Human Impact Project

Ernesto Puac Son, a 33-year-old roofer and legal resident of Stuart, Florida, with a valid work permit and pending asylum case, has lived in the United States for 18 years. On October 1, 2025, FDLE agents conducted a traffic stop near his house after he made a rolling stop. Puac refused to exit his van because he had just witnessed agents arresting his brother Felipe, who had a deportation order but no criminal history. FDLE agent John Soltys smashed Puac's van window and dragged him through the broken glass, pinning him face-down on the ground and leaving him with gashes on his face, back, and arms. Despite showing a valid Florida driver's license, Puac was charged with resisting arrest with violence. He was convicted on January 7, 2026, and sentenced to one year in Martin County Jail. FDLE was operating under the 287(g) program, which authorizes state and local law enforcement to enforce immigration law.

Mohamed Fofana, a 22-year-old asylum seeker from Guinea employed at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, was detained by ICE on November 11, 2025, near his home. He was held for seven months in detention facilities in Batavia and La Salle County, Texas. In February 2026, his attorney reported losing contact with him for a month due to facility transfer confusion, and an immigration judge granted a 45-day continuance. An immigration judge ordered his deportation in May 2026, but a federal judge vacated that order and approved his habeas corpus petition in June 2026. Fofana was released and returned to Syracuse on June 7-9, 2026, to reunite with his family.

Thien, who arrived in the U.S. as a refugee in 1984 at age 3 and became a permanent resident, lost his green card status at 16 due to a mistake. After serving his sentence, he was placed on an order of supervision rather than deported because Vietnam was not accepting deportees. For 24 years, he complied with every condition of the order, maintained work authorization, built a business, and raised a family. When he attended a scheduled immigration appointment, he was detained within 10 minutes without an interview and is now facing deportation.

On June 2, 2026, ICE agents detained seven employees from Indian Heritage restaurant in Lake Placid during a traffic stop near Fowler's Crossing on State Route 86 as they traveled to work. According to North Country Immigrant Allies and other advocacy groups, all seven detainees possessed work authorization and legal status to live and work in the United States. The detainees were transported to a detention facility in Batavia, approximately 300 miles away. Local law enforcement was not aware of the operation.

ICE conducted raids at a metal casting plant in Abbeville, South Carolina and worksites in Lake Placid, New York in late May and early June 2026, detaining 48 workers at Burnstein von Seelen Precision Castings and 21 workers in New York. According to activist groups, many of the detained workers had legal permission to work in the U.S. and were not given the opportunity to provide documentation. The plant manager and HR director were also detained on charges of knowingly hiring undocumented workers.

Javier (pseudonym) left Colombia in 2023 with his wife and two children due to threats from armed groups where he worked in the medical field, and the family applied for asylum in the U.S. After he obtained a work permit, and while his wife was pregnant and the family awaited their merits hearing in immigration court, ICE detained him. He was held for three months, denied asylum, and deported to Colombia in March 2026 despite significant evidence of the dangers he faced there. While he was in Colombia, his son was born and placed in the NICU. Desperate to reunite with his wife, children, and newborn, he reentered the U.S., was detained at the border, and was quickly deported to Costa Rica in June 2026. He has yet to meet his third child and is applying for asylum in Costa Rica, hoping to reunite with his family there.

Balwinder Singh, who entered the United States on April 29, 2022, was initially taken into custody by DHS and subsequently released on his own recognizance pending removal proceedings. For approximately four years, Singh complied with all release conditions while working lawfully as a commercial truck driver. On June 1, 2026, ICE officers re-detained Singh while he was at work without providing pre-deprivation notice or a hearing. The court granted Singh's petition for habeas corpus, finding that respondents violated Fifth Amendment due process protections and ordered his immediate release with constitutional safeguards for any future detention.

Randy Cordova Flores, a 36-year-old Peruvian landscaper, was detained by ICE on February 10, 2026, after Springdale Borough police pulled him over for a traffic violation and turned him over to ICE agents at the police station. Cordova Flores entered the U.S. without documentation in 2023 and was seeking asylum with a pending case and valid work authorization. ICE claimed he failed to appear for an immigration hearing; his family and legal representatives contested this, stating he was complying with asylum procedures and check-in requirements. He was held at Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County and later transferred to Northern Regional Correctional Facility in West Virginia, where he was confined to a small cell 23 hours daily. After four months in custody, Cordova Flores won release in June 2026 through a habeas corpus petition and was released on bond with an ankle monitor requirement while his case continues.

Leo Argoti Rubio, a pastry chef at Fauborg restaurant in Montclair, New Jersey, was detained by ICE on June 1, 2026 while entering a shopping center in Buffalo, New York. He had a valid work visa, a pending asylum case, a Social Security number, and a clean record. His community, including the organization Latinos of Montclair, launched a legal defense fund to support his bond costs, court fees, and emergency expenses while his asylum case proceeds.

A Venezuelan maintenance worker at Grandview Resort in Lake Placid was arrested by ICE agents on May 28 when he arrived for work. He has lived in Lake Placid for over two years, holds valid work authorization through a five-year work permit tied to temporary protected status, has never missed an immigration check-in, and has no criminal history. He was one of 14 workers detained during the operation at the resort and was transported 12 hours to Batania Detention Center near Buffalo, where agents restrained detainees and he was held with only water for the journey. Unable to contact his family for three days, he was released on bail after approximately two weeks in detention and now wears an ankle monitor. His wife collapsed upon learning of his arrest. He is pursuing a pending political asylum case and reported experiencing daily fear and trauma, avoiding locations where he was detained.

Yessenia Ruano, a teacher's aide at a bilingual public school in Milwaukee who fled El Salvador in 2011 to escape gang violence, was later victimized by human trafficking in the United States. She had a pending T-visa application for trafficking survivors when immigration officials told her she would be removed from the country. Facing the prospect of arrest and separation from her twin daughters, who are U.S. citizens, Ruano chose to self-deport to El Salvador in June 2025 after 14 years in the U.S., taking her daughters with her. In May 2026, a federal judge ordered that Ruano and two other plaintiffs must be allowed to return to the United States, finding that immigration officials had violated federal law and due process rights by automatically deporting crime victims without considering their applications to remain. Her attorney stated that once Ruano returns, the government is obligated to review her T-visa petition.

On May 28, 2026, ICE agents from the Champlain sub-office detained 14 people in a raid at a parking lot on Mirror Lake Drive in Lake Placid. The detainees included approximately a dozen roofers working on a short-term roofing project for a local business and staying in employer-provided workforce housing, as well as a local man with several years of community ties, valid work authorization, and a pending asylum case. According to advocacy groups including North Country Immigrant Allies, all detainees possessed work authorization and were legally permitted to reside and work in the United States. All detainees were transported to a detention facility in Batavia, approximately 300 miles away. Local law enforcement was not aware of the operation.

Marvin Godoy Calderon, a 45-year-old Peruvian immigrant with valid work authorization through 2030, was arrested outside his Sunnyside home on May 27, 2026, while sitting in his parked car waiting to go grocery shopping with his roommate. ICE agents removed him from the vehicle without showing a warrant and pressed him facedown on the asphalt, with multiple agents striking him across the back and head while pinning his arms and placing knees on his shoulders and neck. Calderon works two jobs as a janitor and dishwasher to support his four children in Peru. After being detained for approximately 13 hours in a cold metal cell at immigration court, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order mandating his immediate release, prompted by video footage of the arrest and legal advocacy. Medical evaluation at SF General Hospital revealed a head injury and fluid in his left knee from the arrest. Following his release, Calderon raised $900 through selling pollada (a Peruvian chicken dish) to make rent after losing his restaurant job shifts, and continues working and attending church while awaiting a June 10 hearing.

Jose Pineda, a Salvadoran man with Temporary Protected Status working as a landscaper in East Boston, was stopped by ICE officers while on his way to work. Despite presenting valid Social Security and work authorization cards, agents refused to accept his documents and detained him for nearly two days in an overcrowded holding cell at the ICE Boston Field Office with approximately 50 other people where conditions were poor—he could not sit or sleep and received minimal food and water. His $600 in rent savings was not returned. The detention caused him frequent headaches, anxiety, memory loss, and worsened gastritis. His absence from work resulted in a demotion from lead foreman to assistant. He now experiences recurring nightmares and sleeps separately from his wife out of fear of harming her. He has filed a tort claim against the federal government.

J.R., a 35-year-old Colombian with valid work authorization and an ankle monitor through ICE's Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, attended what he believed was a routine monitor maintenance appointment. ICE officers detained him instead, confiscating his ID and work permit. He was held overnight at the Aurora detention center despite having a pending appeal of his asylum case and was released the following day with assistance from Casa de Paz.

On May 18, 2026, ICE agents detained 31-year-old DACA recipient and community organizer Karla Toledo at her Tucson home without presenting a judicial warrant, despite her maintaining valid DACA status since age 1 and having no criminal record. ICE agents were reportedly searching for someone else when they arrested Toledo. DHS alleged Toledo assaulted a federal officer and illegally entered the U.S. in October 2024—claims she disputed using video footage showing her compliance and asserting she had legally used advance parole authorization available to DACA recipients. During the arrest, agents allegedly used force to prevent the door from closing and denied her attorney access. Her mother, Veronica Ortiz, held a press conference pleading for her release, and attorney Mo Goldman stated allegations of assault were fabricated, with surveillance footage supporting Toledo's account. Following community protests and statements by U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva, Mexican consulate representatives, and local nonprofits, Toledo was approved for a $1,500 bond and released from Eloy Detention Center. One day after dismissing an earlier deportation case, DHS filed a second notice to appear in immigration court against Toledo.

Jorge Cubillos, a Colombian who spent eight years in the U.S. after fleeing threats from a criminal group in his home country, was deported to the Democratic Republic of Congo on April 15, 2026, despite holding a work permit and withholding of removal protection granted by an immigration judge in 2022 under the UN Convention Against Torture. He was arrested on a domestic battery charge in 2026, after which ICE lodged a detainer that was honored by jail authorities. Cubillos was separated from his wife and four children in St. Cloud, Florida, and put on a flight to Congo without being informed of his destination until shortly before departure. He is now housed in a hotel in Kinshasa with 14 other Latin American deportees and reports poor conditions including frequent power cuts, lack of drinking water, and illness. The Trump administration defended the deportation as lawful under a third-country deportation policy, arguing that withholding of removal protection bars return to Colombia but not transfer to third countries.

Yerlys Moreno López, a Venezuelan asylum seeker who entered the United States legally in 2024, was injured during an ICE enforcement encounter on May 19 after agents attempted to pull her over near her home on Detroit's eastside. According to her sworn statement and medical records, after crashing her SUV, she exited the vehicle and was tackled to the ground by ICE agents, sustaining a fractured kneecap, lacerations, head trauma, and injuries requiring emergency surgery. Medical records indicate she told hospital staff her injuries occurred after exiting the vehicle, contradicting ICE's account that she was injured in the crash itself. She was transferred to North Lake detention center despite doctors' recommendation for transfer to a Cincinnati ICE facility better equipped to meet her medical needs. Her attorneys filed a federal habeas corpus petition seeking her immediate release, citing inadequate medical care at the facility.

Obi, who arrived legally on a visa and was in the process of obtaining a green card, was detained by ICE on October 20th without due process. He was held in a detention facility for ten days after a judge ordered his release and bond was posted. His wife, who relies on him as her caregiver due to chronic illnesses, was forced to attend their green card interview alone while he remained detained. He was released with conditions including GPS monitoring and travel restrictions.

Deisy Fidelina Rivera Ortega, wife of active-duty U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Jose Serrano stationed at Fort Bliss, was detained by ICE agents on April 14, 2026, while attending a USCIS appointment in El Paso, Texas to apply for Parole in Place. A native of El Salvador who had lived in the U.S. for approximately a decade, Rivera Ortega held valid work authorization and a 2019 court order granting her withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture. Despite these legal protections, ICE arrested her based on a December 2019 removal order for illegal entry and indicated plans to deport her to Mexico under third-country removal procedures. After approximately one month in custody at the El Paso Service Processing Center, Rivera Ortega was released on May 15, 2026, following media reporting and personal intervention by U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat and combat veteran who contacted the Department of Homeland Security on her behalf. She remains subject to GPS monitoring, mandatory ICE check-ins, home visits, and travel restrictions while facing potential deportation.

Maria Betania Uzcategui Castillo, a Venezuelan asylum-seeker with valid work authorization through 2030, and her two elementary school-aged children—Victor Uzcategui-Labrador Jr. (age 11) and Monserrat Uzcategui-Labrador (age 8)—were detained by ICE agents on April 27, 2026, at a school bus stop in Alamo Heights, Texas. The family, who had arrived at the U.S. border in 2021 seeking asylum and had complied with prior immigration requirements with a court date scheduled for 2027, were transported to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. The children, both students at Cambridge Elementary in Alamo Heights Independent School District, were reported as deeply traumatized by the detention. Community organizing efforts, including a rally and fundraising campaign that raised over $28,000 for legal fees, followed the arrest. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia ordered their release on May 13, 2026, and the family was released on May 14, pending immigration hearings.

Juan Tablante, father of Atlanta United midfielder Moisés Tablante, was detained by ICE during a traffic stop while traveling from Orlando, Florida to Atlanta, Georgia. Tablante has been an asylum applicant since 2016, holds a valid work permit and driver's license, and has no criminal record. He remains in immigration detention despite his pending asylum status.

Yenniffer Natalia England, a 32-year-old DACA recipient and nurse's assistant with valid work authorization through 2027, was detained by Texas state troopers on February 16, 2026, after a traffic stop for a suspended driver's license stemming from an unpaid speeding ticket. She was arrested while driving her brother and daughter to get tacos. ICE agents were tipped off by county jail staff and transferred her to El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, Texas. During her nearly three-month detention, her two daughters, ages 12 and 14, remained without her care. Her brother Francisco De La Rosa stated: "This is just tearing us apart. She's like the glue that keeps our family together." Community supporters from La Union del Pueblo Entero (LUPE) organized protests calling for her release. An immigration judge initially denied her bond and issued a deportation order despite her legal DACA status and 28-year residence in the United States. On May 21, 2026, a federal judge granted England a writ of habeas corpus, ordering her release on the condition of wearing an ankle monitor.

Jean Manuel Izquierdo, a 49-year-old Venezuelan father, was detained by ICE in Herriman, Utah, on May 5, 2026, as he was leaving his apartment complex to go to work. He is currently held in an immigration detention facility. According to his family, Izquierdo has no criminal record, holds valid work authorization, and is an active asylum applicant, but remains out of legal status. His family has launched a GoFundMe fundraising campaign to raise money for his bond and to support his case as it proceeds through immigration proceedings.

Meenu Batra, a 53-year-old certified court interpreter fluent in Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu, was detained by ICE agents on March 17, 2026, at Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas while traveling for a court assignment in Milwaukee. Batra fled India approximately 35 years ago after her parents were killed in violence connected to their Sikh religion and was granted withholding of removal status by an immigration judge in 2000. She has maintained valid work authorization that she regularly renews and continues to be valid for several more years, and has worked in immigration courts for over 20 years. Batra is a single mother of four U.S. citizen children, including youngest son Jasper Batra, who joined the U.S. Army shortly before her arrest. She was held at El Valle Detention Center in Raymondville for 45 days, during which she alleged denial of food, water, and medication. On April 30, 2026, federal judge Rolando Olvera in Brownsville issued a temporary restraining order ordering her release, finding the government lacked proper justification and had violated procedural protections and due process. Her attorney noted she has had only one speeding ticket in the last 30 years.

Rodney Taylor, a 47-year-old double amputee barber from Liberia who arrived in the U.S. as a child on a medical visa, was arrested by ICE on January 15, 2025, and held at Stewart Detention Center in South Georgia for 15 months based on a decades-old burglary conviction from his teenage years. Despite receiving a state pardon in 2010, holding a valid work permit, and having a pending green card application through his adult son, Taylor remained in ICE custody. During detention, he experienced severe medical neglect including denial of adequate food, proper prosthetics, exposure to contaminated water, and inadequate medical care for his disabilities, resulting in new health conditions such as bone spurs and neuropathy. Taylor was released in early May 2026 following sustained advocacy by U.S. Representative Lucy McBath, Senator Raphael Warnock, Representative Pramila Jayapal, additional members of Congress, his wife Mildred, community organizations, and legal representatives. His deportation case remains pending appeal.

Marta Guinand, a Venezuelan national living in the U.S. since 2014 with a valid work permit through 2028, was detained by CBP agents at McAllen airport while attempting to travel to her son's graduation in Florida. She has an active political asylum case since 2015 and is being held at Ursula Detention Center without her case being presented to court; her asylum interview scheduled for April was cancelled by authorities.

Wilfredo Hoyos-Gomez, a 10-year-old Venezuelan boy, appeared alone in Houston immigration court without legal representation and faces deportation to Ecuador, a country he has never visited. His mother, Nexoli Anyis Gomez Bracho, was detained by ICE in late 2025 following a traffic stop and remains in custody at the Houston Contract Detention Facility. The mother holds a valid work permit and has a pending asylum case. With no other family in the United States, the boy's mother's former employer serves as his legal guardian. The Department of Homeland Security filed paperwork seeking the child's deportation, and Rep. Joaquin Castro called for ICE to release the mother and halt deportation proceedings against the child.

J.R.V., a 40-year-old with valid work authorization, was arrested by a sheriff's deputy in Florida in December while driving to a construction job. He was transferred through multiple detention facilities over five months, including the controversial Alligator Alcatraz in Florida, and eventually held at ICE's Aurora detention center operated by GEO Group. After 127 days in detention, he was released with only the clothes on his back and no identification documents. He filed a successful habeas corpus petition in federal court to challenge his detention and was released on April 29, 2026.

On April 28, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit unanimously ruled that the Trump administration's mandatory detention policy for immigrants without inspection—implemented in July 2025—violated federal immigration law and constitutional due process by denying bond hearings. The case centered on Ricardo Barbosa da Cunha, a Brazilian national who had lived in the U.S. for over 20 years with work authorization, a business, and a pending legal status application when detained under the policy in September 2025. The court rejected the government's statutory interpretation of 1996 immigration law, finding it improperly expanded detention to all non-citizens regardless of U.S. residence length, criminal history, or community ties. The decision created a circuit split, as two other appellate courts had previously upheld the policy, setting up likely Supreme Court review.

A Carnegie man with valid work authorization was taken into custody by ICE. A local congressman investigated the detention and confirmed the man's valid work authorization status at the time of arrest. A federal judge subsequently granted the man a bond hearing.

Jorge Cubillos and Carlos Rodelo, Colombian nationals who fled armed groups and extortion, were deported to the Democratic Republic of Congo despite holding legal protections including withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture (CAT) protections that prevented their return to Colombia. Cubillos, who had built a life in the U.S. over eight years and held a work permit, was physically restrained around his waist, feet, and hands for 24 hours during the deportation flight and reported feeling imprisoned upon arrival in Kinshasa. Rodelo was arrested in August 2025 and detained for eight months across multiple ICE facilities; Cubillos was held in Florida, Louisiana, and at Alexandria airport. Both were deported without formal removal orders and without being informed of their destination, health requirements, or mandatory vaccinations. At least 15 Latin American migrants were sent to Kinshasa under a U.S. agreement with the Congolese government, with deportations costing over $130,000 per person.

Rufino Beca, a 59-year-old pastor from Angola who arrived in the U.S. in 2017, was detained by ICE agents on April 20, 2026, outside a store on St. John's Street in Portland, Maine. Beca leads two Assembly of God congregations in Biddeford and Portland. He was apprehended while collecting funds to help another congregation member held in immigration custody. DHS stated he overstayed a six-month tourist visa. His daughter disputes this claim, stating he is an asylum seeker with no criminal record. Beca remains held at Strafford County Jail in Dover, New Hampshire.

William Alexander Alfaro, a Honduran national with an active asylum case, was detained by ICE agents on March 18, 2026, while driving his three children to school in San Antonio, Texas. Alfaro held a valid work permit and driver's license and was in compliance with the asylum process. He was arrested at Crosspoint, an ICE check-in and processing facility in San Antonio, as he arrived for a scheduled appointment. During approximately one month in ICE detention, Alfaro was not treated for a knee tumor requiring emergency surgery. He was deported to Honduras without receiving the scheduled medical procedure, likely resulting in amputation. His wife, who witnessed the initial detention, now fears she will be targeted for deportation, which would leave their three U.S. citizen children in San Antonio without parents.

Hector V. was detained during an ICE raid at the Allston Car Wash in November 2025 alongside eight coworkers. Though he had legal work authorization, he remained in custody due to an outstanding removal order from a 2007 hearing he missed because he is illiterate and was given incorrect information. After spending five months in the overcrowded South Texas ICE Processing Center under harsh conditions, he elected to self-deport at the end of January and was deported to El Salvador in mid-April, 11 weeks after making that choice. His attorney filed a motion to hold the government in contempt for failing to schedule a required bond hearing and a motion to reopen his case, both of which were denied.

Marvin Giovanny Melara Castillo, a citizen of El Salvador who entered the U.S. in August 2022, was re-detained by ICE on April 21, 2026 while driving to work in Houston, Texas. He had been released into the community for nearly four years, during which time he obtained work authorization, secured employment, paid taxes, and applied for asylum. ICE provided no notice or justification for his re-detention. The court granted his habeas corpus petition, finding that ICE failed to make any finding of changed circumstances before re-detaining him, and ordered his immediate release with procedural protections requiring a pre-deprivation bond hearing if the government seeks to re-detain him.

Shriram Krishnan, an engineer with two master's degrees who has lived in the United States since 2003, was detained by ICE at McAllen International Airport on Wednesday while preparing to board a flight to Seattle to meet his newborn nephew. His wife, Dr. Ranjana Sarma, says Krishnan has no criminal history, and the family has paid taxes and had a pending green card application since 2014. Their 8-year-old son has not yet been told what happened and has been asking when his father will return. According to an immigration attorney quoted in the article, Krishnan may have been detained due to a legal technicality: while he holds a work permit, it does not necessarily grant legal status, and ICE is following a new protocol of detaining noncitizens who show work permits but lack legal status.

Octavio Daniel Cabrera Valdez was detained by ICE on April 16, 2026, while at work. He held a valid work permit at the time of his detention. His detention has forced his partner and two children (ages 8 and 4) out of their apartment. Cabrera Valdez was the sole provider for his family and also cared for his mother and father, both U.S. citizens, prior to his detention.

Venezuelan physician Rubeliz "Bibi" Bolívar and her 5-year-old daughter Milena were detained by ICE while Bolívar was en route to an asylum interview. Bolívar held a valid work permit (EAD) and an approved I-485 employment-based visa petition. The organization Médicos Unidos Venezuela demanded their immediate release. A Venezuelan physician was detained by immigration authorities in Nashville while attending an official asylum appointment. The detention followed an administrative change to his case after it was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. He is currently held in custody in Louisiana and has health concerns including hypertension, severe scoliosis, and recent respiratory symptoms. Dr. Rubeliz Bolivar, an emergency medicine resident in McAllen, Texas, was detained by ICE at McAllen International Airport on April 11, 2026, while traveling with her five-year-old U.S. citizen daughter to a scheduled asylum interview in California. Dr. Bolivar held a valid work permit and had pending asylum and green card applications. She was released from custody the same night.

Bruno Guedes da Silva, a Brazilian man who fled to the U.S. in 2022 seeking asylum, was detained by ICE agents in Sewickley, Pennsylvania on February 21, 2026, despite possessing valid work authorization, a Social Security number, and a driver's license. ICE cited a warrant for felony charges related to firearms and falsification of documents, though those criminal charges were later dropped related to allegedly lying about his immigration status on a firearm purchase application in July 2024. His 6-year-old daughter, Maria, began chemotherapy treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma shortly after his detention. Da Silva was held at Northern Regional Jail in Moundsville, West Virginia, until a judge granted him bond on immigration charges in April 2026, allowing him to reunite with his daughter.

María Alejandra Rivas Martínez, a 19-year-old Venezuelan, was detained by ICE after a traffic accident in Miami. She had legally entered the U.S. in 2019 at age 13 with a tourist visa, holds a valid Florida driver's license and work permit, and has a pending asylum case. A state officer notified ICE after reviewing her identification during the accident report. She is currently held at Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach awaiting immigration court.

A 23-year-old Honduran man granted legal status and work authorization under a federal court settlement for families separated by the Trump administration's zero tolerance policy was arrested by ICE in October 2025 after Louisiana wildlife officers reported him for target shooting in a protected area. Despite possessing valid immigration documents and parole status, he was detained for over five months and issued a deportation order on January 6, 2026. At least 25 other people with similar legal protections have been detained or deported by ICE in recent months. The government has also imposed new $1,000-per-person fees and canceled contracts with legal service providers, violating the terms of the federal settlement agreement. The ACLU filed a motion for his release on April 1, 2026.

Tania Warner, a 47-year-old Canadian citizen from Penticton, B.C., with a valid U.S. work visa through 2030 and a Social Security number, and her seven-year-old autistic daughter Ayla Lucas were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on March 14, 2026, at a Border Patrol checkpoint near Sarita/Kingsville, Texas, while returning from a baby shower. The family, which includes Tania's U.S. citizen husband Edward Warner and has lived in Kingsville for five years, was transferred through multiple detention facilities including Rio Grande Valley Central processing center and Dilley Immigration Processing Center. During their approximately three-week detention, Ayla suffered chemical burns from harsh cleaning detergents and soap and developed a rash, while the family experienced inadequate healthcare, food shortages, and insufficient education for the child. Warner reported being pressured to self-deport and described the experience as "the most stressful, traumatizing ordeal" she has ever experienced. They were released on April 2-3, 2026, after posting a $9,500 bond. Warner was fitted with an ankle monitor and is challenging it in court as an "illegal ankle monitor" since the judge did not order it and she was deemed a non-flight risk. Congressman Vicente Gonzalez stated that Tania is part of the Kingsville community and that neither she nor her daughter should have been detained. Warner plans to file a lawsuit alleging unlawful detention and harm to her daughter.

Dr. Rubeliz Bolívar, a Venezuelan emergency medicine resident at South Texas Health System in McAllen, Texas, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at McAllen International Airport on Saturday morning while traveling with her 5-year-old U.S. citizen daughter to California for a scheduled asylum case appointment. Dr. Bolívar holds a valid work permit through 2030 and has an active asylum case and pending green card application. She was transferred to ICE custody at El Valle Detention Center. CBP stated she had overstayed her visa since 2017. Her daughter was placed in the care of a relative. Dr. Bolívar missed an asylum interview appointment her husband, Milenko Faria, was scheduled to attend. ACEP and EMRA have advocated for her release and called for a national-interest exemption for physicians.

José Eliezer Martinez-Andino, a 20-year-old Honduran with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), was detained by ICE in March while driving through Montana and coerced into signing voluntary departure forms. He was deported to Honduras on April 10 despite having SIJS and deferred action status that should have protected him from removal. A federal judge ordered DHS to return him to the U.S., finding he was denied due process and not allowed access to his attorney for over 10 days.

Two immigrant truck drivers detained by Iowa State Patrol and ICE officers along Interstate 80 are suing the federal government, alleging violations of due process rights. The detentions occurred as part of 'Operation ICE Wall,' a national immigration enforcement effort where state troopers stop drivers at weigh stations and ICE officers arrest them. Both drivers had work authorization and pending asylum applications at the time of their arrests.

Dr. Ezequiel Veliz, a Venezuelan physician working as a resident at UT Health Rio Grande Valley/Knapp Medical Center in Texas, was detained by Border Patrol at the Sarita checkpoint in April 2025 after his Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was revoked in October 2024. Veliz is married to a U.S. citizen, had a pending green card application, and was carrying required immigration documents at the time of detention. Following outcry from the medical community and intervention by U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a judge granted him bond during his immigration hearing, allowing his release from custody. Another Venezuelan colleague was also detained within the same week.

Marcus, a 52-year-old former archivist from Cameroon, and his 14-year-old daughter Élodie were detained during an ICE enforcement action at their apartment in Minneapolis on April 1, 2026. ICE cited a typographical error in Marcus's A-number in his temporary work authorization as justification for the detention. During the enforcement action, ICE mistakenly seized Élodie's architectural drawings, classifying them as "surveillance imagery." Both remain in detention and have been unable to contact a journalist documenting crimes related to art trafficking, which is central to their asylum case. A GoFundMe campaign was initiated to support their case.

Merin Bonerges Mercado-Mejia, who entered the United States in April 2019 and had been living continuously in the country, was taken into immigration custody on March 29, 2026. He had been authorized to work in the U.S., possessed a valid Social Security number and work permit, and owned a landscaping and roofing company. The federal court ordered his immediate release, finding his detention without a bond hearing violated his constitutional due process rights.

A Colombian woman working as an Uber driver was detained by ICE in Florida despite having a pending asylum case, a valid driver's license, and work authorization. Her family reports constant transfers, lack of information about her whereabouts, poor detention conditions, and concerns about potential deportation while the family remains separated.