Human Impact Project

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 309 people during a four-day operation in Palm Beach County from July 6 through July 10, 2026. Among those detained was the owner of a Guatemalan bakery in Lake Worth Beach. The operation was a joint effort involving federal, state, and local law-enforcement agencies, including more than 100 agents and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office under the state's 287(g) agreements mandated by Governor Ron DeSantis. Of the 309 arrested, only 11 had legal violations beyond their immigration status, such as DUI, drug charges, or driving without a license, and one person was identified as a suspected member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

Between July 6–10, 2026, federal, state, and local law enforcement arrested 309 undocumented immigrants during a five-day immigration enforcement operation in Palm Beach County conducted under the federal 287(g) program. More than 100 federal, state, and county personnel participated, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Border Patrol, Florida Highway Patrol's Criminal Apprehension Team, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, with support from the Florida National Guard and Florida State Guard. Jacob Zapeta-Castro was among those detained during the enforcement activity, arrested at his bakery where he worked. The operation drew community concern and outrage over the detention methods and scope of the sweep.

ICE agents conducted enforcement operations in Clark County on Wednesday and Thursday, detaining at least 28 people who are being held at Clark County Jail. The Clarksville Police Department headquarters served as a staging area for federal agents. Community members reported increased ICE presence at locations including a Home Depot parking lot in Clarksville where Latino workers typically seek employment, and immigrant services organizations said clients canceled appointments out of fear of leaving their homes. Noe Muñoz, owner of El Mañanero Breakfast Spot, closed his restaurant Thursday due to community fear after his brother was pulled over by a Corydon police officer in an unmarked vehicle on Wednesday during what appeared to be a pretextual traffic stop that resulted in no citation; Corydon, more than 20 miles from Clarksville, is reportedly the only police department in southern Indiana enrolled in a program allowing it to act on behalf of ICE. Local activism groups expressed concerns about the enforcement operation.

The Bay County Sheriff's Office conducted multiple immigration enforcement operations in partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, resulting in 55 arrests for allegedly being in the United States unlawfully. The operations were conducted by deputies assigned to the 287(g) program in partnership with ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations and Homeland Security Investigations units.

Eight workers were detained during an ICE and Homeland Security Investigations operation at La Fontanella Foods, a food manufacturing warehouse in Kansas City's Historic Northeast, on July 9, 2026. The operation began around 9:45 a.m. and lasted approximately two and a half hours, involving seven to ten federal agents and Jackson County sheriff deputies. A worker reported that agents initially stated no one would be taken into custody and were there only to obtain documents, but later detained the eight people. Agents removed boxes of documents and computers from the facility. Federal officials claimed they were executing a federal criminal search warrant, but no witnesses or employees saw the warrant, and one officer acknowledged not personally carrying a copy. The operation was part of intensified ICE enforcement across the Kansas City metro during June and July 2026.

Jacob Zepeta-Castro, owner of the El Quetzal bakery in Lake Worth Beach, was arrested by ICE agents and Florida Highway Patrol troopers after an hours-long standoff that drew a crowd of officers, protesters and passersby. He was charged with defying deportation orders by returning to Florida more than once from his native Guatemala; his family said he was working legally and had a pending asylum application. Zepeta-Castro's family and advocates disputed ICE's claim that he tried to ram an agent's car, saying he locked the bakery's doors to protect his employees and surrendered voluntarily as his distraught children watched. A federal judge has ordered him held without bond at a Stuart detention facility, ruling his asylum application is no defense against the reentry charge.

Yeferson Jose Canamo-Jordan, a 28-year-old Venezuelan national, and Felipe Fernando Reymundo, a 23-year-old Guatemalan national, were arrested by ICE during vehicle stops in Upper Marlboro on July 9, 2026, after being released from Prince George's County Detention Center. Both men had been released from county custody after their charges were dismissed or resolved. Canamo-Jordan entered the U.S. in August 2022 and has been convicted of driving without a valid license and recently charged with assault. Reymundo entered without inspection and has faced arrests since 2025 on charges including arson and motor vehicle theft. ICE alleged Canamo-Jordan was affiliated with Tren de Aragua. The arrests followed Prince George's County's decision to decline ICE detainers; the county executive signed an executive order in February banning the use of county property as immigration detention facilities.

Jacob Zapeta Castro, a Guatemalan immigrant and owner of El Quetzal bakery in Lake Worth Beach, was arrested by ICE and Florida Highway Patrol on July 9, 2026, after a traffic stop attempt. Approximately 25 to 30 federal and state officers surrounded his bakery for hours. His teenage children, ages 13 and 15, were present during the operation and were questioned by officers; family members and advocates described the children as being used as leverage to force his surrender. ICE alleged Zapeta Castro had prior deportations and a criminal history including DUI arrests, hit and run, and resisting law enforcement, and claimed he attempted to ram an ICE vehicle before fleeing into the bakery. However, his family, coworkers, and community advocates disputed these characterizations, describing him as hardworking and tax-paying. Employee Gilmer Zapeta, who has worked for Jacob for three years, stated that Jacob voluntarily surrendered. Community advocate Mariana Blanco of the Guatemalan Maya Center confirmed Zapeta Castro held a valid work permit and driver's license. Officers cited a federal offense of illegal re-entry after prior deportation.

A man was detained by ICE during a late-night traffic stop on Collins Hill Road in Lawrenceville, Georgia, while returning home with his teenage daughter Evelyn. Officers provided no explanation for the detention and left Evelyn, a minor, unattended at the scene. Evelyn describes her father as a hardworking provider who supports the family's bills and daily expenses. The family is seeking financial assistance to secure his release.

Two residents of Bend were arrested by ICE on July 8, 2026 at approximately 6:45 a.m. near the Deschutes Memorial Chapel and Gardens. Video footage shows two masked individuals in bulletproof vests apprehending the individuals from an unmarked red Jeep SUV and gray Dodge Durango. The Bend Police Department and Deschutes County Sheriff's Office were not aware of ICE presence in the area. The individuals were transported to the Tacoma Northwest Detention Center. The Latino Community Association has been in contact with the families and is offering wraparound support services.

Federal immigration enforcement in the San Antonio region has intensified, with ICE data showing nearly 1,500 arrests since January 2025. The arrests include approximately 900 people with criminal convictions, over 400 facing pending criminal charges, and about 140 accused of other immigration violations. Local families report increased pressure and concern, particularly after recent enforcement operations at Hardberger Park and plans for a new ICE detention facility on the East Side. One woman described her husband's arrest after he and coworkers were stopped while leaving a city work site, noting that workers have become targets at job locations.

ICE lodged an immigration detainer against Alfonso Vasquez-Morales, a Mexican national, after he was charged in a fatal DUI crash that killed 69-year-old motorcyclist William Richard Sauer. Vasquez-Morales told deputies he had consumed several beers before crossing into oncoming traffic and striking Sauer's motorcycle. He told ICE officers he entered the U.S. without authorization through Arizona about three years ago. The Washington County Sheriff's Office, a 287(g) partner, facilitated the transfer of custody to ICE.

Luis Jaime-Fortin, 29, was involved in a traffic crash in Zilwaukee on July 7, 2026, after allegedly failing to yield while driving without a license, insurance, registration, or identification. Zilwaukee Police Chief Jason Wise contacted federal immigration authorities to verify his identity, then cited him for driving without a license and failing to yield before releasing him at the scene without arrest. Jaime-Fortin was later among nine workers arrested in the July 25 ICE raid at a Saginaw Township fiber optic worksite. The Latino Caucus of the Saginaw County Democratic Party criticized Wise's decision to involve federal immigration authorities, while Wise defended his actions by citing public safety concerns.

Mario Bojorjes, a North Liberty construction worker and father of three with a pending permanent residency case, was detained by ICE on July 7 after an Iowa State Trooper stopped him on Interstate 80 for a window tint violation. During the traffic stop, the trooper conducted an immigration inquiry that led to Bojorjes' arrest. He has no criminal record and was his family's primary source of income. Bojorjes is currently being held on an ICE hold at the Linn County Jail.

Ignacio Carrizalez, a Mexican national with work authorization and an active citizenship application, was detained by ICE agents on April 28, 2026, after Evans City Police stopped his vehicle for an expired registration. ICE agents surrounded his car, and after he refused to answer questions about his citizenship status, he was taken to Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County. His wife, Amanda Smail-Carrizalez, a U.S. citizen, reported agents removed him "violently" from the vehicle. While detained, Carrizalez missed a scheduled permanent residency hearing on June 1st, and an immigration judge subsequently ordered him to either self-deport or be deported. On June 26, 2026, he was unexpectedly released after more than two months in custody, just before he was scheduled to be transferred to a facility in Mexico, with his deportation date postponed to September 2026. His wife testified before Butler County Commissioners about the financial and psychological toll on their six-year-old daughter with autism, who experienced nightmares, and the family applied for public assistance following his arrest.

Seyo Cecunjanin, a West Hartford restaurant and laundry business owner from Montenegro, was arrested by ICE on June 20, 2026, in a Dunkin' Donuts parking lot surrounded by five unmarked vehicles while with two of his sons. He was detained at Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls, Rhode Island for approximately 12 days. Cecunjanin entered the U.S. in 1997 using a fraudulent passport and had an outstanding removal order, but had been permitted to reenter in 2024 and maintained valid work authorization at the time of his arrest. He owns two restaurants and a laundry business employing 15 people and has a pending permanent resident application filed in September 2023. U.S. Rep. John Larson and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, along with other members of Connecticut's congressional delegation, held a press conference and sent letters to ICE demanding his release, citing his valid work authorization and pending immigration case. Cecunjanin was released on June 26, 2026 (or July 2, 2026 according to another account).

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.

An Egyptian citizen entered the United States in June 2024 without inspection and was released on his own recognizance into removal proceedings. He settled in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, where he worked at a diner and had no criminal record. On July 2, 2026, he was arrested while walking along a road by local police, who turned him over to ICE, and he has since been detained without bond at the Pike County Correctional Facility. He has no final order of removal. He filed a habeas corpus petition arguing he was being unlawfully held under the INA's mandatory detention provision, 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b), rather than the discretionary provision, 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), which entitles detainees to a bond hearing, and that his detention without a bond hearing violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights. The court agreed, finding that § 1225(b)(2)(A) applies only to noncitizens actively seeking admission at the border, not those already residing in the U.S., and granted the petition. The court ordered Respondents to immediately release him and permanently enjoined them from detaining him under § 1225(b), though he may be redetained under § 1226(a) with notice and a timely bond hearing before an immigration judge.

Jose Acosta, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras who had lived in the U.S. since 2018 while awaiting a green card decision, was detained on July 2 while sitting in his parked truck outside a construction job site in Harmar, Pennsylvania. Springdale Borough police and ICE, operating under a 287(g) task force agreement signed in November, carried out the joint arrest and transported him to ICE's field office in Pittsburgh. Aside from a 2023 traffic stop, Acosta had no other encounters with law enforcement. His wife, Yaquelin Vasques, is now raising their three children alone and said she hopes he could be released in two to three years.

Jose Raul Martinez-Alvarado, 40, from Honduras, was arrested by New Bedford Police on June 7 after officers found him in an apartment where a group of men were fighting and residual cocaine was present. He was charged with possession of a large capacity firearm, carrying a firearm without a license, and resisting arrest. He posted $500 bail on June 8 and an additional $1,000 bond on June 9, after which he was released from Bristol County Jail; he was then picked up by ICE on July 2. The case sparked a public dispute after ICE Boston posted on social media that the jail had released him without honoring an ICE detainer, prompting Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux to respond that detainers are not legally binding, citing a 2017 Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling barring local and county law enforcement from holding individuals solely on detainers and a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision limiting state enforcement of federal immigration law. Heroux accused ICE of acting in an unprofessional and partisan manner and called for accountability within the agency.