Human Impact Project

Luis Jaime-Fortin was involved in a traffic crash in Zilwaukee on July 7, 2026, after allegedly failing to yield. Police reported he could not provide a driver's license, proof of insurance, vehicle registration, or speak English. Zilwaukee Police Chief Jason Wise contacted federal immigration authorities to verify the driver's identity due to lack of documentation, though the chief stated the driver would not be taken into custody for the traffic offense but would receive a citation to appear in court. Jaime-Fortin was later believed to be among the nine workers arrested in the July 25 fiber optic worksite raid in Saginaw Township.

Alex Orellana, a Guatemalan resident of LaGrange, was approached by ICE agents at a traffic stop on July 7 and asked for identification and citizenship status. Orellana filmed the encounter and posted it to Facebook as part of efforts by residents to document immigration enforcement in their communities. He was ultimately allowed to leave after showing his documents. Orellana said he has lived in the area for nearly two decades and described the increased immigration enforcement activity as creating panic in the community.

Mario Bojorjes, a North Liberty construction worker and father of three with a pending permanent residency case, was detained by ICE on July 7 after an Iowa State Trooper stopped him on Interstate 80 for a window tint violation. During the traffic stop, the trooper conducted an immigration inquiry that led to Bojorjes' arrest. He has no criminal record and was his family's primary source of income. Bojorjes is currently being held on an ICE hold at the Linn County Jail.

During an ICE enforcement operation over the Independence Day weekend, five individuals with criminal convictions were arrested across multiple states. Radimir Thompson-Nagle, a Panamanian citizen, was arrested in Brooklyn with convictions for murder and assault. Marcos Rubio-Hernandez, a Mexican citizen, was arrested in North Carolina with convictions for second-degree murder and kidnapping. Roberto Gutierrez-Diaz, a Mexican citizen, was arrested in Kentucky with convictions for sodomy, sexual abuse of minors, attempted rape, and burglary. Francisco Olmedo-Silva, a Mexican citizen, was arrested with convictions spanning Oregon, Wyoming, and Pennsylvania for drug trafficking, conspiracy, escaping from custody, and robbery. Pedro Mazorra-Herrera, a Cuban citizen, was arrested in Miami with convictions for aggravated stalking, resisting an officer with violence, burglary with assault or battery, and cocaine possession.

A 74-year-old grandfather was detained by ICE on June 12 while traveling to work in the Magnolia Boulevard area of Riverside, California. His family described him as a dedicated provider and caregiver who has consistently worked to support his family and grandchildren over the years. The family launched fundraising efforts on GoFundMe and Instagram to raise bail and support costs needed to secure his release and help him reunite with his family.

Ignacio Carrizalez, a Mexican national with work authorization and an active citizenship application, was detained by ICE agents on April 28, 2026, after Evans City Police stopped his vehicle for an expired registration. ICE agents surrounded his car, and after he refused to answer questions about his citizenship status, he was taken to Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County. His wife, Amanda Smail-Carrizalez, a U.S. citizen, reported agents removed him "violently" from the vehicle. While detained, Carrizalez missed a scheduled permanent residency hearing on June 1st, and an immigration judge subsequently ordered him to either self-deport or be deported. On June 26, 2026, he was unexpectedly released after more than two months in custody, just before he was scheduled to be transferred to a facility in Mexico, with his deportation date postponed to September 2026. His wife testified before Butler County Commissioners about the financial and psychological toll on their six-year-old daughter with autism, who experienced nightmares, and the family applied for public assistance following his arrest.

Hebert Kaleth Ibarra Castro, a 20-year-old mariachi musician, was arrested by ICE on June 25, 2026, at a traffic stop in China Grove, Texas, while returning from a musical performance in his mariachi outfit. Castro arrived in the U.S. at age 4 on a B-2 visa fleeing violence in Mexico; ICE claims he entered illegally, though his wife states the visa expired in 2020. He was detained at a South Texas ICE facility where he remained in his mariachi attire for nearly 18 hours before being allowed to change clothes. ICE agents allegedly mocked and discriminated against him because of his traditional mariachi clothing. While in custody on July 4, Castro performed 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' His wife, Marisol Pantosi, is a U.S. citizen and filed his green card application shortly before his detention. State and federal lawmakers, including State Rep. Barbara Garvin Hawkins and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, have publicly called for his release, and mariachi artists nationwide have rallied to demand his freedom.

Arturo, a 48-year-old Mexican man, was arrested by ICE on Sunday while driving to a soccer game in Salt Lake City. His wife Veronica reported that the family was not expecting to be caught in the enforcement sweep, having no criminal record and paying taxes yearly. Their 13-year-old son was traumatized by the arrest. DHS stated that Arturo had illegally reentered the United States and would be held for deportation. The arrest occurred during an ICE surge in which the agency detained more than 10,000 people in five days following orders to increase arrest rates.

Two Lane County residents identified by initials H-F-M-J and A-V-L were detained by ICE officers during a vehicle stop near Eugene on July 3, 2026. According to legal petitions filed by Catholic Community Services of Lane County, the officers boxed in the vehicle without displaying arrest warrants, explaining the reason for the stop, or identifying themselves as immigration officials. The petitions allege the arrests were based solely on the detainees' perceived race and ethnicity rather than individualized assessment of flight risk or immigration status, and claim officers failed to inquire about family, employment, or community ties. ICE stated the detainees were arrested during a targeted enforcement action and that warrants had been issued for both men.

Seyo Cecunjanin, a West Hartford restaurant and laundry business owner from Montenegro, was arrested by ICE on June 20, 2026, in a Dunkin' Donuts parking lot surrounded by five unmarked vehicles while with two of his sons. He was detained at Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls, Rhode Island for approximately 12 days. Cecunjanin entered the U.S. in 1997 using a fraudulent passport and had an outstanding removal order, but had been permitted to reenter in 2024 and maintained valid work authorization at the time of his arrest. He owns two restaurants and a laundry business employing 15 people and has a pending permanent resident application filed in September 2023. U.S. Rep. John Larson and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, along with other members of Connecticut's congressional delegation, held a press conference and sent letters to ICE demanding his release, citing his valid work authorization and pending immigration case. Cecunjanin was released on June 26, 2026 (or July 2, 2026 according to another account).

Jose Acosta, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras awaiting a green card decision, was detained by Springdale Borough police and ICE on July 2 while seated in his parked truck outside a job site. ICE and Springdale police were conducting joint field operations under a 287(g) task force agreement signed in November. Acosta had lived in the country since 2018 without incident except for a 2023 traffic stop. His wife, Yaquelin Vasques, is raising their three children while he faces potential deportation.

Gurpreet Singh, an Indian citizen who entered the U.S. in 2018 without inspection, was detained on July 2, 2026, following a traffic stop by Indiana State Police in Indianapolis. ICE determined he was eligible for removal proceedings and issued a warrant under 8 U.S.C. § 1226. Singh was placed in full removal proceedings but held at Clay County Jail without receiving a bond hearing. The court granted his habeas petition, ordering the government to either provide him an individualized bond hearing before an immigration judge or release him within ten days.

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.

Jose Raul Martinez-Alvarado, 40, from Honduras, was arrested by New Bedford Police on June 7 after officers found him in an apartment where a group of men were fighting and residual cocaine was present. He was charged with possession of a large capacity firearm, carrying a firearm without a license, and resisting arrest. Martinez-Alvarado posted $1,000 bail and was released from Bristol County Jail on June 9. He was then picked up by ICE on July 2. The case became the subject of a public dispute between Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux and ICE Boston, after ICE posted on social media that the jail violated federal law by releasing him without honoring an ICE detainer, citing Massachusetts law that prevents law enforcement from holding individuals solely on the basis of immigration status.

Rigoberto Santillan-Quiroz, a long-term U.S. resident married to a legal permanent resident and stepfather to a U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE following a traffic stop in late 2025. He was held for eight months without a bond hearing under a Trump administration policy that categorically denied bond hearings to noncitizens who entered without authorization. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled the detention policy unlawful, finding it violated due process rights by denying individualized review. The court ordered Santillan-Quiroz's release and reinstatement of bond hearing eligibility, reversing a district court decision and reaffirming that noncitizens have had bond hearing rights for nearly 30 years.

On June 30, an unmarked ICE squad surrounded a work truck in Olathe and shattered the driver's window, dragging the man through the broken glass while morning traffic passed.

Ihor B., a Ukrainian citizen, was detained by ICE on June 30, 2026, following an encounter with Oklahoma Highway Patrol. He had been temporarily paroled into the United States for humanitarian reasons and had recently received re-parole approval from USCIS in May 2026, permitting lawful presence until April 2028. An ICE officer served him with a Notice to Appear and detained him at the David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center in Tulsa. The court summarily dismissed his habeas corpus petition, finding that the NTA constituted sufficient written notice of parole termination under applicable regulations and that his detention was lawful pending removal proceedings.

Galo Suárez, a Nicaraguan asylum seeker, was arrested on S. 13th Street on Milwaukee's South Side when unmarked ICE vehicles boxed in his car. An agent broke his car window with gun drawn. Suárez, his fiancee Reyna Elizabeth Garcia (25), and her brother Teodoro Rafael Garcia (37) were all detained. All three are eligible for work permits as asylum applicants. Suárez alleged that an agent claimed his work permit was forged and that officers used excessive force, pushing his fiancee against the car and verbally abusing her. Suárez was released later that day but his fiancee remains in custody in Kenosha County and the whereabouts of her brother are unknown.

Luis Angel Velasquez-Montes, 27, was identified during a traffic stop in Chatham County between January and April 2026 and placed in ICE custody. He pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry after previous deportation and was sentenced to time served followed by immediate deportation. Miguel Aparicio-Ortiz, 40, was identified during a traffic stop in Chatham County between January and April 2026 and placed in ICE custody. He pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry after previous deportation and was sentenced to time served followed by immediate deportation.

Felipe Emeterio Coxaj-Tipan, a Guatemalan citizen residing in the United States since 2018, was detained by ICE on June 29, 2026, along with his two sons when ICE agents pulled over their family car and shattered the window. He was held without bond at Pike County Correctional Facility under the mandatory detention provision of 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A). The court granted his habeas petition, finding his detention unlawful, and ordered his immediate release, ruling that § 1226(a) discretionary detention with bond hearing rights applies to him instead.

Jose David Cortes Torres, a 20-year-old noncitizen who has lived in Bozeman since 2023, was pulled over on June 29 while driving to work by ICE agents in an unmarked white Dodge Durango. According to court documents, agents asked for his driver's license, told him he had no right to be in the United States, and arrested him without charging him with a crime. He was detained for more than 24 hours in a holding room at the Helena airport with more than 15 other individuals, forced to stand for approximately six hours due to cramped conditions, and was limited to a single three-minute phone call with attorneys. He was told to voluntarily self-deport or face months of lockup. His lawyers at Upper Seven Law filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court alleging the arrest violated constitutional due process rights and was part of a dragnet operation targeting Latinos based on race and language, without individualized suspicion. Cortes Torres is the primary caretaker for his grandmother, who is undergoing cancer treatment.

Estenderly Marte Polanco, a 31-year-old undocumented immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was arrested by ICE agents on June 27 during a traffic stop at 26th and Mitchell on Milwaukee's South Side while her 7-year-old daughter sat in the back seat. Videos and photographs documented that agents broke both the driver's and passenger-side windows of her car, pulled her onto the ground, and briefly pointed a taser at a cooperating driver. Family members shared photographs showing bruises, scrapes, and cuts on her neck, arms, and lip that they said were inflicted during the arrest. Wisconsin court records show no prior convictions or citations under her name. Her partner Frankeli, who is also undocumented, expressed concern about the welfare of their children. Polanco was held at Waukesha County jail and was among 39 people detained during a surge of ICE enforcement operations in the Milwaukee area. Legal experts who reviewed the incident questioned whether the window-breaking tactic was necessary or if adequate time was given for compliance.

Five men were identified during separate traffic stops in Chatham and Atkinson counties between January and April 2026. Miguel Aparicio-Ortiz (40, Mexico), Aguelio Lemos Hernandez (35, Honduras), Henry Marin-Hernandez (41, Guatemala), Moises Valenzuela-Mendez (42, Mexico), and Luis Angel Velasquez-Montes (27, Mexico) were each placed in ICE custody following their stops. All five pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry after previous removal in federal court in Savannah and were sentenced to time served followed by immediate deportation.

James Wambui, a Kenyan truck driver, was arrested by ICE at a weigh station in Middletown, Virginia during a routine cargo stop after a local sheriff handed his documents to waiting ICE officers. He was transferred to Farmville Detention Center and held for three weeks, incurring $50,000 in legal fees. Wambui was eventually released due to pending marriage-based immigration petition, asylum application, and marriage to a U.S. citizen, though ICE retained his driver's license, work permit, Social Security card, and other personal documents.

A driver was pulled over by police on Interstate 10 in Arizona for a suspended license. After being directed to a secluded area off an exit, border patrol agents swarmed the vehicle within minutes with guns drawn. A border patrol agent broke the vehicle's window and removed the passenger, who is dark-skinned. The driver reported that a border patrol agent yelled "GUN" despite no weapon being present. The passenger was taken to a detention center. The incident was documented and reported to stopice.net.

A video posted on Instagram shows an enforcement action in Salome, Arizona involving law enforcement and Border Patrol agents. According to the post, a person was driving with a passenger whom she believed was profiled by police and flagged to federal immigration agents. The couple was pulled over, escorted to an I-10 off-ramp, and then encountered Border Patrol agents. The person who recorded the interaction stated, "They wanted to kill us," according to the source cited as StopIce.Net.

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.

Jose Ignacio Cambero Maldonado, a 29-year-old Dominican Republic citizen who entered Puerto Rico without inspection in 2021, was arrested by ICE agents on June 25, 2026 during a traffic stop in San Juan. Cambero had been living in Puerto Rico for nearly five years with no criminal record, had married a U.S. citizen, had an approved I-130 family petition, and had a pending provisional unlawful presence waiver application. The court granted a temporary restraining order preventing his transfer outside Puerto Rico and ordered he receive a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge, finding he likely fell under discretionary detention provisions rather than mandatory detention.

The Wichita County Sheriff's Office, in cooperation with the Texas Department of Public Safety and Electra Police Department, conducted a joint enforcement operation on June 25 that resulted in 24 individuals being detained for unlawful presence in the United States. The operation, called "Operation June Bug," included 132 traffic stops and resulted in 109 equipment violations and 15 vehicle impounds. Those detained were from Mexico, India, Cuba, Algeria, Venezuela, Tajikistan, and Russia.

Luis was arrested by ICE for noncitizenship while driving to work and has been held in an ICE detention center. He is expected to be deported to Mexico, a country he has not visited in over 20 years. His family—a spouse and four children including a nonverbal three-year-old and a three-month-old infant—has lost its primary income and faces immediate financial hardship, including potential wage garnishment and credit damage.

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.

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.

On June 23, 2026, ICE agents and Greene County Sheriff's deputies conducted a large-scale immigration enforcement operation in Ruckersville, Virginia, near Routes 29 and 33. ICE agents rode in sheriff's vehicles and conducted numerous traffic stops targeting work trucks, resulting in dozens of arrests. Many vehicles were abandoned or towed during the operation. Detainees were processed in sheds behind the sheriff's office. An attorney attempting to observe and offer legal representation was stopped at gunpoint by ICE agents and cited for multiple violations. The operation occurred eight days before new Virginia state laws prohibiting local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration authorities were set to take effect.

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.

On June 21, ICE agents boxed in a vehicle at a QuikTrip gas station at 555 North 78th Street in Kansas City, Kansas, and detained two people who had stopped for fuel. The two were transported to the Leavenworth detention center, a CoreCivic facility reopened in March 2026 as the first ICE detention center in Kansas. Community witnesses and video documented the operation.

ICE conducted a targeted enforcement operation near Aurora Avenue and Shoreline Street in Seattle on June 20, 2026, resulting in the arrest of at least three Mexican nationals. Emmanuel Perez-Martinez, 33, was arrested and is pending voluntary departure to Mexico. Juan Ruiz-Perez, 61, and Jose Gutierrez-Diaz, 47, were both arrested and detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center pending return to Mexico.

Jander Alexander Cordero-Silva, 29, was stopped by Gainesville Police on May 18 for driving with a suspended license. He told officers a judge had told him his license was not suspended three days prior, but his license was under administrative suspension by Florida for accumulating points and financial obligations. He was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended or revoked license, a second-degree misdemeanor. On June 18, he pleaded no contest and was convicted; the judge imposed a time-served sentence but he remained in custody on an ICE hold. He was transferred to ICE custody two days later and held at Baker Correctional Institute.

Victor Martin was arrested by ICE agents on June 19, 2026, after they stopped him as he left his driveway. The agents aggressively tailgated his vehicle until forcing him to stop. He is currently detained at Stewart Detention Center alongside his wife, leaving his four children, ages 12, 14, 22, and 24, without parental support and facing significant financial strain.

Alejandra Santiago was stopped by ICE agents while leaving for work on June 19, 2026. Four ICE vehicles cornered her car, and agents removed her from the vehicle, questioned her, confiscated her phone, handcuffed her, and transported her to her home where her husband was also arrested. She is currently detained at Stewart Detention Center, leaving her four children, ages 12, 14, 22, and 24, to manage mortgage payments, attorney fees, and care for the two younger minors.

A male from El Salvador was detained by ICE agents during a targeted vehicle stop on June 19, 2026, at 303 E. Cesar Chavez Ave. in Lansing. According to DHS, the individual admitted to unauthorized entry in 2020 and had a final judicial order of removal to Guatemala issued June 9, 2026. He is currently in ICE custody at North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan.

Elias Bautista, a 35-year-old Mexican national, was arrested after allegedly striking an ICE agent during a traffic stop near Americana Boulevard and Pointe Vista Circle in Orange County on June 16, 2026. According to Florida Highway Patrol, Bautista was in a vehicle that was stopped by FHP and ICE agents working together. When law enforcement approached, several people fled the vehicle. During the pursuit and confrontation with an ICE agent, Bautista allegedly struck the agent, causing a significant head injury, before fleeing the scene. Investigators located and arrested Bautista on June 18 during a targeted operation. He was charged with felony aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer. ICE officers and Florida Highway Patrol conducted a vehicle stop on June 18, 2026, near Americana Boulevard and Pointe Vista Circle. During the stop, Elias Bautista, a 23-year-old from Mexico, fled on foot and physically resisted apprehension. Bautista struck an ICE agent, causing a significant head injury, before fleeing the scene. He was apprehended days later and charged with felony aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer.

Jessica Trevino, a 34-year-old DACA recipient who arrived in the U.S. from Mexico at age six or seven and has lived in Texas her entire life, was arrested by ICE agents on December 28, 2025, as she left church with her family in the Rio Grande Valley. Agents rammed the family's vehicle in a Home Depot parking lot, struck her husband Juan with a baton, and shoved her 14-year-old daughter Sarah against the car hard enough to bruise her. Trevino's DACA status was valid and not set to expire until spring 2027. She worked in an elementary school cafeteria and had no criminal record. After nearly 90 days in ICE custody, an immigration judge granted voluntary departure; Trevino claims she did not consent to this order and did not sign the forms. Despite federal law protecting active DACA recipients from removal and the errors in the judge's statement regarding her DACA expiration date, Trevino was deported to Matamoros, Mexico on March 25, 2026. Her three U.S. citizen children—ages 16, 14, and 13—remained in Texas in the care of relatives. After deportation, USCIS notified her of intent to revoke her DACA status and work permit. Her family has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the deportation as unlawful and seeking her return and restoration of DACA status.

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.

Friedrich Castillo-Ormeno self-deported to Peru in March 2026 after receiving a final deportation order and was approved for CBP Home incentive payments ($2,600) in April verifying his departure. In June 2026, ICE mistakenly identified him as a suspect in a violent incident in Stafford Township, New Jersey, where an officer was struck by a vehicle during an enforcement operation on Route 72. Federal prosecutors later charged a different man, Eduardo Cruz Garcia, with the assault. Castillo-Ormeno expressed concern that the misidentification could harm his reputation and affect his ability to legally return to the United States, as well as his U.S.-born daughter's documentation.

Erick Lopez, a 29-year-old Honduran citizen with no criminal record, was stopped by Houston police for a traffic violation on June 17, 2026. According to his lawsuit, officers detained him for more than two hours after the traffic stop, prolonging it until ICE agents arrived to take him into custody. Lopez, who worked in tile and flooring and was supporting a girlfriend and her two children, was deported to Honduras on June 27. He has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against the City of Houston alleging that police violated his constitutional rights by unlawfully extending the traffic stop solely to facilitate his arrest by federal immigration agents, and seeking damages and an injunction against the practice.

On June 17, 2026, ICE agents stopped a vehicle on Highway 59 near Mobile, Alabama, and detained Alejandro Alvarado Ramírez, leaving his 5-year-old son Ericson/Erikson alone in the car at a church parking lot. An ICE agent provided the child with his father's phone to contact his mother. The child's mother called a babysitter, and when the babysitter's 20-year-old twins arrived at the parking lot to retrieve the child, ICE agents approached them, requested identification, and photographed their licenses before departing. Advocates raised concerns about the safety risks posed by leaving a young child unattended during the detention.

Iaroslav Medvezhov, a 19-year-old Russian citizen, lawfully entered the United States on a visa in 2022 at age 16 with his parents and younger sister. His father filed an asylum application listing Medvezhov as a derivative beneficiary before his visa expired in September 2022. USCIS granted Medvezhov work authorization in July 2024 while his asylum application remained pending. Medvezhov graduated from high school, worked lawfully at two jobs, obtained a Florida driver's license, and has no criminal history. On June 16, 2026, Border Patrol agents stopped Medvezhov while he was driving to work without a traffic violation, arrested him for visa overstay despite his pending asylum application, and transported him to Golden State Annex Detention Facility in McFarland, California. After being detained for over 40 days with his bond hearing postponed to August 5, 2026, Medvezhov filed a habeas corpus petition. The federal court granted the petition and ordered his immediate release, ruling that due process required a pre-deprivation bond hearing before detention given his four years of government-sanctioned liberty while his asylum case proceeded.

Felipe Linares de Oliveira Dell Aquilla, a Brazilian noncitizen, was arrested on June 5, 2026, during a traffic stop in Mooresville, North Carolina. According to law enforcement, he was a commander of two Brazil-based organizations designated as foreign terrorist organizations and held an international arrest warrant from Brazil for criminal association and extortion. During the traffic stop, Aquilla attempted to flee in his vehicle, leading to a high-speed chase that ended in a crash with parked cars. He was apprehended while fleeing on foot. Authorities seized cell phones, laptops, cash, and a 9mm handgun from his vehicle. Aquilla is also accused of holding his wife against her will. He faces state charges for fleeing to evade arrest and federal charges including illegal firearm possession and kidnapping.

Juan Bonilla Lagos, a 32-year-old Colombian national, was arrested by ICE agents in Plainview in October 2024 while sitting in his car with his wife and 5-year-old son during what his family says was a trip to a doctor's appointment. During the arrest, agents threatened to break the car window as his child clung to him and pleaded with agents not to take him away. Bonilla Lagos, who entered the U.S. in 2022 fleeing gang violence in Colombia, was detained at an ICE facility in Batavia, New York, where he attempted suicide three times during his nine-month custody. He has no criminal record and has filed an asylum petition. On July 7, 2026, he was released and reunited with his wife and two children at Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan. The prolonged separation caused severe mental health trauma to his family, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress.