Human Impact Project

Jacob Zepeta-Castro (also spelled Zapeta Castro), a Guatemalan immigrant who owns El Quetzal bakery in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, was arrested on July 9, 2026, after ICE, Florida Highway Patrol, and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office agents surrounded his business during a four-day enforcement operation in Palm Beach County. His teenage children, ages 13 and 15, waited in his car and were questioned by officers; family and advocates say he locked himself and coworkers inside the bakery and voluntarily surrendered after an hours-long standoff in extreme heat to protect his children and undocumented employees, as about 50 community members protested outside. ICE alleged he had prior deportations, a criminal history including DUI and resisting law enforcement, and claimed he tried to ram an agent's vehicle before fleeing—claims disputed by his family, employees, and advocates including nephew Gilbert Zapeta and Mariana Blanco of the Guatemalan Maya Center, who noted he held a valid Social Security number, work permit, and driver's license and had filed for asylum in June 2024. He was charged with illegal reentry after deportation, ordered held without bond by a federal judge who ruled his pending asylum application was no defense to the charge, and was arraigned July 29 in federal court in West Palm Beach.

Darisbell Paola Quintero Morillo, a Venezuelan asylum seeker with a pending case, was detained by ICE on April 23, 2026, while attending a scheduled check-in at the Dallas ICE Field Office, despite complying with immigration requirements. She had entered the U.S. in April 2021 with her husband Gilbert Vicent, fleeing political persecution in Venezuela. She was transferred to Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, where a medical evaluation revealed she was pregnant. While detained, she reported inadequate nutrition, poor food quality, and insufficient medical care, and repeatedly requested attention for pregnancy complications. Her attorney filed a federal court petition and emergency motion for her release on parole, citing her compliance history and lack of criminal record, but the judge denied the motion. She later miscarried while in custody, and after a doctor informed her of the miscarriage at the hospital, ICE officers cuffed her ankles to the hospital bed.

Carlos Iván Mendoza Hernández, a Salvadoran father of a 2-year-old daughter, was shot seven times by ICE agents on April 8, 2026, during a traffic stop on Interstate 5 near Patterson in Stanislaus County, California. Dashcam video and witnesses indicate he reversed away from officers with drawn weapons before driving forward, while ICE claimed he tried to run over agents; acting ICE director Todd Lyons said he was undocumented and an alleged gang member wanted for questioning in a murder in El Salvador. His fiancée Cindy and attorney Patrick Kolasinski disputed the gang claim, saying he had no U.S. criminal history since arriving around 2019-2020 and had reportedly been acquitted of the murder charge, with no active warrant. While hospitalized, FBI agents reportedly accessed his protected medical records without clear authorization, and he was later arrested and held in solitary confinement at California City Detention Center with his gunshot wounds untreated. On June 27, 2026, he was taken from the facility for a medical appointment regarding bullet fragments, and his family received no updates on his whereabouts or safety for hours. Kolasinski criticized ICE's handling of the confrontation, saying a calmer approach should have been used.

Darren Eichler, a U.S. citizen working at Concordia Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois, was pepper-balled and detained by immigration agents on October 7, 2025, after he and coworker Daniel Greer moved to help a man wading in the nearby Des Plaines River, not realizing the man was fleeing agents, and may have thought he was suicidal. When the men refused agents access to a locked gate and began filming, agents cut the padlock with bolt cutters, sprayed them with chemical agents, and tackled or arrested them. Eichler said his face felt like it was on fire and he developed chest pains and breathing difficulty, pleading for about an hour before agents took him to Rush Oak Park Hospital, where he remained handcuffed until a nurse intervened; agents held his phone and wallet until the next day. Neither Eichler nor Greer was charged, but both say they required follow-up medical care and counseling. In 2026, Eichler filed a Federal Tort Claims Act claim, reportedly seeking $1 million, as part of a coordinated ACLU-led effort involving 54 to 56 people across 17 states. "My story is not just about what happened to me," Eichler said. "It's about the kind of country we choose to be. No one should lose their dignity the moment they come face to face with those who hold power."

Dr. Norma Bowe, a grandmother, registered nurse, and public health professor at Kean University, was assaulted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents outside Delaney Hall while running a mobile health clinic for people visiting detained loved ones. The ACLU of New Jersey filed a Federal Tort Claims Act claim against the federal government on her behalf, part of a coordinated nationwide effort covering 54 claims across 17 states and Washington, D.C. "I was violently attacked by ICE agents while I was trying to provide medical care for people visiting their loved ones in Delaney Hall," Bowe said, adding that ICE agents are acting with impunity.

In a smuggled video from the 1,000-bed South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, run by GEO Group, detained women describe abuse, medical neglect and family separation. Larina says ICE separated her from her five-month-old daughter after she called police during a domestic violence incident and was arrested instead of her husband; she says she has been ordered deported but has remained detained for three months. Other mothers at the facility say they do not know where their children were taken after being separated, and one Cuban woman remained detained even after winning her case because the Department of Homeland Security appealed. Kelly, a Venezuelan woman with one failing kidney, says the facility denies her testing, medication and specialist care, leaving her with painful urination and fluid retention, unsuitable frozen food and no clean water; other women describe a miscarriage, pregnancy without adequate care, an amputation, and say one detainee was placed in solitary confinement after recording video while others faced hitting and threats for speaking out.

The petitioner was detained by immigration authorities and, according to the government's return, was arrested on July 29, 2026 pursuant to a Warrant of Removal (Form I-205). He filed a pro se habeas corpus petition arguing that his detention is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), that he was not shown a warrant bearing his name at the time of arrest, and that his continued detention without an individualized bond hearing violates due process. He sought immediate release or, alternatively, a bond hearing. The government acknowledged he is subject to detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). The court declined to order immediate release but found a bond hearing to be the appropriate remedy. The court granted the petition and ordered respondents to arrange a bond hearing before an immigration court within seven days, and denied his motion for a temporary restraining order as moot.

Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego, 51, a Mexican citizen who has lived in the U.S. since 1998, was riding as a passenger in a van driven by his boss, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, when an ICE officer fatally shot Salgado Araujo during a traffic stop in Houston's Magnolia Park neighborhood on July 7, 2026. Rojas Pliego has no criminal record and is in a common-law marriage with a U.S. citizen, with whom he has several children and stepchildren. He was detained without an individualized bond hearing at the Montgomery ICE Processing Center in Conroe, and in a sworn statement disputed ICE's account of the shooting, calling it "a lie." U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison ruled that his continued detention violated his due process rights and ordered his release, which occurred on July 29, 2026. Rojas Pliego has a pending U visa application as a crime victim and now wears an ankle monitor while his removal case proceeds.

Alberto Enriquez, a Mexican immigrant with longtime ties to Catholic parishes in Denver and Gillette, Wyoming, was arrested by ICE in Tampa, Florida, after traveling there for what he believed was an appointment to secure Military Parole in Place based on his daughter Bettsaida's service in the U.S. Navy. His wife, Karina Gonzalez, and daughter Karibett say he was led to believe the appointment would grant him legal status, but he was instead taken into custody and is now held at Baker County Detention Center in Sanderson, Florida. Married for 29 years with seven children, four still living at home, Enriquez had previously volunteered extensively at St. Cajetan's Catholic Church in Denver and later helped launch a Hispanic ministry at St. Matthew's Catholic Community in Wyoming. His family says his decades-old domestic violence conviction, which he pleaded guilty to under difficult circumstances, is now being used to justify his removal, and they are struggling to find an attorney licensed in the jurisdiction where he is being held before what they fear is a fast track to deportation.

A Nepali national filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus challenging the constitutionality of his detention in federal immigration custody. He is currently detained at the Rio Grande Processing Center. The petition names Miguel Vergara (ICE-ERO Field Office Director), Markwayne Mullin (Secretary of U.S. Department of Homeland Security), Todd Blanche (U.S. Attorney General), and the Warden of the Rio Grande Processing Center as respondents. On August 3, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ordered respondents to file a response to the petition by August 10, 2026, with evidence from his A-file. The court directed notification to the U.S. Attorney and ordered respondents to notify the court and his counsel of any planned transfer or release.

A 46-year-old Ecuadorian national who has lived in the United States since 2003 and established community roots in Philadelphia with two U.S. citizen children was detained by DHS/ICE on July 29, 2026, after officers showed him a photograph of a different individual they were seeking. Despite his denial that he was the person depicted, officers detained him anyway at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia. The court granted his habeas corpus petition on August 1, 2026, finding that his detention without a bond hearing violated the Immigration and Nationality Act, ordered his immediate release, and temporarily enjoined re-detention for seven days pending a proper bond hearing.

A father has been detained by ICE and is facing deportation to Laos after spending most of his life in the United States. He is the primary financial provider for his family, leaving his wife to care for their younger son and manage household expenses alone. His daughter organized a GoFundMe to help cover legal and immigration expenses, travel and communication costs to stay connected with him, and basic living expenses while the family adjusts to losing his income.

Diana Avila's 20-year-old brother, who has autism since childhood and is described as intelligent, generous, and a good student, was arrested by ICE during an ongoing legal process and transferred between states. He is currently detained in Texas, where he reports being denied blankets, medicine, and adequate food. He developed a stomach infection and is experiencing high fevers but says staff insults and threatens him when he requests medical care, pressuring him to sign deportation papers. His family is unable to afford legal representation and fears for his safety.

Alma Guadalupe Nunez-Quijada, a 45-year-old Mexican national who has lived in the U.S. since age 4, was arrested by multiple masked ICE agents on North Stone Avenue around 10:15 a.m. Tuesday as she left a hearing at Pima County Consolidated Justice Court for a noise-ordinance violation. The mother of three U.S. citizens was called by name, surrounded and handcuffed; her eldest daughter said she was calm and compliant. The arrest has raised questions about whether it violated a Pima County Board of Supervisors resolution limiting immigration enforcement on county property, and about how agents knew she would be there. An ICE spokesperson cited a 2006 domestic violence conviction, while Pima County records show only minor traffic charges in 2004 and a 2017 failure-to-pay-fine charge.

Cristobal S. was forcefully detained by ICE agents on November 10, 2024, at 7 a.m. when agents smashed the window of his truck and cut him while removing him from the vehicle. He is the sole breadwinner for his family, leaving behind three children and his mother. His family is seeking financial assistance through a GoFundMe campaign to cover bills, legal fees, food, and other basic needs during his detention.

Aurora, 24, and her six-year-old daughter were detained by ICE and sent to a family detention center in Texas. The daughter had arrived at the U.S. border alone and spent more than six months in a child migrant shelter before reuniting with her mother in late March. The detention occurred after the Office of Refugee Resettlement shared information about unaccompanied children, their sponsors, and household members with ICE.

Sister Leticia Ugboaja, a 56-year-old Nigerian-born nun and registered nurse with the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy, was arrested by ICE agents on June 28, 2026, while walking to Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen, Texas to distribute Holy Communion at Mass. Despite being a legal resident with valid immigration status, a valid work permit, and having worked as a registered nurse at local Texas hospitals for more than a decade, Ugboaja was detained and transferred to an ICE detention facility in Raymondville, where she was not allowed to access needed medication. In 2019, a federal judge had denied her asylum request but granted her protection from removal to Nigeria under the Convention Against Torture, finding she would likely be tortured if returned. After parish officials and colleague Sister Norma Pimentel contacted local leaders, including U.S. Representatives Monica De La Cruz and Henry Cuellar, Ugboaja was released from ICE custody the same day. She was distraught upon release, and the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville and civil rights organizations called for an investigation into the detention.

A 14-year-old Brazilian girl with an expired visitor visa was detained by ICE agents on March 11 in a parking lot outside Bethel Presbyterian Church in Marlboro, Massachusetts, after a car was pulled over. Her attorney stated she was with her U.S. citizen brothers, though DHS disputed this account, claiming she was with two Brazilian men suspected of gang ties with no familial relationship to her. ICE said the men's vehicle was connected to an alleged attempted home invasion in Walpole. The girl was taken to the JFK federal building in Boston for 10 hours, then transported overnight to a children's detention facility in New York. At a hearing, Federal Judge Leo T. Sorokin expressed concern about the detention and overnight transfer, stating it was the first time in his 22 years on the bench that he had seen agents detain a juvenile solely because no appropriate person was available to release her to. He ordered her immediate return to Massachusetts, and she was reunited with her maternal aunt, a U.S. citizen, at the JFK building in Boston.

ICE agents, working with the U.S. Forest Service and Caldwell County Sheriff's Office, set up a checkpoint on the only road into Wilson Creek, a popular swimming spot in Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, detaining 13 people. Among them was Argenis Eduardo Torres Rosales, a 32-year-old Venezuelan asylum seeker with a work permit and no criminal record, according to his aunt Wuendy Rosales; he is now held at a detention facility in Folkston, Georgia, far from his wife and stepson. ICE said many detained had criminal histories including DUI and illegal reentry charges, while Sheriff Kevin Bean denied reports that children were separated from families. Witnesses described the operation as terrifying, with some families separated during stops, including one left stranded roadside without cell signal after a father was taken into custody. Sandra Salazar, co-founder of Hands of Hope y Adventurous Latinos, said her cousin's partner was among those detained and that families with pending asylum cases were caught up in the action. Advocates called it the first known ICE raid at a national forest in North Carolina, and said it has discouraged Latino families from visiting the forest.

Two brothers from Mexico who worked as kitchen staff at El Nopalito restaurant in Haddonfield were arrested by ICE agents on July 20, 2026, while walking near their home in East Camden. The longtime employees sent money home to support family members, including children, and are believed to be detained at Delaney Hall in Newark. Local police confirmed they were not involved in the ICE operation. At the request of the brothers' families, Inkwood Books owner Julie Beddingfield organized a GoFundMe to help cover legal, travel and living expenses. By July 28, the fundraiser had surpassed its $15,000 goal, raising $26,742 from 478 donors, with funds supporting the brothers' needs in custody as well as their families' housing, food and utility costs while they remain out of work.