Human Impact Project

Hiren Jagdish Patel, an Indian immigrant who has lived in the US for 25 years, was first detained by ICE in March 2012 following a 2007 conviction for attempted lewd acts with a minor. He lost his lawful permanent resident status and has been under Orders of Supervision since 2017, requiring regular ICE check-ins. The court granted a temporary restraining order preventing ICE from re-arresting him without notice and a hearing before a neutral adjudicator.

Edwin Abel Gonzalez Veliz, a Guatemalan citizen who had been released on bond and granted withholding of removal in 2013, was detained on March 24, 2026 during a routine ICE check-in. He had fully complied with his supervision order for over 12 years with no new criminal history. ICE agents told him he was being arrested because of the new administration and they would find a third country if they couldn't send him to Guatemala. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring his immediate release.

Adrian Ramirez, a Dominican Republic native with an approved juvenile immigrant visa, was detained by ICE on January 16, 2026, while traveling to work in Syracuse after being stopped by agents at a work site. He was held at detention facilities in Batavia and Louisiana, including Jackson Parish Correctional Center, for approximately nine weeks. With support from his Syracuse community, including All Saints Catholic Church members who raised money and wrote letters on his behalf, and assistance from strangers in Louisiana, Ramirez was released on bond with an ankle monitor and returned home to reunite with his family, including his infant son.

Jackson Kabut Gichema, a Kenyan national, was arrested by ICE on March 24, 2026, after being convicted of a serious crime in Baltimore County. He entered the United States legally on a visitor's visa in 2003 but remained in the country without legal status after his authorized stay expired. He is now in ICE custody awaiting deportation to Kenya.

Wilmar Aristo Pablos-Miguel, a 42-year-old Mexican national living without legal status in West Virginia, pleaded guilty to fraud and misuse of visa documents. He was arrested during an ICE search of Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant in Nitro on January 16, 2026, where he was working using a counterfeit immigration form. He has been assigned a detainer for removal by ICE.

Ya'akub Ira Vijandre, a Filipino DACA recipient and community activist, was detained by ICE at his Arlington home in October 2025. The federal government is seeking to terminate his DACA protection, citing his social media activity and posts about Palestine activism. On March 24, 2026, community members and supporters spoke before Arlington City Council requesting a resolution calling for his release, citing constitutional concerns and detention conditions at Folkston Detention Center in Georgia.

ICE agents conducted a raid in South Burlington on March 11, 2026, believing they were pursuing Mexican national Deyvi Daniel Corona-Sanchez. Court filings revealed the agents actually chased and arrested Cristian Jerez-Andrade, a Honduran man, after misidentifying him during a vehicle stop. The operation resulted in the suspect ramming into a home and led to arrests and protests.

A middle school student and her parents were deported by ICE on Monday while attending an immigration appointment at the ICE facility in Camarillo. The family was deported to Tijuana within 24 hours. Their 3-year-old sibling, born in the U.S., was not taken into custody and is being cared for by relatives.

Democrats in Congress are investigating the detention and deportation of U.S. citizen children by immigration agents during Trump administration enforcement operations. ProPublica's reporting documented over 170 U.S. citizens detained by ICE, including more than 20 children who were handcuffed, held at gunpoint, exposed to chemical agents, and in some cases deported. Specific cases include a toddler and preschooler deported to Mexico despite having citizen status, and a 16-year-old citizen who was tackled and placed in a chokehold by agents.

San Diego County Sheriff's officials failed to investigate at least seven reported sexual assaults and four attempted sexual assaults at the privately run Otay Mesa immigration detention center in 2025. A 2020 memorandum of understanding between the sheriff's department and CoreCivic gives detention center Warden Christopher LaRose authority to decide whether to investigate rape allegations at the facility, which houses approximately 1,500 federal immigration detainees awaiting hearings. CoreCivic conducts only administrative investigations and refers potentially criminal matters to law enforcement, but no criminal investigations were pursued despite the allegations.

Jose Alfredo Rivas, a Honduran national who had been living in the U.S. for over a decade with protection under the Convention Against Torture, was detained by ICE during a routine check-in on March 23, 2026. He had been living free under an Order of Supervision for 14 years without any violations. The court granted his temporary restraining order and ordered his immediate release, finding that ICE violated his due process rights by detaining him without proper notice or hearing.

Maria Loya Medina, a Mexican national who has lived in the United States for 21 years, was detained by ICE agents on January 10, 2026, in a parking lot in Albany, Oregon. A federal court subsequently ruled her initial detention unlawful and ordered a bond hearing. On February 4, an immigration judge denied her bond request at a hearing lasting 15 minutes. Her attorneys at Innovation Law Lab filed a second petition challenging the detention, alleging violations of her due process rights and claiming the brief hearing was insufficient to properly determine flight risk. The petition noted procedural concerns including lack of transcript and media exclusion. DHS was required to respond by March 23, 2026.

On March 22 at San Francisco International Airport Terminal 3, ICE agents detained a woman, Angelina Lopez Jimenez, and her daughter who had removal orders issued in 2019. Multiple airport employees and passengers called 911, unaware of the immigration enforcement action, leading to confusion and concern. San Francisco police responded but did not assist in the detention based on a lieutenant's order. Lopez Jimenez and her daughter were subsequently deported to Guatemala.

Jose Leal, a Venezuelan-born artist living in Three Rivers, Texas, was detained by ICE following a traffic stop despite having an active asylum case, a valid work permit, and no criminal record. Leal had been compliant with all immigration requirements, including monthly check-ins in Houston. His wife, Francis Campos, expressed concern about his detention and said he came to the U.S. fleeing violence.

An activist Instagram post calls for the release of Ender Cardenas Chacon and other people granted asylum from Karnes ICE detention center. The post urges followers to contact the Department of Homeland Security and Congress to demand their release.

Estefany Rodriguez, a reporter with Nashville Noticias, was detained by ICE on March 4 after missing immigration appointments. She was held in federal immigration custody for 16 days, including time at a detention facility in Louisiana, which she described as having inhumane conditions. Rodriguez maintained she had legal status and was following proper immigration procedures, and attributed her detention to confusion over missed appointments. She was released on bond and is pursuing multiple legal remedies, including an asylum case and a potential green card through marriage to a U.S. citizen.

Estefany Rodriguez, a reporter with Nashville Noticias, was detained by ICE on March 4 in South Nashville. Rodriguez maintained legal status throughout her detention and believes missed immigration appointments may have contributed to her arrest. She was held for 16 days and transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana, where she reported difficult conditions and limited access to legal assistance. Rodriguez was released on bond and is pursuing multiple legal paths forward, including an asylum case and a potential green card application.

Estefany Rodríguez Flórez, a Spanish-language reporter for Nashville Noticias and Colombian citizen, was arrested by ICE agents on March 4, 2026, during a traffic stop. She had entered the U.S. on a tourist visa five years prior and had a pending asylum application and green card application through marriage to a U.S. citizen. Rodríguez was detained for over two weeks, transferred between facilities in Alabama and Louisiana, and held in isolation with reported abusive treatment including forced chemical washing. An immigration judge granted her release on bond on March 16, 2026, and she was released on March 20 after the $10,000 bond was paid. Her legal team filed federal court petitions challenging the arrest as warrantless and alleging violations of her First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment rights, including allegations of retaliation for her critical reporting on ICE enforcement activities. The government maintained it had discretionary authority to initiate removal proceedings.

Luis Jose Valencia filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan on March 20, 2026, challenging his detention. The petition includes motions for temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, and immediate release, with supporting documentation including passport, employment letter, rental lease, and clean police record.

An Irving police officer conducted a traffic stop of a white Nissan pickup truck on March 20, 2026, after observing an obscured license plate and evasive driving. A K-9 unit alerted to narcotics, leading to a probable cause search that discovered cocaine, marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms, and a THC vape pen. Two individuals, Mitchell Kvaal and Karen Sarahi Duran-Quintero, were arrested and transported to Irving Jail.

Paolo Zampolli, a Trump associate and presidential special envoy, requested that ICE detain his Brazilian ex-girlfriend Amanda Ungaro who was in a Miami jail on fraud charges. ICE official David Venturella promptly arranged for Ungaro to be placed in ICE custody, and she was ultimately deported. The incident reflects allegations that federal government resources are being used to settle personal scores during the second Trump administration.

Pastor Yeison Cortes Vasquez was detained by ICE on March 20 and is being held at Delaney Hall in Newark. DHS says he overstayed his visa in 2016, though church members and supporters say he was seeking asylum from Colombia and following legal processes. Members of Congress visited the facility and reported poor conditions, including inadequate ventilation and health concerns among detainees.

Yeison Cortes Vasquez, a 46-year-old evangelical pastor at The Gathering Place Church in New Jersey, was detained by ICE on March 20 at Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark. Church leaders reported he was denied access to a Bible for at least a week before funds were provided to purchase one through the facility's system. Vasquez, a Colombian national with an active asylum case and no criminal record, was stopped while on a delivery route. DHS stated that detainees are permitted religious items upon request and denied allegations of Bible denial.

A federal judge ordered the immediate release of Daysi Camila Patin Patin, 20, who had been detained since an ICE raid on March 11. She was one of three people taken into custody during the operation; all three have now been released following court hearings. None of the three detained were the person named in the warrant that authorized the raid.

Jiaye You, a fourth-year Chinese-American student at University at Buffalo, was arrested by ICE after attending a routine immigration hearing in New York City and is currently held at Jackson Parish Correctional Center in Louisiana. The reason for his detention remains unclear. His professor has launched a GoFundMe campaign that has raised over $24,000 for legal fees, and the university has expressed support for his case.

Royer Perez-Jimenez, a 19-year-old indigenous Tzotzil Mayan from Chiapas, Mexico, died on March 16, 2026, at Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Florida, while in ICE custody. He was found unresponsive at approximately 2:34 a.m. and pronounced deceased at 2:51 a.m. ICE stated the death was a presumed suicide, though the official cause of death remained under investigation. Perez-Jimenez had been arrested on January 21 for a traffic violation, convicted of misdemeanors on February 19, transferred to ICE custody on February 21, and moved to the detention facility on February 26. His death marked the 13th acknowledged death in ICE detention in 2026.

Jose Valera Vera, a medical assistant at a Memphis clinic, was detained by ICE after traveling to Nashville for an immigration hearing. Vera, a former doctor from Venezuela seeking political asylum, was taken into custody at the hearing despite having a pending petition filed by his wife, who is a permanent resident. He has since been transferred to a facility in Mason, Tennessee.

ICE detained multiple families with children at the South Texas Family Residential Center (also called Dilley Immigration Processing Center) in Texas, holding them beyond the 20-day limit mandated by the Flores Settlement Agreement. Specific cases included Hayam El Gamal and her five children (detained over nine months), Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano and her mother (seized near a school in Minnesota), Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias and his 5-year-old son Liam (who entered legally in 2023 with an active asylum case), and a family with a 12-year-old girl with hearing disability. Children reported psychological effects including regression, self-harm, and nightmares, along with limited access to medical care, therapy, and education. Some families experienced illness and malnutrition. The facility was reopened by the Trump administration. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro worked to release individuals from the facility, and the population decreased from 1,100 to 450 people following his involvement since January.

ICE agents detained Raúl Tapia on Wednesday after surrounding his van near his home in Georgetown, Delaware as he and his son drove to work. Agents broke the van's windows and removed Tapia without presenting a warrant or arrest warrant. Tapia came to the United States from Mexico approximately 25 years ago and lacks legal immigration status. He is currently held in a detention center in Philadelphia.

Alvaro Velasquez, a high school senior at Roosevelt Schools in Nassau County, New York, was detained by ICE in May 2025 weeks before graduation. He was held at a detention center in Texas for several months before self-deporting to Guatemala. Superintendent Dr. Shawn Wightman traveled to Guatemala at his own expense to deliver Velasquez's cap, gown, and diploma in person after being denied access to him at the detention facility.

Adrian Conejo Arias and his 5-year-old son Liam Conejo Ramos were detained together during an immigration enforcement operation in a Minneapolis suburb in January 2026 and held for 10 days in a Texas detention center. The Department of Homeland Security subsequently requested expedited deportation proceedings against the family. An immigration judge denied their asylum claim on March 19, 2026, ordering them deported to Ecuador. The family's immigration lawyers have been fighting the deportation and are appealing the ruling.

Two individuals were detained by ICE and subsequently released on bond following legal proceedings. Estefany María Rodríguez Flores, a Colombian journalist for Nashville Noticias, was detained during a traffic stop on March 4, 2026, and released on March 19 after an immigration judge granted bond. Leqaa Kordia, a 33-year-old Palestinian woman, was detained in March 2025 after meeting with immigration authorities and held for over a year at Prairieland Detention Facility in Texas before being released on March 16, 2026, following a judge's bond order that the Department of Homeland Security declined to appeal.

Juan Chavez Velasco, a DACA recipient since 2012 and medical lab specialist, was detained by ICE agents outside his Weslaco home while traveling to deliver breastmilk to his 6-week-old daughter in the neonatal intensive care unit. Despite holding DACA protections and having no criminal history, DHS cited a 2005 removal order issued before his DACA approval, arguing that DACA does not confer legal status. His attorney contends he is being targeted amid shifting political priorities regarding DACA's scope.

Juan Chavez Velasco, a DACA recipient since 2012 and medical lab specialist, was detained by ICE agents outside his Weslaco home while en route to deliver breastmilk to his 6-week-old daughter in the NICU. Chavez Velasco is married to a U.S. citizen and has four U.S. citizen children. His attorney argues he is being targeted amid shifting political priorities regarding DACA protections, as he has no criminal history. JeanCarlos Fiallos Manzanares, a 32-year-old DACA recipient from Miami, was detained by ICE in May 2025 after officers appeared at his mother's home while he was dropping off his children. He has remained in an ICE detention center in New Mexico for ten months despite receiving approval for his DACA renewal. He filed a lawsuit challenging his detention, and a U.S. District judge found the government should respond to his petition, but no public filings have occurred since January.

Aliya Rahman, a U.S. citizen from Minneapolis with autism and traumatic brain injury, was arrested by Capitol Police while attending the State of the Union as a guest of Rep. Ilhan Omar. The federal government announced it will not file charges against her. Rahman claims she was arrested for standing silently in the gallery; Capitol Police say she refused to obey lawful orders.

Cristian Humberto Jerez Andrade, a 31-year-old Honduran national, was detained during an ICE raid on March 11, 2026, at a South Burlington residence. He was held for a week at Northwest State Correctional Facility before an immigration judge granted him a $10,000 bond on March 19. Jerez Andrade was not named on the search warrant and has not been charged with a crime, though deportation proceedings have been initiated against him.

Elvira Benitez-Suarez, a 51-year-old mother of four U.S. citizen children who has lived in the United States for 35 years, was detained by ICE on March 10, 2026, during a routine check-in appointment in Milwaukee. An immigration judge had previously ruled that her deportation order should be thrown out and approved her green card application, finding that deportation would cause exceptional hardship to her U.S. citizen children. She was transferred to Campbell County Detention Center in Kentucky. The Department of Homeland Security appealed the judge's decision, and her family and attorney called for her release, arguing there is no legal or public safety basis for her continued detention while the appeal is pending.

Chih-Ming 'Petey' Feng, a line cook in Dallas's restaurant industry, was deported to Taiwan on March 19, 2026, after spending more than 130 days in ICE custody. Feng was detained on November 6, 2025, when he attended a follow-up ICE appointment; he had overstayed his visa since 2010 and had been arrested for a misdemeanor DUI in 2023. During his detention at the South Texas Processing Center and La Salle County Detention Center, he missed a scheduled hearing and was denied voluntary departure. He was deported to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, where his parents live.

Approximately 400-500 people protested in Salt Lake City against a Department of Homeland Security warehouse purchase intended for conversion into an ICE detention facility. During the protest on March 19, 2026, a smaller group vandalized the building by spray-painting and throwing rocks at windows, causing approximately $3,000 in damage. Three people were arrested: Chase Taylor Fredrickson, age 18, and two minors. They faced charges including rioting, property damage, and unlawful assembly, with some charges at the third-degree felony level. The majority of protesters remained peaceful.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed an amicus brief in a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and ICE regarding conditions at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, which holds approximately 1,800 people. The brief documented inadequate medical care, unsafe conditions, insufficient staffing, contaminated water, spoiled food, lack of clean clothing, and reports of pepper spray use on detainees. Three men died at the facility between September 2025 and February 2026. Detainees also reported limited access to phones for legal calls and failure to accommodate people with disabilities. ICE denied the allegations, stating detainees receive proper meals, water, and medical treatment.

Shani Edijou, an Iranian native who entered the U.S. as a child in 1993 and was granted withholding of removal in 1999, was detained by ICE at Los Angeles International Airport on March 18, 2026 while attempting to fly to Chicago for his father-in-law's funeral. Edijou had been on supervised release for over 12 years and is married to a U.S. citizen with two U.S. citizen children. The court granted his temporary restraining order and ordered his immediate release, finding that ICE failed to follow proper procedures for revoking his supervised release.

Rafael Rubio, a New York City Council data analyst, was ordered deported to Venezuela by a federal immigration judge after being detained by ICE for more than two months. The judge deemed Rubio's asylum application abandoned due to a missing signature on paperwork. Rubio had overstayed a 2017 tourist visa. According to DHS, he has a prior arrest for assault.

The Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California's Mojave Desert has faced documented concerns about detention conditions and practices. An investigation in February 2026 revealed detainees experiencing inadequate medical care, insufficient food and water, and prolonged detention through handwritten letters and interviews, with some held for nearly three years despite having permanent residency status or no criminal convictions. In March 2026, approximately 300 activists from Greater Los Angeles protested at the facility, which held an estimated 2,000 people in custody at that time.

Recent court rulings reveal that ICE is detaining asylum seekers in Washington based on alleged missed check-ins through the SmartLink app, often without providing evidence to support these claims. Multiple federal judges found at least 16 people with pending asylum cases were held at the Tacoma detention center without proper due process, with cases involving missed check-ins due to app malfunctions, hospitalizations, or scheduling conflicts being used as justification for detention.

The Women's Refugee Commission and Physicians for Human Rights jointly documented cases of mothers deported to Honduras without being informed of their right to arrange for their U.S.-citizen children to accompany them or stay with relatives. Of 21 mothers interviewed by PHR, 13 were not given the opportunity to discuss their children's fate before deportation. The report found ICE violated its own policies requiring agents to ask detainees about dependent children and ensure parents can decide their children's arrangements. Additionally, pregnant and postpartum women were detained and deported without adequate medical care, and some nursing mothers experienced malnutrition during detention.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers intercepted 39 live pythons hidden inside a tractor at the World Trade Bridge in Laredo on March 5, 2026. The driver had provided a negative declaration for prohibited goods before officers discovered the snakes concealed in the vehicle. CBP issued $34,824 in penalties for export violations, seized the tractor and trailer, and the case remains under investigation by the Fish and Wildlife Service and Homeland Security Investigations.

A witness recorded ICE agents beating a man inside a Home Depot store in Paramount, California. The man appeared unable to stand on his own as agents dragged him from the store. An agent stated they had a warrant for the man's arrest.

Leqaa Kordia, a 33-year-old Palestinian woman from Paterson, New Jersey, was detained by ICE in March 2025 after attending a voluntary immigration check-in at the Newark ICE office. She had participated in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University in 2024 and was charged with overstaying her student visa, despite having a pending green card application through her U.S. citizen mother. Kordia was held at Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas for over one year, where she experienced a seizure, was chained to a hospital bed, and reported conditions of overcrowding and inadequate food. On March 16, 2026, an immigration judge ordered her release on a $100,000 bond, citing minimal flight risk and serious medical concerns. The government did not appeal the decision.

Ricardo Navarrete, an 18-year-old senior at Mather High School in Chicago, and his mother Liliana were detained by ICE on March 16 after appearing for what they believed was a routine asylum case check-in appointment. Both had pending asylum applications and no criminal records. Ricardo has since been transferred between detention facilities in multiple states, and lawyers have filed habeas corpus petitions seeking their release.

Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal, a 41-year-old Afghan man who served alongside U.S. special forces and fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover, died on March 16, 2026, at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas less than 24 hours after being detained by ICE on March 13. He was transported to the hospital on the evening of March 15 after reporting shortness of breath and chest pains during ICE intake processing. His condition deteriorated overnight, and he died the following morning. An initial medical examiner report listed no cause or manner of death. His brother reported that ICE did not allow emergency staff to check on him when he called 911.