Human Impact Project

Carlos Hugo Betancur, a 52-year-old Colombian national, was detained by ICE on July 8, 2026, while pumping gas at a Marathon station in Doral on his way to work. An immigration officer approached him from behind, asked for identification, and detained him after he provided his Florida driver's license. Betancur had filed a political asylum application in January 2023 and possessed both an employment authorization card and a Florida driver's license. He spent 8 days at the Miramar Processing Center and 8 days at Krome Detention Center before being released on electronic monitoring. At Miramar, he described severe overcrowding, with 93 to 104 detainees held in a single room with insufficient space for everyone to sit or sleep simultaneously. His daughter, Maria Alejandra Betancur, disputed the detention, noting he had valid asylum and work authorization documents. He is now required to wear an ankle monitor while his immigration case proceeds before an immigration judge.

Ulises Peña López, a 30-year-old Mexican carpenter living in Sunnyvale, California, with severe pre-existing medical conditions including a mini-stroke, blood clot in his neck, heart condition, spinal disorder, and knee injuries, was arrested by ICE agents on February 21, 2025. According to a federal lawsuit filed by Disability Law United and Pangea Legal Services, ICE agents smashed his car window and physically assaulted him during the arrest, beating him in an alleyway until he lost consciousness and requiring CPR, with his wife Aby and young daughter witnessing the assault. He was hospitalized and allegedly shackled to his bed. His wife told Telemundo: "He can't feel half of his face, it's numb, as well as his right hand and arm, and right now he feels tingling in his right leg and foot." During eight months in ICE detention at facilities operated by GeoGroup and CoreCivic, he allegedly received inadequate medical care, was denied disability accommodations and necessary medication, and was mocked by staff. He was deported to Mexico in October 2025. His wife Aby and daughter, both U.S. citizens, have joined him in filing the lawsuit against DHS, ICE, GEO Group, and CoreCivic, raising claims of civil rights violations, Fifth Amendment due process violations, disability rights violations, and state law accountability claims under California's Accountability in Detention Act. His wife Aby was subsequently diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Seven detainees in ICE custody at the Florence Service Processing Center in Arizona have been confirmed with measles. An unspecified number of additional detainees at the Eloy Detention Center and Central Arizona Florence Correctional Complex were placed under quarantine for possible measles exposure. Arizona Democratic representatives Greg Stanton, Yassamin Ansari, and Adelita Grijalva, along with Senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security demanding details about quarantine protocols, medical staffing, and whether detainees had access to legal meetings and court hearings during the lockdown. This is the second measles outbreak reported in Arizona ICE facilities in 2026, with three cases reported in February.

Erianny Rodriguez Balza, a Venezuelan woman with active Temporary Protected Status (TPS), was detained by ICE at Eloy Detention Center in Arizona for approximately 9 months. Court filings show that a federal government attorney acknowledged her legal status, yet she remained in detention despite this acknowledgment. She was eventually released after the wrongful detention.

A Venezuelan family of three — father Freddys Padilla Revilla, pregnant mother Edgarianny Gervis, and their 7-year-old daughter — say they have been held at the Dilley Detention Center for over a month after attempting to self-deport to Venezuela. The couple had lived legally in Pecos, Texas for three years, working and maintaining ICE check-ins, and sought to leave voluntarily after discovering Edgarianny was pregnant. They say that at a July 6 ICE check-in appointment, after signing forms waiving their rights and withdrawing their appeal, they were arrested and transferred to Dilley instead of being sent home. The family says Edgarianny has not received proper medical care or an ultrasound, and their daughter has said she 'wants to die' while detained, prompting them to seek help from Sen. Katie Britt.

Kubanych, a community interpreter, was detained by ICE in October 2025 while interpreting for another asylum seeker at California City Detention Center in Delano, California. After 8 months of detention, community advocacy efforts secured his release. He has since been reunited with his wife and four young children in Kyrgyzstan. During his detention, he experienced abuse and malnourishment, losing 40 pounds, and was denied care for serious health conditions.

Hani Tedros, a native of Eritrea, entered the United States in September 2023 and has a pending asylum application. He was detained on July 5, 2026, and is currently held in ICE custody at the Jackson Parish Correctional Center in Jonesboro, Louisiana. Tedros filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus arguing that his continued detention without an individualized custody determination violates his due process rights. He also moved for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction seeking either a custody redetermination hearing or immediate release, and requested an expedited hearing. The court denied the motions, finding that Tedros showed no threat of imminent harm beyond ordinary detention hardships and was effectively trying to obtain the ultimate relief sought in his habeas petition through emergency motions. The court noted he had only been detained for one month and provided no basis to prioritize his case over the 1,406 other alien detainee habeas petitions pending in the district.

Lesli Vaca Díaz, a 29-year-old Colombian national nearly seven months pregnant, was struck by a Border Patrol agent near Douglas, Arizona on July 2 after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. She was knocked to her knees, pulled up by her jacket, and slammed against a truck while repeatedly stating she was pregnant. She was hospitalized at Banner University Medical Center in Tucson after medical staff determined she was at risk of early labor. Vaca Díaz was held incommunicado and prevented from contacting family or an attorney until July 4, according to her attorney Luis Campos. She is now in ICE custody at Eloy Detention Center.

Liliana, a mother of two U.S.-based children, was detained by ICE during a routine check-in in May 2017 and subsequently deported to El Salvador despite intensive advocacy efforts by immigrant rights organizations in the Washington, DC metro area, including press conferences and intervention from elected officials. The article documents her struggle to rebuild her life as a deportee facing violence, unemployment, and social stigmatization in El Salvador.

Jesús Bracho, a San Antonio father, and his 9-year-old daughter Katherine, a student at Bonnie Ellison Elementary School, were detained near Loop 410 and U.S. Highway 90 on July 1, 2026. Bracho maintains he was released from ICE custody in order to lure his daughter into custody with him, and the two are now held at the Dilley detention center. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro visited them and said Bracho was moved to tears with guilt, believing he was the reason his daughter was detained.

Fatima Eminzada, a 24-year-old citizen of Azerbaijan, was detained by ICE on April 4, 2026, and transferred to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana. She is pregnant in her first trimester with medical complications including hypothyroidism, possible UTI, and mild anemia. After bond was denied at a redetermination hearing on May 14, 2026, and an immigration judge denied her renewed motion for bond on June 12, 2026, she filed a federal habeas corpus petition on June 25, 2026, represented by attorneys Logan Joseph Duplessis and Giedre Stasiunaite. On July 1, 2026, the court issued a temporary restraining order and ordered ICE respondents to file a medical-status report addressing her current medical conditions, treatment, and access to medical care, with the deadline extended to July 13, 2026.

Marta, a Latin American asylum seeker deported to the Democratic Republic of Congo under a U.S. third-country deportation policy, described feeling emotionally adrift and psychologically strained by her uncertain situation. Living in conditions marked by frequent power cuts, lack of clean water, and constant illness, she expressed distress about not knowing what her future holds.

Marco Rodríguez, 36, arrived with his wife Yajaira González for a routine asylum check-in appointment at the Miramar ICE office on June 28, where they had been reporting for five years. He was taken into custody and spent three days in an overcrowded room with approximately 70 other people, with barely any water or food and a single toilet. His wife remained outside the facility.

Carlos Iván Mendoza Hernández was shot seven times by ICE agents during a traffic stop in Patterson, Stanislaus County, California on April 8, 2026. According to dashcam video and eyewitness accounts, Hernández reversed away from officers who had drawn weapons, then drove forward as agents opened fire; ICE stated he attempted to run over agents with his vehicle. While hospitalized at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, FBI agents accessed his HIPAA-protected medical records without clear authorization or warrant, prompting concerns from his federal public defenders. After discharge, Hernández was arrested by the FBI and placed in solitary confinement at California City Detention Center with his gunshot wound injuries remaining unaddressed. On June 27, 2026, he was removed from the facility for a scheduled medical appointment to evaluate bullet fragments, but his family received no updates for hours and the detention center refused to confirm his whereabouts or safety.

Wilbur Garcia, an 18-year-old honors high school graduate from South Los Angeles, was detained by ICE during an asylum appointment scheduled one day after his graduation. Garcia, whose family fled political persecution in Nicaragua and has been in the asylum process for years, was held at the Adelanto ICE detention center for over two weeks in poor conditions including sewage overflow in cells and showers, and insufficient food provisions. After public defenders challenged ICE's justification for detaining him—that he was no longer covered under his mother's asylum application upon turning 18—a judge ordered his release on June 26. Garcia said he was helped by older detainees who treated him like family. He plans to pursue pre-med classes in college.

A 44-year-old man from Ukraine suffered a stroke while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and did not receive suitable medical care despite showing clear signs of medical emergency, including seizure-like movements. The case was highlighted in a joint report by Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights documenting that the rate of people dying in ICE custody has reached its highest level in over a decade, with at least 52 deaths reported since Trump's second term began in January 2025.

Arturo, a Guatemalan man who fled extortion and violence, was detained by ICE while returning home from a work shift. He was scheduled for hernia surgery and has Type II diabetes, but is receiving no medical attention in out-of-state detention. His family—wife Maricel and three children—faces financial hardship due to loss of his income.

Adams County health officials confirmed one case of active tuberculosis at the Aurora ICE detention facility run by the GEO Group in June 2026. Health officials said the facility failed to provide legally required access to medical records, housing information, and other documents needed to complete the public health investigation and determine if additional cases existed. ICE later stated the person had been treated and removed from the country. The Guardian reported that at least a dozen people inside the facility had contracted tuberculosis and dozens more had been placed in quarantine, though health officials said they had not yet verified those additional reports.

Clemente Burgos Lopez, detained by ICE at California City Immigration Processing Center, filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention. Lopez received an initial bond hearing on March 17, 2026, where the immigration court determined he was a flight risk and danger to the community. At a second hearing on May 28, 2026, the immigration court denied his bond redetermination request by claiming lack of jurisdiction based on mandatory detention. The federal court ordered respondent to determine Lopez's eligibility for a bond hearing under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.19(e) within seven days and, if eligible, to conduct the hearing within fourteen days, or immediately release him.

A 39-year-old man from Mexico died from cardiac arrest likely caused by septic shock after his requests for medical help regarding an infected abscess were mishandled while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. The case was documented in a joint report by Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights examining deaths in ICE facilities, which found that at least 52 deaths have been reported in ICE custody since January 2025, with the mortality rate up 140 percent compared to the previous year.

Anderson Daniel Salcedo, 22, a construction worker who had lived in the U.S. for three years, was deported to Venezuela on June 24, 2026 via Flight 164. Upon arrival, he was taken to Hotel Santuario La Llanada in La Guaira for processing. Twin earthquakes struck hours later, collapsing the hotel. Salcedo was trapped in the rubble for 40 hours without access to his phone or documents—which had been withheld by authorities—leaving his family unable to locate or contact him during the crisis. He was rescued and admitted to Caracas's university hospital, where both of his legs were amputated due to his injuries.

Brady Tillett, an asylum seeker from Belize, has been detained by ICE at the California City Detention Facility in Kern County for nearly two years. In a Los Angeles Times op-ed, he describes inhumane conditions including forced labor, medical neglect, and retaliation for advocating for others' medical care. Tillett has filed habeas petitions resulting in the release of several other detainees and is participating in broader detention resistance efforts including hunger strikes and labor strikes to challenge U.S. immigration detention practices and demand closure of the facility.

Eduardo José Osal Mujica, 32, crossed the Darién Gap into the U.S., turned himself in to immigration authorities, and applied for asylum while working installing roofs and driving for Uber, settling first in Denver and later Wyoming. Local police detained him during a traffic stop in Wyoming, after which he was transferred through detention facilities in Colorado, Arizona and Texas before signing a deportation order. He was among 146 Venezuelans deported on Flight 164, which landed in Maiquetía, Venezuela on June 24, after which he and other deportees were taken to the Negra Hipólita Health Hotel for medical checkups before planned release to their home cities. The hotel collapsed in an earthquake that day, killing an unknown number of deportees while in Venezuelan custody. His wife, Danielys Hurtado, spent five days searching for his body among bags of corpses at an improvised morgue in a converted grain-storage facility. Nearly two months later, the Venezuelan government has released no official information on those who died, with survivor estimates ranging between 12 and 32.

A 43-year-old woman from China who came to the U.S. seeking refuge wrote in a court declaration that she was suffering inside Otay Mesa Detention Center and pleaded with a judge for help, stating she never expected to experience inhumane treatment in the country where she sought protection. Her case was documented in habeas corpus petitions filed to challenge detention and detention conditions.

A man from Azerbaijan was detained at Otay Mesa Detention Center and hospitalized for nine days due to acute gastrointestinal distress. He experienced nausea and severe pain and was severely intolerant of the facility's food, causing him to lose approximately 20 pounds while detained. His case was documented in habeas corpus petitions challenging detention conditions.

A 34-year-old Pakistani woman with asthma and anxiety was detained at Otay Mesa Detention Center where she experienced panic attacks that knocked her unconscious and suffered numerous head injuries. She was hospitalized for three days while detained. In a court declaration, she expressed fear that her condition would worsen and stated she feared dying from lack of breathing. Her case was documented in habeas corpus petitions challenging her detention.

A woman from Mexico who uses a cane to walk was injured at Otay Mesa Detention Center after staff mixed up her prescription medication with another detainee's laxative. She rushed to the bathroom and fell, further injuring her knee, back and hips. Her case was documented in habeas corpus petitions filed to challenge detention.

A 33-year-old Iranian man with serious neurological issues was detained at Otay Mesa Detention Center where his treatment was minimally managed by facility physicians. He reported being handcuffed and shackled for extended periods during numerous medical appointments. His case was documented in habeas corpus petitions challenging detention conditions.

A 47-year-old Somali man married to a U.S. citizen was detained at Otay Mesa Detention Center and missed a scheduled hip surgery because of his detention. The case was documented in habeas corpus petitions filed as part of court challenges to detention amid immigration enforcement operations.

Daniel Alejandro Núñez Ramírez, 28, had lived in the U.S. for four years after leaving Venezuela at age 20 and was residing in Jacksonville, Florida. He was detained by ICE during a traffic stop on May 10, 2026, and pressured to sign voluntary deportation papers. He was deported on Flight 164, which landed in Venezuela on June 24, 2026, and he was subsequently placed by Venezuelan authorities in a hotel used to house deportees. Hours after his arrival, an earthquake collapsed the hotel, killing him along with dozens of other deportees. His mother, Oswadeliz Núñez Ramírez, a lawyer, said she was not notified of his deportation until after he had already been handed over to Venezuelan intelligence services (Sebin). She recovered his body five days later at an improvised morgue, had him cremated, and later received only a box of his ashes after being unable to retrieve his belongings. The U.S. government said it bore no further responsibility once he left ICE custody.

A 77-year-old Iranian man with a rare, life-threatening liver disease was detained at Otay Mesa Detention Center and placed in solitary confinement despite doctors recommending his release. He had lived in the U.S. under supervised release for over two decades and had multiple health conditions including sleep apnea, severe diabetes, and hearing loss. While detained for six weeks, he lost 10 pounds, experienced high blood sugar readings, and was denied essential CPAP equipment after staff reported losing parts of the machine. Two doctors and a nurse practitioner wrote letters urging his release. A federal judge ordered his release in January after finding ICE officers violated his due process rights.

Eduardo Jose Alves, an asylum seeker living in Lewiston, Maine, who entered on a valid tourist visa and filed an affirmative asylum application, was detained by ICE agents at his home on June 20, 2026. The same day, a court issued an emergency order staying his transfer from Maine for 72 hours, but ICE transferred him to Plymouth County Correctional Center in Massachusetts within two hours of the order. Questions arose about whether ICE agents had a valid warrant for the arrest and search, and whether they improperly pressured his 15-year-old daughter to allow entry. U.S. District Judge Stacey Neumann granted his habeas petition on June 24, finding the detention violated the existing court order, that adequate detention facilities were unavailable in Maine, and that his out-of-state detention substantially impaired his right to counsel before an imminent bond hearing, and ordered his immediate release from ICE custody.

Iker, a 5-year-old child, has been detained by ICE at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas for over 65 days. His mother is also detained at the same facility. According to advocacy posts by Each Step Home, Iker is not eating while in detention. The posts call for complaints to CoreCivic, the private company operating the facility, donations to commissary accounts for detained children, and calls to congressional representatives to support legislation ending ICE detention of children.

A Haitian asylum seeker in her 40s was detained for over six months at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility after ICE arrested her following a domestic disturbance arrest in Massachusetts. She had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and severe anxiety in a prior psychiatric hospitalization but was not provided psychiatric medication during her Vermont detention. A federal judge ordered her released, finding her prolonged detention without an individualized hearing violated her Fifth Amendment due process rights, though the judge did not rule on claims of deliberate indifference to her mental health needs.

Eighteen Venezuelan men expelled by the US to El Salvador's Cecot prison in March 2025 filed a petition before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights alleging torture, sexual assault, and medical neglect. The men, who were released and returned to Venezuela in July, detail a pattern of abuse including beatings, humiliation, and being held in windowless cells with constant bright lights. Human rights groups filed the petition on their behalf seeking international accountability for violations.

Following the September 11 attacks, over 1,000 South Asian and Arab men were arrested in sweeps across New York City and nationwide, primarily for visa overstays. Most were held in detention for months with limited contact with families and faced physical and verbal abuse, particularly at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. A Justice Department Inspector General review found the "hold until cleared" policy meant detainees stayed for months despite no evidence of terrorist connections, with officials questioning the legality of prolonged detentions.

Aliaksei Shcharbachenia, a 35-year-old asylum-seeker from Belarus, has spent nearly a year at Farmville Detention Center in Virginia, where he says he is experiencing medical neglect as a tumor grows on his arm. He claims the U.S. government attempted to illegally deport him back to Belarus in a botched operation, and that despite requesting specialist care in December, he has not received a diagnosis or seen a specialist for the growth.

Roger Moisés Flores Oviedo, 19, a construction worker with no criminal record and a pending asylum application, was detained by ICE agents on Saturday as he left a gas station in Pompano Beach after buying lunch. He was placed in a van and taken to the Miramar ICE facility, where he was held in a room with 50 other men sitting on the floor with their hands behind their backs, given only one bottle of water a day and a piece of bread with peanut butter. He remained there until Tuesday, when he was transferred to the Krome detention center, where his wife Koren Noblig reports he was able to shower, sleep in a bed, and communicate with her.

Joel, a 25-year-old landscaper and father of a 10-month-old U.S. citizen daughter, was detained by ICE in an unmarked vehicle stop while en route to work. He was held for five days in an unapproved Baltimore detention facility where he reports being denied food and water and forced to sleep on the floor. He was subsequently transferred through Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and back to Pennsylvania before being deported to Guatemala without opportunity to say goodbye to his daughter, leaving his 22-year-old partner and infant child without income or support.

Katsiaryna Bartko, a 33-year-old Belarusian cancer survivor, has been in ICE custody since June 4, 2026, and held at the Midwest Regional Reception Center in Leavenworth, Kansas since June 19. After thyroid cancer surgery, Bartko requires daily hormone medication and calcium supplements to manage permanent hypoparathyroidism and chronic hypocalcemia. Medical records show she was hospitalized three times in four days in early June with dangerously low calcium levels, including an emergency visit on June 6 where she appeared "in acute distress" and required intravenous calcium treatment. Her partner alleges she was initially denied prescribed medications despite facility intake records documenting her medical needs, though she has since received some medications after media contact. Bartko, who entered the U.S. legally on an F-1 student visa in March 2022, filed for asylum in February 2023 based on her political activism in Belarus's pro-democracy movement and opposition to Belarus's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A support letter from a Belarusian democratic organization states she could face arrest and persecution if returned.

A 10-year-old girl, Nayeli Gomez, protested outside Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, where her diabetic father has been detained for nearly a year. During her birthday visit, she was denied family visitation by ICE agents. The girl fainted and sustained injuries outside the facility during a confrontation in which a female guard cursed at and insulted her. Her visit occurred amid ongoing labor and hunger strikes by detainees protesting inhumane conditions, including rotten food, lack of medical care, and poor sanitation. Activists expressed concern that a large influx of federal immigration officers entering the facility may signal transfers of detainees to disrupt organizing efforts.

Tuan Phan, a 44-year-old Vietnamese national, was deported to South Sudan in July 2025 by the Trump administration under a third-country deportation program. Phan had immigrated to the U.S. as a child, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2000 for a gang-related killing, and was taken into ICE custody upon completing his sentence in March 2025. A federal judge initially blocked his deportation, but the Supreme Court later approved it. Phan was held in a gated, armed compound in Juba for over a year alongside seven other men with criminal convictions. He was repatriated to Vietnam on June 19, 2026, becoming the second person from the group to be returned to his home country.

Orolua Eluonyechie, a Nigerian national, has been held in immigration detention for over two years, initially detained in Atlanta in April 2024 and later transferred to Allen Parish in southwest Louisiana. While detained, he has been injured by guards and placed in solitary confinement. He filed a federal habeas petition seeking release or deportation but remains waiting for judicial action as federal courts in Louisiana become overwhelmed with habeas petitions from detainees held in prolonged detention.

All detainees at the South Florida Detention Center, a facility in Florida's Everglades known as "Alligator Alcatraz" that opened in July 2025, were transferred to other facilities in mid-June 2026. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security cited hurricane season safety concerns as the reason for the transfers. However, immigration advocates and lawyers dispute this explanation, noting the facility operated throughout the previous hurricane season without prior closures. Approximately 800 detainees have been transferred, with families and legal representatives reporting difficulty locating them and unclear information about their current status. The facility had faced persistent criticism and lawsuits over poor conditions, including worms in food, non-functioning toilets, flooding, denial of medical care, solitary confinement, and inadequate legal access.

Salah Sarsour, a Palestinian-born legal permanent resident and president of Wisconsin's largest mosque, was detained by ICE on March 30, 2026, after being pulled over by armed plainclothes agents in unmarked vehicles. He was held for 80 days in Clay County Jail in Indiana on an administrative warrant. During detention, his unmonitored diabetes caused significant health deterioration, he faced religious liberty restrictions and inadequate medical treatment, and he lost over 30 pounds, describing the experience as dehumanizing. On June 18, 2026, U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon ordered Sarsour's immediate release, finding he had raised a substantial First Amendment claim and that ICE detained him in retaliation for his public advocacy for Palestinian rights. The judge rejected government arguments about foreign policy and national security threats, noting that immigration officials had been aware of his prior convictions from the 1990s for 25 years and had previously approved his legal permanent residency application. The Trump administration continues to seek his deportation, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio citing his activism as grounds for removal.

An older Russian man who crossed at a port of entry and requested asylum in August 2024 was hospitalized days later for stroke-like symptoms while detained at Otay Mesa. He was cuffed to his hospital bed despite half his body being paralyzed, and upon return to detention received no mobility support until other detainees filed grievance reports on his behalf. He continued to lose consciousness regularly and was eventually released on parole in February 2025 after six months in detention.

A 39-year-old Russian man held at Otay Mesa Detention Center for 17 months filed multiple grievance reports documenting severe sanitary conditions, including only two working urinals and one sink for over 100 detainees, which led to an outbreak of eye infections. He also filed grievance reports on behalf of other detainees, including an older man who needed mobility support after a stroke. He was released in 2026 after exhausting oversight channels that were subsequently gutted under the Trump administration.

On June 17, 2026, ICE agents detained three people—a man, a woman, and a child—at the Bridgeview Courthouse in Illinois. The man had run through courthouse security before deputies stopped him; ICE then handcuffed and removed him, claiming to possess an arrest warrant that was never presented for inspection. The woman and child were detained earlier that morning as they attempted to enter the courthouse. State and local officials, including State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid and multiple elected representatives, characterized the detentions as violations of Illinois state law and a Cook County court order prohibiting civil immigration arrests at courthouses without judicial warrants.

Hanne Engan, a 24-year-old Norwegian citizen applying for a green card through her U.S. citizen husband, was arrested by ICE agents on November 17, 2025, during a green card interview at a San Diego facility and held at Otay Mesa Detention Center for eight to nine days. Despite her Type 1 diabetes diagnosis, ICE confiscated her insulin and continuous glucose monitor, misclassified her condition in detention records, and denied her mealtime insulin despite repeated requests, resulting in dangerously elevated blood sugar levels (508 mg/dL), weight loss, infections, and suicidal ideation. She was placed in solitary confinement for five days. A federal judge found no flight risk, ordered her release on a $1,500 bond after nine days, and later terminated her deportation case after ruling ICE lacked jurisdiction to detain her.

Kyon Shakeel Swaso, a 35-year-old Belizean immigrant detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California, organized a hunger strike to protest conditions at the facility. After speaking with members of Congress about inhumane conditions at Adelanto, Swaso was transferred to facilities in Texas and Louisiana without notice, then deported to Belize. Immigrant rights groups and advocates alleged the deportation was retaliatory action by the Department of Homeland Security in response to his activism and congressional testimony.