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.

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.

Olivia Andre, a 19-year-old nursing student and asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was apprehended with her family in November 2025 while attempting to seek asylum. While her mother and two younger siblings were released in March 2026 following a court order, Andre remained detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas for approximately six months because she is technically an adult without guardianship of her siblings. During her detention, she experienced severe physical and mental health deterioration including weight loss of nearly 20 pounds, depression, insomnia, nightmares, suicidal ideation, headaches, and received no mental health care despite documented PTSD and depression. On May 9, 2026, a federal district court judge in San Antonio ruled that Andre's detention was unlawful because the government failed to establish she posed a danger or flight risk and that continued detention violated her constitutional right to due process. She was released and reunited with her family in Portland, Maine.

An ICE deportation charter flight operated by Omni Air held passengers shackled at the wrists, waists, and ankles for over 69 hours during a multi-country journey from Guam through Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. The passengers included elders, people with disabilities, and individuals who had agreed to voluntary departure, with limited ability to move during the lengthy transport.

Ana Delgado, a Venezuelan woman with Temporary Protected Status and an active family-based immigration petition filed by her U.S. citizen husband, was detained by ICE on April 29, 2026, after an agent posing as an ISAP case manager deceived her into stepping outside her home in Texas. Nine ICE officers surrounded her and took her into custody, separating her from her 4-year-old child and 1-year-old daughter whom she was breastfeeding. While postpartum and nursing, Ana was held at Karnes detention center in Texas before being transferred to Eloy detention center in Arizona. She developed severe mastitis as a result of separation from her nursing infant and was denied requests to breastfeed during visitation and denied access to a breast pump. Ana has no criminal record and was in the process of adjusting status through her husband's sponsorship. ICE indicated she may be deported by Mother's Day. Ana Delgado, a TPS holder and stay-at-home mother who had lived in the U.S. for 7 years, was detained during a routine at-home check-in at her residence in San Antonio, Texas on April 29th. She was subsequently deported, separating her from her two young children, Hannah (12 months old) and Isaiah (4 years old). Delgado had been in the process of renewing her TPS and applying for adjustment of status after marrying a U.S. citizen.

Anstasiia and Andrei, Russian activists who fled Russia fearing retaliation for their involvement with the Navalny campaign, sought political asylum in the U.S. but were detained at separate ICE facilities in Louisiana. Anstasiia was held at Basile ICE jail, where she alleges she was stripped naked and confined to a glass room for 24 hours. She also reported that women detainees were subjected to male guards while showering and using the bathroom. Andrei was detained at Allen Parish Public Safety Complex. The facilities are reported to have conditions including physical and sexual abuse, medical neglect, rat infestations, black mold, expired food, and prolonged solitary confinement.

Carlos Della Valle, a Mexican national and long-term resident of Chester County, Pennsylvania, was detained by ICE in December 2024 after being arrested at an airport in St. Thomas while on family vacation. He was held across 12 different detention facilities, including centers in Louisiana and Florida, and reported inhumane conditions during his confinement. Despite claiming a judge had declared him not guilty, Della Valle was detained under a 1997 deportation order. His wife Angela, a U.S. citizen, and supporters rallied for his release. He was released in late April 2026 after 258 days in custody and returned to his home in Chester County.

Maria Trinidad Loya Medina, a Mexican national who lived in Albany, Oregon for over 20 years and was the primary caregiver for her husband and two U.S. citizen children, was detained by ICE agents on January 10, 2026, during Operation Black Rose while shopping at a sporting goods store in Albany. She was held at Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington for four months. An immigration judge denied her bond request on February 4 after a brief hearing, despite evidence of strong community ties and no criminal history. On May 7, Federal Judge Grady J. Leupold ordered her immediate release, finding that the immigration judge violated her constitutional due process rights by failing to consider relevant factors and abusing discretion in denying bond. The judge cited documented harm to her family, including her husband's stroke and daughter's depression. ICE delayed her release until May 8.

A woman named Alicia experienced a miscarriage while detained by ICE. Medical staff performed invasive procedures and administered medication without her consent or clear explanation of her condition. After being informed of the miscarriage, she was immediately returned to detention despite severe abdominal pain and continuous vaginal bleeding. ICE denied her repeated requests for follow-up medical care for over two months. She was only diagnosed and treated for a resulting serious infection after her deportation.

Maikel Rojas, a 45-year-old Cuban, was released from Alligator Alcatraz detention center in March 2026 after nearly five months in custody and subsequently issued a removal order requiring self-deportation by August 4, 2026. The order requires him to obtain a Cuban passport and purchase a one-way airline ticket while wearing an electronic ankle monitor. Rojas, who arrived from Cuba in 2004 and was convicted as an accomplice to a crime in 2005 with a 13-year sentence, faces uncertainty about whether Cuba will accept his deportation and fears re-arrest by immigration authorities.

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.

Manuela Hernandez, an asylum seeker from Colombia, was detained at California City's detention center for five months after her electronic monitoring device broke during a household accident in December 2025. She reported severe medical decline in custody, including fainting spells and a bacterial infection, while ICE pursued federal charges for property destruction. After her legal team filed a habeas corpus petition arguing the break was unintentional, she was released on May 4, 2026, and has reunited with her family while continuing her asylum case.

S.A., a noncitizen from Cameroon who entered the U.S. in 2024, was granted withholding of removal to Cameroon on September 16, 2025. Despite this protection from deportation to his home country, he remained detained at the Adelanto Detention Facility for more than six months after his removal order became final. The court ordered his release within 24 hours, finding his continued detention violated due process since removal was not reasonably foreseeable.

Santo, a Dominican national, was recently detained by ICE agents and transferred to an ICE detention facility in Louisiana. He has no criminal record but is a diabetic who was held without his medication for ten days, causing health complications. His wife Yolanda, who declined to use her full name due to deportation fears, stated he does not have legal representation and has reported experiencing side effects from medication deprivation. The family would prefer his release or deportation to the Dominican Republic over continued detention.

Rodney Taylor, a 47-year-old double amputee barber from Liberia who arrived in the U.S. as a child on a medical visa, was arrested by ICE on January 15, 2025, and held at Stewart Detention Center in South Georgia for 15 months based on a decades-old burglary conviction from his teenage years. Despite receiving a state pardon in 2010, holding a valid work permit, and having a pending green card application through his adult son, Taylor remained in ICE custody. During detention, he experienced severe medical neglect including denial of adequate food, proper prosthetics, exposure to contaminated water, and inadequate medical care for his disabilities, resulting in new health conditions such as bone spurs and neuropathy. Taylor was released in early May 2026 following sustained advocacy by U.S. Representative Lucy McBath, Senator Raphael Warnock, Representative Pramila Jayapal, additional members of Congress, his wife Mildred, community organizations, and legal representatives. His deportation case remains pending appeal.

An eight-year-old autistic boy named Emiliano is detained at the Dilley ICE detention facility in Texas, operated by CoreCivic. Since his detention, he has experienced a fever, severe anxiety, limited appetite, and developed a skin rash and eye irritation. His mother reported these conditions to advocacy organizations. Each Step Home and other advocates filled his mother's commissary account to provide support and encouraged complaints to the facility regarding his care.

Arbella "Yari" Rodríguez Márquez, a 39-year-old queer woman and legal permanent resident with chronic lymphocytic leukemia since 2013, was detained by ICE on February 10, 2025, after being apprehended at the Nogales port of entry while returning from Mexico with her partner of over 13 years, Sonia Almaraz. Her legal residency was subsequently revoked by a federal immigration judge, and she was placed in removal proceedings at Eloy Detention Center. Over the course of her detention, her health has severely deteriorated: she has lost 70 pounds, developed additional conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, lymphedema, and anemia, and experiences hematemesis (vomiting blood daily), nosebleeds, bruising, extreme fatigue, and dehydration due to lack of adequate medical care—receiving only Tylenol for pain management. A parole request filed by her lawyer was denied on June 24, 2025. By April 2026, more than three dozen Arizona lawmakers, the LGBTQIA Legislative Caucus, and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups including Trans Queer Pueblo have called for her immediate humanitarian release, warning that her continued detention in a facility with a history of deaths amounts to a "death sentence" given her medical vulnerability.

Denny Adan Gonzalez, a 33-year-old Cuban national, was found unresponsive in his cell at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, on April 28, 2026, at approximately 10:25 p.m. and pronounced dead at 11:11 p.m. ICE reported the suspected cause as suicide, though the official cause remained under investigation. Gonzalez had been in solitary confinement following an alleged altercation with a staff member the day before. He had arrived at a U.S. port of entry in 2019, was deported in 2020, re-entered without authorization in 2022, and was transferred to Stewart in January 2026 after arrest in North Carolina on assault and domestic violence charges. Immigration advocates, his mother Lourdes González Suárez, and U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock called for independent investigation and improved transparency regarding ICE custody deaths.

A man held in an ICE detention center had his finger bitten off by another detainee and was subsequently placed in solitary confinement without antibiotics or proper medical treatment for a year. When he sought help as the infection became severely infected and ruptured, he was given only toilet paper instead of appropriate medical care. The case is part of a federal class-action lawsuit addressing inhumane and unconstitutional conditions in ICE detention facilities.

Pedro was detained by ICE on April 17, 2026, with assistance from state police, leaving his pregnant wife Carmen and two sons without support. Gerardo Reyes Gonzalez was detained on March 14, 2026, following a traffic stop connected to a missing girl report; he and his brother were charged with interfering with public duties. Both men are now held at the Hutto ICE detention facility in Texas. Pedro, who has type 1 diabetes, and Gerardo, who has a tooth infection, are reportedly experiencing life-threatening medical neglect. Advocates and family members are calling for donations, legal support, and direct action to demand proper medical care and secure their release. Gerardo Reyes Gonzalez, 44, was arrested during a March 14 traffic stop after police responded to a report of a male attempting to leave an apartment complex with a 15-year-old girl against her wishes. ICE placed a detainer on him following the arrest. The Hays County District Attorney's Office dropped the interference with public duties charge against Reyes Gonzalez on May 11, though he remains in ICE custody pending an immigration court hearing.

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.

Allan Marrero, a Cayman Islands native, was detained by ICE on November 24, 2025, after arriving for a routine marriage-based green card interview at a USCIS office in Lower Manhattan. ICE discovered a prior removal order from 2022 related to an overstayed tourist visa and a missed immigration court hearing that occurred while Marrero was in alcohol rehabilitation. An immigration judge reopened his case and granted bond in January 2026, citing his clean criminal record and community support, but ICE refused to accept bond payment and used procedural mechanisms to continue his detention. Marrero was moved between multiple facilities across Arizona, Texas, Mississippi, and New York. After 150 days in custody, he was released on April 23, 2026, following a lawsuit that challenged ICE's refusal to honor the bond order. He was reunited with his husband Matthew.

An Instagram post shows a group of people being transported by ICE in buses at what appears to be a detention facility in El Reno, Oklahoma. According to the caption, multiple women were hospitalized due to heat strokes and poor conditions during transport, and the post characterizes them as mothers forcefully separated from their families.

Jorge Cubillos and Carlos Rodelo, Colombian nationals who fled armed groups and extortion, were deported to the Democratic Republic of Congo despite holding legal protections including withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture (CAT) protections that prevented their return to Colombia. Cubillos, who had built a life in the U.S. over eight years and held a work permit, was physically restrained around his waist, feet, and hands for 24 hours during the deportation flight and reported feeling imprisoned upon arrival in Kinshasa. Rodelo was arrested in August 2025 and detained for eight months across multiple ICE facilities; Cubillos was held in Florida, Louisiana, and at Alexandria airport. Both were deported without formal removal orders and without being informed of their destination, health requirements, or mandatory vaccinations. At least 15 Latin American migrants were sent to Kinshasa under a U.S. agreement with the Congolese government, with deportations costing over $130,000 per person.

William Alexander Alfaro, a Honduran national with an active asylum case, was detained by ICE agents on March 18, 2026, while driving his three children to school in San Antonio, Texas. Alfaro held a valid work permit and driver's license and was in compliance with the asylum process. He was arrested at Crosspoint, an ICE check-in and processing facility in San Antonio, as he arrived for a scheduled appointment. During approximately one month in ICE detention, Alfaro was not treated for a knee tumor requiring emergency surgery. He was deported to Honduras without receiving the scheduled medical procedure, likely resulting in amputation. His wife, who witnessed the initial detention, now fears she will be targeted for deportation, which would leave their three U.S. citizen children in San Antonio without parents.

Hector V. was detained during an ICE raid at the Allston Car Wash in November 2025 alongside eight coworkers. Though he had legal work authorization, he remained in custody due to an outstanding removal order from a 2007 hearing he missed because he is illiterate and was given incorrect information. After spending five months in the overcrowded South Texas ICE Processing Center under harsh conditions, he elected to self-deport at the end of January and was deported to El Salvador in mid-April, 11 weeks after making that choice. His attorney filed a motion to hold the government in contempt for failing to schedule a required bond hearing and a motion to reopen his case, both of which were denied.

María de la Luz Loredo was detained at El Valle ICE Processing Center in Raymondville, Texas, when she learned her 17-year-old son had died in a shooting in Houston. After receiving this news, she reports being placed in solitary confinement and stripped of clothing, confined with only a blanket as punishment for crying. While detained, she was separated from her four children, including a 1-year-old still breastfeeding. Loredo states the only immigration check-in she missed was to be present at another son's deathbed during cancer treatment in 2020.

Children's entertainer Ms. Rachel appeared on MSNBC to describe conditions at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas after speaking with detained families. She reported undrinkable water, worms in the food, rotten food, and dangerously inadequate medical care for children in ICE custody.

On April 21, 2026, ICE agents arrested brothers Israel Makoka (18) and Max Makoka (15) at a bus stop in Diamondhead, Mississippi, using 10 unmarked vehicles and zip-ties without prior notice to their host family or school. Israel was shackled during transport to Louisiana and pressured to sign self-deportation papers; Max was isolated in a Texas youth shelter. The detention stemmed from a paperwork issue caused by faulty legal advice. Both brothers were released on April 30, 2026, after nine days in custody and have returned home to their host family while pursuing legal options to remain in the country.

Approximately 200 to 1,400 detainees at North Lake Processing Facility, a 1,800-bed ICE detention center in Baldwin, Michigan, began a hunger and labor strike on Monday, April 21, 2026, to protest conditions including medical neglect, slow ICE communication, and prolonged confinement. The facility, operated by private prison company GEO Group, holds detainees with average stays of 49 days, though some have been held for nearly six months. By Wednesday morning, detainees in at least one unit had stopped the strike.

Nearly 100 detainees at Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County launched a hunger strike between April 16-19, 2026, to protest detention conditions and medical care. The strike began after a detainee became ill with influenza on April 16, with 50-70 detainees in the same housing pod initially refusing an evening meal due to food contamination concerns. Advocacy groups reported that detainees were protesting unsafe living conditions, including contaminated food, inadequate medical care, and staff indifference to medical emergencies, with reports of a recent medical emergency in which a detainee lost consciousness without receiving proper care. Advocacy group Frontline DIGNITY called for the facility's shutdown and independent investigation. Clearfield County commissioners met with GEO Group leadership, the facility operator, to address the incident.

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.

Gabriela Lozano Sousa, a Venezuelan national who entered the U.S. legally in 2023 through a humanitarian parole program, married U.S. citizen Brandon Garrison in April 2025, believing it would put her on a path to legal residency. In October 2025, a domestic-dispute call brought local police to the scene, who turned her over to federal immigration authorities; no criminal charges resulted. ICE classified her as an 'arriving immigrant,' subjecting her to mandatory detention without a bond hearing, and she was held at a facility in Baker County, Florida. Her attorneys argued the classification was legally incorrect. The couple had filed an I-130 petition on her behalf, under review since November 2025. A federal judge dismissed her immigration case in spring 2026, and she was released after roughly six months in detention, though federal authorities retained 30 days to appeal, leaving her future status uncertain.

Rogelio Bolufé Izquierdo, a 44-year-old Cuban national detained at Torrance County Detention Facility in New Mexico, organized approximately 200 detainees into a group called the Union of Those Kidnapped by ICE to document poor conditions including inadequate water access, spoiled food, insufficient medical care, and unsanitary sewage leaks. Izquierdo, who entered legally in 2020 but overstayed his visa, has filed multiple habeas corpus petitions challenging his indefinite civil detention without bail, while his fiancée documents his case and advocacy efforts.

Alejandro Cabrera Clemente, 49, from Valle de Santiago, Guanajuato, Mexico, had spent approximately 25 years in the United States and was married to a U.S. citizen, though he had not obtained legal residency status. He was arrested by ICE on January 8, 2026, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and transferred through multiple facilities in Tennessee and Alabama over five days in handcuffs before arriving at Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana on January 13. During his three months in ICE custody, he suffered from fever, high blood pressure, and back and throat pain. ICE stated they provided him medication. On April 11, 2026, at approximately 8 a.m., he was found unresponsive with left-sided facial paralysis and cyanosis. Staff called emergency medical services and attempted resuscitation, transferring him by ambulance to Winn Parish Medical Center, where medical personnel continued life-saving measures. He was pronounced deceased at approximately 8:51 a.m. His sister was located in Atlanta by Guanajuato's Human Rights Secretariat, which offered funeral assistance and possible repatriation. His death was one of multiple ICE custody deaths reported in early 2026.

Marie-Thérèse Ross, an 86-year-old French citizen and widow, was arrested by ICE agents on April 1, 2026, at her home in Anniston, Alabama, for overstaying her 90-day tourist visa. Ross had entered the U.S. in June 2025 on a Visa Waiver Program to marry William Ross, a retired U.S. military veteran whom she had known since the 1950s after meeting him while he was stationed at a NATO base in France. After her husband died unexpectedly in January 2026, she fell out of legal status and became involved in a contested probate dispute with her late husband's stepsons over his estate. She was handcuffed at her home and transferred to an immigration detention facility in Basile, Louisiana, where she was held for 16 days in dormitory conditions with approximately 58-70 other women. Despite suffering from pre-existing heart and back problems, she experienced deteriorating health during detention and reported post-traumatic stress symptoms. An Alabama judge noted that her stepson, a former state trooper and federal employee, may have used his position to prompt her detention. Following intervention by the French foreign minister and the French Consul General, who visited her twice and coordinated with U.S. officials, Ross was released and returned to France.

Ankit Ankit, a native and citizen of India, entered the United States on March 6, 2024, near Tecate, California, without inspection. ICE officers took him into custody on April 17, 2026, and transferred him to the Desert View Annex facility in Adelanto, California. The court granted his petition for a bond hearing, ordering ICE to provide an individualized bond hearing within seven days.

Willian Yacelga Benalcazar fled criminal gang threats in Ecuador and sought asylum in the U.S. after crossing the border in August 2023. He was detained for five months across multiple ICE facilities, where he reported catching a virus, poor conditions including contaminated water, and difficulty accessing food. Under the Trump administration's third-country deportation policy, he faced deportation to Honduras rather than Ecuador. After learning he could face three to four additional months in detention, he abandoned his asylum case and agreed to voluntary departure to Ecuador on April 16, 2026.

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.

A former international student from Bangladesh self-deported from the United States after spending months in immigration detention, which he described as inhumane conditions.

A lawyer for two detainees at a Florida immigration detention facility known as "Alligator Alcatraz" reported that guards allegedly beat and pepper-sprayed several detainees who had complained about lack of phone access needed to contact family and attorneys. The incident follows a pattern of reports documenting inhumane conditions at the facility.

Yousef Azizi, an Iranian researcher, journalist, and Virginia Tech PhD candidate who lived in the U.S. for 13 years with valid legal status, was arrested in a pre-dawn operation outside his Maryland home on April 13 shortly after dropping his children off at school. Heavily armed FBI agents with rifles drawn handed him over to ICE, and during three months in detention he was shackled and transferred over six days from Maryland to Louisiana, Arizona, and California, including two nights in a freezing Arizona facility with 30 others. Authorities alleged without presented evidence that he had been affiliated with the Basij organization, and a judge denied bond despite 250 pages of support letters from professors at the University of Michigan, Harvard, Virginia Tech, and other institutions. Azizi, a regular media commentator critical of U.S. and Israeli foreign policy, said an FBI agent twice threatened his wife, and he ultimately took a voluntary return to Iran, where he hopes to defend his dissertation remotely.

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.

Several ICE detainees were hospitalized after suffering heat-related illnesses while being transported by bus in Oklahoma on April 13, 2026. The transport bus, which was carrying detainees to an ICE facility in Watonga, stopped in Canadian County to provide medical assistance. Multiple detainees required hospital treatment for heat-related conditions.

Rev. Yeison Cortes Vasquez, a 46-year-old evangelical pastor at The Gathering Place Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey, was detained by ICE on March 20, 2026, while working a food delivery job. ICE cited an overstayed tourist visa from Colombia that expired in 2016, though church members stated Vasquez had an active asylum case and was following legal processes. During his approximately three-week detention at Delaney Hall in Newark, church leaders reported he was denied access to a Bible for at least a week; DHS denied these allegations and stated detainees may request religious items. While in custody, Vasquez ministered to other detainees. Members of Congress visited the facility and raised concerns about detention conditions. Vasquez was released on bond with GPS monitoring while awaiting removal proceedings. The National Latino Evangelical Coalition confirmed he has no criminal record.

Andriy Shepitsen, a 46-year-old Ukrainian man, has been detained in ICE custody since December 2025 at Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami. Despite being prescribed medications for bipolar disorder, major depression, and ADHD, detention staff denied him these drugs for over four months. In February 2026, Shepitsen began a hunger strike to protest detention conditions, which lasted 60 days and resulted in a 46-pound weight loss, causing him to develop life-threatening hypotensive shock and requiring hospitalization. He reported suicidal thoughts multiple times during his detention. Advocacy groups including Amnesty International USA and the ACLU of Florida demanded emergency medical intervention and his release.

The Trump administration revoked the lawful permanent resident status of several Iranian nationals and detained them via ICE enforcement actions in Los Angeles starting in early April 2026. Detainees included Seyed Eissa Hashemi, his wife Maryam Tahmasebi, their son Seyed Mobin Hashemi, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, her daughter Sarinasadat Hosseiny, and Dr. Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, a researcher removed from her position at Emory University. The Hashemi family were relatives of Masoumeh Ebtekar, who served as spokeswoman during the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran. Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were claimed to be relatives of slain Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, though both women and Soleimani's family denied any familial connection. Soleimani Afshar, who suffers from a severe blood disorder, was denied medical treatment while detained. Secretary Marco Rubio announced the coordinated enforcement action, stating the individuals should not have been permitted lawful permanent resident status given their connections to the Iranian government.