Human Impact Project

At least 12 detainees at the Aurora ICE processing center in Colorado, operated by the Geo Group, contracted tuberculosis after a single confirmed case multiplied to 12 within three days of facility-wide testing. A Mexican man in his 30s detained there reported that infected and healthy detainees were kept together under quarantine in a housing pod of 88 people while the facility's air conditioning failed during a heat advisory with outdoor temperatures near 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The man, who has pre-existing health conditions, received medication twice daily but described conditions as uncomfortable. His U.S. citizen partner expressed concern about the deteriorating situation and questioned why the for-profit operator could not repair the cooling system quickly. Staff provided only electric fans to cool the crowded pod.

Detainees at a McCook, Nebraska ICE detention facility reported experiencing fear and hazardous conditions as wildfire smoke drifted into the center. The article documents detainees' accounts of their experiences, including prayer and other coping mechanisms during the smoky conditions at the facility.

A Cuban national held at Florence Correctional Center in Arizona staged multiple hunger strikes to protest what he described as inhumane detention conditions and lack of transparency regarding his asylum claims. He alleges that ICE subjected him to solitary confinement and restrictive measures to isolate him from legal counsel and advocacy groups after his protests gained attention. He was subsequently deported to Ecuador, a third country, which terminated his ability to participate in U.S. legal proceedings.

Félix Alcorta Rodríguez, a 63-year-old Mexican national, died on June 19, 2026, at Webb County Detention Center in Laredo, Texas, after being found unresponsive in his cell. ICE personnel performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation before he was transferred to Laredo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. He had been in ICE custody for only a few days and was transferred to ICE custody after serving time for prior traffic violations. The cause of death is pending autopsy results. His death was one of at least 16 Mexican nationals who died in U.S. immigration detention facilities during the current federal administration, and the 20th person to die in ICE custody in 2026. Civil rights advocates from the Laredo Immigrant Alliance and Texas Civil Rights Project presented a report to Webb County commissioners detailing alleged violations at the facility, including failure to monitor suicidal detainees for up to 22 hours and delays of up to 25 days in conducting initial medical assessments. The Mexican government filed complaints and demanded criminal investigations into the death.

Orlando Martinez Mendoza, 48, migrated from Cuba to the US in 2015 by boat. Immigration authorities arrested him at a court hearing in Tennessee where he had appeared for a speeding charge. He was transported to three different detention centers in Tennessee over two months, then to a holding facility at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola), then to Arizona, and finally to Palenque, Mexico in 2025. He described the transfer to Angola as staged for media purposes, with police escorts, sirens, and TV cameras present. He said immigration officials "dumped us right in front of COMAR like we were dogs."

José Luis, a Mexican man nicknamed 'El acomedido,' was detained by ICE on a street in southern California and held at the GEO Group-run Adelanto detention center, where he was paid just $1 a day to clean tables, bathrooms, dining areas and other common spaces through the facility's Voluntary Work Program. He said he took the work because his family could not deposit money into his account, leaving him needing income for basic items like instant noodles, toothpaste and soap that the facility was supposed to provide. He returned home with a fungal nail infection he suspects came from cleaning toilets, and as the sole provider for his family, his wife and children were left without support during his detention. Advocates, including Juan José Gutiérrez of the Full Rights Coalition for Immigrants, describe the $1-a-day wage as labor exploitation by GEO Group, a company valued at roughly $4 billion. The account comes amid a separate case in which GEO Group agreed to pay California regulators over $100,000 after Cal/OSHA found the company failed to provide protective equipment or training to detainees at its Golden State Annex facility who cleaned mold and handled toxic chemicals.

Robinson, a father with a serious congenital heart condition who underwent open-heart surgery in 2008, was detained by ICE on July 9, 2026 while traveling to work in upstate New York. During his arrest, he experienced severe chest symptoms and suffered a leg injury, and was hospitalized at UHS Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City, NY for approximately three days. His 18-year-old daughter drove four hours to the hospital but was unable to visit him or obtain information about his condition due to ICE's policies; hospital staff threatened to involve police if she did not leave. Robinson has U.S.-citizen children and has lived in the United States for many years. He has since been discharged into ICE custody at Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, New York, where his family is concerned he receive prescribed heart medication and appropriate cardiology care while his immigration case proceeds.

Marcos, an asylum seeker detained at Florence Correctional Center in Arizona, expressed fear for his safety while in custody. He fears becoming the next person to die in detention, referencing Emmanuel Damas. The facility was experiencing a measles outbreak at the time of contact.

Noslén Sendra, 41, a Cuban detainee, was detained during an appointment at the Miramar ICE office in November and spent five months at the Alligator Alcatraz detention center before being transferred to Krome in early April, and subsequently to the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami. Sendra is diabetic and suffered pancreatitis while in detention due to extremely high triglyceride levels, requiring hospitalization. His wife Anisley Cortés reports he is not receiving the medical treatment he needs at the FDC, with officials telling her they cannot provide additional medications because they say ICE is responsible.

Karina Alvarez San Juan, a Mexican national who has lived in the U.S. since age 12, was arrested during a traffic stop in Florida on May 6, 2026, for an allegedly broken taillight. She is the mother of four U.S. citizen children and was nursing her youngest child, born on January 7, 2026, at the time of her arrest. ICE transferred her to South Louisiana Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana, where she remained detained for over three months. Her attorney Michelle Borton reported that conditions at the facility were inadequate, with detainees lacking sufficient clean water for basic hygiene including bathing and flushing toilets. San Juan alleged due process violations, including a cancelled bond hearing and a denied emergency motion without explanation. On July 8-9, 2026, U.S. District Judge David C. Joseph, a Trump appointee, ordered ICE to release her within five business days after finding that the agency violated its own Directive 11032.4, which prohibits detention of postpartum and nursing mothers unless release is prohibited by law or exceptional circumstances exist. ICE officials stated they had no additional evidence to justify her continued detention.

ICE ERO Philadelphia arrested Mario Humberto Caal-Chop, 29, during a vehicle stop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 19, 2026, and detained him at Moshannon Valley ICE Processing Center. An immigration judge granted him voluntary departure on June 23, 2026, and he was transferred to Louisiana before being returned to Guatemala on July 8, 2026 via charter flight. ICE touted his removal as the agency's 100,000th of Fiscal Year 2026.

Nando, a Guatemalan man who worked at the Sungrow greenhouse and packing facility near Rochester, New York, was arrested by ICE agents in late June as he left work in his car with his wife and another couple. After being pulled over by unmarked vehicles near the plant's exit, agents arrested him and another man while letting their partners leave. Nando had worked at the plant for 15 months, advancing from packing to operating machinery that unloaded boxes of tomatoes. He was taken to the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility, then transferred to a detention center in Louisiana, before being deported to Guatemala in early July. He is now home with his parents in a rural area without cell service, attempting to stay in touch with his wife and figure out his next steps. His arrest was part of broader ICE and Border Patrol enforcement operations at the Sungrow facility that began in mid-June, during which agents conducted surveillance in unmarked cars before dawn and at worker motels, resulting in at least six arrests near the plant.

Juan Bonilla Lagos, a 32-year-old Colombian national, was arrested by ICE agents in Plainview in October 2024 while sitting in his car with his wife and 5-year-old son during what his family says was a trip to a doctor's appointment. During the arrest, agents threatened to break the car window as his child clung to him and pleaded with agents not to take him away. Bonilla Lagos, who entered the U.S. in 2022 fleeing gang violence in Colombia, was detained at an ICE facility in Batavia, New York, where he attempted suicide three times during his nine-month custody. He has no criminal record and has filed an asylum petition. On July 7, 2026, he was released and reunited with his wife and two children at Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan. The prolonged separation caused severe mental health trauma to his family, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress.

Ulises Peña López, a 30-year-old Mexican carpenter and father living in Sunnyvale, California, with pre-existing conditions including a mini-stroke, blood clot, heart condition, and spinal and knee injuries, was surrounded by armed ICE agents outside his home in late February 2025. Agents smashed his truck window, pulled him out at gunpoint, and beat him unconscious in an alleyway while his wife Aby and young daughter watched, according to a federal lawsuit filed by his family with Disability Law United and Pangea Legal Services. He was hospitalized in Mountain View and allegedly shackled to his bed, with nurses passing him written notes to avoid ICE surveillance; his wife said he lost feeling in half his face and parts of his right side. During months in detention at Golden State Annex, California City Detention Facility, and other GEO Group and CoreCivic-run facilities, staff allegedly denied him a cane, hearing aids, medication, and other disability accommodations, and mocked him when he filed grievances. He was deported to Mexico in October 2025, where he says he is living in hiding, while his wife has been diagnosed with PTSD and their daughter has shown developmental regression. The family's lawsuit against DHS, ICE, GEO Group, and CoreCivic alleges civil rights, due process, and disability rights violations.

Seven detainees in ICE custody at the Florence Service Processing Center in Arizona have been confirmed with measles. An unspecified number of additional detainees at the Eloy Detention Center and Central Arizona Florence Correctional Complex were placed under quarantine for possible measles exposure. Arizona Democratic representatives Greg Stanton, Yassamin Ansari, and Adelita Grijalva, along with Senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security demanding details about quarantine protocols, medical staffing, and whether detainees had access to legal meetings and court hearings during the lockdown. This is the second measles outbreak reported in Arizona ICE facilities in 2026, with three cases reported in February.

A Venezuelan family of three — father Freddys Padilla Revilla, pregnant mother Edgarianny Gervis, and their 7-year-old daughter — say they have been held at the Dilley Detention Center for over a month after attempting to self-deport to Venezuela. The couple had lived legally in Pecos, Texas for three years, working and maintaining ICE check-ins, and sought to leave voluntarily after discovering Edgarianny was pregnant. They say that at a July 6 ICE check-in appointment, after signing forms waiving their rights and withdrawing their appeal, they were arrested and transferred to Dilley instead of being sent home. The family says Edgarianny has not received proper medical care or an ultrasound, and their daughter has said she 'wants to die' while detained, prompting them to seek help from Sen. Katie Britt.

Kubanych, a community interpreter, was detained by ICE in October 2025 while interpreting for another asylum seeker at California City Detention Center in Delano, California. After 8 months of detention, community advocacy efforts secured his release. He has since been reunited with his wife and four young children in Kyrgyzstan. During his detention, he experienced abuse and malnourishment, losing 40 pounds, and was denied care for serious health conditions.

Two federal judges in Iowa held ICE Supervisory Detention and Deportation Officer Quintin Erdman in civil contempt for knowingly and willfully transferring detainee Pardeep Saini from Iowa to Nebraska in direct violation of a court order blocking such transfers. In a separate case, detainee Osmar Jose Arraiz Montilla was transferred between federal judicial districts while his case was pending. The judges sharply criticized ICE officials for a pattern of repeatedly violating court orders in immigration cases, with one judge warning that noncitizens are not 'bargaining chips' to be moved based on litigation strategy.

Omar Bautista Carvajal, a Colombian immigrant with a valid work permit and no criminal record who had been deemed a low safety risk, was detained by ICE agents in the Chicago area on his way to English class on October 4, 2025, as part of 'Operation Midway Blitz.' His wife, Jasbleidys Hernandez, said his health deteriorated in custody and that ICE did not prioritize his medical needs or meals. An immigration judge ordered his removal, and he was deported to Colombia in July 2026. Unable to afford living in the U.S. without his income, Hernandez and their two younger children, including daughter Victoria, packed up their lives and self-deported to Colombia to reunite with him, while their 19-year-old son Juan chose to remain in Chicago alone. Bautista Carvajal was named in a federal class-action lawsuit arguing he should not have been detained, but a court overturned an order for his release before his removal.

JeanCarlos Fiallos Manzanares, a 31-year-old DACA recipient from Miami, was detained by ICE agents following a traffic stop near his mother's house despite holding valid deferred action status. He was transferred to Otero County Processing Center in New Mexico, approximately 2,000 miles from his family. While detained, USCIS approved his deferred action renewal in January, but ICE did not release him. An immigration judge subsequently ordered his deportation to Honduras, and USCIS rescinded his approved deferred action protections. Fiallos Manzanares filed a lawsuit challenging his detention after a federal judge found merit to his petition, but he was deported after more than a year in custody, separated from his U.S. citizen wife and two young sons.