Human Impact Project

José Ignacio 'Nacho' De La Cruz, a 30-year-old Migrant Justice organizer and Mexican national without a visa, was detained by federal agents on March 26, 2026, and charged with nine federal felony counts including human smuggling and document fraud. According to the indictment, between November 2022 and June 2025, De La Cruz smuggled people across the U.S.-Canada border without authorization and fraudulently obtained Vermont driver's privilege cards for individuals living outside the state, receiving $500 per fraudulent ID. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in federal court in Burlington. On April 2, 2026, a federal judge ordered his release on bond, rejecting prosecutors' argument that he posed a flight risk after his attorneys noted he had remained in Vermont despite knowing of the investigation. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years imprisonment with a mandatory minimum of 3 years.

Tuan Van Bui, a 55-year-old from Vietnam who entered the U.S. in 1990 on a visa under the Amerasian Homecoming Act, was found unresponsive at Miami Correctional Facility on April 1, 2026 and pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. Bui had been ordered removed from the country in 2005 and was in ICE custody at the time of his death.

Genaro Gonzalez-Uribe, a 72-year-old undocumented immigrant, was detained by federal immigration agents on Monday morning while heading to work in San Joaquin County. He was pulled over by unmarked cars and subsequently transferred to a detention facility in Kern County. His family says he has no criminal history, prior deportations, or removal orders, and are seeking legal assistance to help his case.

Tuan Van Bui, a 55-year-old Vietnamese immigrant who had lived in the U.S. since 1990, died at the Miami Correctional Center in Indiana on April 1, 2026. ICE staff reported finding him unresponsive and initiating CPR and emergency services. The cause of death is under investigation. Bui had filed a habeas petition challenging his detention in February, and a district judge ordered the government to detail removal plans the day after his death.

Maria de Jesús Estrada Juárez, a 42-year-old DACA recipient with 27 years of U.S. residency, was arrested by ICE on February 18, 2026, at an immigration hearing in Sacramento and deported to Mexico the following day based on a 1998 expedited removal order issued when she entered at age 15. She had stable employment as a regional manager for Motel 6, no criminal record, and documentation of decades of tax payments and residency. U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins issued a temporary restraining order on March 23, 2026, ruling the deportation violated her DACA protections and constitutional due process rights. ICE granted humanitarian parole, and Estrada Juárez was returned to the U.S. on March 30-31, 2026, where she was reunited with her 22-year-old U.S. citizen daughter in Sacramento.

At least 25 people who received legal status protections under a court settlement for families separated by the Trump administration's zero tolerance policy have been detained or deported by ICE in recent months. A 23-year-old Honduran man who was legally living and working in the U.S. with proper documentation has been detained in Louisiana for five months and faces deportation. Federal officials have violated the legal protections granted to these individuals through the child separation settlement.

Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a 56-year-old nearly blind Rohingya refugee from Myanmar, was released from Erie County jail on February 19, 2026, after U.S. Border Patrol agents determined he was ineligible for deportation. Border Patrol agents dropped him at a Tim Hortons coffee shop north of Buffalo without notifying his family or attorney. Surveillance footage contradicted DHS claims that the location was safe and open; the store was closed except for the drive-thru. Alam, who spoke little English and required a cane to walk, went missing for several days. His body was found on February 24 near KeyBank Center, approximately four miles from the coffee shop. Local officials later ruled his death a homicide, caused by complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration.

U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware II blocked a Department of Homeland Security policy requiring ICE to detain nearly all people facing deportation in Nevada, ruling it violated federal law and the Fourth Amendment. The decision restores bond hearing rights for non-citizens who entered without inspection, are in removal proceedings, and lack prior removal orders. ICE was ordered to post bilingual notices by April 7, 2026 and provide habeas petition forms by April 14, 2026.

A 15-year-old was detained during an ICE raid at a clandestine club off San Pedro Avenue in San Antonio in November 2025, along with approximately 140 other people. Four months later, the teen remained in federal custody at a migrant children's shelter on San Antonio's South Side despite paperwork for his release being completed. The release process stalled after his father, who was handling the case, was detained while driving back from a job in Corpus Christi, creating additional complications as the family feared further detention if a parent came forward to secure his release.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies executed search warrants at multiple locations in Jasper County, South Carolina over the weekend, resulting in at least five people being taken into custody by federal immigration officials at one location. Specific details about the total number arrested, reasons for the arrests, and where detainees were transported have not been released. The operation caused concern in the local community.

On March 31, 2026, a traffic stop on Interstate 20 near Leeds, Alabama resulted in the arrest of four individuals. The driver presented a Mexican identification card instead of an Alabama driver license, prompting an Alabama State Police trooper to contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. When the driver and two passengers fled on foot into nearby woods, law enforcement apprehended all three without incident. All four individuals were arrested by the Leeds Police Department. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and ICE are investigating the incident.

Isaias, an asylee, was detained by ICE during a routine immigration check-in meeting earlier this year. He was the primary source of financial support for his elderly mother Rosa, who is now unable to work and needs assistance with rent and phone bills.

A Venezuelan pediatrician working as a medical assistant in the Raleigh neighborhood is currently in ICE custody.

Salah Salem Sarsour, a 53-year-old Jordanian national and lawful permanent resident who has lived in the U.S. for over 32 years, was detained by ICE on March 30 while driving in Milwaukee. DHS cited his prior conviction for throwing a Molotov cocktail at Israeli military targets as a teenager in the West Bank. Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee and father of six U.S. citizen children, remains in custody at an ICE detention facility in Indiana pending removal proceedings, with advocates and his attorney challenging the legality of his detention.

Genaro Gonzalez-Uribe, a 72-year-old undocumented man, was detained by ICE on March 30, 2026, while driving to work in Lodi, California. He was pulled over by unmarked vehicles and subsequently transferred to a detention facility in California City. His family reports concerns about his health and lack of access to medication while in custody, and they are seeking legal assistance as he faces removal proceedings.

On March 30, 2026, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper conducted a traffic stop on I-15 in Weber County for speeding. The driver refused to cooperate and could not provide valid identification despite claiming to be a U.S. citizen. With assistance from Weber County Sheriff's Office and ICE agents, the driver was forcibly removed from the vehicle due to noncompliance. Both the driver and a passenger were found to have active ICE detainers and were arrested and booked into Weber County Jail on charges including speeding, resisting arrest, and driving without a license.

Juan Carlos Quevedo Ferrer, 46, was arrested by Wildwood police for allegedly conducting 10 self-checkout fraud incidents at Target between November and March, in which he scanned lower-priced items like taco seasoning instead of the actual merchandise he purchased, totaling $181 in losses. Following his arrest, he is to be turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICE lodged a detainer requesting that Charlotte authorities not release Angelvis Jesus Quintero Fernandez, a 22-year-old from Venezuela, who was arrested and faces felony charges including first-degree murder in two fatal shootings in Charlotte on January 24 and March 22, 2026. Quintero Fernandez allegedly entered the U.S. in July 2023 via the CBP One app.

Anton Smovzh was deported from the United States by ICE. Upon crossing the border into Ukraine following his deportation, he was immediately picked up by Ukrainian military draft officers and sent to a training center.

Fernando Costilla Espinoza, 38, was found asleep behind the wheel of a locked pickup truck at a Pensacola intersection early Sunday morning. After authorities woke him, he showed signs of alcohol impairment and was taken to a hospital for evaluation. He was arrested on DUI and related charges, and ICE placed a detainer after determining he was not in the United States legally.

Nearly a dozen clergy members and immigration activists were arrested on Monday morning while attempting to block vehicles from leaving the ICE headquarters garage in Center City Philadelphia. The protesters, organized by No ICE Philly, were part of a "Week of Action Against ICE and Collaborators" and were charged with obstructing access to the garage, facing $530 in penalties or court appearance.

A Toledo resident is among several lead plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit accusing federal immigration authorities of making warrantless arrests. The lawsuit challenges unlawful detention practices as ICE enforcement activities increase throughout Ohio.

ICE agents detained Edgar Gomez in Bridgeton, New Jersey, after he left a court appearance where all charges against him had been dropped. Agents smashed the window of an immigration lawyer's vehicle and removed Gomez without producing a warrant despite requests from his attorney. Gomez was one step away from obtaining lawful permanent residency. The detention occurred one day after New Jersey passed a law requiring ICE agents to produce warrants.

A 17-year-old attending a protest against ICE was detained and beaten repeatedly with a baton by officers, resulting in a broken femur that required emergency surgery. According to witnesses, the beating occurred while the minor was already surrounded by officers and detained. He is reportedly being denied visitors while hospitalized.

A two-year-old has been held at the Dilley family detention center in Texas since March 19, 2026, and is refusing to eat while experiencing illness. Reports describe poor detention conditions including contaminated water, worms in meals, and inadequate medical care. Staff reportedly dismissed the child's mother's requests for medical assistance. Congressman Joaquin Castro called for the child's release and adequate medical care, and renewed calls to close the facility, which has faced ongoing criticism for water shortages and insufficient medical attention.

Federal immigration authorities in Chattanooga filed a criminal complaint against Hector Antonio Amaya Flores, a Salvadoran national, for unlawfully reentering the United States after multiple prior deportations. According to court documents, Flores was encountered by ICE agents on March 29, 2026, and fingerprint analysis confirmed his identity. Immigration records show Flores had been deported in 1996, 1997, 2003, and 2018, and did not have permission from the Department of Homeland Security to return to the U.S.

ICE Boston arrested Bolivar Rivera-Perez, a Mexican national with two prior deportations and a criminal history including firearms offenses and DUI convictions in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. ICE lodged a detainer against Rivera-Perez with the Franklin County House of Corrections on March 24, 2025, but the facility released him into the community on March 31, 2025, without honoring the detainer.

Carlos Corte-Corte from Ecuador was arrested on local charges for kidnapping a four-year-old child from a laundromat in Patchogue, New York on March 28, 2026. After local authorities arrested him, he was released from jail. ICE arrested him on March 31 and placed him in removal proceedings. According to ICE, Corte-Corte had been previously removed from the U.S. three times and illegally re-entered.

On March 28, 2026, a charter deportation flight carrying several dozen Russian citizens departed from Alexandria, Louisiana, and was routed through Newark, New Jersey, and Cairo, Egypt before arriving in Moscow. The deportees were gathered from five or six immigration detention centers across the United States. Human rights advocates reported harsh transfer conditions including shackles and extended periods without seating, and noted that some deportees faced FSB questioning and military draft notices upon arrival in Moscow.

A Trump-appointed federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against ICE for grave violations of detainees' Fifth Amendment rights during Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota. The court found that ICE isolated thousands of people at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building without access to attorneys and ordered the agency to provide legal aid contacts, interpreters, and free phone access within one hour of detention, as well as ban rapid out-of-state transfers within 72 hours.

A video recorded by a man's wife documented an ICE arrest in Bridgeton. The video shows officers smashing a car window during the arrest and taking the man away.

Yaima de las Mercedes Suárez, a Cuban mother of five and permanent resident of the United States, was arrested by ICE at Miami International Airport upon returning from a trip to Cuba. She faces possible deportation due to a criminal conviction from July 2013 for theft and conspiracy when she was 21 years old and pregnant. Her lawyer is pursuing bail and habeas corpus options to challenge the detention.

Two people were arrested during a "No Kings" protest at Riverfront Park near an ICE facility in downtown Spokane. An 18-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly taking a Trump flag from a counterprotester, and a 32-year-old man was arrested for assaulting an officer who was attempting to detain the woman. The incident lasted approximately five minutes and involved a brief physical altercation between police and protesters.

A federal court issued a preliminary injunction requiring ICE and the Florida Department of Emergency Management to provide detained people at the Everglades Detention Facility (also called "Alligator Alcatraz") with access to legal counsel. The ruling was based on testimony from formerly detained people who described being denied access to attorneys, papers, and pencils. The court certified the case as a class action, protecting all current and future detainees at the facility.

Four migrants represented by the ACLU of Nebraska were released from ICE custody in recent weeks after federal judges ordered their release on bond or outright release. However, a new 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling decided that federal law does not require bond hearings for undocumented immigrants, even those with years of U.S. residence and no criminal records, aligning with the Trump administration's mandatory detention policy.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Suraj Vasal, an Indian national seeking asylum, at an Interstate 80 weigh station in Iowa on February 11, 2026. The arrest occurred during a traffic stop in which the Iowa State Patrol requested an immigration inquiry. Federal court records indicate ICE and the Iowa State Patrol were collaborating to check drivers' legal status at weigh stations. A federal judge ruled that the government violated Vasal's due process rights by conducting his bond hearing with only 30 minutes' notice and denying him adequate time to obtain legal representation, finding the agencies acted in bad faith.

On October 23, 2025, Arnulfo Bazan was pulled over by unmarked law enforcement in Houston while driving his 16-year-old U.S. citizen son Arnoldo to school. According to Arnoldo, officers without visible badges surrounded their car, leading Arnulfo to drive to a Restaurant Depot parking lot where he was tackled and restrained. Arnoldo reported being assaulted during the encounter but was released after identifying as a minor and U.S. citizen. Arnulfo was taken to the Montgomery County Processing Center and deported to Mexico on October 28, 2025. Months later, Arnoldo testified before Congress about ICE agents choking him and using derogatory slurs during the arrest, stating uncertainty about when he would see his father again. ICE disputed the assault allegations, claiming Arnulfo rammed a federal vehicle and fled.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a State College area man on March 26, 2026, while he was being driven by his attorney to a court appearance. The man, who had lived in the community for nearly two decades, was pulled over on East College Avenue and taken into custody by five ICE agents. Local advocates expressed concern about the arrest's impact on community trust and its chilling effect on residents seeking help.

Martha Ruíz, a Salvadoran woman detained by ICE, suffered a stroke while in custody. She requested medical assistance for weeks but was not helped until she collapsed and required hospitalization. After six months of separation, she was reunited with her family. Her daughters allege ICE failed to provide adequate medical care.

Minnesota prosecutors filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration's Departments of Homeland Security and Justice after ICE agents shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and wounded Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in Minneapolis. The Trump administration refused to cooperate with state investigations, declined to release the names of agents involved, and refused to share evidence despite formal requests. Minnesota officials characterized the federal government's refusal to cooperate as unprecedented.

Jose Guadalupe Ramos-Solano, a 52-year-old Mexican national, died on March 25, 2026, at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. He was found unconscious in his bunk and staff initiated life-saving procedures before he was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced deceased. Ramos had been arrested by ICE on February 23, 2026, in Torrance, California. Detainees who witnessed the incident reported that Ramos-Solano was experiencing symptoms of overheating and difficulty breathing prior to being found unconscious. The Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles documented this as the 14th death of a Mexican national in ICE custody since January 2025.

Jose Guadalupe Ramos-Solano, a Mexican national in his early 50s, died on March 25, 2026, at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California. He was found unconscious in his bunk; staff initiated CPR and called emergency services, and he was transported to Victor Valley Global Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased. Ramos had been arrested by ICE on February 23, 2026, following a previous local conviction. His death was the fourth at the facility in 2026 and the 14th migrant death in ICE custody nationally that year. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced her government would file a legal brief in a class-action lawsuit alleging unconstitutional conditions at the detention center.

On March 25, 2026, ICE agents conducted a targeted vehicle stop to arrest Xa Lee, an undocumented individual from Laos with prior criminal convictions. During the stop, Lee attempted to flee and struck an ICE officer with his vehicle. The officer was not injured. Lee fled the scene and remained at large at the time of the announcement.

An ICE enforcement operation in San Juan, Texas resulted in a male driver being taken into custody by ICE agents. A young girl present at the scene was observed in clear distress and having a panic attack as the agent reached through the car window during the escalating encounter. Neighbors witnessed the incident and the impact on the family.

Bertha Olga Gómez Fong, wife of former Chihuahua Governor César Duarte, was arrested by ICE officials in El Paso and is being held at the El Paso Service Processing Center. Duarte, who governed Chihuahua from 2010 to 2016, was previously arrested in Miami in 2020 for embezzlement and extradited to Mexico, where he was later re-arrested on federal money laundering charges and remains incarcerated in Mexico City.

On March 25-26, 2026, ICE agents detained six Guatemalan workers aged 18-40 at a residential construction site in Cambridge, Maryland. The homeowner, who had hired the workers for remodeling work nearing completion, contacted ICE and assisted agents in accessing the work area. The workers were owed approximately $10,000 in unpaid wages. A coworker with permanent residency status, Bryan Polanco, documented the detention on video and livestreamed it online without being detained himself. Family members reported emotional hardship from the detentions.

Anabel Romero, a U.S. citizen from Idaho, was detained at gunpoint during a federal raid while her young children watched. She and her 14-year-old daughter were assaulted and zip-tied during the incident. Romero is now speaking out about her experience.

Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez, a 42-year-old DACA recipient with valid work authorization, was arrested and deported to Mexico on February 18, 2026, while attending a USCIS green card interview in Sacramento, California. Immigration agents cited a 1998 expedited removal order from her entry as a minor, despite her active DACA status and lack of criminal record. She was deported within 24 hours and separated from her 22-year-old U.S. citizen daughter after 27 years in the country. On March 23, 2026, U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins ruled the deportation violated her DACA protections and constitutional due process rights, ordering the Trump administration to return her within seven days. She was reunited with her daughter at the San Ysidro border crossing on March 31, 2026.

Ya'akub Ira Vijandre, a Filipino DACA recipient and community activist, was detained by ICE at his Arlington home in October 2025. The federal government is seeking to terminate his DACA protection, citing his social media activity and posts about Palestine activism. On March 24, 2026, community members and supporters spoke before Arlington City Council requesting a resolution calling for his release, citing constitutional concerns and detention conditions at Folkston Detention Center in Georgia.

Minnesota officials sued the Trump administration for access to evidence in shootings by federal officers during an immigration crackdown, including the deaths of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti. The lawsuit claims the administration did not cooperate with state-level investigations and has adopted a policy of withholding evidence. The case also involves Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who was wounded in a shooting, with charges dropped and a criminal investigation opened into whether federal officials lied under oath.