Human Impact Project

Gevush Gabrielyan is a citizen of Armenia who was admitted to the United States in February 2013 and has lived in the U.S. for over 13 years. He was placed into removal proceedings in 2023 and found removable by an immigration judge in September 2023. The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed this determination in January 2024. In April 2024, an immigration judge released Gabrielyan from custody on a $20,000 bond with an order of supervision, which he complied with for over two years. On July 30, 2026, Gabrielyan was unexpectedly detained by ICE during a routine check-in. He is married to a United States citizen, and his wife is due to give birth to their first child on August 17, 2026. On August 4, 2026, a federal judge granted Gabrielyan's motion for a preliminary injunction, ordering his immediate release based on a violation of his due process rights, as he was re-detained without a pre-deprivation hearing before a neutral decision-maker.

Jesus Verde Hernandez, a Worden man who has lived in Montana for 10 years with his partner of 14 years and three young children, was arrested on July 30 by Customs and Border Patrol without a warrant or probable cause while agents searched for another man they said resembled him. He was transported between Lewistown, Jordan, Malta, Havre, and Great Falls over 30 hours and held in the Cascade County Detention Center. Federal authorities attempted to coerce him into self-deporting himself. Chief District Judge Brian Morris ordered his release, finding the detention violated his constitutional rights and that the government had no statutory authority to detain him. The judge rejected the government's argument that Hernandez must exhaust administrative remedies, saying the process was "deficient from the outset." His attorneys at Upper Seven Law are seeking class certification, identifying 17 people similarly unlawfully detained in the same facility.

Mario Alfonso Rivera Santiago, detained at Rio Grande Processing Center in Laredo, Texas, filed a pro se Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 against the Department of Homeland Security and the Warden of Rio Grande Detention Center. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ordered respondents to submit their response by August 7, 2026, with Rivera Santiago able to reply by August 21, 2026. The court also ordered respondents to notify it at least five days before any anticipated transfer or removal of Rivera Santiago outside the Southern District of Texas.

Guinel Laurent, a noncitizen who has resided in the United States since 2024, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Rhode Island. The Government argued Laurent was subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), claiming all noncitizens not admitted or paroled are "applicants for admission" seeking entry. The District Court granted Laurent's habeas petition, finding the detention unlawful because § 1225(b)(2) applies only to those at the border seeking admission, not interior arrests. The court ordered Laurent's immediate release and a bond hearing before an immigration judge under § 1226(a).

Xiaohong Zheng filed a habeas corpus petition while detained at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, Texas. The court ordered respondents to provide information about when Zheng entered the United States, whether Zheng was previously apprehended and released by immigration authorities, and the status of Zheng's immigration and removal proceedings. The court ordered respondents to file a response within 7 days of electronic service.

Somphane Sipaseuth, a Laotian refugee admitted to the U.S. in 1983 and lawful permanent resident since 1986, was detained by ICE on July 30, 2026, during a routine check-in without prior notice or opportunity to be heard. ICE officers informed him they had obtained travel documents for his deportation to Laos and cancelled his 26-year order of supervision, placing him into custody despite his attorney's notice of intent to file a motion to reopen immigration proceedings. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring his immediate release and prohibiting his re-detention without notice and a pre-deprivation hearing before a neutral decisionmaker.

Nazira Haji Zada, an Afghan lawful permanent resident, was arrested in Texas and is the subject of the first-ever case brought in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, a specialized federal court created in 1996 but never used until now. The Trump administration is seeking to deport her, alleging she helped her son and son-in-law plan a mass casualty attack on behalf of ISIS during the 2024 election. Public defenders challenged the proceedings on due process grounds, though the judge allowed the case to proceed.

Maria Perez, a Guatemalan woman seeking asylum from domestic violence, was arrested by ICE in Nashville on May 19 without a warrant while preparing to take her two children to a medical appointment. She is the nursing mother of a 10-month-old infant and a 2-year-old son with Down syndrome. Since her arrest, Perez has been held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, nearly 700 miles away from her children, who are now in the care of a neighbor. Her sudden separation from her nursing infant has caused her physical harm, compounded by her diabetes. Perez has no criminal history and has complied with all immigration process requirements since entering the United States in 2022. Her attorneys argue the arrest violated the U.S. Constitution and ICE's own policy against detaining nursing mothers without extraordinary circumstances. Multiple organizations are submitting a formal complaint to the Department of Homeland Security seeking her immediate release, and her children have missed critical medical appointments.

Prem Raj Pun Magar, a Nepali national, filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus challenging the constitutionality of his detention in federal immigration custody. He is currently detained at the Rio Grande Processing Center. The petition names Miguel Vergara (ICE-ERO Field Office Director), Markwayne Mullin (Secretary of U.S. Department of Homeland Security), Todd Blanche (U.S. Attorney General), and the Warden of the Rio Grande Processing Center as respondents. On August 3, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ordered respondents to file a response to the petition by August 10, 2026, with evidence from Magar's A-file. The court directed notification to the U.S. Attorney and ordered respondents to notify the court and Magar's counsel of any planned transfer or release.

Manuel Maria Sarmiento-Alvarez, a 46-year-old Ecuadorian national who has lived in the United States since 2003 and established community roots in Philadelphia with two U.S. citizen children, was detained by DHS/ICE on July 29, 2026, after officers showed him a photograph of a different individual they were seeking. Despite Sarmiento-Alvarez's denial that he was the person depicted, officers detained him anyway at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia. The court granted his habeas corpus petition on August 1, 2026, finding that his detention without a bond hearing violated the Immigration and Nationality Act, ordered his immediate release, and temporarily enjoined re-detention for seven days pending a proper bond hearing.

José Trinidad Rojas Pliego, a Mexican citizen who has lived continuously in the United States since 1998, was detained by ICE agents on July 7, 2026, after witnessing a fatal shooting in Houston. Pliego was a passenger in a work van driven by Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old homebuilder and father of three who had lived in the U.S. for 35 years and was close to obtaining legal status. ICE agents pursued the vehicle, rammed it, and shot Araujo, who had no criminal record. Pliego, who is in a common-law marriage with a U.S. citizen and has multiple U.S. citizen children and stepchildren, and Araujo's other passenger submitted sworn statements describing the shooting differently from the government's account, stating that agents were not positioned in front of the vehicle and that it had been boxed in when the officer fired. This contradicted DHS's claim that Araujo had "weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer." After being held at the Montgomery Processing Center for weeks with no criminal history, U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison ordered ICE to release Pliego on July 29, 2026, finding that his mandatory detention without an individualized bond determination violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights. Pliego has applied for a U-visa as a possible crime victim related to the ICE shooting, with the Harris County District Attorney's Office supporting that application.

A 14-year-old Brazilian girl with an expired visitor visa was detained by ICE agents on March 11 in a parking lot outside Bethel Presbyterian Church in Marlboro, Massachusetts, after a car was pulled over. Her attorney stated she was with her U.S. citizen brothers, though DHS disputed this account, claiming she was with two Brazilian men suspected of gang ties with no familial relationship to her. ICE said the men's vehicle was connected to an alleged attempted home invasion in Walpole. The girl was taken to the JFK federal building in Boston for 10 hours, then transported overnight to a children's detention facility in New York. At a hearing, Federal Judge Leo T. Sorokin expressed concern about the detention and overnight transfer, stating it was the first time in his 22 years on the bench that he had seen agents detain a juvenile solely because no appropriate person was available to release her to. He ordered her immediate return to Massachusetts, and she was reunited with her maternal aunt, a U.S. citizen, at the JFK building in Boston.

Ibrahim Mohammed, a 44-year-old Ethiopian national who came to the U.S. in 2014, was granted protection from deportation in 2024 under the Convention Against Torture after an immigration judge found he would likely face torture or persecution if returned to Ethiopia. Despite federal court orders in February and March requiring his release, roughly 10 ICE agents arrested him a third time on July 28, 2025, at his Baltimore-area apartment after falsely telling him and his attorney his ankle monitor was malfunctioning. Agents shoved his head into a car and gave him documents referencing Eswatini, a country ICE had previously tried unsuccessfully to deport him to. A judge again ordered his immediate release the same day, and U.S. District Judge John deGravelles later held then-ICE deputy field office director Vernon Liggins, who ordered the arrest on his last day in that role, in civil contempt, ordering ICE to pay Mohammed's attorney's fees and $180 for lost time. Mohammed, who spent 13 months in and out of ICE custody, testified the repeated detentions caused him nightmares and led his landlord to force him to move out.

Daniela Murillo Narvaez is a 30-year-old Colombian citizen who has lived in the United States since March 2023, when she was admitted on a B-2 visitor visa. She filed an asylum application in June 2023 that remained pending for over one year. Narvaez has been employed since April 2024 as a Distribution Analyst with Cordiasla USA in Texas and has a partner residing in California. She has no criminal history and has been treated for depression and anxiety with bupropion medication since 2024. On July 28, 2026, while traveling for work from Houston to Ontario, California, ICE agents detained Narvaez upon her arrival at Ontario International Airport without advance notice or a pre-deprivation hearing, and confiscated her documents. She was transferred to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center where she has been held for over one week without receiving her required psychiatric medication, which her physician warned could result in serious health risks if interrupted. Narvaez filed an ex parte application for a temporary restraining order seeking immediate release from detention. On August 10, 2026, the federal court granted her application, ordering her immediate release under the same terms as before her detention, requiring return of seized property, and prohibiting re-detention without notice and a pre-deprivation hearing before a neutral adjudicator.

Juan Carlos Pichardo Mejia, a Mexican national who entered the United States in 2006, was detained by ICE on July 28, 2026, and held at the Farmville Detention Center. He filed a habeas corpus petition on August 1, 2026, challenging his detention and seeking either release or a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge. The respondents argued he was properly detained under the mandatory detention provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) because he entered without inspection. The federal court granted his petition, finding that because Pichardo Mejia entered the country in 2006 and was already present in the United States, he falls under the category of noncitizens already in the country subject to discretionary detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), not mandatory detention. The court ordered that he be provided with a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge within seven days and enjoined respondents from denying bond based on § 1225(b)(2).

Ezzat Adel Abdalla Magly, an Egyptian national, is detained at the Western Tennessee Detention Facility pending removal proceedings. He filed a habeas corpus petition seeking release from custody or a bond hearing, along with a motion for temporary restraining order to prevent transfer outside the district. The court denied his motion for temporary restraining order, finding he failed to demonstrate irreparable harm from a potential transfer.

Fatima Ameaka, a public health researcher at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health and native of Cameroon, was detained by ICE on July 28 at Baltimore-Washington International Airport while boarding a domestic flight. Ameaka entered the United States in 2023 on a visa that has since expired. She was transferred to a detention facility in Texas but was released within days and returned to Maryland. Johns Hopkins University described her as 'a respected member of our community' and stated it is actively providing legal representation and support. Ameaka is awaiting her next court hearing.

Khandaker Nazmunnessa Ullah, a Bangladeshi native who came to the U.S. in 1994, is a married mother of four and owns a convenience store with her family in Nashua. Federal prosecutors are seeking to strip her of U.S. citizenship, alleging she lied about her immigration history when applying for naturalization in 2007. Authorities claim fingerprint records show Ullah was ordered deported in 1995 under a different name before being granted lawful permanent residency in 1996. No court records suggest she committed any crime or human rights abuses.

Antony Stevens Esteban-Espinoza, a Nicaraguan citizen, entered the United States without inspection on November 8, 2022, and was briefly detained before being released on parole with routine ICE check-ins. He filed an asylum application on August 1, 2024, which remains pending, holds a valid work authorization card, and has no criminal history. For over 43 months, he complied with all supervision conditions and DHS repeatedly determined his physical detention was unnecessary. On July 27, 2026, ICE detained him during a scheduled immigration check-in in Los Angeles, alleging no violations, no changed circumstances, and no individualized basis for custody, and providing no pre-deprivation hearing. He filed a habeas petition and TRO application arguing his re-detention violated Fifth Amendment due process rights. The Government did not oppose the TRO. The court found he demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits, irreparable harm, and that the balance of equities favored release, ordering Respondents to immediately release him subject to narrowly tailored conditions and to file a status report within five days confirming release.

Ronald Javier Vallejos is a native and citizen of Nicaragua who was ordered removed from the United States in 2012 and appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals. The removal order became final in 2014. After 2014, Vallejos was released under an Order of Supervision and remained under supervision for nearly fifteen years. On July 27, 2026, Vallejos reported for a routine ICE check-in, where he was detained and subsequently transferred to River Correctional Facility where he remains. Vallejos filed a motion for a temporary restraining order seeking release under supervision, a detention hearing, and an injunction against removal from the United States or outside the Western District. The court denied his motion, finding that the requested preliminary relief mirrored the ultimate relief sought in his habeas corpus petition and should be addressed through standard habeas procedures rather than as an emergency TRO.

Houman Rashidy, an Iranian citizen, was detained at Torrance County Detention Facility for approximately 13 months pending removal. On July 27, 2026, U.S. District Judge Kea W. Riggs granted Rashidy's petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, ordering his release. The court found no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future, as removal to Iran is withheld and three countries (Canada, Brazil, Honduras) refused to accept him.

Jaime Morejon Arias, a citizen of Ecuador who has resided in the United States since 2023, entered the country without inspection and filed a timely asylum application shortly thereafter. On November 19, 2025, he was served with a Notice to Appear charging him as removable for being present without admission or parole. On July 25, 2026, ICE took him into custody and transferred him to the Clinton County Correctional Facility in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, where he was held without a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b). His immigration records show no criminal history and no final order of removal. Petitioner filed a pro se habeas corpus petition arguing he should instead be detained under the discretionary provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), which entitles detainees to a bond hearing, and that his detention without such a hearing violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights. Respondents did not dispute the facts but argued his detention was lawful under § 1225(b). The Court, following the majority view among federal courts and several circuit courts of appeals, agreed with Petitioner, ruling that § 1225(b)(2)(A) applies only to noncitizens affirmatively seeking admission, not those like Petitioner who have resided in the country for years. The Court granted the habeas petition, ordered Petitioner's immediate release, permanently enjoined Respondents from detaining him under § 1225(b), and required a bond hearing before an immigration judge if he is later detained under § 1226(a).

Luis Vasquez Alvarado fled Guatemala in 2023 after being threatened by a gang and applied for asylum with his family, settling in the Las Vegas area. On May 30, 2026, he was arrested by Metropolitan Police Department; upon his June 1 release, ICE detained him without providing a bond hearing. Vasquez Alvarado filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention, but federal authorities failed to substantively respond and made misrepresentations about their communication with his attorneys. U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware ruled on Friday that Vasquez Alvarado was subject to mandatory detention, found his detention was erroneous and prolonged, and determined that federal authorities failed to identify any lawful authority permitting continued detention. The judge ordered his immediate release.

ICE officers placed a Nigerian man and other detainees in full-body WRAP restraint devices during a September deportation flight to Ghana, despite the detainees being shackled and asking to speak with attorneys. The AP documented at least 12 cases in the past decade where local law enforcement's use of the WRAP contributed to deaths, and identified ICE's use of the device in multiple deportations since 2020. A 2023 DHS civil rights report raised internal concerns about the device's use, citing reports of deaths, yet ICE continues deploying it despite the manufacturer's guidance for lower-threshold situations.

Fredysel Nucamendi Castillejos, a native and citizen of Mexico, has been present in the United States since 2018. On July 24, 2026, he was detained by immigration officials in Ocean City, Maryland and taken into custody at the Farmville Detention Center in Virginia, where he remained for over a week. Castillejos filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his classification as an "applicant for admission" subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), arguing instead that he should be subject to discretionary detention under § 1226(a) with the right to a bond hearing. The federal government argued that anyone in the United States without lawful admission is subject to mandatory detention. The district court agreed with Castillejos, finding that § 1226(a) is the applicable detention scheme for noncitizens already present in the country. The court granted the habeas petition, ordering Castillejos be released from custody and provided an individualized bond hearing before an Immigration Judge within 14 days, where the judge must determine whether he poses a danger or is a flight risk.

Rosabel Rozana Moreira Ventura, a Guatemalan national, was ordered removed to Guatemala but granted withholding of removal on September 17, 2018. She was released on an Order of Supervision and granted employment authorization by the Department of Homeland Security. She complied with all immigration requirements, including scheduled check-ins with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). On July 24, 2026, while attending a scheduled ICE check-in, she was detained by ICE and presented with a Notice of Removal to Mexico, which she was forced to sign. Petitioner contends she received no meaningful notice or opportunity to present a fear-based claim to challenge her removal to Mexico. ICE scheduled her removal for August 8, 2026. On August 5, 2026, the court issued a temporary restraining order preventing her removal from the United States and prohibiting her transfer outside the Central District of California pending resolution of her habeas corpus petition.

Jesus Acevedo Sanchez, a 39-year-old father of two U.S. citizen daughters from Mexico, was arrested by ICE agents on June 11 outside Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School in East Baltimore while dropping off his children. Unmarked ICE vehicles cut off his SUV at Dundalk Avenue and O'Donnell Street; armed agents in plain clothes with guns drawn broke his driver's side window. Believing he was being carjacked and fearing for his children's safety, Acevedo Sanchez drove to the school seeking protection. He sustained injuries including bleeding from his leg and face during the extraction. His partner, Adriana Gavilan Sanchez, 37, a mother of two U.S. citizen daughters from Mexico, was also detained by ICE that same day outside the school. She reported feeling terrified and experiencing nightmares following her detention. U.S. District Judge Julie Rubin ruled that ICE lacked probable cause and violated due process in Acevedo Sanchez's arrest, calling it a "stomach churner" and stating his detention was not justified. Judge Rubin ordered his release from Farmville Detention Facility. His attorney Rachel Girod said the judge reached the right result, noting that any other outcome would have been "rubber-stamping lawlessness." U.S. District Judge Matthew Maddox ordered Gavilan Sanchez's release from immigration detention, and she was freed on July 15 from Caroline Detention Facility in Virginia.

Dr. Badar Khan Suri, an Indian postdoctoral fellow and peace scholar at Georgetown University, was arrested without a warrant by ICE agents in March 2025 after expressing pro-Palestinian views on social media. He was held in multiple detention facilities for nearly six weeks and subjected to conditions including denial of religious accommodations. A federal court ordered his release on bail. The Trump administration attempted to re-detain him, arguing federal courts lacked jurisdiction to review his case. In July 2026, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the administration's re-detention attempt, upholding habeas corpus protections that allow immigrants to challenge their detention in federal court.

Chansareth Hong, 50, a Cambodian refugee who arrived in the United States as an infant in 1978 and has lived in Rhode Island for nearly 50 years, was taken into ICE custody on July 22, 2026, while attending a required in-person check-in at the Warwick field office—a practice he had maintained for nearly 28 years. Hong is the sole caretaker of his nonverbal 9-year-old autistic son and his elderly mother; his son's mother died in 2025 and Hong's father died in June 2026. In his late teens and early 20s, Hong pleaded no contest to drug-related charges but maintained a clean record for three decades without missing a single ICE check-in. He was transferred to the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls. Over 100 community members, including members of the Cambodian Society of Rhode Island and other refugee advocacy organizations, gathered outside the ICE office to protest his detention. Governor Dan McKee, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, 13 members of the Providence City Council, and U.S. Representative Seth Magaziner sent letters to ICE urging his release, citing his rehabilitation and essential role as family caretaker. Over 2,000 people signed a petition on his behalf. A federal judge ordered that Hong cannot be moved out of Rhode Island without 72 hours notice, and his legal team filed a habeas petition in federal court challenging his detention.

Marlon Andres Torres Gomez, a Colombian national, was granted voluntary departure by an immigration judge and ordered to leave the United States by June 11, 2026. He purchased a one-way plane ticket to Colombia departing June 10 and repeatedly contacted ICE to coordinate his departure. However, ICE detained him and prevented him from boarding the flight. When the June 11 deadline passed, the government argued Torres Gomez was subject to mandatory detention because he had failed to depart. U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz ruled on July 22, 2026, that ICE violated Torres Gomez's due process rights by preventing him from complying with the voluntary departure order and then using that failure as justification for continued detention. The judge ordered his immediate release.

Jorge Espinoza Inamagua, held in immigration detention in Minnesota, filed a habeas corpus petition in the District of Minnesota on July 22, 2026, challenging his detention by ICE. The petition names as respondents Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, ICE and DHS officials, and detention officials. The case was assigned to Judge John R. Tunheim and referred to Magistrate Judge Shannon G. Elkins under the court's detainee habeas case list.

Marlon Andres Torres Gomez, a Colombian man who has been in ICE custody since March 18, was granted voluntary departure by an immigration judge on May 12 and ordered to leave the United States by June 11. He purchased a one-way ticket from New York to Colombia for June 10 and his attorney repeatedly contacted ICE to coordinate his departure, but immigration officials kept him detained and prevented him from boarding the flight. A federal judge in New Jersey, Michael Farbiarz, ruled that ICE violated his due process rights by blocking his compliance with the voluntary departure order and then using his failure to depart as justification for continued detention, ordering his release.

Safiatou Mansare is a national of Guinea currently detained by U.S. immigration authorities at the Port Isabel Service Processing Center in Cameron County, Texas. She has protection from removal to Guinea. Respondents intend to remove her imminently to Ghana, a third country, without providing her a reasonable fear interview regarding removal to that country. Mansare filed a verified petition challenging her removal as violating her constitutional rights and seeking a temporary restraining order. The court found that her removal would cause immediate and irreparable injury, as she would be unable to seek habeas relief if removed. On August 5, 2026, the court issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting removal to a designated third country less than seven days after providing notice, requiring compliance with March 2025 Guidance procedures regardless of diplomatic assurances, and prohibiting transfer outside the Southern District of Texas except to a third country subject to the order's conditions. The court ordered Mansare to file a response to the motion to dismiss by August 14, 2026, clarifying jurisdictional bases for her claims.

Fnu Anpreet Singh is a native and citizen of India who entered the United States without inspection on January 24, 2024, near Tecate, California. He was initially released on his own recognizance with routine ICE reporting requirements. On July 5, 2026, Singh was arrested in Turlock, California for driving under the influence of alcohol. On July 22, 2026, he was arrested by ICE during a routine check-in and taken into custody at Golden State Annex Detention Facility in McFarland, California. Singh filed a habeas corpus petition arguing that his re-detention without a bond hearing violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights. The federal court granted his petition in part, finding that 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), not § 1225(b)(2)(A), governs his detention and that the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a danger to the community or flight risk. The court ordered respondents to provide Singh with an individualized bond hearing before an immigration judge within 14 days, with Singh entitled to legal representation and at least 72 hours notice.

Sarafinah Bukirwa, a 31-year-old Ugandan immigrant and founder of Sarafinah Sickle Cell Society, a nonprofit treating sickle cell anemia, was detained by ICE on July 22, 2026, at Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville while traveling to a sickle cell anemia conference in California. Bukirwa entered the U.S. legally on a visa to expand her nonprofit work and has a pending asylum claim with valid work authorization. After being held at Grayson County Detention Center in Leitchfield, Kentucky, her family reported she was denied her required sickle cell medication for nearly a week despite having the medication with her, with prescriptions reportedly diluted in water and withheld. She experienced a medical crisis requiring hospitalization at a Louisville hospital the day before her detention. Her brother Isaac Kabunga stated at a press conference that ICE agents claimed she was arrested for overstaying her visa, though U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey confirmed she is following proper legal procedures and called for her immediate release, stating her condition could become life-threatening without proper treatment.

Jose Alfonso Reyes Mendez is currently detained at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, Texas. He filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 in the United States District Court, Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division, challenging his detention. The court ordered respondents to file a response within 7 days identifying pertinent factual and procedural background information, including the date Petitioner entered the United States, whether he was previously apprehended and released by immigration authorities, and the status of his immigration and/or removal proceedings. The petitioner may file a reply within 7 days after the respondents' response.

Gildardo Perez Ramos, a Guatemalan national who entered the United States in approximately 2021, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Petitioner challenged his detention, arguing he should be governed by the discretionary detention provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) rather than the mandatory detention provisions of § 1225(b)(2). The court granted his petition, ruling that because Petitioner was already in the country prior to detention, he falls under § 1226(a) as a noncitizen already in the country and is entitled to a bond hearing before an immigration judge within seven days.

Lisset Tortoza-Alvarez filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging her detention at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, Texas. The court ordered respondents to file a response within 7 days identifying pertinent factual and procedural background information, including the date petitioner entered the United States, whether she was previously apprehended and released by immigration authorities, and the status of her immigration and removal proceedings.

Luis Oswaldo Segura Navarrete, detained at Webb County Detention Center in federal immigration custody, filed a pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus challenging the constitutionality of his detention. The court ordered respondents (the Warden, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Director of ICE) to file a response by July 30, 2026, with the petitioner able to reply by August 13, 2026. The court also ordered that respondents notify the court of any planned transfer or release.

Mirotabek Khalimov, a noncitizen, was detained at Clay County Detention Center by ICE under the authority of jail commander Brandon Crowley and others. The court found that the weight of authority supports Khalimov's position that ICE's detention authority derives from 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) rather than § 1225(b), making him entitled to a bond hearing rather than subject to mandatory detention. The court granted a preliminary injunction preventing his transfer outside Illinois, Indiana, or Wisconsin during the habeas petition proceedings and ordered respondents to answer the petition within seven days.

Abigail Martinez-Aguiana, an immigration detainee, filed a counseled Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus challenging the lawfulness of her ongoing detention at Washoe County Jail in ICE custody. She asserts she is a member of the certified class in Jacobo-Ramirez v. Noem and may be entitled to relief pursuant to the court's grant of partial summary judgment to class members. The court issued an order preserving jurisdiction by prohibiting respondents from removing the petitioner from the District of Nevada absent leave of court. The court ordered federal respondents to produce specific immigration documents by July 27, 2026, and to file a notice indicating whether they contend the petitioner is a class member and identifying the statutory provision authorizing detention. The court preliminarily found that the petitioner may be entitled to habeas relief under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment, and the Jacobo-Ramirez v. Mullin decision.

Akmalkhon Ahmadkhon Ugli Ismailov, a native and citizen of Uzbekistan, was detained by ICE on July 22, 2026, when he reported to the ICE field office in Philadelphia as required by his supervision conditions. He had been living in the United States for over one year and was enrolled in ICE's ATD/ISAP supervision program after being released from immigration custody in July 2025, during which time he complied with all supervision requirements. The court granted his habeas petition, finding he was not subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) and ordered his immediate release on pre-July 22 supervision conditions.

Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego and Daniel Tirado Pantoja, both Mexican citizens who had lived in the United States for decades without criminal records, were rear passengers in a van driven by Lorenzo Salgado Araujo when ICE agents fatally shot the driver on July 7, 2026, in Houston. Both men were detained by ICE following the incident. In their federal court statements, both witnesses contradicted the government's account of the shooting. Rojas Pliego, who is in a common-law marriage with a U.S. citizen and has seven U.S. citizen children and stepchildren, described unmarked ICE vehicles cornering the van and stated it was "impossible" that officers were in danger after the driver stopped. He reported being pulled from the vehicle, handcuffed, and thrown to the ground by the officer who fired the shots. Tirado Pantoja, described by his employer as a devoted family man with integrity and dedication, stated that agents were positioned only to the sides of the van and that Salgado Araujo had come to a full stop before being shot. Both men filed habeas corpus petitions challenging their confinement and applied for U visas for crime victims who assist law enforcement. On July 21, 2026, U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison ordered the Department of Homeland Security not to deport either witness or transfer them outside the Southern District of Texas without court permission while their habeas petitions are pending.

Garnet Smith, a 44-year-old U.S. Army veteran originally from Jamaica, was released from the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma on July 21, 2026, after spending over nine months in ICE detention. During his detention, Smith reported experiencing sexual assault by a GEO Group guard during a pat-down search, as well as inadequate medical care for a broken hand and poor detention conditions including inedible food and foul drinking water. A federal judge granted Smith's habeas corpus petition on July 20, finding that his earlier bond hearing violated his due process rights and that his prolonged detention was unlawful. Smith continues to fight a deportation order to Jamaica while advocates call for an investigation into the alleged sexual assault.

Yogesh Kumar, an Indian national who entered the U.S. in September 2022, was arrested by ICE on July 21, 2026, immediately after an Immigration Judge ordered his removal at a scheduled hearing in Sacramento Immigration Court. Kumar had been released on recognizance and enrolled in an Alternatives to Detention program, where he maintained lawful employment and complied with all requirements. On July 22, 2026, he timely appealed his removal order to the Board of Immigration Appeals, making it not administratively final. The court granted his habeas corpus petition, finding his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause, and ordered his immediate release.

Eduard Portillo, described by his mother Fanny as a dedicated father, son, brother, and friend who works hard to support his child, was arrested by ICE. His family is raising money to cover legal expenses needed for his immigration release and to help reunite the family.

Pablo Alexis Gonzalez Govea is detained at T. Don Hutto Detention Center and has filed a federal habeas corpus petition challenging the lawfulness of his detention without bond. He claims his detention violates his Fifth Amendment rights and the Immigration and Nationality Act. The petition indicates he is in removal proceedings but does not specify his country of origin, immigration status, employment history, family ties, or how long he has lived in the United States. On July 23, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas ordered respondents to show cause by July 27, 2026, why the writ should not be granted. The court also issued a stay preventing his removal from the United States or transfer outside the Austin Division pending litigation.

Chantal Alejandra Morales Rojas, a 27-year-old Ecuadorian au pair and software developer, was detained by plainclothes ICE agents at Denver International Airport while boarding a Southwest Airlines flight to Oakland. She had entered the U.S. lawfully on a J-1 exchange visitor visa in early 2023 and, before that visa expired, filed an immigration application allowing her to remain with federal authorization while her case was pending, according to her attorney Laura Lichter. ICE alleged she had overstayed her visa, but Lichter said Rojas "followed the rules of her program" and worked legally under federal employment authorization as a software developer for a recycling app company in Oakland. Agents in civilian clothing removed her from the jetway and placed her in a Homeland Security van as friends and fellow passengers watched, and the arrest was captured on video that circulated widely amid a broader increase in ICE enforcement at U.S. airports. She was transferred to the Aurora ICE Processing Center, where a federal immigration judge later ordered her release on a $3,000 bond. The family she worked for said, "She is a part of my family. She has never hurt anyone and just lives a quiet life. She came here legally and tried to do everything right."

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.