a May 28, 2026 order for individualized bond hearings before an immigration judge, but subsequently withdrew her request. She then filed a new action with an ex parte application for a temporary restraining order. The court denied the application for procedural deficiencies and referred the matter to the Federal Public Defender's office for potential counsel appointment.

A man who entered the U.S. on a valid visa and had complied with immigration appointments for seven years was arrested in the middle of his asylum interview. He faced transfer to a detention center near Bakersfield, separated from his American spouse and U.S.-born children. Attorney Elizabeth Knowles from the Bay Area Habeas Network filed an emergency habeas petition after midnight, and a federal judge ordered his immediate release within five hours.

Erick Lionel Cristal Cumes, a Guatemalan immigrant, was detained by ICE on May 28 at Don Patron Mexican Grill in Weston during a raid that also resulted in the detention of more than a dozen other employees. He has been held at Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania since his arrest. Cumes is married to Lauren, an American-born citizen whom he married in April; they have been together four years. His attorney argues ICE violated his constitutional rights by detaining him without individualized assessment of flight risk or danger to the community. A federal judge ruled Cumes is entitled to a bond hearing and that his continued detention would be unlawful if the government cannot prove he poses danger or flight risk, with a bond hearing ordered by July 14. Over 50 community members appeared in federal court on June 25 to support Cumes, testifying he is a member of the community in good standing. Lauren testified about poor detention conditions including spoiled food and lack of responsiveness to requests for help, stating she is allowed contact with her husband about once per day. His attorney also argued the case should remain in West Virginia court rather than be transferred to Pennsylvania, contending that transfer could delay resolution of his case.

Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder and Columbia University graduate student of Syrian-Palestinian descent, was arrested by ICE without a warrant at his apartment building on March 8, 2025, following his pro-Palestinian activism and organizing campus protests. The Trump administration pursued deportation based on allegations he concealed prior employment with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and the British Embassy on his visa application. Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoked a rarely used immigration provision claiming his activism threatens U.S. foreign policy. Khalil was held for 104 days at LaSalle Detention Center in Louisiana before a federal judge released him on bail in June 2025. In July 2026, he filed a lawsuit against Trump administration officials and pro-Israel groups, alleging they conspired to target him and others for supporting Palestinian rights, claiming the administration coordinated with surveillance groups Betar and Canary Mission using a document called "Project Esther" as a blueprint.

A Colombian man, a citizen of Colombia, has been in the United States since December 29, 2024, when he presented at the border, was issued a Notice to Appear charging him as removable for lacking valid entry documents, and was granted parole and released on his own recognizance. He has applied for asylum. On July 13, 2026, he was arrested and detained by ICE and has remained in custody without a bond hearing since. He has no criminal history and no final order of removal, and is detained at the Pike County Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania. On July 20, 2026, he filed a habeas corpus petition and a motion for a temporary restraining order in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, arguing that his detention under the mandatory detention provision of 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b) is unlawful because he was paroled into the country and is no longer 'seeking admission,' and that he is instead subject to the discretionary detention provision, 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), which entitles him to a bond hearing.

A mother and her adult son have lived in the United States since December 2022, when they were paroled into the country. The mother worked at a laundromat and supported her son's education, while the son worked at a food-packing facility, attended school, and earned his high school equivalency diploma. Both had complied with all ICE reporting requirements and had no criminal history. On July 13, 2026, over three and a half years after entering the country, they were detained without warning at a routine ICE check-in. They were held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center and filed petitions for writs of habeas corpus arguing their re-detention without notice or a hearing violated their Fifth Amendment due process rights. The government did not oppose their claims. The federal court granted the petitions, finding their re-detention violated due process, and ordered their release within 24 hours under their prior conditions of release, with return of their personal belongings and immigration documents.

A Mexican national and noncitizen is currently held in ICE custody at Diamondback Correctional Facility in Oklahoma. He has a final order of removal and is seeking to prevent his removal to Mexico or a third country. He claims membership in the Immigration Center for Women and Children (ICWC) class of ICE detainees with pending immigration benefit applications, including U Visa petitions, and states he has a pending Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)-based petition that bears on his removability and eligibility for relief. He filed a habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 and moved for a stay of removal pending resolution of his petition, or alternatively, for a temporary restraining order (TRO). The Magistrate Judge recommended denying his motion for stay/TRO, finding the Western District of Oklahoma lacks jurisdiction to enjoin removal proceedings under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(g), which bars district courts from hearing claims arising from DHS decisions to execute removal orders.

A Chinese national admitted to the U.S. on a valid B-1/B-2 visa on April 4, 2024, was re-detained by ICE on July 13, 2026, at Los Angeles International Airport without notice, warrant, or hearing. During her two+ years in the country, she had been granted employment authorization, worked lawfully, established community ties, and maintained a clean criminal record while her asylum application was pending. The court ordered her release on her prior conditions within 24 hours, finding her re-detention without pre-deprivation process violated Fifth Amendment due process rights.

A noncitizen was re-detained on June 26, 2026, after having been previously released on bond or conditional parole. The government failed to provide him with a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter before re-detaining him, violating the Due Process Clause. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California granted his petition for writ of habeas corpus and motion for temporary restraining order, ordering his immediate release with the same conditions he was subject to prior to detention, and requiring the government to provide at least seven days' notice and a pre-deprivation bond hearing before any future re-detention.

A noncitizen who had been previously released on conditional parole was detained on July 11, 2026, at an ICE check-in without a pre-deprivation bond hearing. The court found that the government violated the Due Process Clause by re-detaining him without providing a constitutionally compliant hearing before a neutral arbiter to determine his eligibility for bond. The court ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he was subject to prior to his July 11 detention.

A native and citizen of India entered the United States without inspection in December 2022 and was released under an order of supervision while his pending asylum application was processed. On June 25, 2026, when he reported for a routine ICE check-in that he had consistently attended, he was re-detained without notice, explanation, or opportunity to be heard, despite having no criminal history and complying with all conditions of release. The court ordered his immediate release, finding that the revocation of his prior release violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights because he was deprived of liberty without an opportunity to be heard and there was no evidence of changed circumstances.

A Mexican migrant identified in court filings as 'John Doe,' a father of two who cooperated with the U.S. Department of Justice and testified against members of Mexican drug cartels, was deported three times by ICE despite holding protection under the Convention Against Torture. He was first removed to Guatemala on July 10, then twice to Mexico, most recently to an area with significant cartel activity, where he has been in hiding fearing torture or death. U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher ordered the government to take active steps within 14 days to facilitate his return, writing there is an 'immense public interest' in protecting those who risk their safety to assist government prosecutions. Before his deportation, he had been held for six months at a Louisiana detention center after ICE detained him during a routine immigration check-in.