Human Impact Project

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.

Senior Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the Trump administration violated a December court order restricting warrantless immigration arrests in Washington, D.C. The judge found that an ICE memo providing guidance to agents on when to arrest without a warrant did not properly comply with her earlier order, using a flawed definition of "escape risk" and ignoring requirements to consider community ties. The ruling came after the ACLU of DC sued the administration alleging federal agents had been indiscriminately arresting Washington residents perceived to be Latino without warrants.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected the Trump administration's policy of detaining noncitizens arrested inside the U.S. without bond hearings, ruling it would constitute "the broadest mass-detention-without-bond mandate in our nation's history." The case involved Ricardo Aparecido Barbosa da Cunha, a Brazilian man who had lived in the U.S. for two decades and was ultimately granted release after a district court ordered a bond hearing.

Kevin González, an 18-year-old U.S. citizen with stage 4 colon cancer, pleaded with immigration authorities to release his parents so he could see them before his death. His parents, Mexican nationals Isidoro González Avilés and Norma Anabel Ramírez Amaya, were arrested near Douglas, Arizona on April 14, 2026, after attempting to reenter the U.S. following denied humanitarian and B1/B2 visa requests. They had been previously deported in 2011 and 2024, and were reported chained during court appearances while detained for weeks. A federal judge in Tucson ordered their release on May 8, 2026. They were deported to Mexico that day and traveled to Durango, where they reunited with Kevin on May 8. Kevin died on May 9, 2026, one day after the reunion.

José Contreras Díaz, a 30-year-old DACA recipient who grew up in Edinburg, Texas, was arrested at an immigration appointment on January 6, 2026, and deported to Honduras within days despite holding valid DACA status. While in Honduras, he missed the birth of his son, Mateo. After his attorney filed a legal challenge arguing the deportation was unlawful, ICE flew him back to Texas on April 29. Upon re-entry, he was immediately detained at Port Isabel Detention Center for eight days. Released on May 7-8, Contreras is now home with his wife and newborn son. He stated: "I would not wish what I've been through on anyone. They detained me, sent me to a country I barely remember, and then gave me hope — the hope that I could come home, see my family, and hold my son again. Then that hope was taken away." Contreras remains under deportation threat and must report periodically to ICE. The Department of Homeland Security has stated it still intends to deport him, arguing that DACA does not confer legal status.

Federal immigration agents were spotted at four Cook County courthouses on May 7, 2026, where they arrested at least one person. One person was detained at the Branch 23 & 29 courthouse for a misdemeanor property damage charge that was dismissed. Since February, federal agents have been at or nearby Cook County courthouses at least once a week, detaining at least 12 people at the facilities. Public defenders and watchdog groups said the arrests violate state law and undermine due process rights. The previous Tuesday, federal agents detained a man at the Clinton Blue Line station following his appearance at domestic violence court, using a taser and throwing him against a wall.

Brulan, a Haitian man who has lived in Marathon for 22 years and held valid Temporary Protected Status, was detained during a routine traffic stop on April 12, 2026, and deported to Haiti on May 7 despite a federal judge's order keeping TPS protections in place. Working three jobs as a bus driver, hotel worker, and restaurant employee, Brulan sent money home every two weeks to support as many as 50 family members in Haiti. In Haiti, he encountered armed gangs controlling highways and the capital, feared for his life, and remained confined to his brother's house. His lawyer filed a wrongful detention lawsuit, and Brulan was allowed to return to South Florida two weeks after deportation. Public records show only traffic citations in his background, and his restaurant employer described him as a "very good soul."

Luis Enrique Cuellar-Padilla, an asylum seeker from Colombia, was detained by ICE after a court hearing despite having his credible fear application approved. He has been held for nearly 8 months and denied bond, with immigration officials claiming he is a flight risk due to insufficient community ties, though his legal team attributes the detention to the current anti-immigrant political climate. Since entering the U.S. in 2022, Cuellar-Padilla has maintained a stable job, attended all immigration appointments and court dates, and held an apartment lease.

Yenniffer Natalia England, a 32-year-old DACA recipient and nurse's assistant with valid work authorization through 2027, was detained by Texas state troopers on February 16, 2026, after a traffic stop for a suspended driver's license stemming from an unpaid speeding ticket. She was arrested while driving her brother and daughter to get tacos. ICE agents were tipped off by county jail staff and transferred her to El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, Texas. During her nearly three-month detention, her two daughters, ages 12 and 14, remained without her care. Her brother Francisco De La Rosa stated: "This is just tearing us apart. She's like the glue that keeps our family together." Community supporters from La Union del Pueblo Entero (LUPE) organized protests calling for her release. An immigration judge initially denied her bond and issued a deportation order despite her legal DACA status and 28-year residence in the United States. On May 21, 2026, a federal judge granted England a writ of habeas corpus, ordering her release on the condition of wearing an ankle monitor.

Jose Arnulfo Guerrero Orellana, an unauthorized immigrant from El Salvador who entered the U.S. unlawfully in 2013, was arrested at a traffic stop in Massachusetts. He is challenging the Trump administration's policy of mandatory detention for all unauthorized immigrants without bond hearings through a class action lawsuit, Guerrero Orellana v. Moniz et al. The case argues the policy contradicts the Immigration and Nationality Act and long-standing government practice. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on the case, with federal appellate courts currently split on the issue and Supreme Court review increasingly likely.

ICE arrested Gabriel Maror Ayuel, 55, a Sudanese national, in Nashville on May 5, 2026, following a months-long investigation. Ayuel was convicted of first-degree attempted murder in 2003 and sentenced to 20 years in prison, with additional convictions including aggravated assault, DUI, and felony flight to avoid prosecution. An immigration judge issued a final removal order in July 2008, but Ayuel remained in the United States for over 17 years in violation of that order. He remains in ICE custody pending removal.

Meenu Batra, a 53-year-old certified court interpreter fluent in Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu, was detained by ICE agents on March 17, 2026, at Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas while traveling for a court assignment in Milwaukee. Batra fled India approximately 35 years ago after her parents were killed in violence connected to their Sikh religion and was granted withholding of removal status by an immigration judge in 2000. She has maintained valid work authorization that she regularly renews and continues to be valid for several more years, and has worked in immigration courts for over 20 years. Batra is a single mother of four U.S. citizen children, including youngest son Jasper Batra, who joined the U.S. Army shortly before her arrest. She was held at El Valle Detention Center in Raymondville for 45 days, during which she alleged denial of food, water, and medication. On April 30, 2026, federal judge Rolando Olvera in Brownsville issued a temporary restraining order ordering her release, finding the government lacked proper justification and had violated procedural protections and due process. Her attorney noted she has had only one speeding ticket in the last 30 years.

Ytalo Pierre Montalvan Vasquez is a Peruvian citizen who was paroled into the United States on March 12, 2022 to pursue asylum. He has complied with all immigration procedures and court orders, has no criminal history, and has established ties to the community. After an immigration judge issued a removal order, Petitioner timely appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals and requested a custody redetermination. On April 23, 2026, the immigration court denied his bond request, finding the immigration judge lacked jurisdiction. Petitioner was detained at Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California. On May 13, 2026, the federal district court granted his habeas corpus petition, finding that his continued detention violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights because he had a liberty interest in his prior conditional release status and was denied procedural safeguards before re-detention. The court ordered Petitioner's immediate release subject to former conditions, prohibited future re-detention without notice and a pre-deprivation hearing, and ordered return of confiscated property.

Andres Exequiel Villatoro Weelock, a native of Nicaragua, was detained by ICE in May 2026 and is currently held at Richwood Correctional in Monroe, Louisiana. He was granted withholding of removal as to Nicaragua under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Villatoro filed a habeas corpus petition and emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent his deportation or transfer, arguing that deportation to Mexico would violate his due process rights and expose him to refoulement to Nicaragua despite his CAT withholding order. He is a member of the D.V.D. class, consisting of individuals subject to final removal orders whom ICE plans to deport to third countries. The district court denied his motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, citing the Supreme Court's prior stay denial in the D.V.D. class litigation and the principle of avoiding duplicative litigation.

A Mexican asylum-seeker who fled cartel violence in Michoacan in 2019 was arrested by ICE at her check-in appointment in Santa Rosa in May 2026, separating her from her three children ages 2, 13, and 19. After texting her daughter to bring the younger children home, she was held in a freezing cell with little food before being transported toward a detention center. Attorneys from the newly created Bay Area Habeas Network, led by attorney Jordan Weiner, filed an emergency habeas corpus petition and obtained a federal judge's order for her immediate release within hours. The woman told the Chronicle: "I feel like I have no peace. But I have faith and know that there are good people who will help us."

Josue Alvarado, who fled gang extortion in Ecuador with his family in 2024, was detained by ICE in 2025 after the Trump administration canceled CBP One paroles. On May 1, 2026, his scheduled asylum hearing was canceled just before trial when a judge granted the government's motion to pretermit his case within hours, denying his attorney the standard 10 days to respond. He was ordered deported to Ecuador despite his family's fear that return would result in kidnapping or death from the gang members pursuing them.

Ramon Rodriguez-Turcios, a Honduran national with a final removal order, was arrested by ICE agents during a targeted enforcement operation in Pleasantville on April 30, 2026. He was the intended target of the operation and is being held pending removal proceedings.

Hugo Enrique Montenegro-Almanza was detained on April 29, 2026, after having been previously released on bond or conditional parole. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California granted his petition for a writ of habeas corpus and motion for temporary restraining order, finding that the government violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights 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 was subject to prior to his detention on April 29, 2026, and prohibited the imposition of additional restrictions such as electronic monitoring unless determined necessary at a future hearing. If the government seeks to re-detain him in the future, it must provide at least seven days' notice and hold a constitutionally compliant pre-deprivation bond hearing.

Rosedeep Manhas was lawfully admitted to the United States on a C-1 crewman visa with authorization to remain until April 12, 2021. He stayed in the country after his visa expired and filed an asylum application in June 2021. On April 29, 2026, more than five years after his visa expiration, immigration officials arrested him. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California granted his petition for writ of habeas corpus, finding that his five-year period of continuous release after visa expiration created a protected liberty interest. The court ordered his immediate release from custody at the Central Valley Annex detention facility and enjoined respondents from re-detaining him without notice and a hearing before an immigration judge pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a).

J.R.C., an 11-year-old from Venezuela who had lived in El Paso for nearly four years, was detained alongside his father Jesus Eduardo Reyes Hermes on April 28, 2026, when ICE agents arrested them outside their South-Central El Paso home. The boy was separated from his father and placed in shelter custody under the Office of Refugee Resettlement, while his father was transferred to Camp East Montana detention facility. J.R.C. was attending school in El Paso, where he had learned some English and was developing academically, with a teacher he credited with helping him learn to read. After his father was released on bond in June and the boy's asylum case was denied, J.R.C. requested voluntary departure on July 7, 2026, to reunite with his mother and siblings in Venezuela and Colombia. He expressed both sadness at leaving his friends and school, and excitement about seeing his family.

Jesus Eduardo Reyes Hermes, a Venezuelan national with valid Temporary Protected Status, was arrested by ICE on April 28, 2026, while working on his car outside his home in South-Central El Paso. His 11-year-old son, J.R.C., was also arrested during the incident. Reyes Hermes had lived in El Paso for nearly four years after arriving in July 2023 and had been granted TPS in 2024; he was in the process of applying for a TPS exemption at the time of his arrest. He was transferred to Camp East Montana detention facility on Fort Bliss and separated from his son. After his son and attorneys filed federal habeas corpus petitions challenging the lawfulness of their detention, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone ordered bond hearings and release conditions. An immigration judge ordered Reyes Hermes released on a $5,000 bond on June 16, and he was released on June 24. However, on the same day he posted bond, USCIS issued a negative credible fear determination, triggering expedited removal proceedings against him.

Victor Alonso Molina filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Eastern Division against Shannon Dicus and other respondents. On May 26, 2026, the court issued an order granting Molina's petition for writ of habeas corpus. On May 29, 2026, the court entered final judgment granting the habeas corpus petition without requiring any further proceedings. The judgment was consistent with the reasons and findings set forth in the May 26, 2026 order. The case was decided by United States Magistrate Judge Angela C. C. Viramontes.

Israel Makoka, 18, and Max Makoka, 15, brothers from the Republic of the Congo on F-1 student visas, were detained by ICE agents on April 21, 2026, at a school bus stop in Diamondhead, Mississippi while waiting for transportation to Hancock High School. The teenagers were restrained with zip ties in front of classmates and family members. Their visa status had expired following an undocumented transfer from private boarding school to public high school. Both brothers had lived legally in the U.S. since 2023 and 2024, had no criminal records, and had valid guardianship paperwork from their host parents. Israel was transferred to Central Louisiana ICE Processing Facility in Jena, Louisiana, while Max was transferred to an out-of-state facility in Houston. Community members and local officials called for their release. Israel Makoka, 18, and Max Makoka, 15, from the Republic of the Congo, were detained by ICE for over a week after being arrested as they walked to their school bus stop in Diamondhead, Mississippi on July 8. The brothers had entered the U.S. on student visas in 2023 and 2024 to attend Piney Woods School, a historically Black boarding school, and stayed with their legal guardians, Gail Baptiste and her family, during summers and holidays. When the brothers transferred to nearby Hancock High School, ICE said they violated their student visas by changing schools without authorization. They were held in separate facilities in Houston and Jena, Louisiana before being released after community support and intervention from U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith's office. The family is now seeking reinstatement of the brothers' student visas.

Thi Duy Duc Duong was released from ICE custody in March 2026 by a federal court in Arizona, but was re-detained by ICE on April 27, 2026 when she reported to the Detroit ICE field office for a routine check-in. She was subsequently transferred to facilities in Louisiana and Texas without explanation or allegation of any violation of her supervision terms. The court granted emergency relief ordering her immediate release.

Hayam El Gamal and her five children, Egyptian citizens who entered the U.S. on B-1 visitor visas in 2022, were detained at Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas in June 2025 after overstaying their visas. The family was detained based on the alleged criminal actions of their estranged father, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who was later convicted of 101 charges including murder, though the family members were never charged with any crimes and stated they were estranged from Soliman and unaware of his plans. During nine months in detention, the family endured moldy and wormy food, inadequate medical care including failure to treat a 5-year-old's severe dental cavities, and religious freedom violations. Her 16-year-old son described the experience as "a nightmare" that made it difficult to return to normal life, writing that "nothing is normal anymore because you live in fear of going back to that place." An immigration judge granted the family bond in September 2025, but DHS appealed and obtained a stay. On April 24, 2026, a federal judge ordered their release; two days later, ICE re-arrested the family during a routine check-in at an ICE office in Denver and transported them to Denver International Airport for immediate deportation in violation of the federal court order. During transport and on a private jet, the family was subjected to verbal abuse, medical neglect, and physical restraint despite a medical emergency. Federal judges issued emergency orders blocking the removal and turning the plane around mid-air. The family was released on April 27 pending litigation on their asylum case, with electronic monitoring required as a condition of release.

Jose Angel Mireles, a 48-year-old longtime Phoenix resident, was detained by ICE at a courthouse after being cited for driving with stolen plates and deported to Mexico after two months in the Florence ICE detention center. He now lives in a migrant shelter in Nogales, Sonora, separated from his 11-year-old daughter in Phoenix. Mireles is among thousands of long-term U.S. residents removed under the Trump administration's immigration enforcement surge, which saw removals of individuals with over a decade of U.S. residency increase 42% between 2024 and 2025.

Leonardo Jose Zambrano Becerrit is a Venezuelan national who entered the United States on April 14, 2024, and was granted parole. He has no criminal history and is not subject to a final removal order. On April 26, 2026, he was arrested following a routine traffic stop in San Angelo, Texas, and transferred into ICE custody at the Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Texas, then moved to Central Valley Annex Detention Facility in McFarland, California. He petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus, challenging his detention as a violation of Fifth Amendment due process rights, arguing he was re-detained without a pre-deprivation hearing. The federal court granted his petition and ordered his immediate release, finding that detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated the Due Process Clause. The court enjoined respondents from re-detaining him unless they provide seven days' notice and hold a bond hearing before a neutral arbiter where the government must demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he is a flight risk or danger to the community.

Feliciano Paulino Soares, a Brazilian citizen who came to the United States in 2021, was arrested by ICE in August 2025 while a passenger in a car in Connecticut. After filing a habeas petition, a federal judge sided with him in April 2026 and an immigration judge ordered his release on bond, finding him neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community. Four days after his release, Utah police stopped Soares for speeding on his way home to the East Coast, and ICE took him from the jail and transported him to a detention center in Aurora, Colorado. U.S. Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter ordered Soares's immediate release and is considering sanctions against the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and ICE for unlawfully detaining him after an immigration judge had already determined he was suitable for release.

Isaac Villegas Molina, a Pasadena resident and lead plaintiff in federal litigation challenging ICE enforcement operations, was arrested by federal agents on June 18, 2025, at a bus stop along with two other day laborers. He was released on bond in July 2025. On April 17, 2026, Villegas was arrested again by ICE during an appointment with the Alternatives to Detention-Intensive Supervision Appearance Program. His lawyer filed a habeas petition alleging the arrest was unlawful, without a warrant, and retaliatory given his pending removal case hearing. Following the arrest, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order. Villegas was released from Adelanto Detention Center after community outcry and advocacy from supporters including local elected leaders and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON).

Cristofer Ortega, 21, came to the United States as a child from Honduras and was living in Plainfield, New Jersey, studying for an HVAC certification while pursuing permanent residency through Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJ). In July 2025, while visiting family in New Hampshire, federal agents in an unmarked car pulled Ortega and the driver from a vehicle at a red light at gunpoint. Despite having no criminal record and never being arrested before, Ortega was detained for over eight months at facilities in Mississippi and New Hampshire. His attorney believed the stop was racial profiling and filed a Freedom of Information Act request with ICE to determine if agents were specifically targeting Ortega; ICE claimed no records existed. Ortega filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire in November 2025 challenging his detention and removal, which included documentation of his SIJ approval. A temporary restraining order was issued in February 2026, but the case was dismissed by stipulation on April 23, 2026. Ortega was deported to Honduras on March 29, 2026, separated from his family and his future in the United States. He reported experiencing severe mental health impacts from detention, including nightmares, insomnia, and ongoing trauma related to his prior history of abandonment.

Brian José Morales García, a 25-year-old born in Denver, Colorado, was stopped by Border Patrol agents near Fredericksburg, Texas on April 7, 2026. During the traffic stop, Morales repeatedly asserted his U.S. citizenship and stated he had his birth certificate and Social Security card available to verify his status, but agents refused to examine his documentation and accused him of fraud. Fearing prolonged detention and separation from his wife and newborn daughter, Morales signed voluntary removal papers after being held for five days. He was deported to Mexico on April 9, 2026. His attorneys filed a federal lawsuit and provided copies of his birth certificate and Denver hospital records documenting his birth in Colorado. The Department of Homeland Security disputed his citizenship claim and alleged he admitted to entering the country illegally.

A 16-year-old identified as "Elias" in court filings was deported to Guatemala without a removal order or any attempt to obtain one, according to a pending lawsuit filed in the District of Columbia. His lawyers argue that "this removal was lawless: Defendants had no removal order for Elias, nor did they even attempt to obtain one." The case follows a similar pattern to Mario Mata Cruz's deportation and is part of a broader pattern documented by lawyers across the country of noncitizens being deported without final removal orders from immigration judges.

Argam Nazarian, a 27-year-old Armenian Christian Iranian asylum seeker, was detained by ICE in June 2025 despite having an active asylum case and no criminal history. An immigration judge ordered his release on bond in August 2025, finding him neither a flight risk nor a danger, but ICE refused to release him, citing mandatory detention policies for those who entered without inspection. After 298 days in detention across multiple facilities, including El Paso, a federal judge ruled in April 2026 that ICE violated Nazarian's Fifth Amendment due process rights by holding him without a bond hearing and using incorrect legal authority. Nazarian was released and reunited with family in Los Angeles, though his immigration case remains pending.

Eduar Arturo Torres Lizcaino was released on his own recognizance in February 2024 after entering the United States. On April 18, 2026, ICE re-detained him without providing a pre-deprivation hearing. Torres Lizcaino filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus and motion for temporary restraining order challenging his detention. The court found that his prior release by immigration authorities created a liberty interest in his continued release and that his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated due process. The court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release on the same conditions he was subject to prior to his re-detention. The court also enjoined ICE from re-detaining him in the future without notice and a pre-deprivation hearing before an immigration judge, where ICE must prove by clear and convincing evidence that he is a danger to the community or a flight risk.

A 23-year-old South American woman was deported to the Democratic Republic of Congo after being detained in Louisiana for 15 months by ICE. An immigration judge had previously granted her protection from removal to her home country after she claimed persecution based on her LGBTQ+ status. Despite a federal magistrate judge's recommendation for her release in a lawsuit filed in December, she was deported before a district judge could approve the recommendation as part of a third-country deportation agreement.

José and his family from Venezuela entered the U.S. legally in 2024 using the CBP One app and received parole to live and work while their asylum cases were pending. After their immigration court hearing in June 2025 was dismissed under a Trump administration order, they were arrested outside the courtroom and detained for a month at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley. Following their release, the family decided to abandon the asylum process and purchased one-way plane tickets back to Venezuela.

Bruno Guedes da Silva, a Brazilian man who fled to the U.S. in 2022 seeking asylum, was detained by ICE agents in Sewickley, Pennsylvania on February 21, 2026, despite possessing valid work authorization, a Social Security number, and a driver's license. ICE cited a warrant for felony charges related to firearms and falsification of documents, though those criminal charges were later dropped related to allegedly lying about his immigration status on a firearm purchase application in July 2024. His 6-year-old daughter, Maria, began chemotherapy treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma shortly after his detention. Da Silva was held at Northern Regional Jail in Moundsville, West Virginia, until a judge granted him bond on immigration charges in April 2026, allowing him to reunite with his daughter.

Ashish Kumar is an asylum seeker from India who entered the United States on September 16, 2023, and was initially released on an Order of Release on Recognizance with conditions including ATD monitoring and regular ICE reporting. On April 15, 2026, he was arrested by ICE and detained at Golden State Annex Detention Facility in McFarland, California. The government argued his detention was mandatory under expedited removal procedures under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), but provided no justification or due process hearing. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California granted Kumar's habeas corpus petition, finding that his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. The court ordered Kumar's immediate release and enjoined respondents from re-detaining him unless they provide seven days' notice and hold a bond hearing before a neutral arbiter where the government must demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he is a flight risk or danger to the community.

Miguel Lopez, who lived in the U.S. for over 27 years, was deported to Mexico in 2025 after appearing at a San Francisco courthouse for a routine immigration check-in. A federal judge dismissed his civil case on April 3, 2026, finding it time-barred under the six-year statute of limitations, but Lopez's attorney plans to appeal to the Ninth Circuit. Judge Trina Thompson acknowledged in her decision the "bureaucratic labyrinth" of immigration law and the "generational trauma" the ruling will cause Lopez's family. The appeal represents his remaining legal pathway to return to his wife and three children.

Carlos Rodelo, a 43-year-old Colombian from Barranquilla who fled extortion in his home country, was granted Convention Against Torture (CAT) protection by a federal judge, which should have prevented his deportation to an unsafe third country. On April 13, 2026, despite his CAT protection and a pending habeas corpus challenge, Rodelo was held at Alexandria airport without food for several hours while shackled, then forcibly deported to the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of a Trump Administration third-country deportation agreement. Rodelo, who had diabetes and other medical conditions, described conditions in Congo as restrictive and felt like a prisoner despite being told he was free. He subsequently returned to Colombia through the International Organization for Migration's Assisted Voluntary Return program. The Department of Homeland Security asserted he had violated the terms of his parole. Rodelo was part of the first group of 15 Latin Americans deported to the DRC under the agreement.

An immigration attorney reports that approximately 80% of his clients granted bond by a judge are held for days beyond their legal release date by ICE. The case of Deonicio Castillo, a Colorado resident detained in January 2026, exemplifies the pattern—he was held six days after a judge granted his $2,500 bond. The attorney argues the delays violate constitutional rights and represent a departure from prior practice where bond releases typically occurred within hours.

A 23-year-old Honduran man granted legal status and work authorization under a federal court settlement for families separated by the Trump administration's zero tolerance policy was arrested by ICE in October 2025 after Louisiana wildlife officers reported him for target shooting in a protected area. Despite possessing valid immigration documents and parole status, he was detained for over five months and issued a deportation order on January 6, 2026. At least 25 other people with similar legal protections have been detained or deported by ICE in recent months. The government has also imposed new $1,000-per-person fees and canceled contracts with legal service providers, violating the terms of the federal settlement agreement. The ACLU filed a motion for his release on April 1, 2026.

Annie Yaritza Ramos Alvarado, a 22-year-old Honduran-born immigrant who arrived in the U.S. as a toddler in 2005, was detained by ICE agents on April 2, 2026, at Fort Polk military base in Louisiana while attempting to complete paperwork to move in with her spouse, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Matthew Blank, 23, whom she had recently married. Ramos was a college student with no criminal history who had applied for DACA status in 2020, though her application was never processed. She was working with a lawyer to adjust her immigration status through marriage, a process that typically allows spouses of U.S. citizens to obtain legal permanent residency. She had been subject to an outstanding removal order issued in 2005 after her family missed an immigration court hearing when she was 22 months old. After being held for nearly a week at an ICE detention facility in Basile, Louisiana, Ramos was released on April 7 and ordered to wear a GPS monitor while removal proceedings continue.

Tania Warner, a 47-year-old Canadian citizen from Penticton, B.C., with a valid U.S. work visa through 2030 and a Social Security number, and her seven-year-old autistic daughter Ayla Lucas were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on March 14, 2026, at a Border Patrol checkpoint near Sarita/Kingsville, Texas, while returning from a baby shower. The family, which includes Tania's U.S. citizen husband Edward Warner and has lived in Kingsville for five years, was transferred through multiple detention facilities including Rio Grande Valley Central processing center and Dilley Immigration Processing Center. During their approximately three-week detention, Ayla suffered chemical burns from harsh cleaning detergents and soap and developed a rash, while the family experienced inadequate healthcare, food shortages, and insufficient education for the child. Warner reported being pressured to self-deport and described the experience as "the most stressful, traumatizing ordeal" she has ever experienced. They were released on April 2-3, 2026, after posting a $9,500 bond. Warner was fitted with an ankle monitor and is challenging it in court as an "illegal ankle monitor" since the judge did not order it and she was deemed a non-flight risk. Congressman Vicente Gonzalez stated that Tania is part of the Kingsville community and that neither she nor her daughter should have been detained. Warner plans to file a lawsuit alleging unlawful detention and harm to her daughter.

A federal judge in Los Angeles ordered the Department of Homeland Security to stop using coercive language to pressure unaccompanied immigrant children to self-deport, ruling the practice violated a 40-year-old court mandate. Beginning in September 2025, DHS had advised detained minors they would face prolonged detention if they did not leave the U.S. and threatened to prosecute their sponsors. The judge rejected the government's request to end the longstanding safeguards protecting children's due process rights, citing language that "disturbingly mirrors" coercion documented in a 1985 case that established these protections.

José Eliezer Martinez-Andino, a 20-year-old Honduran with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), was detained by ICE in March while driving through Montana and coerced into signing voluntary departure forms. He was deported to Honduras on April 10 despite having SIJS and deferred action status that should have protected him from removal. A federal judge ordered DHS to return him to the U.S., finding he was denied due process and not allowed access to his attorney for over 10 days.

Federal officials have detained or deported at least 25 people whose families were granted temporary legal status under a 2023 court settlement stemming from the Trump administration's 2017 family separation policy. The government has violated key terms of the settlement by imposing a $1,000 per-person fee, stopping payments to contractors assisting with family reunification, and detaining and deporting individuals who were supposed to be protected under the court order.

Dayerlin Serrano Ordonez, a Venezuelan citizen who entered the U.S. in 2023, was granted withholding of removal to Venezuela in February 2025. On April 9, 2026, he was detained by ICE during a routine check-in. His wife was informed that authorities intended to remove him to Africa, despite his withholding protection. The court issued a habeas petition order requiring respondents to show cause why the petition should not be granted and ordered advance notice of any removal.