A congresswoman faced criminal charges for visiting ICE detainees at a detention facility. The incident involved Congress members demanding the release of detainees, including Newark mayor Ras Baraka. The article examines the criminalization of congressional oversight of immigration detention practices.
ICE agents detained Mayra Vaca Latacunga, 25, a single mother from Ecuador, after stopping her car while she was getting groceries in Biddeford, Maine on Friday, January 24, 2026. The detention left her five-year-old daughter Keyli Camila Espin Vaca without a caretaker. Vaca Latacunga, who entered the U.S. two years ago fleeing domestic violence and works in Maine's seafood industry, has no criminal record. She was transferred to Massachusetts and held for several days before being released on Tuesday with an ankle monitor and reunited with her daughter.
Heidy Sánchez was separated from her one-year-old daughter during an immigration appointment when ICE agents took the child away while she was breastfeeding. Sánchez was subsequently deported to Cuba and remains separated from her daughter and American husband eight months later.
A Democratic state representative is demanding a public hearing regarding the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez by a federal ICE agent in South Padre Island, Texas. Authorities claim Martinez intentionally ran over an agent before being shot. There was an 11-month delay in revealing federal involvement. Rep. Ray Lopez invoked a House rule to demand transparency about the incident.
Iván Guzmán, head cook at El Cubano To Go restaurant in Shoreline, Washington, was detained by ICE agents on Aurora Avenue North on January 25 while driving his 2-year-old son to daycare. The child remained alone in the vehicle for approximately 40 minutes while armed officers surrounded the car. Guzmán was subsequently deported to Mexico, his country of birth. Restaurant owner Verónica Castañeda described him as 'my right hand, a hardworking man, dedicated to his family.' The child is now with his mother. A GoFundMe campaign was launched to raise funds for legal assistance, childcare, and food.
ICE agents detained a man after removing him from his vehicle near Route 175 and Tamar Drive in Columbia on Saturday morning, January 25, 2026. According to reports, agents forcibly broke the vehicle's windows before taking the driver into custody. Howard County Police responded to the incident, and neither ICE nor DHS immediately provided details about the driver's identity or reason for detention. The incident is part of reported escalating ICE enforcement activity in Howard County.
An ICE enforcement action in Minneapolis resulted in tear gas being released near a family vehicle containing six children. A local couple reported the incident, including concerns about officer conduct and the presence of minors during the enforcement operation.
Federal immigration agents conducted a raid at a Home Depot in Downey, California on a Saturday, with video showing agents leaving as people ran through the area. Local authorities did not specify whether anyone was detained or why the store was targeted.
Mirian, a legally present resident of the United States who recently graduated from college, was followed by ICE from Westbrook to Scarborough, Maine. She was ordered to pull over during a traffic stop and was subsequently detained by ICE. Her family is seeking community support for her release.
ICE agents detained a father driving his two-year-old son to daycare in Shoreline, Washington. The child was left alone in the vehicle surrounded by armed agents for approximately 30 minutes while waiting for a family member to pick him up. Community volunteers arrived at the scene and documented the incident while supporting the child until a family friend arrived to take him to the father's workplace.
A protester was arrested outside an Orlando ICE facility during a rally against mass deportation after placing their hand on a vehicle at the facility's entrance. Witnesses reported law enforcement tackled and arrested the protester. The demonstration was related to concerns over ICE's authority to enter homes without judicial warrants.
Francoise Makuiza, a 32-year-old asylum seeker, was arrested by ICE on Friday morning while leaving for work at an assisted living facility in Portland. According to her attorney, Makuiza has no criminal history in Maine, has lived there for over 12 years, is the mother of a U.S. citizen, and was previously granted refugee status by Colombia after fleeing genocide in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her detention is part of an ICE enforcement surge that has resulted in more than 200 arrests in Maine, including asylum seekers complying with immigration officials and immigrants married to U.S. citizens.
Texas Monthly taco editor José R. Ralat was pulled over three times while on assignment in West Texas, including once by ICE agents near Presidio. Ralat noted that he and his driver are both Hispanic and that all the officers who stopped them were also Hispanic.
A former ICE detention officer named David Courvelle pleaded guilty in federal court to sexually abusing a woman while she was in federal custody at an ICE facility in Louisiana over several months. Courvelle faces up to 15 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.
Anthony Paredes, an 18-year-old deaf high school senior at Ramon Cortines School for Visual and Performing Arts, was detained by Department of Homeland Security immigration officers on January 24, 2026, during a protest outside a federal building in downtown Los Angeles. Officers chased and tackled Paredes after he did not respond to verbal commands; bystanders informed officers he was deaf, but he was taken into custody without a sign language interpreter provided. Paredes was held for several hours before being released and ordered to appear in court on April 1st. He alleged the officers used excessive force and took advantage of his disability.
Ricky Chandee, an engineering technician for Minneapolis, was detained by ICE agents at his home in Brooklyn Park on January 24 during a surge of federal enforcement in Minnesota. Chandee, a Laotian refugee who was convicted of a drive-by shooting decades ago and never naturalized as a U.S. citizen, was transported to El Paso, Texas, where he faces possible deportation to Laos. The article describes how Laotian refugees who arrived after the Vietnam War are being deported at unprecedented rates under the Trump administration's mass deportation agenda, despite having built lives in Minnesota for decades.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened an internal investigation into whether Gregory Bovino, a U.S. Border Patrol commander and architect of Trump's immigration enforcement policies, made disparaging comments about the Jewish faith of U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Daniel N. Rosen. The alleged remarks were made during a January 12 phone call coordinating immigration enforcement operations, where Bovino allegedly complained about Rosen's unavailability due to the Sabbath and made sarcastic comments about Orthodox Jewish people. A Minneapolis pastor was detained by ICE after joining a protest. During his release, officers made remarks about his race, telling him 'You're White' and 'Wouldn't Be Any Fun Anyway.' Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol commander who became the public face of the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement operations, announced his retirement. Bovino led high-profile crackdowns in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Minnesota that resulted in thousands of arrests and drew criticism for aggressive tactics including vehicle searches, chemical agents, and raids. His operations are linked to deaths of U.S. citizens and widespread demonstrations.
A protest occurred Saturday at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley when detainees, including many children, demonstrated in solidarity with 5-year-old Liam Ramos who was taken into custody in Minnesota. Attorneys were ordered to leave the facility as approximately 80 percent of detainees poured into open areas chanting "Libertad" (Freedom). Detainees expressed concerns over the child's treatment and the circumstances of his apprehension from a car in his family's driveway.
ICE agents have been leaving cards on the vehicles of undocumented immigrants as an intimidation tactic, often containing messages implying threats of imminent deportation. These cards create severe anxiety and distress within immigrant communities, potentially violating legal protections. The article discusses the psychological impact, legal implications, and recommendations for those receiving such cards.
Two brothers, ages 17 and 16, from West Chicago traveled to Minneapolis to document U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. The brothers have been recording Border Patrol activities, including the use of tear gas and pepper spray, and uploading footage to a public Google Drive folder. They witnessed the aftermath of Alex Pretti's death on January 24, when Border Patrol agents shot and killed the VA nurse while he was recording them. The brothers also witnessed the death of Renee Macklin Good at the hands of federal agents. They describe the enforcement actions in Minneapolis compared to what they had previously witnessed in Chicago.
On January 24, 2026, ICE agents fired paintball-like projectiles at vehicles driven by citizen observers monitoring immigration enforcement activity in a Home Depot parking lot in South Portland, Maine, striking at least two to three vehicles. The incident was part of a broader surge in ICE enforcement operations in Maine that began the week of January 20, 2026. In response, a South Portland resident filed a notice of claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act on February 1, 2026, seeking $7.5 million in damages and alleging that federal agents violated his constitutional rights by threatening to arrest him for observing ICE activity and exercising his First Amendment right to film enforcement operations. Additional reports indicate agents also followed other observers home and labeled at least one person a "domestic terrorist."
Hassan Hamka, a lawful permanent resident, has been held in ICE detention for over six months while his legal case proceeds. His daughter created a petition seeking community support and character testimonials to present to the judge at his trial.
A Department of Transportation and Mobility employee was approached and questioned by ICE agents around 6:40 a.m. on Friday at a convenience store on Irvington Road near Benson Highway. The agents asked for identification but turned and walked away when they noticed the City of Tucson logo on his work vehicle. City Manager Timothy Thomure expressed concern that the employee appeared to have been randomly selected for questioning based on an unstated profile.
Cong Yin, a Chinese citizen who entered the U.S. without inspection in July 2023, was re-detained by ICE on January 23, 2026, when he appeared for a routine check-in. He had been living freely in Los Angeles under an Order of Release on Recognizance since 2023 and filed an asylum application based on fear of political persecution in China. The court ordered his immediate release, finding his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated his due process rights.
ICE agents detained Marcos Da Silva, a 32-year-old Brazilian contractor, during a traffic stop in Maine on Tuesday. Da Silva has a pending green card petition filed by his U.S. citizen wife Alex in 2024 and entered the country as an asylum seeker. He is currently being held at Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania with a court date scheduled for early February.
A 2-year-old girl and her father, both Ecuadorian nationals, were arrested by ICE in south Minneapolis and flown to Texas within hours, despite a federal judge's order to release the child. The judge issued an order at 8:11 p.m. Thursday to release the child by 9:30 p.m., but ICE placed them on a commercial flight to Texas at 8:30 p.m. The child was later returned to Minnesota and reunited with her mother on Friday.
Three Venezuelan nationals with pending asylum cases were arrested by ICE agents on Friday morning in front of the Drachman Montessori Magnet School on 22nd Street and South 10th Avenue, with dozens of children on the playground nearby. According to a family member, the three—a husband, brother, and sister-in-law—had been regularly checking in with ICE every three months and had proper documentation showing they were legally present while their cases were being processed. One agent was carrying pepper spray during the arrest, and the sister-in-law was arrested after questioning an officer.
Carlos Garcia Odón, a former mayor of Mérida, Venezuela who fled political persecution, was arrested by ICE on January 23 while living in Ohio since 2022. Now detained in Butler County Jail for two months, Odón is fighting a February 25 deportation order that would send him to Ecuador, where he fears persecution. He has filed for asylum and is awaiting responses to bond and appeal requests from his attorneys.
Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis, was shot and killed by a U.S. border patrol officer during an immigration enforcement operation on January 23, 2026. A U.S. citizen with no criminal history, Pretti had legally owned a handgun and concealed carry permit; bystander videos show him holding a phone with no visible firearm. DHS stated Pretti approached officers with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun, though officials did not specify if it was brandished. His family said he was distressed by immigration enforcement actions and had participated in protests.
Alberto Castañeda Mondragón, a 31-year-old Mexican citizen, sustained eight skull fractures during an ICE arrest on January 8, 2026, in a St. Paul shopping center parking lot. According to Castañeda, ICE agents pulled him from a vehicle, threw him to the ground, and repeatedly struck him in the head with a steel baton. He was hospitalized at Hennepin County Medical Center in intensive care with fractures to the front, back, and both sides of his skull along with brain hemorrhaging. Hospital staff told the Associated Press that the injuries were inconsistent with ICE's account that he fell against a concrete wall while attempting to flee while handcuffed. Castañeda filed a habeas corpus petition alleging federal agents interfered with his medical care and detained him based on his appearance. FBI and St. Paul Police are investigating the incident.
ICE enforcement operations in Minnesota during January 2026 resulted in the detention of at least seven students from Columbia Heights Public Schools, including a five-year-old boy. The operations included stops of individuals without confirmed identity verification and stops of off-duty police officers, with agents staging on school grounds and in neighborhoods. St. Paul and Brooklyn Park police chiefs acknowledged concerns about racial profiling and potential civil rights violations. School officials reported the year was "tumultuous," with students and families experiencing ongoing negative impacts and fears about student retention.
William Vermie, an Army veteran and Purple Heart recipient, was detained by ICE agents in Minneapolis on January 13, 2026, while standing on a public sidewalk observing an immigration enforcement operation involving two young men. He was held for eight hours at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building without being allowed to contact an attorney or his family, despite requesting legal representation. The Department of Homeland Security stated that Vermie was arrested for allegedly assaulting a law enforcement officer. Multiple attorneys have reported similar complaints from others arrested in recent ICE operations in Minneapolis.
Johny Merida Aguilara, an undocumented immigrant detained by ICE in September 2024, accepted deportation to Bolivia after nearly five months in custody. His wife, Gimena Morales Antezana, and their three U.S. citizen children plan to depart with him this month. The family's decision comes after financial hardship and the need to care for their 5-year-old son who has brain cancer, autism, and severe feeding difficulties. Aguilara's family lawyer won a temporary deportation stay in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, but the family chose voluntary departure amid mounting economic pressures and uncertainty over pending asylum and T visa applications.
Elvis Tipan-Echeverria and his 2-year-old daughter, both Ecuadorian citizens, were detained by ICE agents on January 23, 2026, after agents pursued their vehicle in a targeted enforcement operation near their Minneapolis home. Agents entered the family's driveway without a warrant, broke the vehicle window while the child was inside, and transported both father and daughter to a federal facility. Despite a court order issued at 8:11 p.m. on January 23 requiring the child's immediate release, ICE placed them on a commercial flight to Texas by 8:30 p.m. The child was returned to her mother in Minnesota on January 24, but her father remains in custody. A federal court order has barred ICE from removing the father from Minnesota during ongoing proceedings.
ICE agents confronted Ecuadorian immigrant Cristian Vaca at his home in Maine, with an agent threatening on camera to 'come back for your whole family.' Vaca arrived from Ecuador in September 2023 and reported having a work permit and a scheduled immigration hearing. The incident occurred during ICE's 'Operation Catch of the Day' enforcement operation in Maine.
Elvis Tipan-Echeverria, an Ecuadorian citizen, and his 2-year-old daughter were taken into ICE custody on January 23, 2026, during a vehicle encounter at their home in Minneapolis. Despite a federal court order issued that evening requiring the child's immediate release, both were flown to Texas the same night. The toddler, who has lived in Minneapolis since arriving as a newborn and has a pending asylum application, was returned to her mother on January 24. Her father remains in ICE custody. The detention was part of a broader ICE operation in Minnesota that resulted in at least nine children being detained in January 2026, including a 5-year-old detained on his way home from preschool and several other minors ranging from elementary school age to teenagers. Federal judges ordered the return of several other children and parents to Minnesota after they were transferred to a detention center in Texas.
Joabe Barbosa, a 25-year-old Brazilian doctoral student at Roosevelt University on an F-1 visa, faces forced departure to Brazil after going unmatched for a required internship in his final year of clinical psychology studies. Without an internship placement, Barbosa must leave the U.S. within 60 days after the school year ends and may not be able to return to complete his degree, which he is on track to finish in 2027.
Federal prosecutors filed charges against two American citizens, including an 18-year-old, stemming from an ICE raid at a Hardin Valley construction site. The workers are accused of preventing federal agents from enforcing immigration law, with allegations that one used his truck to strike an ICE vehicle. Witnesses dispute the account, stating an ICE agent struck the teen's truck first before agents aimed guns and forcibly removed him from the vehicle.
ICE arrested Augusta Clara's partner on May 7 during a traffic stop in Worcester, Massachusetts. The next morning, ICE came to Clara's home demanding she return the car and sign paperwork. When Clara left her house with her 17-year-old sister and 3-month-old son, ICE stopped her car and arrested her. As Clara's mother arrived to take the baby, ICE agents attempted to arrest her as well and violently restrained Clara's sister, pinning her face to the ground. Neighbors gathered and protested, preventing ICE from taking the infant. Clara's sister and mother were arrested; Clara was also taken into custody.
Cecil Elvir-Quinonez, a 25-year-old Honduran national who has lived in the U.S. since 2014, was arrested on New Year's Eve 2025 after being stopped for speeding in Louisiana. She was separated from her two American-born children, including a five-month-old still breastfeeding at the time of arrest. While in ICE custody, Elvir-Quinonez discovered she was pregnant with her third child. She experienced heavy bleeding and cramps but received limited medical care beyond one emergency room visit. Her youngest child has been repeatedly sick since her arrest, and her five-year-old has developed new speech difficulties. Advocacy groups including the ACLU and National Immigration Project report that Elvir-Quinonez's case is part of a documented pattern: more than a dozen women have suffered medical neglect and mistreatment while pregnant in ICE custody, including cases of women shackled during miscarriages, denied prenatal care, and given inadequate nutrition. The advocacy coalition has urged ICE to release all pregnant detainees.
Juan Sebastian Carvajal-Munoz, a Colombian civil engineer employed by an engineering consulting firm and holding a valid work visa, was detained by ICE agents on Pearl Street in downtown Portland on January 23, 2026. Masked agents in police vests used a crowbar to smash his car window and forcibly removed him from his vehicle in less than two minutes, leaving the car running in the street. Carvajal-Munoz, who earned a master's degree from the University of Maine, has no criminal record, despite the operation being described as targeting immigrants with criminal records.
Makengo Nzeza was detained by ICE on January 23, 2026, while returning to the hospital after his wife gave birth via C-section to their newborn daughter. Nzeza, a member of First Parish Congregational Church in Saco, was arrested as part of Operation Catch of the Day. He had been granted asylum. DHS stated that Nzeza entered the country on a tourist visa in 2017 that expired in 2018. His wife was left alone at the hospital with their newborn and three other children ages 3, 6, and 11. A fundraiser was created to support the family and cover legal fees and bond costs.
Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores, one of seven people charged with stealing millions in jewelry, diamonds, emeralds, gold, rubies and designer watches in 2022, was allowed to self-deport to South America by federal immigration authorities before facing trial. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges prior to his deportation.
Osvaldo Damian Diaz Hernandez, a noncitizen who had been previously released on bond or conditional parole, was re-detained by immigration authorities on January 22, 2026 without being provided a pre-deprivation bond hearing. He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his ongoing immigration detention. The federal court ruled that the Due Process Clause requires the government to provide a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter before re-detaining someone who was previously released, and ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he had prior to detention.
Fernando Paul Leon Pinto, a noncitizen who had been previously released on bond or conditional parole, was re-detained by immigration authorities on January 22, 2026. He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his ongoing immigration detention, arguing that the government violated his due process rights by re-detaining him without providing a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter. The federal court granted his petition and ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he was subject to prior to his January 22 detention.
ICE agents detained five-year-old Liam Ramos and his father at their home in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, using the child as bait to gain entry despite the family having an active asylum case and no deportation order. Federal agents have detained children as young as four years old in ICE custody.
A Cumberland County corrections officer was detained by ICE agents Wednesday night in Portland despite having documentation showing he was authorized to work until April 2029. The officer had a clean background check when hired in February 2024 and was actively pursuing legal immigration status. Sheriff Kevin Joyce commented on the arrest, noting the officer's background and immigration status pursuit.
Emily Despain, a 21-year-old U.S. citizen from Tempe, Arizona, was detained by ICE for approximately four hours during a protest outside the ICE Phoenix Field Office on January 22, 2026. She alleged that an ICE agent pushed her face-first into the ground during a confrontation between protesters and agents, though she stated she did not physically engage with any officers. She was released without explanation or apology around 1:30 a.m. on January 23.
Evaristo Kalonji, an asylum seeker from Angola with no criminal record, was detained by ICE agents on January 22, 2026 in South Portland. His pastor, Carlos Nzolameso, found Kalonji's car abandoned with keys on the floor. Kalonji was moved between detention centers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island while his pending asylum case awaits a court date scheduled for May 2028.
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