Human Impact Project

Ernesto Alejandro Perez-Garcia, a Mexican national, was arrested by ICE agents while on his morning walk along the Redondo Beach esplanade. He initially denied his identity but admitted the truth after agents showed him a previous mugshot. Perez-Garcia has a lengthy arrest history dating to 2003 and had previously been deported, later re-entering the U.S. multiple times; he said his children live in the United States and he does not know what will happen next. Redondo Beach police had twice declined to honor ICE detainer requests for him, in 2020 and 2026.

Federal immigration agents detained three men in a white Jeep in the Westcott neighborhood of Syracuse, stopping the vehicle in the 400 block of Westcott Street. Witnesses said two of the men complied with ICE agents, but the driver tried to flee and was tasered several times before being tackled by ICE agents. Syracuse police officers, who initially stopped to assist thinking it was a local warrant execution, backed off once they realized it was an ICE operation and later only wrote a crash report at ICE's request. The men, who have not been identified, were taken to ICE's Central New York headquarters in Mattydale; the incident is one of more than 80 similar detentions reported in Onondaga County in the first two-and-a-half months of the year.

An airline gate manager known by the pseudonym Laurie learned that ICE agents had returned to her airport looking for a specific passenger and called the woman directly to warn her before she reached the gate. The passenger, who was traveling with a family member and said she did not understand why ICE was looking for her despite having "all my papers," decided not to board her flight after speaking privately with Laurie. She left the airport with her family member, and no arrest was made at the gate that day.

Two U.S. citizens were physically assaulted by ICE agents in the Bensenville suburb of Chicago, Illinois while observing and filming an immigration enforcement action. One woman said she repeatedly told agents she was a U.S. citizen, but they yanked her to the ground while trying to grab her phone and then shot her with a taser. A second U.S. citizen was taken by ambulance to the hospital in critical condition, with a witness saying he had been hit repeatedly.

Volunteers and immigration advocates launched a 'Know Your Rights Week' campaign in Queens, going door to door to educate residents about responding to ICE encounters. The effort was inspired by volunteer Odilia Gonzalez, whose undocumented brother from Mexico was detained for months after being stopped on his way to work. Local officials said their offices have received numerous calls about ICE detentions in the community, and some also called for restoring Temporary Protected Status for Haitians after its termination.

Federal immigration agents conducted a traffic stop and arrested three men Saturday near the Akimel Smoke Shop on Gila River Indian Community land off Interstate 10 at Riggs Road. According to the Community, the men were not enrolled tribal members or residents. Gila River Police responded to the scene but were not involved in the stop, and tribal leaders said the incident raises concerns about the community's sovereignty. Tribal leaders issued an advisory urging members to carry tribal identification and know their rights when approached by federal agents.

ICE agents entered a business near SW Sedgwick Road and Sidney Road SW in Port Orchard and attempted to arrest a person wanted on an immigration warrant, prompting the person to flee on foot with agents in pursuit. A customer called 911 reporting the incident, and Port Orchard Police Department officers responded to verify the agents' credentials but were not notified before the operation and did not assist. It is unknown whether the person was ultimately arrested.

Multiple armed ICE agents in at least four vehicles arrived at the Morris Law Group, an immigration law firm in North Natomas, claiming to have a list from Washington, D.C. listing the building's address as a primary mailing address for numerous people. The agents requested to tour the office for beds, stating they could return at 3 a.m. to break windows and enter if they received follow-up orders. Law firm owner Raissa Morris instructed her staff to deny entry without a warrant. After approximately one hour, building manager Daniel Azurduy arrived and told the agents they were trespassing; they left shortly after. UC Davis Law Professor Kevin Johnson noted the tactic was unprecedented and questioned its legality, stating agents would need a warrant to search for evidence.

More than 140 detainees at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma are on a hunger strike to protest insufficient and unsanitary food, lack of medical care, and poor detention conditions. According to La Resistencia, detainees are being denied adequate meals and medical attention by GEO Group, the private company operating the facility, with meal times delayed for hours and food quality described as unacceptable. The detainees are demanding better food and medical care.

Reny Jesús Colina Torres, a 27-year-old Venezuelan mariachi musician and trumpet player who works as a dishwasher at a Cracker Barrel, was detained by ICE agents during a vehicle stop near Culebra Road and North Navidad Street in San Antonio's Woodlawn Lake area on Monday morning while returning home from driving his brother-in-law to work. His sister said he previously applied for asylum and has work authorization while his immigration court case proceeds, with his next hearing scheduled for January. DHS stated that Colina Torres was in the country illegally and would remain in custody during removal proceedings, though his family said they entered through an official port of entry two years ago to escape dire economic conditions in Venezuela. He was sent to the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, the same facility where his friend and fellow mariachi musician Hebert Kaleth Ibarra Castro was detained in late June before being released on bond.

Carolina Molina, a U.S. citizen, licensed mental health therapist, and counselor working with immigration lawyers, was confronted at gunpoint by an ICE agent on August 10, 2026, in a Falls Church parking lot. Molina was distributing business cards with immigration legal services when she witnessed ICE agents conducting enforcement operations on two Latino men. After shouting profanities at the agents from her car window, ICE vehicles boxed in her vehicle and an agent drew his firearm and pointed it at her through her driver's-side window. The agent accused her of attempting to run them over and following the agents; Molina denied the allegations and stated she was turning her car around to avoid drawing attention to an immigration attorney's office. Molina recorded the interaction on dashcam and cellphone video, which contradicted the federal account according to local officials. Though the Department of Homeland Security claimed Molina was "weaponizing her vehicle" against officers, no charges were filed. Democratic Representatives Don Beyer and Suhas Subramanyam called for accountability, with Beyer describing Molina as a mother and noting the incident reflects a pattern of DHS misconduct.

Eric Ornelas, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen, says ICE detained him after he recorded an immigration enforcement operation. According to Ornelas, ICE used him as bait to apprehend his father. ICE has not responded to media inquiries about the specific details of Ornelas' encounter.

Tonny Quesada-Ramirez, a Costa Rican national who has lived in the United States for approximately 26 years, was detained by ICE agents on August 7, 2026, while working on a home addition project one block from his residence in the South Orange-Maplewood area. He lives with his wife and two children, one of whom has Down's syndrome. Quesada-Ramirez had begun the green card application process when he was detained and is being held at Delaney Hall ICE detention center in Newark pending removal proceedings. At least four other people, including Omar Alvarez (a sous chef) and two men who work at a roofing company, were detained in the area during the same enforcement activity. A neighbor who had hired Quesada-Ramirez for various carpentry jobs over five years started a GoFundMe that surpassed $36,000, and community members raised over $50,000 total through documenting the enforcement activity, connecting families with resources and attorneys, and fundraising efforts.

Luis (Kike) Espinoza, an Executive Chef who has lived legally in the United States since 2022 with a valid work permit, was detained by ICE during what was supposed to be a routine monthly immigration court hearing in Texas. Espinoza, who formerly worked as head chef at El Secreto de Rosita restaurant, moved to Texas to build a life and support his two children in Peru. His sister, Cinthia Espinoza, who works as a chef at Nabiha restaurant, is organizing a GoFundMe campaign to help cover legal costs as the family works with an attorney to seek his release. The community has described Espinoza as a beloved member who has given much to the people around him.

Debora Kapisha, a registered nurse from Zambia working at Maine Medical Center in Portland, was detained by ICE on July 30 at Boston Logan Airport after her visa expired in November 2024. According to ICE, she entered the U.S. on May 14, 2024, and remained in the country after her visa expiration. Kapisha maintained a valid registered nurse license since June 2025 with no disciplinary action and argued she had legal work authorization while her asylum case was being adjudicated. The Maine State Nurses Association organized a rally within 24 hours of learning of her detention and mobilized community support, with over 100 Maine Medical Center nurses and supporters protesting alongside Democratic officials including Senate nominee Troy Jackson and gubernatorial nominee Hannah Pingree, describing her as a trusted, compassionate caregiver whose absence affected patient care. She was released from ICE custody on August 7 following the protests. The union and MaineHealth are working to sponsor her for permanent resident status through an EB-3 visa, for which skilled nurses are eligible and exempt from standard labor certification requirements.

ICE arrested Heriton Da Silva Aredes, a Brazilian national who had previously been deported in 2008 and later reentered the U.S., during a targeted operation in Taunton, Massachusetts. ICE stated he had prior convictions and was facing a pending charge of negligent vehicular homicide. ICE said local and state authorities released Aredes from custody on three occasions without honoring ICE detainers before he was ultimately arrested at large.

The Guardian's investigation reveals at least 10 cases since January 2025 in which ICE subjected detained immigrants to involuntary force-feeding through nasogastric tubes. Three cases are detailed: an Afghan man force-fed daily for nearly six months at Port Isabel in Texas starting September 2025; Andriy Shepitsen, a Ukrainian man with severe bipolar disorder, whose attorney intervened to stop his force-feeding at Krome Service processing center in Miami after 44 days on hunger strike; and a Saudi Arabian woman who went on hunger strike in Louisiana in June 2025 and was transferred to Texas, where ICE sought permission to force-feed her before she broke her strike. Medical experts and human rights organizations have condemned force-feeding as torture. In six of the 10 cases reviewed, detained immigrants lacked legal representation during court proceedings, and most records remain sealed.

Protesters are staging a tree-sit in Lochiel, Arizona to prevent Customs and Border Protection contractors from destroying a 200-year-old cottonwood tree in the path of new border wall construction. Contractors working for Fisher Sand and Gravel already crushed three large cottonwoods on July 27. Environmental activists, including members of the Sierra Club, say the wall threatens critical wildlife corridors and have drawn national attention to the demonstration.

Edwin Jovanny López Cornejo, a 39-year-old Salvadoran national who had lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years, died August 1, 2026, at University Hospital in Newark following a medical emergency at the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility. He suffered from epilepsy, diabetes, and high blood pressure requiring daily medication, and leaves behind a 12-year-old U.S. citizen daughter, Ashley. ICE arrested him June 18, 2026, in Plainfield, New Jersey, reviving a 2006 deportation order, though his family said he held a valid work permit. His mother, Maria Cornejo, said he called her feeling very ill with numbness in his face and hand after seeing a facility medical provider, and described him as hardworking and a good father, saying, "I lost him to the hands of immigration authorities." The ACLU of New Jersey and his family allege he was denied adequate medical care, which DHS denies, stating he received proper treatment. His death was the second at Delaney Hall since it opened in May 2025, following months of detainee complaints and lawsuits alleging denial of medication, and prompted Governor Mikie Sherrill and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka to call for the facility's closure.

Linda Wolff, a 72-year-old fashion stylist and longtime immigrant rights supporter, was pepper-sprayed by a masked ICE agent while filming federal agents near Inwood Hill Park in Manhattan. Wolff had gone to the area after learning of ICE's presence on social media and was recording near a community garden when an agent approached and sprayed her without any physical altercation. She said her eyes and skin burned afterward but continued documenting ICE activity in the neighborhood. Her attorney says she was exercising her First Amendment rights and has filed a claim against ICE under New York's newly enacted Bivens Act, allowing individuals to sue federal immigration agents in state court, in what he called one of the first tests of the statute. DHS said agents used pepper spray to control a crowd that became 'combative and verbally assaultive' while recovering a vandalized government van, adding that agents acted within their training using only minimal force.

Ana Castro, a long-time Wyoming resident and immigrant advocate who arrived as a child, is leaving the state amid fears for her safety as red state leaders increasingly cooperate with ICE and pursue hard-line immigration policies. Castro, who worked for a nonprofit and founded the Wyoming chapter of Juntos, an immigrant advocacy group, had spent decades contributing to her rural community despite lacking legal status. Immigrants comprise nearly 30% of rural Wyoming's recent population growth and fill critical gaps in service and construction jobs, but mounting deportation concerns are causing an exodus that threatens rural economies. State leaders acknowledge immigrants' economic importance while supporting stricter enforcement policies.

ICE agents conducting enforcement operations across New York City's five boroughs on July 30-31, 2026 were documented on video pepper-spraying a woman in Inwood, Manhattan who was filming them on her cellphone. The woman appeared to be documenting the agents' presence without provocation, according to witnesses. The same day, ICE agents were also spotted questioning a family in Bushwick, Brooklyn, checking passports including those of a young child, though the family was not detained. The reported surge in ICE activity marks an unusual increase in enforcement operations across neighborhoods including Inwood, East Elmhurst, College Point, and areas on Long Island, with agents conducting more vehicle stops than previously documented.

Hunger strikers at the Adelanto detention center in California faced retaliation from ICE officials after staging protests, according to attorneys with the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef). Detainees were zip-tied, threatened with teargas, placed in solitary confinement, and transferred to other ICE facilities. ICE officials denied that detainees were forgoing food and denied that retaliation was occurring, instead claiming that one detainee who led the hunger strike faced disciplinary actions for vague facility violations.

Adrián was detained by masked immigration agents outside his Chicago home on the morning of July 24 as he prepared to leave for the day, while his wife and children watched. According to his neighbor Sánchez, an immigration assistant who filmed the incident, agents emerged from several black vans, chased Adrián as he tried to return to his house, and subdued him on the ground with approximately six officers. During the detention, Adrián called out to his wife that he loved her and asked her to care for their children. Sánchez said one agent struck Adrián on the legs and another threatened him with an electronic device; when she asked whether agents had an arrest warrant, they said yes but did not show it. She said she was insulted while recording, and after roughly 15 minutes Adrián was transported to a processing center in Indiana.

Brandon Domena, a U.S. citizen and native of Passaic, New Jersey, was detained by ICE for approximately five hours after he questioned federal agents about why they were detaining one of his neighbors on July 23, 2026. Video footage shows multiple ICE agents in tactical gear restraining Domena face-down on a residential lawn, handcuffing him, and placing him in a vehicle while bystanders recorded. According to his family and witnesses, Domena repeatedly stated he was a U.S. citizen during the arrest. A witness reported that five agents restrained him and that his arm was nearly dislocated. Domena believes he was racially profiled. ICE has not released an official statement regarding his identity, citizenship status, or the reason for his detention.

An ICE operation in Sterling, Virginia on July 22 ended when a white pickup truck being pursued by federal agents crashed into a residential home after the driver fled an unsuccessful traffic stop. The vehicle rolled down a hill into the unoccupied residence, causing property damage. ICE agents made no arrests during the operation. The homeowner reported that neither ICE nor those involved have assumed responsibility for the damage.

Emma Landis, a 22-year-old activist and artist, was shot in the right foot by Brandon Booth, a 42-year-old off-duty employee of GEO Group, which operates the Aurora ICE Processing Center in Colorado, during a protest outside the facility on July 17, 2026. The shooting occurred after a verbal confrontation when facility employees began mocking and threatening protesters on the sidewalk. Landis called 911 herself after Booth and his colleagues fled the scene and was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. She requires six to eight weeks of bed rest, which has prevented her from working and engaging in her hobbies. Despite her injury, Landis returned to protest at the facility on Sunday and told supporters she will continue to advocate for closing immigration detention in Colorado. Booth was arrested and charged with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, attempted first-degree assault, felony menacing, and unlawful carrying of a concealed weapon.

Phu Nguyen, a 57-year-old Australian citizen born in Vietnam, was confronted by plainclothes ICE agents at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on July 13, 2026. Video footage shows agents holding him on the ground and attempting to handcuff him while he was in Terminal 3. When onlookers and a TSA officer intervened, the agents walked away, leaving him with a handcuff attached to one wrist. Las Vegas police officers arrived and removed the handcuff after determining there were no outstanding warrants against him. According to DHS, Nguyen's valid two-year visa had expired in 2015. ICE arrested him the following day at Los Angeles International Airport, and he is currently held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center pending removal proceedings.

ICE agents detained Matar Ndiaye at an immigration court in Manhattan while he attended a mandatory asylum hearing, despite a May 2026 federal court order prohibiting such arrests. This marks at least the sixth arrest at Manhattan immigration courts since U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel's ruling. Ndiaye, a Bronx resident with no criminal convictions who had complied with all immigration directives, was transferred to Delaney Hall detention facility in New Jersey.

ChongLy 'Scott' Thao, a 56-year-old naturalized Hmong American U.S. citizen with no criminal record, was forcibly removed from his St. Paul home by ICE agents on January 18, 2026. Agents broke down his front door at gunpoint without a warrant and led him outside in sub-freezing conditions wearing only underwear and a blanket. Thao, who has severe psoriasis worsened by cold and stress, was held for over two hours, driven to an undisclosed location where he was photographed in the cold, then returned home after agents realized he was a U.S. citizen. ICE claimed agents were executing a warrant seeking two convicted sex offenders with ties to the property, but Thao stated he had never seen those men and they did not live with him; the Minnesota Department of Corrections later confirmed one of the wanted men was still imprisoned. Ramsey County Attorney John Choi and Sheriff Bob Fletcher announced in April 2026 they are investigating the incident as potential kidnapping, burglary, and false imprisonment. Thao's family is working with the ACLU of Minnesota and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office to pursue legal action.

On July 14, 2026, ICE agents conducted a targeted enforcement operation on residential streets in Laguna Vista, Texas, near South Padre Island. Witness Samantha Alarcón reported that multiple unmarked vehicles with masked agents pursued an SUV at high speed through narrow 20-mph residential streets, nearly running her off the road while she was driving with her son. After the SUV stopped in a home's driveway, the driver and another passenger fled on foot. An 18-year-old U.S. citizen remained in the back seat. Alarcón alleged agents entered a neighbor's yard, drew weapons, and pointed a gun at the teen. ICE said an agent drew his weapon when the teen began reaching into a tool bag after failing to follow orders, and that a knife was later found in the bag. Agents released the teen after determining he was a U.S. citizen. Alarcón drove the teen home, describing him as crying in fear while talking to his mother on the phone. ICE denied a vehicle pursuit occurred but confirmed "targeted enforcement arrests" in the area. Local police officers with body-worn cameras were also present at the scene.

A 30-year-old man from Morocco who entered the U.S. on a visa in 2025 was detained by ICE and State Department Diplomatic Security Service agents on Woolsey Street in Berkeley. According to ICE, he later violated the terms of his visa. The operation was conducted on June 9, 2026, without notification to Berkeley city officials or police, despite the city's sanctuary policy prohibiting police cooperation with immigration enforcement. The person was held at ICE's Golden State Annex facility in McFarland, Kern County, pending legal proceedings. This marked the first known ICE operation in Berkeley during the second Trump administration.

Phu Nguyen, a 57-year-old Australian citizen born in Vietnam, was tackled and handcuffed by two plainclothes ICE agents in Terminal 3 of Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on July 13, 2026. Nguyen had entered the United States legally on a visa in May 2013 but remained in the country after his authorized stay expired in May 2015. Bystander and filmmaker Chris Motley recorded the confrontation on the airport floor; when officers realized they were being filmed, they withdrew, leaving one handcuff attached to Nguyen's wrist. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police arrived and removed the handcuff, finding no outstanding warrants. The following day, ICE agents arrested Nguyen at Los Angeles International Airport as he boarded a departing flight. He is currently held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Centre in California pending removal proceedings.

Juan Jairo Coronilla Durán, a 28-year-old Honduran national and father of two, was fatally struck by a tractor-trailer on State Road 16 in St. Augustine, Florida on July 14, 2026, while fleeing ICE and Homeland Security Investigations agents. Coronilla Durán had arrived in the United States three weeks earlier on a valid tourist visa to work, according to his wife Yésica Alamilla López. During an early-morning operation at a Wawa gas station parking lot near Interstate 95, federal agents stopped a vehicle with four occupants; all four fled on foot. While attempting to cross the busy highway, Coronilla Durán slipped on wet grass in the median and was struck by the semi-truck. A veterinary nurse and an off-duty firefighter among bystanders attempted to render aid and perform CPR at the scene, but he died at the location. His death occurred during a week in which at least three other fatalities were linked to immigration enforcement encounters under the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign.

Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder and Columbia University graduate student of Syrian-Palestinian descent, was arrested by ICE without a warrant at his apartment building on March 8, 2025, following his pro-Palestinian activism and organizing campus protests. The Trump administration pursued deportation based on allegations he concealed prior employment with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and the British Embassy on his visa application. Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoked a rarely used immigration provision claiming his activism threatens U.S. foreign policy. Khalil was held for 104 days at LaSalle Detention Center in Louisiana before a federal judge released him on bail in June 2025. In July 2026, he filed a lawsuit against Trump administration officials and pro-Israel groups, alleging they conspired to target him and others for supporting Palestinian rights, claiming the administration coordinated with surveillance groups Betar and Canary Mission using a document called "Project Esther" as a blueprint.

A Cuban national held at Florence Correctional Center in Arizona staged multiple hunger strikes to protest what he described as inhumane detention conditions and lack of transparency regarding his asylum claims. He alleges that ICE subjected him to solitary confinement and restrictive measures to isolate him from legal counsel and advocacy groups after his protests gained attention. He was subsequently deported to Ecuador, a third country, which terminated his ability to participate in U.S. legal proceedings.

Jaime Alanis Garcia, a 57-year-old farmworker at Glass House Farms in Camarillo, California, died from injuries sustained during a federal immigration raid in July 2025. While fleeing federal immigration agents who deployed rubber bullets, tear gas, and stun guns, Garcia fell approximately 30 feet from a greenhouse roof, sustaining a broken neck and skull fractures. He was placed on life support before his family decided to discontinue his care. Garcia's wife and daughter filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Glass House Farms and the federal government, alleging that federal agents' use of excessive force caused Garcia to seek shelter on the roof. The raid resulted in more than 360 arrests of undocumented workers across Camarillo and Carpinteria locations. The Department of Homeland Security stated that Alanis was never in custody and was not being chased by federal agents. Community members later marched through Carpinteria to commemorate Garcia's death and demand accountability.

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.

Ryan Drury, a volunteer with VC Defensa, a community group that alerts residents when immigration agents are operating in the area, was confronted by an ICE agent on the 101 Freeway in Ventura on Tuesday morning. Cell phone video captured the agent stopping in the middle of the road, jumping out of his vehicle, and pepper spraying the air-conditioning vents of Drury's car. According to Drury, the agent then positioned himself in front of the vehicle, smiled, waved, and walked away. Drury stated the agent's actions followed a pattern he has witnessed before, where agents spray the air-conditioning vents so that if the driver turns on the air conditioning, the pepper spray comes through the vents.

Annya Mari, an activist who has protested outside a Department of Homeland Security/ICE facility in Cedar Rapids for more than 20 years without prior arrest, was tackled to the ground and zip-tied by police on July 7, 2026. According to bodycam footage released by Cedar Rapids Police, two officers grabbed and pinned her arms behind her back while she was intervening during the arrest of another individual, Scott Boylen. Mari stated she was wearing a sundress, did not act aggressively, and was not a threat, expressing confusion about her arrest.

Alex Orellana, a Guatemalan resident of LaGrange, was approached by ICE agents at a traffic stop on July 7 and asked for identification and citizenship status. Orellana filmed the encounter and posted it to Facebook as part of efforts by residents to document immigration enforcement in their communities. He was ultimately allowed to leave after showing his documents. Orellana said he has lived in the area for nearly two decades and described the increased immigration enforcement activity as creating panic in the community.

ICE arrested at least five immigrants at 26 Federal Plaza immigration courthouse in New York after a federal judge ordered a halt to the practice in May. The Justice Department is fighting to conceal details about the arrests, while an ICE supervisor defended the courthouse arrests as safer than street arrests due to community intervention efforts. Of the five arrested in late June, three were immediately released without explanation, while two remain detained awaiting habeas corpus petitions. One arrestee was from the Dominican Republic and another from Ecuador.

David Streever, a Rochester resident and former journalist, sent a critical email to then-acting ICE director Todd Lyons in January 2026 criticizing federal immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis, including a fatal shooting by federal officers. Months later, while Streever was traveling in Finland with his daughter, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents visited his home and delivered an unsigned warning form to his wife, alleging the email may have violated federal law by threatening a federal official. After returning to the United States, agents tracked Streever to a hotel near JFK Airport and left a business card. Streever's attorney stated the email contained no threats and characterized the visits as an attempt to suppress his First Amendment rights to free speech and petition. On July 6, 2026, Streever's attorney filed a federal lawsuit through the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, arguing the email was protected political speech.

Jeane Wong, a prominent immigration enforcement protester in San Diego, was sentenced last month to 45 days of home detention after pleading guilty to assaulting a federal officer during a law enforcement operation at an apartment complex in Linda Vista in early July. Wong told the judge in asking for a lighter sentence that she had unmasked an agent whom she said had assaulted someone else during the operation.

Seven more defendants were sentenced on July 1, 2026, for their roles in the July 4, 2025 protest at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas. Six who had pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists received sentences ranging from nearly two to 15 years. Ines Soto, who pleaded not guilty but was convicted, was sentenced to 50 years — the same sentence given the previous week to his wife Elizabeth Soto, who was among eight defendants convicted at trial. The six plea-deal defendants received significantly shorter sentences than the eight trial defendants sentenced on June 23, who received 30 to 100 years.

Brady Tillett, an asylum seeker from Belize, has been detained by ICE at the California City Detention Facility in Kern County for nearly two years. In a Los Angeles Times op-ed, he describes inhumane conditions including forced labor, medical neglect, and retaliation for advocating for others' medical care. Tillett has filed habeas petitions resulting in the release of several other detainees and is participating in broader detention resistance efforts including hunger strikes and labor strikes to challenge U.S. immigration detention practices and demand closure of the facility.

Moises Domingo Rico Rosales, a Nicaraguan national, was arrested after allegedly exposing himself to one woman and attempting to abduct another at Wakefield Park in Annandale, Virginia. He was previously arrested in Fairfax County in 2024 on felony drug trafficking charges but was released after local officials declined to honor an ICE detainer. He is now charged with abduction with intent to defile and indecent exposure, and ICE has lodged a new detainer. Abdul Jalloh, a 32-year-old from Sierra Leone, was charged with second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 41-year-old Stephanie Minter at a Virginia bus stop. He had over 30 prior arrests and was released by Fairfax County officials despite ICE detainer concerns, drawing scrutiny to the county's sanctuary-style policies.

Angely and Alexka Jerez Medina, 18-year-old twins and Venezuelan asylum seekers, were detained by ICE on June 24 in Buffalo, New York, while working with other Detroit students at an Amazon subcontractor warehouse. The twins are now held in separate detention facilities in Texas and New Mexico. Their teacher at Western International High School, Kristen Schoettle, described them as "great students" who are "very active in their church" and noted that "their family wants to be here, they love this country." Elected officials including U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield have called for their release. Four other Detroit students arrested with them were released; a fifth remains in federal custody.

Paigelynne Gonyea, a poll worker and social media creator in Syracuse, New York, was visited by federal agents on June 23, 2026, at her workplace during New York's primary elections. The agents confronted her over a January Instagram post about ICE officer Jonathan Ross, who shot and killed Renée Macklin Good in Minneapolis during anti-ICE demonstrations. Gonyea's post included a picture of Ross and stated "I think today is a great day for Jonathan to be indicted." The U.S. Department of Homeland Security claimed she posted Ross's address as "doxxing," while Gonyea said she posted the picture after Ross had already been identified by news media. The agents handed her a written notice warning of potential federal charges under laws regarding posting personal information about federal officers. Gonyea refused to sign the document and said she intends to continue defending her First Amendment right to make the post. The New York Attorney General's Office said it is reviewing the incident.

Activists from People Over Papers shared video footage claiming ICE agents detained a documented U.S. Army veteran in Marydel, Maryland on June 23, 2026. The video shows officers restraining a man while a person filming shouts that he is a veteran and fully legal. The detained individual's identity had not been independently verified at the time of publication, and ICE had not publicly commented on the allegations. It was unclear why the man was detained or whether charges had been filed.