Human Impact Project

A Venezuelan citizen on humanitarian parole was detained by ICE in March 2026 when she accompanied her husband to his scheduled credible fear interview at the Nashville ICE Field Office. After her husband received a negative credible fear determination, both were taken into custody and she was transferred to Richwood Correctional Center. The court granted expedited consideration of her habeas petition but denied her temporary restraining order request.

A Kazakhstani man who had been released on recognizance and enrolled in the Alternative to Detention program since 2023 was detained by security personnel at Fort MacArthur/Los Angeles Air Force Base after allegedly attempting to enter without authorization. ERO officers took him into immigration custody and transported him to Desert View Annex. The court ordered his release, finding his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated procedural due process.

A Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. without inspection in October 2022 was detained by ICE on March 1, 2026 after encountering local law enforcement and admitting he had entered the country without inspection. This was his first encounter with ICE officials. A federal court ordered his immediate release, finding he could only be detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) rather than the mandatory detention statute the government cited.

A Chinese citizen who fled persecution for his political views and applied for asylum in 2022 was abruptly re-detained by ICE in March 2026 after complying with immigration reporting requirements for over three years. He had been released on parole since arriving in September 2022 and has no criminal history. The court granted a preliminary injunction ordering his immediate release, finding his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated due process rights.

An asylum seeker who entered the United States in 2023 was initially detained by ICE but released on his own recognizance under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). He obtained employment and had no criminal history. In March 2026, ICE re-detained him at an ICE check-in appointment without notice or opportunity to be heard, claiming he was subject to mandatory detention under § 1225(b). The court granted his habeas corpus petition, finding that § 1226(a) applied and that the re-detention violated both the INA and his Fifth Amendment due process rights. The court ordered his immediate release by July 25, 2026.

Olman, a father of two from Central America who fled gang violence and death threats in his home country, was detained at an ICE voluntary check-in in Richmond in June 2025 and held at Caroline Detention Facility for nine months despite having no criminal record. His application for withholding of removal was denied, but he appealed. A federal judge ruled in March 2026 that the government unlawfully detained him beyond six months and noted that DHS appeared to falsify a notice claiming it was served before his detention. The judge ordered his release, and Olman was reunited with his wife Leyla and their two children in Staunton. His wife's asylum case was also opposed by DHS, and they were ordered to self-deport by April, though they appealed and remain in the country in a precarious legal situation. Olman has since returned to construction work but experienced psychological trauma during detention and fears an upcoming ICE check-in later in the year.

An Armenian man in removal proceedings since 2022 was arrested by ICE agents at his home in March 2026 following a DUI citation. He had been living at liberty for over four years while his immigration case was pending. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring his immediate release and mandating pre-detention hearings for any future arrests.

A longtime resident, who has lived continuously in the U.S. since entering without inspection in 2004, was arrested and detained by immigration officers on his way to work in March 2026. The court granted his habeas corpus petition in part, finding he is entitled to a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) since he is not subject to mandatory detention as an arriving noncitizen. The court ordered respondents to provide him a bond hearing before a neutral decisionmaker within seven days.

A.G., a 26-year-old Venezuelan national with a pending asylum application and valid work authorization, was detained by ICE agents outside his apartment in Orange County as he prepared to leave for work. Court records showed he was lawfully in the country. A federal judge ordered his release six days later without a hearing, but ICE retained his documents including his driver's license and work permit.

Seamus Culleton, an Irish national who has lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years and is married to U.S. citizen Tiffany Smith, was arrested by ICE agents at a hardware store in Boston on September 9, 2025, during a random immigration sweep. Culleton entered the country in 2009 on a visa waiver and overstayed, but held a valid work permit tied to a pending green card application as the spouse of a citizen and has no criminal record. He was detained for roughly six months across facilities in Massachusetts, New York, and Texas, including El Paso Camp East Montana, where he and his attorney reported overcrowding, inadequate food, lack of outdoor time, unsanitary conditions, and significant weight loss. A judge approved his release on bond in November 2025, but ICE continued to detain him after claiming he had signed deportation documents, a claim Culleton and his lawyer dispute due to documentation irregularities. His prolonged detention caused him to miss a critical green card interview. In March 2026, a U.S. Court of Appeals judge paused his deportation pending resolution of his petition for review.

A noncitizen detained at the South Texas Immigration Processing Center filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in federal court challenging his detention there. The case centers on whether his detention without a bond hearing violates due process rights afforded to noncitizens who have established a presence in the United States. The court ordered respondents to file a response within seven days identifying his country of birth, date of entry and statutory basis for removability, previous immigration detention history if any, and alleged immigration status. The court issued an immediate stay on any possible or anticipated transfer of him outside the Western District of Texas judicial district during the pendency of litigation. The stay does not stay removal proceedings or preclude respondents from taking necessary steps to effect removal, but only prevents the physical transfer of the petitioner at this time.

An immigrant previously released on bond or conditional parole was re-detained by immigration authorities on February 27, 2026. The court found that his re-detention violated due process because the government failed to provide a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter. The court ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he had prior to detention. A second immigrant previously released on bond or conditional parole was re-detained on March 1, 2026. The court found that the government violated due process by re-detaining him without providing a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter. The court ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he had prior to detention.

Elaina Aghayeva, an Azerbaijani national and senior neuroscience researcher at Columbia University, was detained by Department of Homeland Security agents at a university residential building on February 26-27, 2026. DHS agents entered without a warrant and falsely claimed to be searching for a missing child. DHS stated Aghayeva's student visa had been terminated in 2016 for failing to attend classes, though her attorney and the university stated she was a current student in good standing. After approximately nine hours in custody, Aghayeva was released following intervention by NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who met with President Trump regarding the case. Aghayeva's attorney filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court, and the detention prompted student protests at Columbia University.

A Chinese asylum seeker was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on February 27, 2026, and detained at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield, California. He had previously been released on recognizance after entering the U.S. in December 2023, but was later arrested for DUI in November 2023. The court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered the government to provide him with an individualized bond hearing within 14 days.

Rabbiatu Kuyateh, a 58-year-old woman from Sierra Leone working as a nurse, was detained during a routine ICE check-in in July 2025. Despite a U.S. court order prohibiting her return to Sierra Leone, ICE deported her to an undisclosed location. She was held in shackles during a 10-hour flight. Videos documented her being dragged by individuals after resisting deportation. Her son contacted CASA seeking her return to the United States.

Suraj Vasal, an Indian national detained by ICE after a February traffic stop, secured a third judicial order for a bond hearing after U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher ruled the government violated his due process rights. Locher rejected arguments that the government could retroactively change decades of practice regarding bond hearings for detainees and noted Vasal is gainfully employed with no evidence of being a flight risk. The judge ordered the government to provide a hearing by April 30, 2026, or immediately release Vasal from the Polk County Jail.

An Indian citizen entered the United States on June 17, 2023, and was initially detained and released on conditional parole on June 19, 2023. Over the following two years, he complied with all ICE reporting requirements, attended scheduled check-ins, obtained employment authorization, and worked lawfully as a commercial truck driver. He also filed an asylum application in October 2023 with removal proceedings still pending. On February 25, 2026, after obtaining required ICE permission, he commenced a work trip. The next day, ICE officers approached him, claimed he had an ICE violation, and took his biometrics despite his assertion that he had prior authorization. He was transferred to Indio, California, where his phone and wallet were confiscated, then detained in El Centro for two days before being transferred to Imperial Regional Adult Detention Facility. He was never provided written explanation of the alleged violation, supporting documentation, or opportunity to contest his arrest. On April 1, 2026, he filed a habeas corpus petition claiming his detention violated the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause. The court granted his petition, finding that ICE's revocation of his conditional parole without a pre-deprivation hearing violated due process rights, and ordered his immediate release subject to the conditions of his preexisting parole.

Yubizay del Carmen Torrealba Linarez, a 20-year-old Venezuelan single mother, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on Wednesday while traveling to her job at Backyard Farms greenhouses in Madison. She fled political violence in Venezuela after her family experienced violent repression by the Maduro regime, including a 2024 home invasion where agents beat her husband and threatened her 2-year-old daughter. She was paroled into the United States in December 2024 and has been awaiting an asylum decision. Her attorney filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court challenging the legality of her detention; a judge ordered her kept in Maine pending review and ordered the government to respond by Wednesday. Since her detention, her sister has been caring for her 4-year-old daughter.

Joel Angel-Becerril, a 27-year-old DACA recipient from Omaha, was released from Sarpy County Jail on February 20, 2026, after nearly three months in ICE custody. His release followed a federal judge's mid-February order declaring his detention without a bond hearing unlawful. An Omaha Immigration Court judge subsequently dismissed his removal proceedings on Friday, February 24, 2026, finding that his DACA status provided protection against deportation. Angel-Becerril had filed a civil rights lawsuit with the ACLU of Nebraska, which intervened in the case.

Anselmo Martin Matias, who had been released on $16,000 bond in 2019 during withholding proceedings, was detained by ICE on February 24, 2026, during his routine check-in. ICE told him he was being detained for "breaking the rules" due to his March 2025 guilty plea to reckless driving, which they incorrectly described as driving under the influence. The federal court ordered his immediate release, finding that due process requires a hearing before a neutral arbitrator when someone is re-detained based on alleged supervision violations.