Human Impact Project

Retired Wayne County judge Michael Callahan said a convoy of eight armed ICE officers arrived at his metro Detroit home in August, falsely claiming they only intended to place an ankle tether on his foster son, a Congolese refugee who had lived in the U.S. for more than seven years, attended every required ICE check-in, had no criminal record and worked full-time as a truck driver. The officers had no warrant or court order, according to Callahan, and took the foster son into custody once he stepped outside. DHS disputed that officers used a ruse, saying they identified themselves as law enforcement, and a federal court declined to block the deportation after the government cited a 2019 final removal order. About two weeks after his arrest, he was flown to Cameroon, a country where he has no known ties, despite having been granted protection from return to his native Democratic Republic of Congo, which he had fled due to violence tied to his father's political opposition activity.

Rapheal Oludemilade Adebowale, a Nigerian national, was arrested by ICE in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, as part of a Department of Homeland Security enforcement operation. Adebowale had been previously convicted of larceny and money laundering in Massachusetts following a jury trial, after a motion to dismiss the indictment against him was denied. DHS also arrested Jawwad Ali Ahmed, a Pakistani national with a prior conviction in Sacramento, California, and Alexandre Esdras Pandolfi-Soares, a Brazilian national with a prior conviction in Salt Lake City, Utah, during the same operation. DHS described the men as priority targets but did not disclose further details about their immigration status, pending court dates, or the specific immigration allegations against them. Adebowale now faces immigration proceedings and possible removal from the United States.

Malick, a pseudonym for a Senegalese man who fled to the US in 2023, had a work permit and legal protection against deportation to his home country, but was placed on a third-country deportation flight to Ghana. He was held at a remote military camp with little electricity or communication, alongside Rabbiatu Kuyateh, a 58-year-old nurse who fled Sierra Leone's civil war and had lived in the Washington, D.C. area for 30 years. Kuyateh was detained by ICE during a routine check-in in July 2025, and despite a judge ruling she could not be deported to Sierra Leone due to past torture there, her attorney says the government pursued sending her to a third country without a hearing. She was flown to Ghana in shackles on a 10-hour flight, and Malick filmed her being forcibly dragged into a van by people believed to work for Ghana's government when she resisted being put on a bus to Sierra Leone. After the footage spread online, Ghanaian troops arrived at the camp at night with trucks of soldiers. Kuyateh's son, Mohamed Alghali, said he has not seen her since the July check-in.

Carlos Josué Marchena-Marchena, a 36-year-old Costa Rican father of four who worked as a ride-service driver, was found unresponsive on September 18, 2026 at Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana, and pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. He had Type 1 diabetes and had been detained since January, transferred between facilities in Michigan, California, and Louisiana; his cousin said his care was adequate in Michigan but worsened after later transfers, though his sister said his decline began in Michigan after he was placed in a security cell following an argument with another detainee. His sister, girlfriend, and a fellow detainee said he repeatedly complained of missed insulin shots, inadequate food and water, and worsening symptoms including chest pain, vomiting, chills, and stomach pain, with his girlfriend saying he called around midnight the night before his death saying his medication wasn't helping. An immigration judge ordered his removal on July 29, 2026, and he had requested bail and voluntary deportation to Costa Rica, both denied. ICE said he received appropriate medical care, while a fellow detainee said he received only irregular insulin shots and a single pill for his symptoms. His death is the third reported at the Louisiana facility since April 2026, following a DHS Inspector General report finding violations in medical care, food service, and use of force, and at least the 58th ICE detainee death nationwide since January 2025. A GoFundMe was launched to return his body to Costa Rica while his family awaits autopsy results.

Arsalan Saleh Fard (referred to as "Ali" in one account), a 25-year-old Christian convert from Qazvin Province, Iran, fled after being pursued by Iran's intelligence services and the Basij paramilitary force. He struggled to find work because of tattoos, and when a bank refused to hire him over them, he burned one off himself — only to then be rejected for appearing mentally unstable. After crossing the U.S. border to seek asylum, he was expelled to Panama on a military flight in January/February 2025 without an asylum hearing, as part of a group of 299 migrants deported there weeks after President Trump's inauguration. Eighteen months later, he remains stranded in Panama with no clear path to permanent refuge, at times sleeping on a mattress on the floor. Bella Mosselmans, a human rights lawyer who directs the Global Strategic Litigation Council and represents deportees sent to Panama, said such outcomes are an inevitable result of sending migrants to a country with a nonfunctioning asylum system, language barriers, and little access to legal counsel.

Unmarked vehicles carrying agents wearing 'ERO' patches, identifying them as ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers, entered a Home Depot parking lot in Concord early one morning and detained up to five day laborers who were waiting for work. Advocates with the Concord Immigrant Protections Network said the detained individuals' names and whereabouts remain unknown, and that ICE has not responded to requests for information. Advocates and community members rallied outside the store the following day, calling on Home Depot and city officials to take action to protect immigrant workers.

An 18-year-old University of Alaska Fairbanks sophomore majoring in physics, a Panamanian-Russian dual national and graduate of Alaska Middle College School, was detained by ICE at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport after her plane landed. She was held overnight at the mostly male Anchorage Correctional Complex before being transferred the next morning to Hiland Mountain Correctional Center for women, then released after posting bond while her removal proceedings continue. She had entered the U.S. legally in July 2023 but was supposed to leave by May 2024; a former teacher described her as "an incredibly hard worker" with "a beautiful personality" and "a kind soul," and she remains enrolled at UAF.

Tomas Pacajoj Lastor, known as "the mechanic," was detained by ICE on September 22, 2026, around 7:35 a.m. while driving his young son to school. His daughter Baudelia searched for him through multiple phone calls as he was transferred between detention facilities before she confirmed his location and safety. He has not yet been given a court date and is working with an attorney, while his family describes him as a hardworking provider and devoted father who regularly helped neighbors in need. His detention has left the family struggling financially, as his daughter postponed her college plans at Emporia State University to help care for her nine-year-old sibling and support her mother, who has ongoing health issues.

A father seeking asylum in the United States with his wife and three children, ages 2, 8, and 10, was detained by ICE a few days before a GoFundMe was launched on his family's behalf. The family had fled their home country due to political persecution and had an active asylum case. His wife, who does not speak fluent English and has no income, was left alone to care for the children and is struggling to pay rent, utilities, and buy food.

A father who co-owns a food truck business with his wife was detained by ICE on a Tuesday morning while leaving home to take his children to school. His family describes him as a calm, loving, and hardworking man deeply involved in his community. With him detained, his wife is now struggling to keep the family's food truck business running while covering household expenses and attorney fees.

Guilherme, a husband and father of 5-year-old twins, was detained by ICE according to his wife Camila. She says he had no criminal history and was not out of status, which made his detention especially shocking. Guilherme was the family's main provider, and his wife is now raising funds to cover attorney fees and household expenses while he is held.

Daniel was detained by ICE agents while on his way to work in Virginia, then passed through several detention centers where he endured harsh conditions before being deported to Guatemala. His sudden deportation left his wife, Marisol, and their one-year-old daughter, Luna, without their primary source of income and support. Daniel and Luna stay connected through daily video calls, while Marisol raises Luna alone without nearby family or a strong support network, facing financial and emotional hardships.

Bulmaro, a father and husband who has worked in construction labor for 23 years to support his family of seven, was pulled over by ICE officers while heading to work with his son on September 22, 2026. He was then taken into custody by ICE. His family says he has no criminal record and is now raising funds to secure legal representation to fight for his release.

Fatou Traore, a University of Iowa custodian and mother of four, was detained by plainclothes agents on September 24, 2026, while driving to pick up her sister for work in Iowa City. She was subsequently moved through detention facilities in Cedar Rapids, Hardin County, and Omaha before being transferred to ICE's Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana. Her husband and sons, including 19-year-old Esoumaila, remain in Iowa City, and the family is continuing to raise money for legal fees, travel, and resettlement costs as they prepare for her deportation to Guatemala.

A 40-year-old Guatemalan man was detained by ICE agents on Sept. 22, 2026, while working as a DoorDash driver in the New Bedford area. Court records show he is documented, holding deferred action for labor enforcement protections, a valid work permit through 2029, and is in the process of obtaining a U-Visa for assisting law enforcement with a criminal investigation. His record included a dismissed 2007 assault and battery charge, a 2010 disturbing-the-peace charge dismissed after restitution, and a 2016 guilty plea for operating under the influence that resulted in a fine.

A man was detained by masked men identifying themselves as ICE agents moments after a judge dismissed the criminal case he had come to fight at the Otero County District Courthouse, according to Dayna Louise Jones, District Defender for the 12th Judicial District. His children, who were present, described the men as masked and traveling in an unmarked vehicle, and Jones said witnesses told her office the detention 'appeared to be coordinated and preplanned with local entities.' Twelfth Judicial District officials, including chief clerk Audrey Hukari, say court staff had no advance knowledge that federal agents were present and that the detention took place in the courthouse parking lot, which is owned by Otero County rather than the court. Hukari cited a New Mexico Supreme Court order requiring outside law enforcement to present credentials to courthouse security and to avoid interfering with proceedings, though the policy does not address parking lots; the man has not been publicly identified, and Otero County has not responded to requests for comment.

Christina Pérez, a DACA recipient who has lived in the United States for 37 years, was detained by ICE on February 22 while walking to her car, in the midst of renewing her deferred action protection. She was transferred first to a facility in Broadview, Illinois, and later to a jail in Kentucky, where she was held alongside both immigration detainees and people facing criminal charges. When she was detained her son was 10 months old, and after seven months in custody he did not recognize her when she returned home. Pérez was eventually released after filing Form 42B, an application for cancellation of removal and adjustment of status, and said she wants other families in similar situations not to give up and to seek legal counsel quickly.

Camilo Quino, a Guatemalan national with a pending immigration case, was detained by ICE agents in New Bedford shortly after dropping his daughter off at school on a Tuesday. Video shared with NBC10 Boston showed officers breaking the window of his pickup truck before taking him into custody. His wife, Juana Tiniguarro, spoke publicly about the arrest, calling him "a hard-working man" and saying "they can't be doing that." Local officials and school administrators said they had received reports of agents near the school, though it was not established that the arrest occurred on school grounds. The arrest was part of a broader surge of ICE arrests in the New Bedford area that left families seeking information and support.

João Ferreira, a Portuguese legal permanent resident, was detained by ICE early Tuesday in Dartmouth alongside a Brazilian man while riding in a landscaping truck on his way to a job in New Bedford. Court records reviewed by The New Bedford Light show Ferreira had a 1992 case in Fall River District Court that was continued without a finding and later closed, a disposition generally resulting from completed probation, and a 2009 conviction for which he received probation. In 2019, he was stopped by Customs and Border Protection at Logan Airport and issued a notice to appear for removal proceedings, and he had filed a motion for a new trial on the earlier charges that court records show remained unresolved. He was identified as the only detainee in the outlet's review of the South Coast ICE operation who had faced felony charges in Massachusetts courts.

A New Bedford man from Guatemala, who arrived in the U.S. four years earlier and had work authorization while his asylum application was pending, was detained by ICE agents on Tuesday while on break from his job at an auto repair shop. According to his brother, identified only as Nicolás for fear of being targeted himself, the man did not immediately open his car door when agents approached, so an agent smashed the window to pull him out. Nicolás said his sister had also been arrested during a 2007 immigration raid in New Bedford. He later spoke with his brother by phone, who was being held at ICE's facility in Burlington, Massachusetts.