Human Impact Project

Agustin Morales-Renteria, a 24-year-old, was deported to Mexico on July 21, 2026, where he is wanted for aggravated homicide. Morales-Renteria first entered the U.S. without authorization in September 2021 and was expelled under COVID-19 protocols, but reentered without authorization in October 2021 to evade prosecution after Mexican authorities issued a warrant for his arrest. In December 2024, ICE encountered him at a sheriff's office in Jackson County, Missouri, following his arrest for tampering with a motor vehicle and felony drug possession, though no immigration action was taken at that time. In November 2025, he was convicted of being a noncitizen in possession of a firearm and sentenced to 18 months in federal prison. After his release from federal custody in May 2026, ICE took custody of him, and an immigration judge ordered his removal on July 2, 2026. He was deported from the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas, to Mexican authorities at the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge in Laredo, Texas. Juan Becerra Ruiz, 24, was deported to Mexico on July 21, 2026, after an immigration judge ordered his removal. Becerra Ruiz is wanted in Mexico for intentional homicide on a warrant issued in Querétaro on October 21, 2022. He entered the U.S. without authorization at an unknown date and location. In May 2026, U.S. Border Patrol received notice of the warrant and his location in the Houston area. On June 4, 2026, Border Patrol agents detained him during a traffic stop in Spring, Texas, and transferred custody to ICE. An immigration judge ordered his removal on June 30, and ICE completed the deportation on July 21, transferring him to Mexican authorities at the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge in Laredo, Texas.

Clayton Herman, a 54-year-old Canadian citizen who immigrated to the U.S. legally in 2002, was detained by ICE in October 2025 following a routine check-in at an ICE field office in Camarillo. During his initial eight-month detention at Adelanto ICE Processing Centre in California's Mojave Desert, Herman reported inhumane conditions including mold, inadequate medical care, poor food quality, and irregular schedules. Four detainees died at the facility during his detention. A federal magistrate judge ruled in June 2026 that his detention violated his rights and ordered his release. Herman was freed but re-arrested on July 21, 2026, after missing a July 10 deadline to file an appeal to his removal order; he stated his priority mail appeal was delayed in transit between Santa Barbara and Virginia. He was returned to Adelanto ICE Processing Centre and is now facing deportation to Canada, having refused to sign expedited deportation papers due to concerns about being separated from his cats and the life he built in the Ojai Valley.

Ramatu Roseline B. is a national from Sierra Leone who was placed under a final removal order but had her removal statutorily withheld after an immigration judge found her life and freedom would be threatened if removed. She was released from immigration detention on an Order of Supervision approximately one year ago. Three weeks ago, the government revoked her Order of Supervision and re-detained her. The government announced plans to remove her to Ghana, a country to which she has no connection. She filed a habeas corpus petition challenging her detention and a motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent removal. The court granted her motion, finding she demonstrated sufficient likelihood of success on the merits and that the balance of equities strongly favored her. The court expressed concerns about the government's actions, particularly the plan to remove her to a third country despite diplomatic assurances that Ghana might return her to Sierra Leone where her safety is threatened.

Vlad, a 23-year-old Russian asylum seeker, was deported to Moscow on July 20, 2026, after missing his May asylum hearing in Tucson. Vlad fled Russia in 2022 and presented himself at the San Ysidro port of entry in December 2022 requesting asylum protection. He had been living in Tucson with his partner Andrea Landavazo. Vlad expressed deep fear of being conscripted into the Russian military or imprisoned upon return due to his political beliefs and opposition to the Russia-Ukraine war. He was detained by ICE in June 2026 and held at ICE's Florence Service Processing Center during a measles lockdown. An order of deportation was issued in absentia, and Vlad did not receive the standard $2,600 in departure funds typically provided for voluntary departure, as ICE stated he did not leave voluntarily.

Emmanuel Rodriguez, a father of three who immigrated 21 years ago seeking safety, was detained by State Highway Patrol on July 18, 2026, during a family beach vacation in Myrtle Beach after being pulled over for a broken headlight. Despite being eligible for a $232 PR bond that would have allowed immediate release, he was placed on a 48-hour ICE hold due to his immigration status and Horry County's close cooperation with ICE. Rodriguez has no history of violent crimes and has spent his life providing for his family and helping those in need. His daughter, a 20-year-old biology student at UNC Greensboro, describes him as the backbone of the family—both financially and emotionally—and notes he is being deported to a country he has not visited in over 24 years, leaving his wife to care alone for their two other children, including an 18-year-old son with severe autism.

Helena Tobias, 8 months pregnant with two other young sons, was left as the sole caregiver after her husband was recently apprehended and deported by ICE. Unable to work due to lack of childcare, she faces financial hardship covering rent and groceries. A coworker organized a fundraiser to help support the family during this period.

Neride Montoya was detained by ICE in the United States for three months before being deported to Venezuela. She arrived in Caracas on the same day a major earthquake struck the country. Shortly after landing, she was taken to a building by authorities when the earthquake began. She attempted to escape down the stairs but a wall collapsed on her, injuring her severely. She sustained fractures in two bones of her right leg, multiple traumatic injuries to her left leg and other parts of her body. She was trapped under rubble but managed to remove debris from her head to her waist before someone helped free her legs. She is now hospitalized at Hospital General del Sur, where she is fighting a serious infection and severe psychological trauma.

Luis Alberto Ramirez Zavala, a Chicago-area man who had spent most of his life working as a ranch hand in rural Illinois, was detained by ICE during a routine appointment with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Missouri on July 18, 2026, regarding his pending application for legal status. He had no criminal record and had been following the immigration process for years to adjust his status. Ramirez Zavala was detained based on a removal order issued more than 30 years ago. He was transferred from a county jail in Missouri to an ICE detention facility in Texas and deported to Mexico approximately two weeks after his arrest. His daughter, Air Force Tech. Sgt. Wendy Gbeve, was present at his USCIS appointment and has been advocating for his release. Ramirez Zavala was married for 30 years to a legal permanent resident. His family expressed being heartbroken by the separation and sought funds for legal defense and support.

Maikel Guerra Morales, a Cuban national convicted of aircraft piracy in 2003 after hijacking a commuter plane, was released from ICE custody by Senior U.S. District Judge John E. Steele on July 8, 2026, after more than six months in detention. Judge Steele ruled that ICE lacked a concrete plan to deport Morales and was violating the 2001 Supreme Court decision in Zadvydas v. Davis against indefinite detention. Morales had been released under supervision in March 2023 but was re-arrested in December 2025 despite complying with all supervision terms. Judge Steele ordered ICE to release Morales within 24 hours under the same conditions that had previously applied. In an exclusive statement, Morales expressed gratitude for Judge Steele, saying he would "always remember Judge Steele as a man who honored the oath he took" and calling him someone who applied "the law with independence, integrity, and justice." Judge Steele died at age 77 days after issuing the ruling. U.S. Rep. Greg Steube subsequently filed articles of impeachment against the deceased judge, making Judge Steele the first federal judge to die during impeachment proceedings.

Shucheng "Charlie" Yang, 32, a Chinese national employed as an attorney with Alaska's Department of Law Civil Division, was arrested by ICE on July 10, 2026 in Anchorage. Yang was admitted to the Alaska Bar Association and licensed to practice law in June 2025. According to ICE, Yang violated the terms of his admission to the U.S. and is subject to deportation, though the specific violation was not clarified by ICE. An attorney familiar with immigration proceedings suggested Yang likely applied for asylum. Court records show Yang received a speeding ticket in April for driving 103 mph in a 65 mph zone on the Seward Highway, which he resolved by pleading no contest and paying a $2,300 fine. As of July 16, he was being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington awaiting immigration proceedings scheduled for October.

Roberto Mosquera del Peral, a Cuban man who arrived in the U.S. as a child during the 1980 Mariel boatlift and built a life as a plumber, husband, and father of four daughters, was deported to Eswatini in mid-July as part of the Trump administration's third-country deportation program. He has been held at Matsapha Correctional Complex, a maximum-security prison, for more than three months without being charged with any offense or given access to legal counsel. His lawyer reports he is on a hunger strike with serious health concerns, and civic groups in Eswatini have filed court cases challenging the legality of holding him and other deportees in prison without charge.

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 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.

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."

Four Kenyan nationals—Newton Njuguna Githiri, Mohamed Chekchekani, Ian Mwangi Irungu, and Said Salat Yarow—are facing deportation from the United States after ICE determined their criminal convictions make them removable under federal law. Githiri was arrested in New Orleans after serving criminal sentences and was convicted in Alabama. Chekchekani was detained in Los Angeles and court records show he was convicted of kidnapping a minor and RICO violations. Details on Irungu and Yarow's cases have not been disclosed. Each man is subject to immigration proceedings that could result in removal from the country.

Scull Delgado arrived in the US during the 1980 Mariel boatlift, fleeing Cuba's mandatory military service. He settled in California, married a U.S. citizen, raised three children and four grandchildren, and worked for decades while building toward retirement—just one month away when immigration agents arrested him during a routine annual sign-in at a U.S. immigration office. He had served his time for a crime committed in the 1990s and maintained a clean record afterward. By November 2025, he had been transported to Mexico, separated from his family after nearly 46 years in the country.

Teodoro Vazquez-Moreno, 58, a Mexico-born resident of Evansville, was arrested by ICE following a traffic stop and held at the Clay County Justice Center in Brazil, Indiana on an immigration hold. His niece Ana Karen Gonzalez learned of his detention through a text from his son, who operates a food truck business on Evansville's East Side, and discovered her uncle in the back of a federal van outside the Evansville-Vanderburgh Civic Center while seeking information from local officials. According to family members, Vazquez-Moreno carried a valid driver's license and federal work permit at the time of arrest and had no active criminal cases; a years-old DUI case from Dubois County was the only reported scrape with the law. Vazquez-Moreno was being represented by immigration attorney Jason Flora at the time of his arrest. By Saturday, the family confirmed through a phone call that he was the person in the van and were told he would be deported to Mexico, though they received no formal removal documentation.

Jacob Zapeta-Castro, a Guatemalan national and owner of El Quetzal Bakery in Lake Worth Beach, was detained by ICE agents on July 9, 2026. According to his family and advocates, Zapeta-Castro locked himself and his coworkers inside the business to protect undocumented employees from detention. ICE characterized his actions as fleeing agents. At the time of arrest, Zapeta-Castro held a valid work permit, Social Security number, and driver's license, and had filed for asylum in June 2024 and a withholding of removal petition. Multi-agency law enforcement—including ICE, Florida Highway Patrol, and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office—surrounded the business with approximately 50 officers while roughly 50 community members protested outside. The standoff lasted hours in extreme heat. He was charged with re-entering the country after deportation and held in ICE detention in Stuart, with his arraignment scheduled for July 29 in federal court in West Palm Beach. His arrest occurred during a four-day ICE operation in Palm Beach County that resulted in 309 total arrests.

Eduard Safaryan, an Armenian national with a final removal order since 2020, was released on supervision on July 8, 2026, following a prior court order. When he reported to ICE on July 10, 2026, he was re-detained after ICE obtained travel documents from Armenia and scheduled his removal for July 26, 2026. The court denied his emergency request to be released again, finding he did not show a likelihood of success on the merits of his three grounds for relief challenging the revocation of his supervision order.

Tou Lue Vang, a Laotian citizen who legally entered the United States in 1994, was convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for repeatedly sexually assaulting a child between 2002 and 2004. He was ordered deported in October 2006 but remained in the country for approximately 20 years because Laos restricted deportee acceptance. ICE arrested Vang on December 10, 2025, with plans to deport him based on his prior conviction. A federal judge in the District of Minnesota ordered his release from ICE custody on February 19, 2026. The Minnesota Clemency Review Commission granted Vang a pardon on June 10, 2026, which removed the conviction from his record. Despite the pardon, Secretary of State Marco Rubio terminated Vang's legal status, and ICE deported him to Laos on July 10, 2026. DHS argued that the pardon did not prevent removal, and the agency criticized the clemency decision.

Owen Ramsingh, a Netherlands native who arrived in the United States at age 5 in 1986 and held a green card for over 40 years, was detained by ICE at Chicago's O'Hare Airport in November 2025 based on decades-old drug convictions from 1997 and 2011. He was deported to the Netherlands in February 2026 after months in detention, receiving a lifetime ban from the United States. Ramsingh had been living in Columbia, Missouri with his wife Diana and daughter, working in property management and security at local venues. After finding conditions in the Netherlands difficult, Ramsingh and his family relocated to Mexico to be closer to U.S.-based friends and relatives while his wife pursues remote work opportunities, unable to visit his daughter's gravesite in the United States. Owen Ramsingh, a long-term green card holder who immigrated to the U.S. at age 5 in 1986, was detained by ICE at Chicago airport on September 30 while returning from a family visit to the Netherlands. DHS cited prior drug-related convictions from 1997 and 2011 as justification for his detention. Ramsingh, who had worked in property management and security at music venues in Columbia, Missouri, was held in ICE custody in Texas and New Mexico. In December, a New Mexico judge issued him a lifetime ban from the U.S., and he was deported to the Netherlands in February. Unable to secure housing or viable visa options in the Netherlands, Ramsingh and his family have since relocated to Mexico, where they are working on obtaining residency and rebuilding their lives closer to family and friends.

Ulises Peña López, a 30-year-old Mexican carpenter living in Sunnyvale, California, with severe pre-existing medical conditions including a mini-stroke, blood clot in his neck, heart condition, spinal disorder, and knee injuries, was arrested by ICE agents on February 21, 2025. According to a federal lawsuit filed by Disability Law United and Pangea Legal Services, ICE agents smashed his car window and physically assaulted him during the arrest, beating him in an alleyway until he lost consciousness and requiring CPR, with his wife Aby and young daughter witnessing the assault. He was hospitalized and allegedly shackled to his bed. His wife told Telemundo: "He can't feel half of his face, it's numb, as well as his right hand and arm, and right now he feels tingling in his right leg and foot." During eight months in ICE detention at facilities operated by GeoGroup and CoreCivic, he allegedly received inadequate medical care, was denied disability accommodations and necessary medication, and was mocked by staff. He was deported to Mexico in October 2025. His wife Aby and daughter, both U.S. citizens, have joined him in filing the lawsuit against DHS, ICE, GEO Group, and CoreCivic, raising claims of civil rights violations, Fifth Amendment due process violations, disability rights violations, and state law accountability claims under California's Accountability in Detention Act. His wife Aby was subsequently diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Savannah Eric's father was detained during a routine ICE check-in and subsequently deported after more than 22 years living in the United States. He had no criminal convictions and consistently complied with all immigration requirements. The family has been separated for a year and is raising funds to travel and reunite with him.

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.

Lorenzo Rojas-Martinez, a 37-year-old Mexican national who had been deported twice previously, was arrested after operating a drone in restricted airspace near Centennial Olympic Park during the 2026 FIFA Fan Festival in Atlanta on June 12. Federal agents observed him operating the drone from a parking lot, where he was recording video of the event. After confirming his unlawful presence in the United States, he was taken into custody and transferred to ICE. He faces federal charges for operating a drone in a temporary flight restricted zone and illegal reentry after prior deportations. ICE arrested Jose Garrido-Benitez, 51, on July 6 after he was caught flying a drone in a no-fly zone 2.5 miles from Arrowhead Stadium on July 3. Garrido-Benitez, a Mexican national, was detained for unlawful presence in the United States. ICE stated he had prior convictions and had been removed from the U.S. in 2003 before unlawfully reentering.

Ignacio Carrizalez, a Mexican national with work authorization and an active citizenship application, was detained by ICE agents on April 28, 2026, after Evans City Police stopped his vehicle for an expired registration. ICE agents surrounded his car, and after he refused to answer questions about his citizenship status, he was taken to Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County. His wife, Amanda Smail-Carrizalez, a U.S. citizen, reported agents removed him "violently" from the vehicle. While detained, Carrizalez missed a scheduled permanent residency hearing on June 1st, and an immigration judge subsequently ordered him to either self-deport or be deported. On June 26, 2026, he was unexpectedly released after more than two months in custody, just before he was scheduled to be transferred to a facility in Mexico, with his deportation date postponed to September 2026. His wife testified before Butler County Commissioners about the financial and psychological toll on their six-year-old daughter with autism, who experienced nightmares, and the family applied for public assistance following his arrest.

Alejandro Emilio Visbal Mendoza, an asylum-seeker from Ann Arbor, Michigan, was deported to Venezuela and died when the building where deportees were being housed collapsed following devastating earthquakes. His family spent days searching through hospital lists, morgues, and social media after losing contact with him following his deportation flight.

Oxana's father was detained by ICE and deported to Peru after living in the United States for 36 years. He has just arrived in Peru and is struggling to meet basic living expenses as he rebuilds his life in a country where he has no established support system. His family, now separated by thousands of miles, created a GoFundMe to help him cover food, hygiene items, clothing, transportation, and other daily necessities during this transition.

Liliana, a mother of two U.S.-based children, was detained by ICE during a routine check-in in May 2017 and subsequently deported to El Salvador despite intensive advocacy efforts by immigrant rights organizations in the Washington, DC metro area, including press conferences and intervention from elected officials. The article documents her struggle to rebuild her life as a deportee facing violence, unemployment, and social stigmatization in El Salvador.

S, a Nigerian Christian, came to the United States in 2001 and applied for asylum based on her fear of religious persecution. A U.S. immigration judge found she would be persecuted if returned to Nigeria and granted her withholding of removal. She is the primary breadwinner for her four U.S. citizen children and her husband, who is disabled. At a routine ICE check-in in Los Angeles in July 2026, she was arrested, detained, and summarily deported to Ghana, separating her from her family and the country she called home for 25 years. Within 24 hours of her arrival, Ghanaian authorities refouled her to Nigeria, where she fears the persecution she fled.

On June 24-26, 2026, the US deported approximately 146 Venezuelans, including minors, on a repatriation flight to Venezuela. The deportees were placed in Hotel Santuario (also called Hotel El Santuario) in La Guaira while undergoing repatriation processing. Within hours, twin earthquakes struck Venezuela with magnitude and force sufficient to collapse the hotel. At least 2,200 people were killed and 50,000 reported missing across the country. Among the deportees, some were killed, others severely injured with amputations, and many remain unaccounted for. Families gathered outside the hotel rubble searching for information, hampered by limited rescue access and unclear communication from authorities.

Luis Angel Velasquez-Montes, 27, was identified during a traffic stop in Chatham County between January and April 2026 and placed in ICE custody. He pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry after previous deportation and was sentenced to time served followed by immediate deportation. Miguel Aparicio-Ortiz, 40, was identified during a traffic stop in Chatham County between January and April 2026 and placed in ICE custody. He pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry after previous deportation and was sentenced to time served followed by immediate deportation.

Daniel Alejandro Núñez Ramírez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan, was deported from the United States and arrived in Venezuela on June 24, 2026, as part of a group of 146 deported migrants. On the same day, two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela. Daniel was being held at the Santuario La Llanada hotel in La Guaira while repatriation procedures were completed. When the hotel collapsed during the earthquakes, Daniel was killed instantly. His mother, Oswadeliz Núñez Ramírez, spent five days searching for him in hospitals, morgues, and across La Guaira and Caracas before his body was recovered from the rubble. She identified him by a tattoo. Only 32 of the 146 deported migrants survived the disaster.

Isalia Martínez, a 46-year-old Mexican mother, was detained by ICE agents in the parking lot of Community Care clinic in Austin on June 29 while heading to a medical appointment. After six days in immigration custody and being transferred between two detention centers, she was deported to Michoacán, Mexico. Martínez has two sons, ages 17 and 22, who remain in the United States. She expressed devastation at the separation, saying she feels helpless being separated from her children and hopes to reunite with them someday.

Marta, a Latin American asylum seeker deported to the Democratic Republic of Congo under a U.S. third-country deportation policy, described feeling emotionally adrift and psychologically strained by her uncertain situation. Living in conditions marked by frequent power cuts, lack of clean water, and constant illness, she expressed distress about not knowing what her future holds.

Five men were identified during separate traffic stops in Chatham and Atkinson counties between January and April 2026. Miguel Aparicio-Ortiz (40, Mexico), Aguelio Lemos Hernandez (35, Honduras), Henry Marin-Hernandez (41, Guatemala), Moises Valenzuela-Mendez (42, Mexico), and Luis Angel Velasquez-Montes (27, Mexico) were each placed in ICE custody following their stops. All five pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry after previous removal in federal court in Savannah and were sentenced to time served followed by immediate deportation.

Ángelo Mejía Meléndez, a 27-year-old Venezuelan, was deported from the U.S. on June 24, 2026, as part of a group of approximately 145-146 Venezuelans. He had been building a life in Miami, working at a pier, where his employer valued his work so highly that they named a new Jet Ski after him. In a recent voice note to his mother, he expressed deep love for her, saying "If I were to be born again, I would want you to be my mother." Hours after landing in Caracas, while being processed in a guarded hotel in La Guaira, powerful twin earthquakes struck and the building collapsed, killing him. His family identified his body by a distinctive pizza tattoo on his arm. His best friend Georgelyss Montes, whom he had said goodbye to four years earlier when he left for the U.S., learned of his death after searching hospitals and morgues. His mother did not learn of his death until days after the earthquakes, when a survivor informed her he had not survived.

Artyom Vovchenko, a 27-year-old Russian who deserted the military in 2022 in opposition to the war in Ukraine, was deported back to Russia by the Trump administration last summer after spending 13 months in three U.S. detention centers and being denied asylum. After his return to Russia, where he faced potential imprisonment or forced deployment to Ukraine, Vovchenko escaped again and crossed into Belarus earlier this year. He is now in an undisclosed country attempting to start a new life.

Eight children from three South Florida families departed Miami International Airport on a flight to Guatemala City to reunite with relatives after their parents were deported or chose to leave the country. Three of the children are U.S. citizens. The Guatemalan-Maya Center coordinated travel logistics, provided chaperones, and supported the families through the separation.

Leidys Barrabi, a 25-year-old Cuban mother, revealed on Instagram that she received a deportation order after four years in the United States. Barrabi built a beauty salon, Heaven's Spa Miami, from scratch and established a stable life for her daughter and family. In a video posted June 25, 2026, she expressed disbelief at the order but stated she would continue fighting and believes God has control of her life. The post garnered over 757,000 views and thousands of supportive comments from followers urging her to appeal.

Lisbeth Portillo, 58, was deported to Venezuela on June 24, 2026, on Flight 164 carrying approximately 146 people. She was housed at Hotel Santuario La Llanada with over 100 other recently deported Venezuelans, in a second-floor room with 16 other women. Twin earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude struck hours after her arrival, causing the building to collapse. Portillo was buried under a beam but escaped the rubble, surviving with bruises covering her body. She was reunited with her children the following night. Portillo had crossed the U.S. border in November 2021 with a pending asylum claim and had lived in South Florida for more than four years before her deportation.

Anderson Daniel Salcedo, 22, a construction worker who had lived in the U.S. for three years, was deported to Venezuela on June 24, 2026 via Flight 164. Upon arrival, he was taken to Hotel Santuario La Llanada in La Guaira for processing. Twin earthquakes struck hours later, collapsing the hotel. Salcedo was trapped in the rubble for 40 hours without access to his phone or documents—which had been withheld by authorities—leaving his family unable to locate or contact him during the crisis. He was rescued and admitted to Caracas's university hospital, where both of his legs were amputated due to his injuries.

Julio Irungaray Sr., a Mexican national who has lived in Utah for 35 years, was detained by ICE agents outside his home on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. At the time of detention, he was working two jobs at a Mexican restaurant and movie theater. He is being held in a jail in Evanston, Wyoming, and faces deportation despite being in the process of formally appealing a deportation order. Family and supporters rallied Thursday to demand his release, describing him as a hardworking community member.

A father and asylum seeker was detained by ICE at MetLife Stadium while attending a FIFA Club World Cup final with his children on July 13, 2025. Local police questioned him about flying a small drone in the parking lot—a civil violation typically resulting in a fine—and asked about his immigration status, leading to his transfer to ICE agents. He spent three months in immigration detention before his asylum claim was denied. He was subsequently deported to his country of origin, which he said he had fled in 2022 due to threats from armed groups. He has since warned immigrant World Cup fans about the risks of attending such events in the United States.

Luis was arrested by ICE for noncitizenship while driving to work and has been held in an ICE detention center. He is expected to be deported to Mexico, a country he has not visited in over 20 years. His family—a spouse and four children including a nonverbal three-year-old and a three-month-old infant—has lost its primary income and faces immediate financial hardship, including potential wage garnishment and credit damage.

Eduardo José Osal Mujica, 32, crossed the Darién Gap into the U.S., turned himself in to immigration authorities, and applied for asylum while working installing roofs and driving for Uber, settling first in Denver and later Wyoming. Local police detained him during a traffic stop in Wyoming, after which he was transferred through detention facilities in Colorado, Arizona and Texas before signing a deportation order. He was among 146 Venezuelans deported on Flight 164, which landed in Maiquetía, Venezuela on June 24, after which he and other deportees were taken to the Negra Hipólita Health Hotel for medical checkups before planned release to their home cities. The hotel collapsed in an earthquake that day, killing an unknown number of deportees while in Venezuelan custody. His wife, Danielys Hurtado, spent five days searching for his body among bags of corpses at an improvised morgue in a converted grain-storage facility. Nearly two months later, the Venezuelan government has released no official information on those who died, with survivor estimates ranging between 12 and 32.

Elomar Alexander Reyes, a 20-year-old baseball player, had been in the United States for only three months on a tourist visa, hoping to pursue a baseball career after training the previous year with an Arizona team that had signed him, according to his father Ivys Reyes. He was detained and deported to Venezuela on Flight 164, arriving June 24, and was held at the Negra Hipólita Health Hotel in La Guaira, where he died when the building collapsed in an earthquake. His father recovered his body from a hospital morgue in Caracas but was not given his documents or personal belongings.

Daniel Alejandro Núñez Ramírez, 28, had lived in the U.S. for four years after leaving Venezuela at age 20 and was residing in Jacksonville, Florida. He was detained by ICE during a traffic stop on May 10, 2026, and pressured to sign voluntary deportation papers. He was deported on Flight 164, which landed in Venezuela on June 24, 2026, and he was subsequently placed by Venezuelan authorities in a hotel used to house deportees. Hours after his arrival, an earthquake collapsed the hotel, killing him along with dozens of other deportees. His mother, Oswadeliz Núñez Ramírez, a lawyer, said she was not notified of his deportation until after he had already been handed over to Venezuelan intelligence services (Sebin). She recovered his body five days later at an improvised morgue, had him cremated, and later received only a box of his ashes after being unable to retrieve his belongings. The U.S. government said it bore no further responsibility once he left ICE custody.

Abelardo Rincón, 23, was detained by U.S. authorities in Georgia during an immigration crackdown and deported to Venezuela on Flight 164 on June 24, 2026, alongside more than 140 other Venezuelans. He called his family in Atlanta hours after landing while being held in Hotel Santuario La Llanada near the coast. Twin earthquakes struck the country just hours later, killing at least 2,200 people. Rincón and several fellow deportees from the flight went missing in the disaster; his family has been desperately searching for him with no confirmation of his status.

A 33-year-old Venezuelan man was detained at an ICE facility in El Paso, Texas and deported on a flight to Venezuela on June 24, 2026. He was transported to Hotel Santuario La Llanada where earthquakes struck hours later. His partner, Liliana Rojas, has been unable to locate him; the detention center confirmed only that he was deported but provided no further information.