Human Impact Project

A Cambodian refugee who entered the US as a child in 1982 was detained by ICE on May 4, 2026, after 25 years on supervised release. He had been living in the US under Orders of Supervision since 1999 following a 1997 drug conviction, but Cambodia has consistently refused to issue travel documents for his removal. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring his immediate release, finding that ICE violated its own regulations by having an unauthorized officer revoke his supervision.

Manuela Hernandez, an asylum seeker from Colombia, was detained at California City's detention center for five months after her electronic monitoring device broke during a household accident in December 2025. She reported severe medical decline in custody, including fainting spells and a bacterial infection, while ICE pursued federal charges for property destruction. After her legal team filed a habeas corpus petition arguing the break was unintentional, she was released on May 4, 2026, and has reunited with her family while continuing her asylum case.

Federal Magistrate Judge Joel Richlin ordered the release of Darwin Ortega Montufar from ICE custody on April 24, 2026, finding his arrest and detention violated his constitutional due process rights. Montufar was arrested on April 4 while going to work in Riverside County, held incommunicado for three days, and denied a bond hearing despite being compliant with ICE reporting obligations and having no criminal record.

A Mexican national who has resided in the United States since 1999 was detained by ICE on May 3, 2026, while preparing to leave for work in Oxnard, California. He was transferred to Desert View Facility in Adelanto, California. An immigration judge denied bond, finding him a flight risk based on his immigration history and unauthorized work. The federal court found the immigration judge abused discretion and ordered his immediate release with reasonable conditions of supervision.

A woman detained at Adelanto ICE Processing Center filed a pro se habeas corpus petition and emergency motion to prevent her removal from the United States. The federal court granted a temporary restraining order enjoining ICE from transferring or removing her from the Central District of California pending a preliminary injunction hearing. The court ordered ICE to ensure her appearance at the May 8, 2026 hearing.

A noncitizen from Cameroon who entered the U.S. in 2024 was granted withholding of removal to Cameroon on September 16, 2025. Despite this protection from deportation to his home country, he remained detained at the Adelanto Detention Facility for more than six months after his removal order became final. The court ordered his release within 24 hours, finding his continued detention violated due process since removal was not reasonably foreseeable.

A native of Nicaragua was detained by ICE in May 2026 and is currently held at Richwood Correctional in Monroe, Louisiana. He was granted withholding of removal as to Nicaragua under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). He filed a habeas corpus petition and emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent his deportation or transfer, arguing that deportation to Mexico would violate his due process rights and expose him to refoulement to Nicaragua despite his CAT withholding order. He is a member of the D.V.D. class, consisting of individuals subject to final removal orders whom ICE plans to deport to third countries. The district court denied his motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, citing the Supreme Court's prior stay denial in the D.V.D. class litigation and the principle of avoiding duplicative litigation.

A Mexican asylum-seeker who fled cartel violence in Michoacan in 2019 was arrested by ICE at her check-in appointment in Santa Rosa in May 2026, separating her from her three children ages 2, 13, and 19. After texting her daughter to bring the younger children home, she was held in a freezing cell with little food before being transported toward a detention center. Attorneys from the newly created Bay Area Habeas Network, led by attorney Jordan Weiner, filed an emergency habeas corpus petition and obtained a federal judge's order for her immediate release within hours. The woman told the Chronicle: "I feel like I have no peace. But I have faith and know that there are good people who will help us."

A noncitizen who entered the U.S. in 2024 and was released on his own recognizance was abruptly re-detained by ICE in May 2026 without notice or opportunity to be heard. Respondents claimed he was subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b). The court granted his habeas petition, finding that § 1226(a)—not § 1225(b)—applied to him because he had already entered the interior of the country. The court ordered his immediate release by July 4, 2026, and enjoined re-detention absent clear and convincing evidence at a pre-deprivation hearing.

An unaccompanied minor came to the United States as an unaccompanied minor in August 2018 and was initially detained by immigration officers who commenced removal proceedings. He subsequently filed an asylum application that remains pending. He was transferred to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement and released to his sponsor, an uncle. In May 2026, immigration officers arrested him in front of his home without pre-deprivation process or notice. He challenged his detention in federal court, arguing it violated his constitutional due process rights. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California granted his petition for writ of habeas corpus, finding his case indistinguishable from prior cases where courts determined similar detentions violated due process. The court ordered his immediate release and permanently enjoined respondents from re-arresting or re-detaining him without constitutional protections including pre-deprivation notice, a timely hearing, and a government burden to prove by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a danger or flight risk.

A Jamaican LGBTQ asylum seeker who had been granted Convention Against Torture withholding in November 2024 was arrested at his home by ICE agents on May 1, 2026 without a warrant. He had been complying with supervision requirements and living with his U.S. citizen wife in California. The federal court granted a temporary restraining order requiring his immediate release and prohibiting re-detention without a hearing.

Karina Lozano Chiriboga, Angel Granda, and their daughter Ariana Granda Lozano were deported to Ecuador on Wednesday morning despite their asylum case being denied without a hearing. The family had fled Ecuador two years prior due to violent organized crime and were going through legal channels to seek asylum. Their initial attorney missed filing deadlines, leading a judge to vacate their case, and although they obtained a temporary stay from U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin on April 24, that order was vacated four days later. ICE ordered them to the airport for a 5:30 a.m. departure, and while they were in flight, the Bureau of Immigration Appeals accepted their appeal into the record.

A noncitizen is currently detained at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Denver Contract Detention Facility in Colorado. He filed a habeas corpus petition seeking immediate release from custody or a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). The court ordered that respondents cannot remove him from Colorado or the United States until the court or appeals court vacates the order, and gave respondents seven days to respond to the petition.

An asylum seeker from El Salvador living in Oakland since 2021 faced potential re-detention by ICE despite having deferred action status through a U visa application. ICE issued a reinstatement notice in October 2025 but had repeatedly acknowledged they did not have his removal file and had previously released him multiple times as neither a flight risk nor danger. The court granted a preliminary injunction preventing his detention without a pre-deprivation hearing.

A detained immigrant filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus requesting immediate release and prohibiting transfer or deportation without a hearing before a neutral decisionmaker. The court issued a temporary order on May 1, 2026, prohibiting the government from deporting him until the court issues an order regarding his custody. A hearing was scheduled for May 4, 2026, and the government was ordered to file a response by May 1, 2026.

A noncitizen was re-detained on April 30, 2026, at Golden State Annex after having been previously released on bond or conditional parole. The court found that the government violated his due process rights by failing to provide a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter before re-detaining him. The court ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he was subject to prior to his April 30 detention, and required that any future re-detention must be preceded by at least seven days' notice and a constitutionally compliant pre-deprivation bond hearing.

A Nicaraguan citizen was placed in removal proceedings in December 2022 and charged with inadmissibility for entering the United States without inspection. She was initially released on an Order of Recognizance but was recently re-detained and held at the Adelanto ICE Detention Facility. The court granted her temporary restraining order requiring an individualized bond hearing within 7 days.

A man was arrested for driving while intoxicated in Dallas, Texas on October 20, 2022, and was issued a Notice to Appear for removal proceedings. He was convicted of DWI on June 15, 2023, and released on his own recognizance by DHS. On April 29, 2026, when he reported to the Dallas ICE Field Office as directed, he was re-detained. The court found that his re-detention without notice and opportunity to be heard violated due process and granted his habeas corpus petition, ordering his immediate release on the same conditions he was subject to prior to re-detention.

A man who entered the United States without inspection in December 2023 was initially released on his own recognizance in January 2024. On April 29, 2026, ICE re-detained him when he appeared for a routine ICE check-in. The court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release under the same conditions as before his re-detention.

A Mexican citizen who had lived in the U.S. for over 16 years was detained by ICE after being pulled over for speeding on April 29, 2026. He had approved immigration applications and no criminal history but was held without a bond hearing under a new government interpretation of detention law. The court ordered his immediate release, finding his detention violated due process rights.