Human Impact Project

Luis Tenelanda, an Ecuadoran construction worker who lived in the United States for over 30 years, was detained by ICE and held at Butler County Jail in Ohio in June 2025. On June 8, 2025, Sgt. Corneal Rowe allegedly punched Tenelanda in the stomach after he joined other inmates in requesting their scheduled daily break, causing him to lose consciousness and sustain injuries to his stomach and arm. Witnesses report Rowe also used racial slurs against Tenelanda and other detainees. Jail staff allegedly failed to provide proper medical care following the assault. Tenelanda was deported to Ecuador in August 2025 and filed a federal civil lawsuit in May 2026 against Sheriff Richard Jones, Sgt. Corneal Rowe, and Butler County, alleging assault, civil rights violations, failure to train staff, and patterns of excessive force. An internal affairs investigation found Rowe used only "minimal force" but violated policy by not filing an incident report.

Yerlys Moreno López, a Venezuelan asylum seeker who entered the United States legally in 2024, was injured during an ICE enforcement encounter on May 19 after agents attempted to pull her over near her home on Detroit's eastside. According to her sworn statement and medical records, after crashing her SUV, she exited the vehicle and was tackled to the ground by ICE agents, sustaining a fractured kneecap, lacerations, head trauma, and injuries requiring emergency surgery. Medical records indicate she told hospital staff her injuries occurred after exiting the vehicle, contradicting ICE's account that she was injured in the crash itself. She was transferred to North Lake detention center despite doctors' recommendation for transfer to a Cincinnati ICE facility better equipped to meet her medical needs. Her attorneys filed a federal habeas corpus petition seeking her immediate release, citing inadequate medical care at the facility.

Lien Loung Saeteun, a 53-year-old Laotian refugee and lawful permanent resident, was abruptly re-detained by ICE on May 19, 2026, during a routine check-in after being on supervised release for over 20 years. Saeteun came to the U.S. as a child refugee in 1979 due to his father's service with the CIA in the Secret War in Laos. The federal court granted a temporary restraining order and ordered his immediate release, finding violations of due process and ICE regulations.

Jorge Luna Cruz, a Mexican national who entered the United States in 2003 at age 17 and lived in the country for approximately 23 years, was arrested by ICE on May 18, 2026, and charged with inadmissibility under INA § 212(a)(6)(A)(i). He was detained without a bond hearing based on the government's interpretation of 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2). The federal court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release, finding that his detention should have been governed by § 1226(a), which provides for a discretionary detention process with bond hearing rights.

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

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

A California man who arrived in the U.S. as a young boy with refugee status and held a green card had his sentence commuted in 2018. Instead of being released, he was shackled and transferred to an ICE processing center. After spending close to a year in ICE detention, he was released to continue his immigration case through the courts. In subsequent years he started a family and obtained employment. After the courts vacated his conviction last year, ICE has not recognized the case as cleared and a final deportation order remains in effect.

Three activists—Jac Archer, Justice Forral, and Bajun Mavalwalla II—were convicted on federal conspiracy charges on May 28, 2025, for their roles in a June 2025 protest at an ICE facility in Spokane aimed at preventing the transfer of two detained asylum seekers to a facility near Tacoma. The three defendants were among nine people arrested on federal charges stemming from the protest, which involved hundreds of demonstrators who blocked ICE vehicles for approximately nine hours. Six other protesters, including former City Council President Ben Stuckart who posted the social media call that mobilized the demonstration, accepted guilty pleas and received reduced sentences. The three convicted defendants face up to six years in prison and fines up to $250,000, and plan to appeal.

Mojtaba, an Iranian national who fled persecution for his participation in the Women, Life, Freedom movement, was released from ICE detention after 17 months. He won a bond hearing but faced a $35,000 bond set by Immigration Court. Hundreds of individuals and organizations raised the funds to secure his release, and he is now building a life in New Jersey.

Jose Floriberto Serrano Perez, a Mexican citizen who entered the US as a minor in 1996 and lived continuously in the country for 30 years with two US citizen children, was arrested and detained by ICE on May 18, 2026. He was transferred to the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia under mandatory detention provisions. The court ruled his detention unlawful and ordered his immediate release, finding that the detention statute does not apply to long-term residents arrested in the interior.

Luis Alberto Banos Gonzalez, a Cuban national who entered the United States on July 14, 2024, was arrested on May 17, 2026, by local law enforcement in Florida for Battery (Domestic Violence) under F.S. 784.03.1a1. He was subsequently transferred to ICE custody and detained at Golden State Annex Detention Facility in McFarland, California. The court granted his habeas corpus petition, finding his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause, and ordered respondents to provide an individualized bond hearing within 14 days or immediately release him.

An uncle and aunt who had attended yearly ICE check-ins since the early 1990s were suddenly detained during a routine check-in and held for over four months. During detention, they were denied access to medications for serious health conditions, and the aunt was transferred to Florence, Arizona without family or attorney notification. Both are stateless individuals from the former USSR facing potential deportation to an unknown country. They were released on January 16, 2026, and are now pursuing a legal appeal.

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

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

Wendy Hernandez Reyes, a 29-year-old undocumented immigrant and domestic violence survivor with no criminal record, was detained by Baldwin County sheriff's deputies in Alabama on January 8, 2026, during a traffic stop. After ICE was contacted, Hernandez repeatedly requested her release to care for her 2-year-old U.S. citizen son, Orlin, but was denied. She was deported to Honduras on January 26, 2026, without her son and was forced to leave him in the care of her brother-in-law, Samuel Maldonado Erazo. On March 4, 2026, Orlin died from multiple blunt force traumas inflicted by Maldonado, who was charged with first-degree murder. A federal court reopened a case against the Department of Homeland Security alleging ICE officials failed to follow safety protocols during separation and lacked a reunification plan, while ICE blamed Hernandez for leaving her son with the relative.

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

Mario Rojas Salazar is a Mexican citizen who entered the United States via Arizona in 1998 without inspection and has lived in the U.S. for 28 years. On May 15, 2026, while in Utah, he was stopped by local law enforcement during a traffic stop for a broken taillight and was subsequently placed in immigration detention at Mesa Verde Detention Center. ICE argued he could be detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), but the court rejected this argument, finding it inconsistent with prior precedent establishing that individuals who entered without inspection and were not apprehended upon arrival are not subject to mandatory detention. The court granted Rojas Salazar's petition for writ of habeas corpus on June 29, 2026, finding that his detention violated his procedural due process rights. The court ordered his immediate release and enjoined respondents from re-detaining him without providing notice and a pre-detention hearing before an immigration judge.

Alejandro Mauricio Valerio-Reyes, a Honduran citizen who entered the United States in August 2023, was paroled on September 21, 2023 with reporting requirements. On May 15, 2026, he appeared at his scheduled ICE check-in appointment in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he was taken into immigration custody. The court found that respondents failed to provide written notice of the reason for parole revocation and that the mandatory detention statute did not apply to paroled individuals. The court ordered his immediate release on his prior parole conditions and enjoined respondents from re-detaining him without notice and a pre-detention hearing before an immigration judge.

Isidro Cabanas-Reyes, a Mexican national who has resided in the United States since approximately 1997, was arrested by ICE agents on May 15, 2026, while entering his residence after walking his dogs. He is the father of one U.S. citizen son, age 20, who is autistic and currently resides in Mexico, and has U.S. citizen nephews and nieces in the United States. Cabanas-Reyes is a skilled electrician with no criminal convictions and no history of violence or criminal conduct during his nearly three decades of U.S. residence. He was seized without a warrant, without notice, and without an opportunity to contact counsel, and transferred directly to ICE custody at Delaney Hall Detention Facility in New Jersey, where he has been held since May 15, 2026. A Notice to Appear was issued on or about May 20, 2026, initiating removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review. He filed a habeas corpus petition seeking immediate release from custody or an individualized bond hearing, arguing his detention violates his Fifth Amendment due process rights and is arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act.

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

William Fabian Peralta-Malla, an Ecuadorian, was detained by ICE after being charged, but not convicted, in a vehicular manslaughter case. The government invoked the Laken Riley Act to justify mandatory detention based on the unproven charge alone. U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres ruled that detention without an individualized bond hearing violated due process, ordering a bond hearing within seven days and requiring the government to demonstrate clear and convincing evidence to justify continued detention.

Six people have been federally indicted in the Southern District of Georgia on charges of re-entering the United States after prior deportations. The defendants — Alejandro Mendoza-Hernandez, Didier Mora-Tino, Marcos Saraya-Canales, Porfirio Suarez-Olan, Luis Angel Velasquez-Montes, and Kenny Omar Diaz-Diaz — were arrested across multiple South Georgia counties including Long, Ware, Evans, Atkinson, and Chatham counties. According to prosecutors, all are citizens of Mexico or Honduras and were allegedly in the United States illegally after prior removals. The charge carries a maximum penalty of up to two years in federal prison, followed by deportation proceedings.

Jose Francisco Orellana-Rivera, a Honduran who entered the U.S. as a 4-year-old in 2001 and is a DACA recipient married to a U.S. citizen with two U.S.-citizen children, was detained by ICE without a pre-detention hearing. U.S. District Judge Hernán D. Vera ruled the detention violated his constitutional rights and due process protections, ordering ICE to release him immediately and barred re-detention without a proper bond hearing. He was arrested six times as an adult between 2016 and 2025, but all charges were dismissed and he has no criminal convictions.

Roberto Orozco-Ramirez, a diesel mechanic from Froid, Montana, was arrested by Border Patrol on January 25, 2026, on illegal re-entry charges. After the government dropped the felony charge in April 2026, he remained detained for over 100 days under the Trump administration's expanded mandatory detention policy for undocumented immigrants. On May 14-15, 2026, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Brian Morris ruled that Orozco-Ramirez's continued detention violated due process and constitutional rights, finding the administration's mandatory detention interpretation erroneous. The judge ordered his immediate release from the Cascade County Detention Center. Orozco-Ramirez, a father of four U.S. citizen children with no criminal record, had built a successful diesel repair business after living in the United States for 25 years.

Joe Ceballos, 55, a lawful permanent resident and twice-elected former mayor of Coldwater, Kansas, who immigrated from Mexico at age four, was detained by ICE on May 13-14, 2026, after pleading guilty in April 2026 to three misdemeanor counts of disorderly election conduct for voting without U.S. citizenship. Ceballos stated he mistakenly believed his permanent residency status allowed him to vote. He voted in elections in 2022, 2023, and 2024, and disclosed his voting history voluntarily during a naturalization interview. Under his plea deal, he received one year probation with a suspended six-month jail sentence, a $2,000 fine, and court fees. ICE subsequently initiated removal proceedings, citing voting as a removable offense, and took Ceballos into custody at its detention facility in Wichita, where he now faces potential deportation to Mexico.

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

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

Victor Manuel Rocha, a Colombian national, was targeted for denaturalization after being convicted of serving as an unregistered agent for Cuba. He admitted to beginning espionage for Cuba in 1973, before naturalizing in 1978, and falsely represented under oath that he was not affiliated with the Communist Party and had not committed unreported crimes.

George Ofuan Oyakhire, a Nigerian national, was targeted for denaturalization after obtaining citizenship on March 22, 1996, under the false name Oliver Bennett Oyakhire. He first entered the U.S. in 1986 under his true name but obtained temporary resident status in 1988 and permanent residence in 1990 using the false identity.

Debashis Ghosh, an Indian national, was targeted for denaturalization after conspiring to defraud investors of $2.5 million intended for aircraft maintenance facility construction before and after naturalizing in 2012. Ghosh falsely testified that he had never committed crimes on his naturalization application.

Abduvosit Razikov, an Uzbekistani national, was denaturalized after engaging in multiple sham marriages to obtain immigration benefits. Between 2005 and 2012, Razikov paid a U.S. citizen approximately $5,000 for a sham marriage, arranged another for his partner in 2007, and orchestrated a third marriage after obtaining naturalization. USCIS and the Department of Justice filed the denaturalization lawsuit as part of a broader action against 12 individuals accused of serious offenses.

Oscar Alberto Pelaez, a former Colombian priest, is facing revocation of his U.S. citizenship after the Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit alleging he deliberately concealed his crimes during naturalization. Pelaez was granted citizenship in 2001, but pleaded guilty in 2002 to 13 felonies for sexually abusing a 14-year-old parishioner between 1998 and 2000. He had falsely attested on his citizenship application that he had no criminal record. The case was revived following a recent investigation as part of a broader effort to identify cases where immigration benefits were obtained through false information.

Marlon Juvenal Chavez Merchan, a native and citizen of Ecuador, is currently detained at Otay Mesa Detention Facility in ICE custody. He filed a habeas corpus petition alleging that ICE violated his due process rights by detaining him without a bond determination hearing. The court conditionally appointed counsel and issued a limited stay to prevent his removal from the district pending a reasoned decision.

Federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations executed coordinated search warrants on May 13-14, 2026, targeting VC Defensa, an immigrant rights organization in Ventura County, California. Over 100 agents raided the homes of multiple volunteers and the organization's Oxnard office, seizing electronic devices including phones, computers, and USB drives. During the operations, agents pointed guns at residents, handcuffed activist Leonardo Martinez and the 16-year-old son of volunteer Alexandria Quintanar, and broke down doors. No arrests were made and authorities did not publicly disclose the basis for the searches or specific criminal allegations. All detainees were released from federal custody, and VC Defensa and allied organizations stated they would contest the raids in court.

Maria Betania Uzcategui Castillo, a Venezuelan asylum-seeker with valid work authorization through 2030, and her two elementary school-aged children—Victor Uzcategui-Labrador Jr. (age 11) and Monserrat Uzcategui-Labrador (age 8)—were detained by ICE agents on April 27, 2026, at a school bus stop in Alamo Heights, Texas. The family, who had arrived at the U.S. border in 2021 seeking asylum and had complied with prior immigration requirements with a court date scheduled for 2027, were transported to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. The children, both students at Cambridge Elementary in Alamo Heights Independent School District, were reported as deeply traumatized by the detention. Community organizing efforts, including a rally and fundraising campaign that raised over $28,000 for legal fees, followed the arrest. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia ordered their release on May 13, 2026, and the family was released on May 14, pending immigration hearings.

Dany Donaldo Hernández, a Guatemalan man with stage 4 cancer, was detained by ICE on May 13, 2026, while en route to a chemotherapy appointment at UAB Hospital in Birmingham. Hernández, who arrived in the U.S. in 2019 seeking asylum with his son, had been undergoing cancer treatment after a 16-hour surgery two years ago and was recently found to have recurrent cancer and lymph node involvement. Since his arrest, he has missed at least two chemotherapy sessions and his family is seeking humanitarian parole to allow him to continue treatment outside of custody.

Wardy Alfonso Liberato, a noncitizen, is currently detained at the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora, Colorado. He filed a habeas corpus petition seeking immediate release from custody along with a motion for temporary restraining order. The court ordered that respondents cannot remove Liberato from Colorado or the United States until the court or appeals court vacates the order.

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

Dionel Florian-Garcia, a Guatemalan citizen who worked at an Arlington grocery store for 12 years, was arrested by ICE on January 14, 2026, outside his workplace on a charge of illegal reentry subsequent to a felony conviction. Florian-Garcia had been removed from the U.S. twice previously (in 2010 and 2012) and reentered the country. He was indicted on February 12 and pleaded guilty in federal court on February 24, 2026. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 12, 2026.

Javier Everardo Saavedra Rocha, who has resided in the United States since 1999, was detained by immigration authorities on May 12, 2026, and had not received a bond hearing. The court converted his motion for temporary restraining order to a preliminary injunction motion and ordered that he be provided an individualized bond hearing within ten days, but denied his request for immediate release.

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

Juan David Arango-Caicedo, a 28-year-old Colombian immigrant who had lived legally in the U.S. for over three years, was detained by ICE at a check-in appointment in May 2026. He became temporarily out of status when his lawyer failed to meet a deadline to file necessary paperwork following his marriage to a U.S. citizen, Nicole, despite having an approved green card petition from USCIS and valid work authorization. He was held at Moshannon Valley Processing Center while his wife pursued legal proceedings for his release. Arango-Caicedo was among 4,400 people whom federal judges determined were unlawfully detained by ICE during President Donald Trump's administration.

José Contreras Díaz, a 30-year-old DACA recipient from Edinburg, Texas, was arrested by ICE agents during a routine check-in appointment in January 2026 and deported to Honduras despite his valid protected status. After his attorney challenged the deportation citing federal court precedent, immigration authorities granted him parole to return to the United States. Upon arrival at Harlingen Airport on April 29, 2026, ICE agents detained him at Port Isabel Detention Center rather than releasing him as expected. He was released on May 7-8, 2026, after more than three months of separation from his family, including missing the birth of his son. He continues to face removal proceedings.

Marcelo Jerez, a Dominican Republic national who entered Puerto Rico in 2001 without proper admission, was stopped by four ICE vans on May 11, 2026 while en route to work despite committing no traffic infractions or crimes. He is married to a U.S. citizen and has a one-year-old U.S. citizen child with a serious medical condition. A federal court denied his emergency motion for temporary restraining order and upheld his mandatory detention under Section 1225 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Regino Mendez Quintana, a Mexican citizen who entered the United States without inspection in November 1986 and lived in the country for nearly 40 years, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on May 11, 2026. The government initially claimed he was subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), but the court found his detention governed by § 1226(a). The court granted in part the petition for habeas corpus, ordering respondents to provide Petitioner with an individualized bond hearing before an immigration judge within seven days, while denying his request for immediate release.

Debashis Ghosh, a 62-year-old Indian-American businessman, faces denaturalization after the Department of Justice moved to revoke his U.S. citizenship. Ghosh became a U.S. citizen in 2012 but falsely claimed during his naturalization application that he had no criminal history. He was convicted of wire fraud in 2017 involving a $2.5 million investor fraud scheme from 2010-2014, which he concealed during citizenship proceedings. Authorities allege he conspired to defraud investors of funds intended for an aircraft maintenance facility and misrepresented the safekeeping of investor money. Ghosh is among 12 individuals targeted by the Justice Department for denaturalization on various charges including fraud, war crimes, and support for terrorist groups.

The DOJ filed denaturalization actions against Ali Yousif Ahmed Al-Nouri, a Phoenix-area resident, alleging he obtained U.S. citizenship through fraud by claiming al-Qaida attacked him and his family when entering in 2009. Al-Nouri is accused of killing two Iraqi police officers in 2006 while acting as a leader of al-Qaida, and Iraq requested his extradition in 2019. The DOJ determined in 2015 that he had lied during the naturalization process.

Roman Husar, 37, a Ukrainian artist who arrived in the U.S. in 2023 with his wife, son, and cat under a Biden administration Ukrainian sponsorship program, was arrested in Texas in September for marijuana possession while driving home from Burning Man. After ICE detained him, authorities attempted to deport him to Ukraine despite his conscientious objector status and risk of imprisonment or death if forced to return to the war zone. Husar was denied a bond hearing and assigned to an immigration judge with no immigration experience. Despite holding letters of support from U.S. citizen relatives and church pastors, and despite his attorney's assessment that he had a strong asylum case, Husar withdrew his asylum application and accepted voluntary departure to Turkey or Poland.

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.