Human Impact Project

Daniel Palencia arrived in the United States in 2016 at age 11 with his mother, crossing the Mexico-U.S. border at El Paso, Texas, where they turned themselves in to immigration authorities and sought legal status. He was detained for three months in deplorable conditions, including cold rooms where temperatures dropped at night and blankets were confiscated, and overcrowded holding areas he described as "cages" designed for 4-5 people but sometimes holding 40 individuals where "we were sleeping on top of each other." After being transferred to JK Airport in New York for additional detention, his family hired a lawyer and obtained asylum status. Palencia moved to Southold to live with his grandparents, attended local schools, and has worked for Marcello Masonry for two years. Reflecting on his experience and that of detained coworker Hugo Leonel Ardon Osorio, he stated: "There are bad people out there. But you can't arrest everybody for the way they look or if they speak Spanish. You can't arrest hard-working people who are trying to support their families."

Katerina was recently detained by immigration authorities at an airport and is currently held in immigration detention. Her supporters are raising funds for emergency federal legal representation to file a habeas corpus petition and temporary restraining order in federal court challenging the legality of her detention and seeking her release.

Aminata (Amina) Seck, a 26-year-old graduate student and basketball center for Kentucky State University from Dakar, Senegal, was detained by ICE on Aug. 7 at Louisville's Muhammad Ali International Airport while preparing to fly with her team to an HBCU tournament in New York. Seck entered the U.S. on a student visa in 2019 and was ordered removed after missing an immigration hearing; her attorney, Sadiqa Reynolds, said Seck never received notice of the hearing and missed the deadline while recovering from back surgery and an ACL injury. Wearing a leg brace at the time of her arrest, she has since been moved between at least four detention facilities in Kentucky and Chicago as well as a hospital over 48 days, reportedly experiencing seizures and limited access to phone calls, visitors, or basic medical care. Seck started most games last season, averaging more than 11 points and 7 rebounds, and earned All-Conference and SIAC Elite 16 academic-athletic honors. Her head coach, Amani Williams, has advocated on her behalf, and U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey said he is monitoring her situation.

Pastor Luis Morales Pérez, a Venezuelan Seventh-day Adventist pastor who oversees four congregations in the Houston area and is a father of two daughters, was detained by ICE agents at George Bush Intercontinental Airport while traveling with his wife, Karina, for a vacation to New York. According to Karina, agents approached the couple shortly after they entered the airport, called Morales by name, and took him into custody. Morales held valid employment authorization to serve with the Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and had a pending asylum claim. His Temporary Protected Status, granted in December 2023, was revoked after DHS ended TPS for Venezuelan nationals, a move the Supreme Court allowed to take effect; ICE said he remained in the country after the revocation took effect on November 20, 2025. He is being held at Livingston Detention Center. Church leaders described his "commitment to our mission and the families he serves" as "unwavering" and asked congregants to pray for his family.

Debora Kapisha, a registered nurse from Zambia working at Maine Medical Center in Portland, was detained by ICE on July 30 at Boston Logan Airport after her visa expired in November 2024. According to ICE, she entered the U.S. on May 14, 2024, and remained in the country after her visa expiration. Kapisha maintained a valid registered nurse license since June 2025 with no disciplinary action and argued she had legal work authorization while her asylum case was being adjudicated. The Maine State Nurses Association organized a rally within 24 hours of learning of her detention and mobilized community support, with over 100 Maine Medical Center nurses and supporters protesting alongside Democratic officials including Senate nominee Troy Jackson and gubernatorial nominee Hannah Pingree, describing her as a trusted, compassionate caregiver whose absence affected patient care. She was released from ICE custody on August 7 following the protests. The union and MaineHealth are working to sponsor her for permanent resident status through an EB-3 visa, for which skilled nurses are eligible and exempt from standard labor certification requirements.

Steven Orrego Upegui was detained by ICE at LaGuardia Airport in New York City while on his way to celebrate his mother's birthday, then chained and transferred to a detention facility in Pennsylvania, where he spent 15 days in custody before being released with help from his partner and family. He has since filed a federal habeas corpus petition in the Southern District of New York challenging his detention and potential removal. A federal judge has ordered that he not be removed from the United States or transferred outside the New York City area while the case proceeds, with the government required to respond by August 12, 2026, and a hearing scheduled for August 18. He continues to raise funds to cover his legal defense and attorney fees.

A pregnant woman, identified as South African national Nqobile Malangeni, was detained by ICE on July 31 at Harry Reid International Airport as she prepared to board a flight back to Connecticut after a birthday vacation in Las Vegas. Agents told her they had a final order of removal against her for overstaying her authorized period of stay. She lives in Connecticut with her fiancé, a former U.S. armed forces member, who has expressed concern about being able to meet their child. Malangeni is currently being held at the Henderson Detention Center in Nevada.

Claudia Carolina Rodríguez Caglianone, a 28-year-old Venezuelan who entered the U.S. on a student visa in January 2017, was detained by ICE agents at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on July 17 after passing through TSA security while boarding a domestic flight. She had a pending asylum application and previously held Temporary Protected Status, and had earned bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, where she also captained the women's soccer team. She was held for eight days at the Miramar processing facility, describing overcrowding, moldy food, and lack of access to showers, before being transferred to the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach for nine more days, during which she lost about 15 pounds. On August 3, an immigration judge set bond at $5,000 and she was released; Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz publicly supported her and conducted an inspection of the Pompano Beach facility.

Claudia Rodríguez, a 29-year-old Venezuelan immigrant who earned her master's degree in business administration from St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, was detained by ICE at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in July while attempting to board a flight to North Carolina. Rodríguez arrived in the U.S. legally in 2017 on a tourist visa, applied for asylum within six months, and was granted Temporary Protected Status in 2023 while her asylum case remains pending. She was transferred between two South Florida detention facilities, spending eight days at the ICE office in Miramar in severely overcrowded conditions—sleeping on floors in a cell with 75 people, unable to shower or change clothes, and losing 15 pounds. Her cousin Gabriel Domínguez described her as an exemplary athlete with no criminal record. U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz visited the Miramar facility to advocate for her release, calling the detention "unacceptable." Rodríguez was released on Monday evening.

Paul, an Indian national with an order withholding his removal based on Convention Against Torture protections, was detained by ICE officers at Dulles Airport after returning from a family trip to Hawaii. As he was being processed at an ICE field office in Virginia, Paul suffered a heart attack, was hospitalized and treated, then released back to ICE custody. He was subsequently released under a preexisting ICE supervision arrangement with his next check-in scheduled for September. His attorney, Jay S. Marks, noted that Paul has protection from removal to India but could be deported to a third country.

Pritesh Walia, a rising Indian jazz guitarist born in New Delhi, was arrested at Los Angeles Airport on August 2 for overstaying his O1B visa, which was set to expire in August 2025. Walia arrived in the U.S. in January 2019 and has studied at Musician's Institute, Berklee College of Music, and New England Conservatory, earning degrees in music. He is now being held at Adelanto ICE processing center in Southern California. According to his friend and former classmate saxophonist Joey Rosin, Walia suffers from persistent postural perceptual dizziness, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, and chronic vestibular migraines requiring aggressive physical therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and carefully balanced medication regimens. Rosin expressed concern that the detention facility's fluorescent lighting and conditions may prevent Walia from sleeping and worsen his chronic health conditions. Walia's newest album, "Journey to Nowhere," featuring a 27-piece ensemble, is being released this month.

Curtis Wright, a 40-year-old Edmonton-born permanent resident who moved to Houston as a child and worked in the oil and gas industry, was detained by ICE at a Houston-area airport in November 2025 after returning from a work trip to Mexico. Authorities cited a drug possession conviction from when he was 17, involving Xanax tablets found in a car he was in, for which he had already completed community service. During nearly nine months in detention across several Texas facilities, including the South Texas ICE Processing Centre, Wright described freezing cells, contaminated water, poor food, and being denied medication for a chronic condition. His attorney pursued appeals and a habeas corpus request, but a judge ultimately ordered his deportation, and Wright gave up further legal fights. His fiancée Kayla Thomsen said their toddler daughter learned to walk during his absence, while his two older sons, ages 8 and 11, remained in Texas with their mother. Wright was deported to Canada and is now staying with his parents in Kelowna, B.C., planning an eventual move to Edmonton.

Cornelius Kaihau Holani, a 20-year-old citizen of New Zealand of Tongan ethnicity, was lawfully admitted to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program in July 2023. He lives in Seattle, cares for his elderly grandmother, and volunteers at his church teaching traditional Tongan dance. His mother is a green card holder and his stepfather is a U.S. citizen. On July 31, ICE agents detained Holani at Oakland International Airport as he waited to board a domestic flight to Seattle, handcuffed him, and transported him to an ICE office in San Francisco. Agents presented him with a document and instructed him to sign it; when he asked if it was related to deportation, an officer allegedly told him "No, it's nothing like that." U.S. District Judge Noël Wise ruled that ICE coerced Holani into signing the document without knowing its contents and that the government violated his due process rights by relying on it as a waiver of his right to contest removal. The judge ordered his release and barred re-detention or removal pending a hearing.

Elton Purvis, a 55-year-old lawful permanent resident, Rastafarian priest, and father of nine U.S. citizen children from Trinidad and Tobago, was detained by ICE at Boston Logan Airport on May 13, 2025, while returning to attend his sons' graduations. A community fixture for more than 30 years, Purvis had malaria and Type 1 diabetes when detained; he said ICE officers confiscated his insulin and malaria medication, and he was hospitalized about a week into detention before receiving malaria treatment. During roughly seven months in multiple facilities, including the Geo Group-run South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, Texas, Purvis filed over 100 grievances, suffered hypoglycemic crashes, dehydration and malnutrition, and became unresponsive in his cell at least three times due to low blood sugar. Staff also refused to accommodate his strict vegetarian diet required by his religion and medical condition. He was deported to Trinidad and Tobago on December 6, 2025. The ACLU filed a federal tort claim on his behalf seeking $10 million in damages, part of a nationwide effort that filed more than 50 claims across 17 states and Washington, D.C., alleging neglect of detained immigrants' medical and food needs.

Debora Kapisha, a Maine Medical Center nurse originally from Zambia, was taken into ICE custody at Portland International Jetport on July 30 after an agent told her she needed a luggage inspection in a separate room, where immigration agents were waiting, according to her attorney Kerry Doyle. ICE has accused her of overstaying a visa that expired in November 2024, though she has a pending asylum claim and, according to the Maine State Nurses Association, is legally authorized to work in the U.S. After she challenged her detention in federal court, Kapisha was ordered released from ICE custody last week, though her removal case continues. Her colleagues protested her detention, and Maine immigrant advocates say at least five people have been detained at the jetport in the past two weeks amid a nationwide increase in airport immigration enforcement.

Mabel, an Oakland resident from Ecuador, was detained by ICE agents at Phoenix airport while waiting for a connecting flight. She had a pending asylum claim and held a valid work permit issued by U.S. immigration authorities. According to her husband Abraham Sanchez, an ICE officer approached the couple with a photo of Mabel on his phone, asked her to confirm her name, and took her away. She spent her first night detained near the airport before being transported to Eloy Detention Center. Her case is part of a broader ICE airport crackdown targeting individuals with expired visas and pending immigration applications.

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.

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. She 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 her 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. She 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.

Fatima Ameaka, a public health researcher at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health and a native of Cameroon who previously held a Fulbright scholarship, was detained by ICE agents at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport while attempting to board a domestic flight. Officials cited an alleged overstay of a visa she entered on in June 2023, which had permitted her to stay until mid-2024, with her arrest reportedly facilitated by a data-sharing agreement between the TSA and ICE. She had a pending asylum application and was rapidly transferred through multiple facilities, from Maryland to Virginia, then to Louisiana, and finally to Texas, all within days. She was released shortly after and returned to Maryland, where she awaits her next court hearing. Johns Hopkins University described her as 'a respected member of our community,' said it was troubled by her arrest and the anxiety it caused, and stated it is providing her legal representation and support.

A Venezuelan influencer known on social media as "La Real Muñeca" was detained by ICE agents at Orlando International Airport while preparing to board a flight. According to reports on social media, the agents were in plain clothes and were waiting near the boarding gate. She had been participating in a digital program called "La Prisión de Destino" and was heading back to her residence. A person close to the case reported that she has retained a lawyer. Immigration authorities have not publicly disclosed the reasons for her arrest or additional details about her legal situation.