Human Impact Project

Approximately 300 immigrants detained at Delaney Hall, a privately operated ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey, launched a hunger and labor strike beginning May 25, 2026, to protest conditions including spoiled and expired food, inadequate medical care, overcrowding, filthy bathrooms, lack of hot water, and denial of medical treatment. Detainee Elder Guerra, a Guatemalan immigrant, suffered a head injury after slipping in the shower and was placed in isolation rather than receiving proper treatment. Martin Soto, arrested by ICE four months earlier while buying diapers, remained detained despite a judge blocking his removal from the facility. Detainees reported retaliation by facility staff, including beatings, solitary confinement for strikers, and confiscation of personal items. The facility, operated by Community Education Centers, faced scrutiny for a pattern of medical neglect and rights violations, with sustained crowds of protesters gathering outside in solidarity.

ZOR, detained for eight months at Camp East Montana, had three teeth broken after being beaten by another detainee while guards watched. Four days after arrival, officers shackled and drove him to the Mexican border, falsely claiming he had been granted asylum, without showing papers or allowing attorney contact. Officers attempted to deport him approximately five times despite a court order prohibiting removal to his country of birth.

Miguel Angel Tercero Raudes, a Salvadoran national who had been living and working legally in the United States for over a decade with a 2023 Withholding of Removal court order, was detained at a routine ICE check-in on May 29, 2026. He is married to a U.S. citizen and is the father of two U.S. citizen daughters. The government has indicated plans to remove him to a third country where he has no family or legal status, in apparent violation of his court-ordered withholding of removal protection.

A 23-year-old South American woman was granted protection from deportation to her home country by an immigration judge in June 2025 after fleeing persecution based on her queer identity. Despite this ruling, ICE has held her in Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana for over a year while seeking to deport her to the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country where she has never been and where she would face serious risks.

Hilary Murungi Timbigamba, a 34-year-old asylum seeker from Uganda, was arrested on larceny charges in Massachusetts in July 2025 while employed at a group home. He was taken into federal custody as he left the courthouse despite being granted pretrial release. Federal Judge Landya McCafferty ruled that his 10-month detention in ICE custody violated his constitutional right to due process because he was deprived of the opportunity to address criminal charges and the evidence presented at his immigration bond hearing was legally insufficient. He was released within 24 hours of the court order.

José Yugar-Cruz, a 37-year-old Bolivian asylum-seeker, was granted temporary release from ICE custody on May 29, 2026, after an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo suspended deportations to that country. An immigration judge had ruled in January 2025 that Yugar-Cruz faced likely torture if returned to Bolivia and granted him withholding-of-removal relief under the Convention Against Torture, yet ICE detained him at an April 2026 check-in appointment and attempted to deport him to the DRC despite his court protection and lack of connection to that country. After being held for 17 months while ICE sought third countries willing to accept his deportation—including Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Mexico, and Canada—Yugar-Cruz challenged his indefinite detention in court in December 2025. The WHO declaration of an Ebola emergency in Congo on May 17, 2026, forced suspension of deportations to that destination, resulting in his temporary release following legal challenges and community advocacy.

Yessenia Ruano, a teacher's aide at a bilingual public school in Milwaukee who fled El Salvador in 2011 to escape gang violence, was later victimized by human trafficking in the United States. She had a pending T-visa application for trafficking survivors when immigration officials told her she would be removed from the country. Facing the prospect of arrest and separation from her twin daughters, who are U.S. citizens, Ruano chose to self-deport to El Salvador in June 2025 after 14 years in the U.S., taking her daughters with her. In May 2026, a federal judge ordered that Ruano and two other plaintiffs must be allowed to return to the United States, finding that immigration officials had violated federal law and due process rights by automatically deporting crime victims without considering their applications to remain. Her attorney stated that once Ruano returns, the government is obligated to review her T-visa petition.

Ricardo Hernandez-Navarrete, an 18-year-old senior at Mather High School in Chicago, and his mother Liliana Navarrete were detained by ICE on March 16, 2026, during a routine check-in appointment for their pending asylum case. The family had entered the U.S. from Colombia in 2022. Liliana was released on May 19, 2026, after a federal judge ordered her release on a writ of habeas corpus. Ricardo was released from federal custody on May 26 and reunited with his mother in Crown Point, Indiana. Ricardo attended his high school graduation ceremony on May 28, 2026, and received his diploma. He is required to wear a wrist monitor and check in with federal immigration officials daily as his case proceeds.

On May 28, 2026, ICE agents detained multiple employees at Don Patron Mexican Restaurant locations in Weston and Bridgeport, West Virginia, including Erick Cristal Cumes and Jose Cruz Castro. More than a dozen workers were taken into custody at each location. The detainees' families reported poor detention conditions, including spoiled food and limited contact with relatives. On June 25, 2026, habeas corpus petition hearings were held in U.S. District Court in West Virginia to determine whether ICE had legal authority to continue holding the detainees. A judge issued a ruling allowing at least one detainee's case to remain in West Virginia federal court.

Under a $7.5 million Trump administration agreement, Equatorial Guinea has detained at least 32 asylum seekers at the Bamy Hotel on Bioko Island since November 2025. All detainees had previously been granted some form of protection by U.S. judges. Twenty-five have been forcibly returned to their African countries of origin—Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Mauritania—where they face persecution, while others remain detained and under pressure to leave. Detainees report psychological distress, inadequate medical care, threats from authorities, and monotonous conditions. Human rights advocates argue the deal exploits a loophole to circumvent U.S. court protections and international asylum norms.

Sister Agnes, a Catholic nun from China who had won asylum in the United States, was detained by ICE earlier this year. Even after she won bond in court, ICE refused to release her and kept her in prison for months. She was eventually released to be with her religious community.

Harold A., a 58-year-old Cuban national, was arrested during a routine ICE check-in, detained for several months, and deported to Mexico without documentation, money, or personal belongings. He arrived in Mexico unable to afford food or rent. According to a Human Rights Watch report, Harold A. was one of more than 4,300 Cubans deported to Mexico between January 2025 and March 2026 under the Trump administration's expanded mass deportation plan, most of whom were never taken before a judge to contest their deportation despite expressing fear for their safety.

Marvin Godoy Calderon, a 45-year-old Peruvian immigrant with valid work authorization through 2030, was arrested outside his Sunnyside home on May 27, 2026, while sitting in his parked car waiting to go grocery shopping with his roommate. ICE agents removed him from the vehicle without showing a warrant and pressed him facedown on the asphalt, with multiple agents striking him across the back and head while pinning his arms and placing knees on his shoulders and neck. Calderon works two jobs as a janitor and dishwasher to support his four children in Peru. After being detained for approximately 13 hours in a cold metal cell at immigration court, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order mandating his immediate release, prompted by video footage of the arrest and legal advocacy. Medical evaluation at SF General Hospital revealed a head injury and fluid in his left knee from the arrest. Following his release, Calderon raised $900 through selling pollada (a Peruvian chicken dish) to make rent after losing his restaurant job shifts, and continues working and attending church while awaiting a June 10 hearing.

Luis Fernando Cabrera, an 18-year-old senior at Northeast Early College High School in Austin, was detained by ICE on May 1, 2026, after a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper pulled him over for expired vehicle registration. Body camera footage shows the trooper photographed Cabrera's school ID and used the encrypted messaging app Signal to contact federal immigration agents, receiving a message instructing him to "detain." Cabrera, who had an active pending asylum case dating to 2019 with no deportation order or criminal history, was transferred to Karnes County Immigration Processing Center over 100 miles away. His detention sparked protests from classmates and community members, with support from his school and St. James Episcopal Church. On May 20, a federal judge ordered ICE to release Cabrera, barring deportation and allowing him to graduate and take his final exams.

Leonardo Garcia Venegas, a U.S. citizen born in Florida, was detained by ICE agents three separate times within 12 months despite carrying valid identification. In May 2025, he was tackled and handcuffed during a construction site raid in Foley while filming his brother's arrest. In June 2025, he was detained at a home in Fairhope after agents rejected his REAL ID. On May 2, 2026, ICE agents followed him home, pulled him from his vehicle, and placed him in leg shackles despite his presentation of citizenship documentation. Venegas filed a federal lawsuit against the federal government alleging Fourth Amendment violations, assault, battery, false arrest, and warrantless, suspicionless detentions.

Jose Gerardo Roman Rodriguez, also known as Leonardo Roman Lopez, was detained by ICE on May 26, 2026, without being provided a warrant or notice of the reason for detention. Rodriguez had entered the United States in 2007 and lived in the country for multiple years. The court found his detention unlawful due to denial of a bond hearing for over two months and ordered his immediate release, rejecting ICE's arguments for mandatory detention.

Diego Hernandez Garcia, a 24-year-old construction worker who had lived in the U.S. since age 13, was detained by ICE on December 11, 2025, during a raid at a Hardin Valley construction site in Knoxville. Hernandez Garcia had been granted protective status in 2022 and had an approved I-360 petition for lawful permanent status. His attorney claimed he had valid work authorization at the time of detention and that ICE revoked his deferred status only after taking him into custody. A federal judge denied his habeas corpus petition and lifted a stay on a 2016 removal order, ruling the government was not constitutionally obligated to provide due process before terminating his deferred action status. Hernandez Garcia was subsequently deported to El Salvador.

Dolores Bustamante Romero, a 54-year-old apple picker and farmworker advocate from Wayne County, New York, was detained by ICE on April 22, 2026, during a mandatory check-in appointment at the Buffalo office without notice that her supervised release was being revoked. A Mexican national who fled gender violence in 2003 and arrived in the U.S. seeking asylum, Bustamante has lived in upstate New York since 2012 and was a well-known advocate for migrant farmworkers and member of Alianza Agricola. She was instrumental in securing New York's Green Light Law and an executive order banning State Police from inquiring about immigration status. She had no criminal record and had attended four previous check-in appointments without incident while enrolled in an alternatives-to-detention program under the Biden administration. U.S. District Judge Meredith Vacca ordered ICE to return her to Western New York and held an evidentiary hearing on May 26, 2026, to review whether ICE violated her due process rights by detaining her without proper notice.

Marimar Martinez, a U.S. citizen, was shot by Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum during an immigration operation in Chicago in October 2025, sustaining seven wounds from five shots fired. Exum later bragged about the shooting in a work group chat, stating "I fired 5 shots and she had 7 holes." Federal prosecutors initially charged Martinez with assaulting federal agents but dismissed the charges after Exum's text messages became public. The government had labeled Martinez a "domestic terrorist," but the agent's own testimony acknowledged the collision was merely a side swipe, not a ramming attack. Marimar Martinez was shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in Chicago. She has filed a tort claim against the federal government seeking damages.

Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, mother of three, poet, and legal observer, was shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on January 7, 2026, during an immigration enforcement operation on Portland Avenue near 34th Street in south Minneapolis. Good was monitoring the enforcement action and blocking the street with her car to alert neighbors of ICE's presence when unmarked vehicles arrived. As Good began to drive away from the officers, Ross fired three shots at eye level through the windshield and driver's side window. Federal officials claimed the agent fired in self-defense when Good's vehicle attempted to run over agents, but a New York Times analysis and Human Rights Watch found Good posed no imminent threat to life and the officer was not in the direct path of her car when he fired. An independent autopsy confirmed she was shot at least three times, with gunshot wounds to her head, arm, and breast. Her wife Becca said they were alerting neighbors of ICE's presence. The shooting sparked dozens of protests across the country, and her family filed a tort claim against the federal government seeking damages. The border czar announced that hundreds of federal agents would be pulled from Minnesota amid public outcry.

On May 18, 2026, ICE agents detained 31-year-old DACA recipient and community organizer Karla Toledo at her Tucson home without presenting a judicial warrant, despite her maintaining valid DACA status since age 1 and having no criminal record. ICE agents were reportedly searching for someone else when they arrested Toledo. DHS alleged Toledo assaulted a federal officer and illegally entered the U.S. in October 2024—claims she disputed using video footage showing her compliance and asserting she had legally used advance parole authorization available to DACA recipients. During the arrest, agents allegedly used force to prevent the door from closing and denied her attorney access. Her mother, Veronica Ortiz, held a press conference pleading for her release, and attorney Mo Goldman stated allegations of assault were fabricated, with surveillance footage supporting Toledo's account. Following community protests and statements by U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva, Mexican consulate representatives, and local nonprofits, Toledo was approved for a $1,500 bond and released from Eloy Detention Center. One day after dismissing an earlier deportation case, DHS filed a second notice to appear in immigration court against Toledo.

On May 18, 2026, Rogerio da Silva Lima and his 15-year-old son Nycolas were detained by the U.S. Coast Guard during a recreational fishing trip approximately one mile offshore Martha's Vineyard near Menemsha. Following a vessel safety check, the Coast Guard transferred them to ICE custody at a federal processing facility in Burlington. Da Silva Lima, a Brazilian national who entered the U.S. in 2021 and sought asylum, had a denied asylum application with a removal order issued in 2023-2024. Community advocates and attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition in U.S. District Court of Massachusetts on May 20, which halted a planned transfer to Texas. A federal judge found ICE had exceeded the congressionally mandated 90-day removal period and violated constitutional due process rights. Approximately 200 students at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, where the son was a freshman, walked out to protest his detention. The teenager was released on May 24 to his older brother, and the father was ordered released by May 28-29.

A 45-year-old farm worker identified as MJMA was detained along with six others when ICE agents stopped a van without a warrant on October 30, 2025. Officers smashed the van window, used facial recognition technology to attempt identification, and detained MJMA despite her assertion of her right to remain silent and request for legal representation. She had an ongoing asylum case at the time. Federal Judge Mustafa Kasubhai ruled in February 2026 that the arrests were unlawful, citing officer misconduct, inaccurate statements in reports, and improper use of facial recognition technology. The judge noted that MJMA had entered the U.S. with a valid temporary visa, contrary to officers' claims.

Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez, a 42-year-old DACA recipient who had lived in the United States for 27 years after arriving in 1998 at age 15, was arrested and deported to Mexico on February 18, 2025, during a green card interview at a USCIS office in Sacramento, California. Immigration agents cited a 1998 expedited removal order from her initial border crossing, despite her valid DACA status, lack of criminal history, and previous federal approvals to remain in the country. She was removed within 24 hours. Following a lawsuit by her attorneys, U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins issued a temporary restraining order on March 23, 2025, ruling the deportation a "flagrant violation" of her DACA protections and due process rights. Estrada Juarez was granted humanitarian parole and reentered the United States on March 30, 2025, at the San Ysidro border crossing, where she was reunited with her daughter.

Javier Batista Pérez, 62, and Emilio Nieves Matanzas were deported to Cuba on May 21, 2026, despite having pending appeals and approved habeas corpus petitions in federal court. Both men had no criminal records and were transferred to detention centers in Louisiana before deportation. A federal judge has ordered ICE to explain Nieves Matanzas's deportation, with a response deadline of July 27, 2026. Their families and lawyers contend the government violated judicial processes by deporting them while legal proceedings were active.

Emilio Nieves Matanzas, a Cuban national residing in Florida with an I-220A document, was arrested by ICE during a traffic stop on November 23, 2025, and deported to Cuba on May 21, 2026, while his asylum appeal and habeas corpus petition were pending in federal court. On June 14, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security granted him special parole to return legally to the United States, where he can seek permanent residency. His attorney argued the initial deportation violated constitutional protections for immigrants awaiting higher court decisions.

Miguel Angel Gomez Alvarado, who had lived in the United States for 14-15 years as an undocumented immigrant, was stopped by police during a traffic stop between November 2025 and February 2026 and turned over to ICE, which held him in deportation proceedings without a bond hearing. Gomez had no criminal record and was raising American citizen children. A federal judge found that holding him without a bond hearing violated his due process rights and ordered his release. The Trump administration appealed the decision to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled on July 2, 2026, that the government cannot hold undocumented immigrants for more than 90 days without a bond hearing and must articulate individualized justification for detention.

Three undocumented immigrants—Ignacio Sosnava Rodriguez, Miguel Angel Gomez Alvarado, and Alejandro Villegas Angel—were detained by ICE after police stops in Taylor, Texas between November 2025 and February 2026. All three had lived in the U.S. for 14-22 years with no criminal records and were held without bond hearings. Federal judges ruled their detention violated due process rights and ordered their release. The Trump administration appealed, and their cases are now before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which will decide whether undocumented immigrants have constitutional rights to challenge their detention.

Elvira Benitez-Suarez, a 51-year-old mother of four U.S. citizen children who has lived in Wisconsin 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 her deportation should be canceled and approved her green card application, but the Department of Homeland Security appealed that decision. After spending over two months in custody at Campbell County Detention Center in Kentucky, a 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling against the Trump administration's mandatory detention policy opened the possibility of a bond hearing. On May 21, 2026, an immigration judge granted her a $1,500 bond, though the government reserved the right to appeal during the 30-day appeal window.

Alvaro Barrera Leon, a Cuban national, was detained by ICE on November 13, 2025, after appearing for a scheduled check-in appointment despite having complied with all supervision requirements and having no criminal history. The petitioner filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the legality of his detention under the Due Process Clause. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas granted the writ of habeas corpus, finding the petitioner's detention violated constitutional protections.

Dylan Lopez Contreras, a 21-year-old Venezuelan student at ELLIS Preparatory Academy in the Bronx, was detained by ICE in May 2024 after attending a mandatory immigration court hearing in Lower Manhattan. He was transferred to Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania, where an immigration judge denied his asylum claim in September 2024 and ordered his deportation to Venezuela. After nearly 10 months in detention, Contreras was released on March 18-19, 2025, while his legal team pursued an appeal of the deportation order. He returned to school while applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, subject to an ankle monitor and ICE check-ins as his asylum appeal remains pending. Dylan Lopez Contreras, a 20-year-old high school student at Ellis Preparatory Academy in the Bronx, was arrested by ICE agents in May 2025 at a Lower Manhattan courthouse after attending a mandatory immigration hearing. He was held in federal custody for nearly 10 months before being released on March 18, 2026, on his own recognizance with an ankle monitor. His detention was notable as the first widely documented case of a public school student in New York City being detained by federal agents under the Trump administration. A teenager named Ricardo was held in ICE detention and spent time in solitary confinement, prompting outrage from the Chicago community. His mother, Martha Liliana, and community members organized a rally calling for his release. Dylan, a 16-year-old high school student in the Bronx, was arrested by ICE when attending a routine court date at an immigration courthouse in New York City. The arrest occurred as part of ICE's campaign of arresting people at mandated immigration court hearings and fast-tracking deportations. Dylan, a 20-year-old student from Ellis Prep High School, was detained by ICE in May during an asylum hearing. He remains in ICE custody. This case is part of a pattern of ICE detention of NYC public school students attending legal hearings.

Roswell Enrique Pérez Nieto watched as immigration agents detained his wife and 3-year-old son at an immigration court in San Antonio, Texas. The encounter was captured in footage obtained by Newsweek, which documented masked officers taking the family into custody.

A Dominican man was detained by plainclothes ICE officers immediately after an immigration hearing at the immigration court inside the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in New York on June 6, 2025. This arrest occurred one day after a federal judge issued a ruling barring federal agents from routinely detaining people who appear for immigration court proceedings in New York City, finding that people should not have to risk arrest to exercise their legal right to pursue asylum claims or attend deportation hearings.

Jose Gregorio Llarve-Guzman was detained on May 18, 2026, at Central Valley Annex Detention Facility after having been previously released on bond or conditional parole. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California found that the Due Process Clause requires the government to provide a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter before re-detaining a noncitizen who was previously released. The government failed to provide such a hearing before detaining Llarve-Guzman. The court granted his petition for a writ of habeas corpus and motion for temporary restraining order, finding his case indistinguishable from prior decisions establishing this constitutional requirement. The court ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he was subject to prior to his May 18, 2026 detention, and prohibited the government from imposing additional restrictions unless determined necessary at a future pre-deprivation hearing. If the government seeks to re-detain him, it must provide at least seven days' notice and hold a constitutionally compliant pre-deprivation bond hearing.

Oliver Mata Velazquez, a 19-year-old living in Buffalo, was arrested by ICE at an immigration courthouse, detained, and fast-tracked for deportation. The NYCLU filed a lawsuit challenging his arrest and secured his release.

Vivian Do's father was detained by ICE on March 5 at a GEO processing facility in Adelanto, California. Despite legal assurances and ICE's own notification that he would not be moved until June 5, he was transferred without notice on May 14, flown from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and deported to Vietnam the same day. The family had spent over $50,000 in legal fees seeking his release.

Obi, who arrived legally on a visa and was in the process of obtaining a green card, was detained by ICE on October 20th without due process. He was held in a detention facility for ten days after a judge ordered his release and bond was posted. His wife, who relies on him as her caregiver due to chronic illnesses, was forced to attend their green card interview alone while he remained detained. He was released with conditions including GPS monitoring and travel restrictions.

The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas granted provisional class certification and a preliminary injunction blocking four key provisions of Texas Senate Bill 4, a 2023 law the court found could allow states to pass their own immigration laws and undermine federal uniformity. The blocked provisions include a reentry crime applicable to anyone reentering Texas even with federal permission, magistrate power to issue deportation orders, criminalization of failing to comply with removal orders, and requirements that magistrates continue prosecutions despite pending federal immigration cases. The class-action lawsuit, filed by the ACLU of Texas and Texas Civil Rights Project on May 4, represents thousands of people across the state, including a lawful permanent resident and a person provisionally approved for a U Visa after assisting law enforcement.

Airida Gould, a Lithuanian national and licensed massage therapist who has lived in the United States for 26 years, was detained by ICE on May 16, 2026, during a green card interview at which USCIS had just approved her marriage petition. Gould is married to U.S. Army veteran Mark Gould and has three U.S.-born adult children. ICE officers handcuffed and detained her based on a 2009 removal order issued after she missed a court hearing due to road construction. During her 66 days in ICE custody, Gould was held at multiple facilities including Broadview, Illinois, Brazil, Indiana, and Kentucky. She described conditions at the Brazil facility as extremely poor. Her legal team, led by former immigration court Judge Carla Espinoza Grcic, filed an Emergency Motion to Reopen with the Board of Immigration Appeals. According to her husband's social media posts, Gould was deported on July 21, 2026.

Deisy Fidelina Rivera Ortega, wife of active-duty U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Jose Serrano stationed at Fort Bliss, was detained by ICE agents on April 14, 2026, while attending a USCIS appointment in El Paso, Texas to apply for Parole in Place. A native of El Salvador who had lived in the U.S. for approximately a decade, Rivera Ortega held valid work authorization and a 2019 court order granting her withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture. Despite these legal protections, ICE arrested her based on a December 2019 removal order for illegal entry and indicated plans to deport her to Mexico under third-country removal procedures. After approximately one month in custody at the El Paso Service Processing Center, Rivera Ortega was released on May 15, 2026, following media reporting and personal intervention by U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat and combat veteran who contacted the Department of Homeland Security on her behalf. She remains subject to GPS monitoring, mandatory ICE check-ins, home visits, and travel restrictions while facing potential deportation.

Justo Betancourt, a 54-year-old Cuban national who entered the U.S. in 1990 and held lawful status, was detained by ICE on October 29, 2025, during a routine annual immigration check-in. He was held for approximately seven months at the South Florida Detention Facility (Alligator Alcatraz) in the Florida Everglades, despite being unable to be readily deported to Cuba. During detention, he was shackled up to 23 hours daily and denied proper medical care despite having diabetes, neuropathy, heart and blood pressure issues, suffering strokes, cardiac arrest, and significant health deterioration. His daughter Arianne organized weekly vigils outside the facility for 44 weeks to advocate for his release. On May 13, 2026, U.S. District Judge Kyle Dudek granted his habeas corpus petition, finding his detention was erroneous and unlawful, and ordered his release within 48 hours. Betancourt was released on May 14-15, 2026.

Roberto Orozco-Ramirez, an undocumented Mexican immigrant and longtime Froid, Montana resident, turned himself in to Border Patrol on January 25, 2026, after agents staked out his home. He was charged with illegal reentry and held in detention. After the government dropped the illegal re-entry charge in April, he remained in custody under the Trump administration's expanded mandatory detention policy. On May 14, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Brian Morris ruled his continued detention unlawful, finding the administration's interpretation of immigration law erroneous and violating due process rights, and ordered his release within 24 hours. The small, conservative town of Froid organized community fundraisers to support his family throughout the ordeal.

M.P.P.P., who was previously under an order of supervision and had been granted withholding of removal to El Salvador, was re-detained by ICE on May 14, 2026 after her supervised release was revoked. The court found that ICE violated federal regulations by failing to provide adequate notice of revocation reasons and conducting the required informal interview on the same day as detention. The court ordered her immediate release, finding the revocation procedures unlawful.

Reiner Guibert Avila, a Cuban national ordered removed in 2019, was released on supervised release due to medical concerns after DHS detained him to execute his removal order. On May 12, 2026, DHS revoked his supervised release without demonstrating changed circumstances or that his removal was reasonably foreseeable. The court found the revocation unlawful and ordered Avila's immediate release, finding that DHS failed to meet its burden under 8 C.F.R. § 241.13(i)(2) to show a significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future.

Jesus Hernandez, a single father of six children including two U.S. Marines, was detained by ICE on May 12, 2026, despite having spent seven years in immigration court proceedings to pursue legal citizenship. His family launched a fundraising campaign to secure legal representation, pay an immigration bond, and cover household expenses during his detention. The family believes he has a strong case to remain in the United States.

Isael Urena Sepulveda, a Mexican citizen, first entered the United States in 1989 and most recently in 2000. He has lived in Napa, California with his wife, a U.S. permanent resident, and four U.S. citizen children, working as an agricultural worker. Sepulveda was arrested by DHS in April 2016 and placed in removal proceedings under INA § 240; he was released on bond by an immigration judge that same year. In 2017, he filed an EOIR-42B application for cancellation of removal, noting his youngest son's emotional and behavioral health problems and the hardship his family would experience upon his removal. On May 12, 2026, Sepulveda was detained by ICE without a pre-detention hearing and taken to the ICE Detention Facility at 630 Sansome Street in San Francisco. He filed a habeas corpus petition and motion for temporary restraining order seeking release and an injunction preventing re-detention without a hearing. On May 21, 2026, the federal court granted a preliminary injunction, finding that Sepulveda has serious questions going to the merits of his Fifth Amendment due process claim and that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm. The court ordered that Sepulveda cannot be re-detained without notice and a pre-deprivation hearing before a neutral immigration judge at which the government must establish by clear and convincing evidence that re-detention is warranted.

Carmelo Gonzalez, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, discovered his 11-year-old daughter Maria murdered in their Pasadena, Texas apartment in August 2023. Maria had been sexually assaulted and strangled; a neighbor was arrested and charged with capital murder. Gonzalez is a crucial witness in the case and had filed a U-Visa application, which is granted to crime victims and witnesses who assist law enforcement investigations. On January 26, 2025, Gonzalez was arrested for a first-time misdemeanor DWI offense and flagged by ICE. Despite his pending U-Visa application, he was taken into ICE custody upon bond release and placed on a deportation flight within a week. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare expressed alarm, stating he had never seen a witness with a pending U-Visa application removed so quickly, and warned that such enforcement policies are deterring witnesses from cooperating in criminal prosecutions.

Milena Araya-Davis, a 27-year-old therapist and Palm Springs High School graduate, was arrested by ICE agents on December 15, 2025, outside a USCIS office in San Diego immediately after being told her green card application was approved. Araya-Davis was brought to the U.S. from Peru at age 4 and received DACA protection as a teenager, going on to earn a master's degree in marriage and family therapy. She was detained for overstaying a tourist visa from her childhood. During her seven-day detention at Otay Mesa Detention Center, Araya-Davis slept on the floor, shared a single sink with roughly 150 women, and received inadequate food and medical care, relying on other detainees for basic supplies and support. Her husband, a U.S. citizen whom she married in April 2025, was home waiting for brief phone calls during her detention. Araya-Davis has since shared her experience on social media, drawing thousands of responses from people fearing detention or worried about loved ones. San Diego County subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and private prison operator CoreCivic after being denied inspection access to the facility.

Everlee Amelia Wihongi, a 37-year-old New Zealand citizen and lawful permanent resident who moved to the U.S. at age six, was detained by CBP at Los Angeles International Airport on April 10, 2026, upon returning from a family trip to New Zealand for an uncle's 80th birthday. DHS cited a 2014 felony conviction for THC possession in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, as grounds for detention, saying it rendered her inadmissible. During her transfer to the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona, she was forced to sleep on the floor while shackled for 14 hours, denied food and water, and not permitted to bathe. She was transferred between facilities in California, Texas, Montana, and Arizona without notice to her family or attorney, causing her to miss a scheduled legal meeting. Her brother Avaiiki said ICE was "largely unresponsive" and offered the family little more than instructions for his sister to "stay compliant." New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said consular officials were assisting but could not intervene in U.S. immigration decisions. DHS said Wihongi was placed in removal proceedings and will remain in custody.

The ACLU of Puerto Rico denounced ongoing ICE interventions in communities and streets, stating that masked agents are targeting immigrants and violating their rights while endangering public safety. The organization documented cases involving physical assaults, arbitrary interventions near minors, and due process violations. Of nine represented cases, eight resulted in stopping expedited transfers or obtaining court orders, though immigration judges denied bond in two cases despite no danger or flight risk.