Human Impact Project

Luis Gilberto Loja Mayancela, 24, an Ecuadorian immigrant with Special Immigrant Juvenile status and valid work authorization, was detained by ICE on January 15, 2026, despite his protective status. A U.S. District judge ruled he is entitled to a bond hearing in immigration court, with seven days to schedule the hearing or he must be released. Mayancela, held at Moshannon Valley Processing Center, was separated from his wife and 3-month-old son at the time of his arrest.

A Venezuelan trafficking survivor identified as 'Flora' was detained by ICE during a routine check-in in January 2026 and separated from her two young children. Flora alleges she was subjected to sexual assault, forced labor, and physical abuse after arriving in the U.S. in 2023. Her legal team filed a habeas corpus petition in February 2026, arguing her detention violates the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and reports indicate at least 41 trafficking survivors have filed similar petitions since early 2025.

Bobby Nuñez, a tow-truck driver, was acquitted by jury of charges that he stole government property after hooking an ICE vehicle. The acquittal came as federal prosecutors under the Trump administration faced a losing streak in cases against ICE protesters, with judges citing civil rights violations and credibility issues with law enforcement testimony.

A shop foreman and asylum seeker who entered the United States on November 2, 2022, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on December 31, 2025, at a routine immigration check-in appointment without a warrant or explanation. Despite having complied with all terms of his release for nearly three years, maintaining employment as a shop foreman, applying for asylum and permanent residency, and having no criminal history, he was held for nearly six months without a hearing. A federal district court granted his habeas petition on June 26, 2026, finding his detention violated Fifth Amendment due process protections and ordering his immediate release.

An Afghan national was released on immigration parole in April 2024. On December 30, 2025, he was re-arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without notice or explanation. He filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in federal court on April 8, 2026, challenging the re-arrest as a violation of his due process rights and federal regulations governing revocation of release. He requested either immediate release under his prior parole terms or a bond hearing. On April 14, 2026, respondents filed a return stating they did not oppose the petition. The court granted the habeas corpus petition and ordered his release from immigration custody within one business day under the terms of his prior parole notice.

An immigration detainee who had previously been released on bond or conditional parole was re-detained by immigration authorities on December 29, 2026. He challenged his ongoing immigration detention through a habeas corpus petition, arguing that his re-detention without a pre-deprivation bond hearing violated due process. The court granted his petition and ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he had prior to his December 29 detention.

Asif Amin Cheema, a 63-year-old Pakistani restaurant owner in Humboldt Park who lived in Chicago for 30 years, was deported to Pakistan in early 2026 after the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a deportation order from the 1990s that his family said they were unaware of. Despite having a valid work permit and a scheduled green card interview, Cheema was detained in September 2025 and subsequently removed. A community fundraiser was held in March 2026 featuring Chicago chef Zubair Mohajir to raise awareness and support for efforts to bring Cheema home, with proceeds directed to his family and immigration advocacy organizations.

An immigration detainee was arrested on December 29, 2025 for misdemeanor driving under the influence and providing false information to a police officer. He was granted pre-plea diversion with the case set for dismissal in June 2026. Months after his arrest, he reported for his scheduled check-in with ICE, where ICE arrested and detained him. The court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release.

A Mexican citizen who entered the U.S. in June 1998 with no criminal history was detained by ICE on December 28, 2025, outside her home without any pre-deprivation process or notice, despite not being subject to a final removal order. She has cancer requiring monthly medical monitoring and is the primary financial support for her family. On June 18, 2026, the federal court granted her petition for habeas corpus and ordered her immediate release, finding that her detention without pre-deprivation due process violated the Constitution, and enjoined respondents from re-detaining her without written notice and a pre-deprivation hearing.

A native and citizen of India entered the United States without inspection on December 25, 2023 and was detained by ICE on December 26, 2025. He was issued a Notice to Appear charging him as a noncitizen present in the US who has not been admitted or paroled, and was transferred to the Torrance County Detention Center in Estancia, New Mexico. The court granted his habeas petition in part and ordered that he receive a bond hearing within seven days.

Ignacio Sosnava Rodriguez had lived in Texas for 22 years before ICE detained him following a traffic stop in 2025. Rodriguez filed a habeas corpus petition arguing that holding him without a bond hearing violated his Fifth Amendment right to due process. A lower court granted his petition in February using the Mathews v. Eldridge framework and released him from ICE custody. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that decision, denying Rodriguez's petition and ruling that immigrants in removal proceedings have no constitutional right to bond hearings regardless of length of residence in the United States.

Abdulkadir Sharif Abdi, a Somali refugee who became an addiction recovery leader, was arrested in December 2025 and transferred to Lincoln County Detention Center in North Platte, Nebraska. ICE described him as an active gang member, though community members contested this characterization. Abdi filed a habeas petition on December 9 claiming his detention was unlawful, and Judge Susan Bazis ordered his interim release on December 23 after the government did not contest the petition. Abdi was released on Christmas Eve with assistance from HOPE-Esperanza, a nonprofit serving North Platte's minority community, which helped him contact his family and book a flight home to Minneapolis.

A Russian citizen on parole through the CBP One program was arrested on December 22, 2025 in Hollywood on misdemeanor solicitation charges. After being released from criminal custody, ICE immediately detained him without a hearing despite his compliance with parole conditions. The court ordered his immediate release, finding his detention violated due process rights.

A federal judge in Charlotte ruled that ICE violated a man's due process rights by unlawfully detaining Mostafa Said, an Egyptian asylum seeker, during a routine check-in. The judge ordered immigration officials to hold a bond hearing for Said within 48 hours. Said had been released on humanitarian parole after entering through the U.S.-Mexico border and was arrested in Charlotte and transferred to Stewart Detention Center in Georgia.

U.S. Army veteran Zahid Chaudhry, a green card holder and disabled veteran, was released from ICE detention at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma after being held for approximately four months. A federal judge ordered his release following a habeas hearing on December 22, 2025. Chaudhry had been detained since August 2025 when he was taken into custody at a citizenship interview. DHS made allegations of criminal history misrepresentation, which were disputed by his family.

ICE agents arrested a Honduran mother and her two children, including a 4-year-old U.S. citizen, at a check-in appointment on December 20, 2025. The family was detained in hotel rooms for 18 days across multiple locations, including near LaGuardia Airport and Alexandria, Louisiana, during which they had minimal contact with the outside world. They were briefly placed on a plane to Honduras before being taken off due to a federal judge's temporary restraining order blocking their deportation, and were eventually released on January 7, 2026.

The Miccosukee Tribe is pursuing legal challenges against the "Alligator Alcatraz" immigrant detention facility in the Everglades, arguing that Florida's acceptance of $608 million in federal funds for the facility strengthens their case. The Tribe contends the facility was constructed unlawfully on public lands without required environmental review and poses risks to their 11 villages and the fragile ecosystem. Multiple lawsuits have been filed opposing the detention center, including claims regarding inadequate legal access for detainees and lack of federal authority for state operation.

ICE arrested and detained a Russian mother and daughter on December 18, 2025, for removal proceedings after they stopped reporting for immigration check-ins in November 2024. The petitioners had initially arrived at a U.S. port of entry in December 2021 and were released under the Alternative to Detention program. The federal court granted their habeas petition and ordered their release, finding their detention violated immigration law and due process.

A Canadian citizen residing in the U.S. since 2019 was arrested on December 18, 2025 during a USCIS interview for his green card application based on marriage to a U.S. citizen. He remained detained until February 3, 2026 when an immigration judge released him on bond, finding he posed no flight risk or danger. Despite the judge's determination, ICE placed him on an ankle monitor and in intensive supervision, prompting his habeas petition challenging the conditions as violating his due process rights.

A noncitizen was detained on December 18, 2025, after having been previously released on bond or conditional parole. The government re-detained him without providing a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter, as required by the Due Process Clause. He filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging his immigration detention. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California found that the government violated his constitutional rights by failing to provide a pre-deprivation bond hearing before re-detaining him. The court granted his habeas petition and ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he was subject to before December 18, 2025. The court also established that if the government seeks to re-detain him in the future, it must provide at least seven days' notice and hold a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter.

Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan was convicted of obstructing federal agents from arresting an undocumented immigrant. Dugan allegedly helped an undocumented immigrant leave her courtroom in April to avoid arrest by ICE agents waiting in the hallway. She was acquitted of a misdemeanor charge.

Seven people detained by ICE at a California immigration detention center filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on November 12, describing severe medical neglect and inhumane conditions. One detainee, Fernando Viera Reyes, reports being denied medication and urgent treatment for likely prostate cancer while in custody.

A man who entered the US in 1989 and has four adult US citizen children was detained by ICE on December 16, 2025. An Immigration Judge had granted him cancellation of removal in March 2023, but the Board of Immigration Appeals reversed that decision in April 2026 and ordered his removal to Mexico. The court denied his habeas petition, finding his detention lawful under federal immigration law.

Abdikadir Abdi Noor, a 43-year-old Somali-American citizen from Fridley, was pulled over and arrested by ICE on December 15 outside Karmel Mall in Minneapolis. He is a named plaintiff in an ACLU lawsuit alleging ICE violated constitutional rights of observers and protesters during the agency's ramped-up raids in Minnesota targeting the state's Somali community.

A foreign national in removal proceedings was initially released by immigration authorities on October 4, 2023, and enrolled in alternatives to detention. He was re-detained by ICE on December 15, 2025, while attending a scheduled immigration appointment. After being ordered removed on June 8, 2026, he filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his re-detention. The court granted his petition, finding that his re-detention without notice and a pre-deprivation hearing violated due process, and ordered his immediate release on the conditions he was subject to prior to re-detention.

Six foreign nationals were arrested between November 2025 and January 2026 and charged with being inadmissible as persons present without admission in the United States. They were detained at the Adelanto Detention Center and Desert View Annex without individualized bond hearings. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring bond hearings within 7 days or immediate release.

A Colombian citizen who entered the U.S. in June 2022 to seek asylum was redetained by ICE on December 14, 2025 at a gas station after being convicted of DUI and petty theft. She had been previously released on supervision with GPS monitoring and weekly check-ins while her asylum case was pending. The court ordered that she be provided with a bond hearing within seven days but denied her request for immediate release.

Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales, a Maryland resident and U.S. citizen by birth, was detained by ICE in Baltimore on December 14, 2025, after being encountered by CBP in Arizona in 2023 and claiming Mexican citizenship during that interaction. Despite providing her Maryland birth certificate and other documentation, she was mistakenly processed as a noncitizen, assigned an A-number, and placed in removal proceedings. She was detained in facilities across Louisiana, Texas, and New Jersey before being released in January 2026 with an ankle monitor. On June 17, 2026, DHS dismissed her deportation case after her legal team established she was born in Laurel, Maryland, and obtained a U.S. passport.

Dulce Consuelo Díaz Morales, a 22-year-old U.S. citizen born in Maryland, was detained by ICE near her home on December 14 and held for 25 days across five facilities. Despite her attorneys presenting a U.S. birth certificate and other documentation proving her citizenship, ICE disputed her status and asserted she was a Mexican citizen who entered unlawfully. A federal judge issued an order blocking her deportation four days after arrest, and she was subsequently released, though deportation proceedings remain open.

Susan Tincher, a 55-year-old Minneapolis resident, was detained by ICE agents while filming them arresting someone from a nearby house during Operation Metro Surge. Tincher said she was recording on her phone when agents tackled her to the ground and detained her for allegedly not moving back when ordered. She is one of six Minnesotans who sued DHS this week, alleging ICE has carried out an unprecedented attack on civil liberties. ICE officials disputed the account, stating Tincher was arrested for allegedly assaulting an agent, attempting to break through a security perimeter, ignoring lawful commands, and becoming violent.

David Cardenas, 54, a Raleigh resident who fled Nicaragua and sought asylum in 2022, was detained by ICE during a routine yearly check-in appointment with USCIS in Charlotte. He suffered a medical emergency shortly after detention and was hospitalized at Atrium Health in Pineville, where ICE and the hospital initially blocked visits from his wife and children for a week. Following advocacy efforts and a press conference by immigrant rights groups and local leaders, ICE announced it would release Cardenas due to his severe health condition, potentially using alternative detention such as an ankle monitor.

A Guatemalan asylum seeker who fled to the U.S. in April 2024 was arrested on December 11, 2025, while attending a scheduled ICE check-in at 630 Sansome Street in San Francisco. She had been released on her own recognizance, complied with all supervision conditions, and had no criminal history. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring her immediate release, finding her detention likely violated her constitutional due process rights.

Andrei Bankevich, a Belarusian migrant granted relief from deportation, was detained by ICE in December 2025 despite having no legal authority to hold him. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger ruled in March 2026 that federal officials violated his due process rights by keeping him incarcerated in Muscatine County Jail for over a year, stating it was "untenable" that officials refused to comply with the law without a court order.

Nathan Griffin, a U.S. citizen and night manager of the Laugh Factory comedy club in Lakeview, was arrested by masked Border Patrol agents on October 24, 2025, outside the club at Belmont and Broadway during immigration enforcement operations on the North Side. Agents accused him of interfering with a federal officer and assaulting an agent by closing a vehicle door on the agent's leg while the agent was searching for a body-worn camera believed dropped during a prior immigration-related arrest. Video posted by the club showed multiple masked agents in full camouflage wrestling Griffin to the ground as bystanders screamed that he had done nothing wrong. Griffin's mother, Elaine Plybon, was also physically engaged with agents while attempting to stop her son's arrest. Griffin was initially charged with one count of forcibly assaulting, impeding, and interfering with a federal officer, facing up to 8 years in prison if convicted. Federal prosecutors dropped all charges on December 10, 2025, after a federal grand jury refused to indict him by returning a 'no bill.'

Alan Crenshaw, a 35-year-old Minneapolis resident, observed and filmed ICE arresting a U.S. citizen on December 9. As officers were leaving the scene, one agent leaned out of a car window and pepper sprayed Crenshaw. He is a named plaintiff in an ACLU lawsuit alleging ICE violated constitutional rights of observers and protesters.

Susan Tincher was arrested on December 9 while standing on a sidewalk observing an ICE raid in north Minneapolis. Officers pulled her to the ground, handcuffed her face-down in the snow, transported her to the Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling, shackled her legs, removed her wedding ring and boot laces, and held her in a cell for five hours before releasing her. She is one of six named plaintiffs in an ACLU lawsuit alleging ICE agents routinely violated constitutional rights of people protesting their actions.

A Chinese activist who entered the U.S. on an F-1 student visa in May 2016 and engaged in publicly documented activism against the Chinese Communist Party was arrested on December 9, 2025, during a traffic stop in Yermo, California after immigration agents conducting surveillance identified him from a photograph. He had lived openly in the U.S. for over nine years without immigration enforcement contact. He was charged as deportable for visa overstay and detained at Adelanto ICE Processing Center. On June 16, 2026, an immigration judge denied his bond request, finding him a flight risk. The federal court denied his habeas petition seeking immediate release, finding that a post-deprivation bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) satisfied his due process rights.

Kamel Maklad, a Syrian man who migrated through Venezuela, was released from Eloy Detention Center on December 9, 2025, after spending 14 months detained. He had won his immigration court case in November 2024 where he was granted withholding of removal. His release came after a federal judge granted a habeas corpus petition filed on his behalf.

A Mexican citizen who entered the U.S. on a B-2 visa in 2019 and overstayed was arrested during a targeted ICE raid in Los Angeles on December 8, 2025, without an arrest warrant. He was detained and received a bond hearing on April 30, 2026, where bond was denied. The federal court granted his habeas corpus petition, finding the arrest violated 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) requirements and ordered his immediate release, prohibiting re-detention without a pre-detention hearing before an immigration judge.

A lawful permanent resident who has lived in the U.S. since 1966 was arrested by Las Vegas police for driving under the influence on December 8, 2025. He was released into ICE custody the next day and has remained in immigration detention since, despite Jordan declining to accept him for removal. The court ordered his immediate release, finding his detention violated due process after over six months in custody with no reasonably foreseeable removal.

John Biestman and Janet Lee, a married couple in their late 60s from Linden Hills, followed an ICE vehicle after a December 7 raid at Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Mary in Richfield. ICE agents boxed in their car, pointed guns at them, and threatened to arrest them. They are named plaintiffs in an ACLU lawsuit alleging ICE violated constitutional rights of observers and protesters.

Don Lupe, who had lived in the U.S. for 27 years after migrating from Puebla, Mexico, was detained by ICE agents during a worksite raid in New Jersey. He described detention center conditions as isolating and abusive, designed to encourage self-deportation. His family mobilized support and with legal assistance, Don Lupe received a hearing where a judge granted bail and set bond at $7,500.

Lucia Webb, a 31-year-old Minneapolis resident, followed two ICE vehicles to the park-and-ride outside the Whipple Building on December 3. Officers boxed her in, surrounded her car, and threatened to arrest her. She is a named plaintiff in an ACLU lawsuit alleging ICE violated constitutional rights of observers and protesters.

An asylum seeker from Ecuador who fled extortion and death threats was detained by ICE on December 3, 2025 during a routine check-in at 630 Sansome Street in San Francisco. Despite having no criminal record and consistently appearing for immigration hearings, ICE alleged she missed a July 23, 2025 check-in that was not visible on her application. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring her immediate release and prohibiting re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing.

A Ukrainian immigrant who has been on supervised release since 2001 was re-detained by ICE on December 2, 2025, during a routine check-in. He had been living in Santa Monica with his sister for 25 years without violations after Ukraine refused to accept him as a citizen. The court ordered his immediate release, finding no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future.

A Mexican citizen who entered the U.S. in 2015 and was released on parole under the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) was re-detained by immigration officials on December 2, 2025, after missing mandatory check-ins. She had voluntarily presented herself at an ISAP appointment when she was taken back into custody. The court ordered her immediate release, finding the re-detention violated due process because she was not provided notice or a hearing before being detained.

Dulce, a Guatemalan mother without legal status in Virginia, had her 8-year-old son placed in federal shelter after he was detained during a traffic stop while visiting family in another state in summer 2024. Although she had previously passed sponsorship requirements and reunited with him within weeks of his initial border crossing, resettlement officials required her to repeat the entire application process. After eight months, she recovered her son in February 2025 following a lawsuit filed by his attorneys. Dulce feared attending an ICE office for an identification interview and avoided her home for days due to fear of deportation.

A Venezuelan citizen who entered the U.S. through CBP One and received humanitarian parole in November 2024 was arrested by ICE in December 2025. DHS terminated his parole via email in April 2025 while he was living in Denver, working lawfully, and complying with parole conditions. The court granted a temporary restraining order preventing his removal, finding he is likely a member of a class whose parole terminations were ruled unlawful in a Massachusetts federal court case.

Elias Perez-Zuazo, a Panamanian national, was detained by ICE in December 2025 during a scheduled check-in appointment at a Chantilly, Virginia office that he had previously attended without incident. Perez-Zuazo entered the U.S. in November 2021, was processed at the southern border, and married his U.S. citizen husband Jonathan Blanco Gallegos in February 2024. They had begun applying for a green card when Perez-Zuazo was taken into custody without warning. A federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia has issued an order barring ICE from removing him from the judicial district while the court reviews the legality of his detention, which his attorney is challenging via habeas corpus petition.

Elton Purvis, a 55-year-old legal permanent resident from Trinidad and Tobago and father of nine U.S. citizen children, was detained by ICE on May 13, 2025, at Boston Logan International Airport while returning home for his sons' graduation ceremony. A Rastafarian priest with Type 1 diabetes who was suffering from malaria upon arrival, Purvis was held for seven months across multiple facilities, spending most of that time at the South Texas Detention Complex in Pearsall. According to an ACLU claim filed in July 2026, ICE agents ignored his malaria symptoms for 12 days, confiscated his prescription diabetes and malaria medications, and repeatedly ignored his requests for medical help during multiple diabetic emergencies—he was found unresponsive in his cell at least three times and hospitalized at least three times for dangerously low and high blood sugar levels. The claim alleges that staff ignored his strict vegetarian and lactose-free religious and dietary needs required for his diabetes management, forcing him to rely on leftover cornbread from other detainees and to filter dirty drinking water himself. He was deported in December 2025; the reason for his deportation remains unclear. The ACLU Foundation of Texas filed a $10 million tort claim on his behalf as part of a nationwide effort alleging medical and food neglect across immigration detention centers.