Human Impact Project

Isaac Antonio Villegas Molina, a Pasadena resident originally from Panama, was ordered immediately released by U.S. District Judge Michelle Williams after being detained during an ICE check-in while serving as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit challenging immigration raids in Los Angeles. The judge barred the government from redetaining him without notice and a hearing before a neutral adjudicator, noting officials had not contested his earlier release request. Villegas was arrested in June while waiting at a bus stop and released on bond; the Department of Homeland Security said his redetention followed missed check-ins, but his attorney, Stacy Tolchin, disputed this and alleged the arrest was retaliatory, aimed at shifting his case to a more government-friendly immigration court in Adelanto. Villegas is scheduled to appear before an immigration judge to seek termination of his removal proceedings.

An Instagram post shows a group of people being transported by ICE in buses at what appears to be a detention facility in El Reno, Oklahoma. According to the caption, multiple women were hospitalized due to heat strokes and poor conditions during transport, and the post characterizes them as mothers forcefully separated from their families.

Ray Barraez, a 50-year-old Venezuelan Uber driver, died of a heart attack during a traffic stop in Seminole County, Florida after being stopped for a broken license plate light. According to his wife's account, Barraez had hypertension and was in an open asylum process; fear of detention by immigration authorities contributed to the cardiac event that caused his death.

Isaac Antonio Villegas Molina, a construction worker suing ICE with ACLU support, was detained again during an ISAP check-in after the Supreme Court refused his challenge to ICE. The detention occurred following the high court's rejection of his legal challenge.

ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) agents used force against two U.S. citizen minors during an enforcement operation in the Pueblo de Palmas neighborhood of Edinburg, Texas on April 23, 2026. A 16-year-old boy was struck in the face with a closed fist by an agent, and a 14-year-old girl was detained and allegedly grabbed around the neck. The incident was documented on video and shared on social media. ICE has not issued a public statement regarding the alleged use of force.

Rufino Beca, a 59-year-old pastor from Angola who arrived in the U.S. in 2017, was detained by ICE agents on April 20, 2026, outside a store on St. John's Street in Portland, Maine. Beca leads two Assembly of God congregations in Biddeford and Portland. He was apprehended while collecting funds to help another congregation member held in immigration custody. DHS stated he overstayed a six-month tourist visa. His daughter disputes this claim, stating he is an asylum seeker with no criminal record. Beca remains held at Strafford County Jail in Dover, New Hampshire.

William Alexander Alfaro, a Honduran national with an active asylum case, was detained by ICE agents on March 18, 2026, while driving his three children to school in San Antonio, Texas. Alfaro held a valid work permit and driver's license and was in compliance with the asylum process. He was arrested at Crosspoint, an ICE check-in and processing facility in San Antonio, as he arrived for a scheduled appointment. During approximately one month in ICE detention, Alfaro was not treated for a knee tumor requiring emergency surgery. He was deported to Honduras without receiving the scheduled medical procedure, likely resulting in amputation. His wife, who witnessed the initial detention, now fears she will be targeted for deportation, which would leave their three U.S. citizen children in San Antonio without parents.

A Mexican citizen who has resided in the United States since at least 2018 was granted withholding of removal to Mexico by an Immigration Judge that year based on his well-founded fear of persecution as a gay man, and he was released on an Order of Supervision. On April 22, 2026, he appeared at the ICE Los Angeles Field Office for his routine annual check-in, as he had done every year since 2018, but was detained by ICE officers and transported to Adelanto ICE Processing Center, where he remained detained. He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention, alleging violations of regulatory procedures requiring notice of revocation and an informal interview, as well as Fifth Amendment due process violations. On May 1, 2026, the court granted the petition without opposition from respondents, ordering his immediate release from ICE custody and requiring respondents to file a status report by May 8, 2026.

Wilfido Nolberto Cortez Esteban, a Guatemalan father, and his minor daughter Keyra Issa Susana Cortez Calderon were detained by immigration authorities after previously being released on Cortez Esteban's own recognizance while he served as his daughter's guardian. The detention came months after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied their petition for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture, finding that threats against the family stemmed from personal retribution over Cortez Esteban reporting a vehicle theft rather than a protected ground, and that relatives in Guatemala remained unharmed. Despite the denial, the pair had remained fully compliant with all ICE obligations, attending every immigration court hearing and committing no crimes since their release. A federal judge granted an emergency Temporary Restraining Order finding they had a strong likelihood of being entitled to a pre-deprivation hearing before an immigration judge, ordering the government to release both from custody and barring their re-detention or removal until a proper hearing was held before a neutral decisionmaker.

Karla Sáenz, a 26-year-old transgender woman from Venezuela and organizer with Trans Queer Pueblo, was detained by ICE on March 9 during a routine immigration check-in at a USCIS office in Phoenix. She was held for a month at Eloy Detention Center in a men's unit, where she was denied hormone therapy, unable to shower for a week, and subjected to verbal abuse and medical neglect by staff. A federal judge ordered her release in April, finding her detention arbitrary and violating her due process rights.

Five individuals previously deported from the United States were charged with illegal reentry and remanded to ICE custody in Las Vegas between March and April 2026. Juan Manuel Castellanos-Velazquez, a Mexican national, was remanded on April 13 after serving a 36-to-96-month sentence for drug trafficking and had been deported eight times between 2008 and 2016. Jimmy Jeyson Escobar-Nerio, a Salvadoran national, was remanded on April 8 after arrest by North Las Vegas police for driving under the influence and had been deported twice in 2019 and 2021. Victor Hugo Garcia-Dominguez, a Mexican national, was remanded on April 16 after serving a 19-to-96-month sentence for conspiracy to commit robbery and had been deported twice in 2020 and 2023. Marbin Alexander Ramirez-Rodas, a Salvadoran national, was arrested on March 16 for domestic battery by strangulation, battery on a pregnant victim, coercion, driving under the influence, and child abuse or neglect. Antonio Trinidad Garcia-Gallo, a Mexican national, was remanded on April 22 after serving a two-to-five-year sentence for drug trafficking and had been deported twice in 2015 and 2020. All five were charged with one count of deported alien found in the United States.

A separate Brook Street resident in Croton-on-Hudson was taken into ICE custody, as reported in the village's April 19-25, 2026 police blotter, and remains in federal custody as of the most recent report. Mayor Brian Pugh said the village is aware of two residents who have been taken into ICE custody and called for greater transparency from federal authorities about actions affecting residents.

An immigrant previously released on bond or conditional parole was re-detained by immigration authorities on April 22, 2026. He challenged his ongoing immigration detention through a habeas corpus petition. The court ordered his immediate release, finding that the government failed to provide a constitutionally required pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter when re-detaining someone previously released.

Carlos Bejarano was detained by ICE on April 22, 2026, in Kissimmee, Florida. Described as a hardworking father and family provider, his detention has left his family struggling financially. His family is seeking donations and financial support to cover legal expenses and basic needs while he faces immigration proceedings.

ICE arrested eight people on April 22 at two Davenport restaurants—Izumi and Jiang's Hot Pot & BBQ—as part of an ongoing investigation into immigration violations. Local law enforcement was not contacted in advance; Scott County Sheriff Tim Lane said the arrests likely stemmed from federal warrants and that those detained were not taken to the Scott County Jail. Davenport police said they also were unaware of the operation until federal agents were already in the city. The restaurants' ownership, which also runs Red Ginger—briefly closed afterward—said the closure was due to internal issues, and both Izumi and Jiang's remained open as of late August.

Hector V. was detained during an ICE raid at the Allston Car Wash in November 2025 alongside eight coworkers. Though he had legal work authorization, he remained in custody due to an outstanding removal order from a 2007 hearing he missed because he is illiterate and was given incorrect information. After spending five months in the overcrowded South Texas ICE Processing Center under harsh conditions, he elected to self-deport at the end of January and was deported to El Salvador in mid-April, 11 weeks after making that choice. His attorney filed a motion to hold the government in contempt for failing to schedule a required bond hearing and a motion to reopen his case, both of which were denied.

Rajinder Kumar, a 32-year-old Indian national who was living and working in the U.S. without legal status, was detained by ICE on April 22, 2026, after posting bail following a fatal November 24, 2025 crash on U.S. Highway 20 in Deschutes County, Oregon, that killed newlyweds William Micah Carter and Jennifer Lynn Lower. He has been held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, and faces felony charges of manslaughter and reckless endangerment. On July 1, 2026, U.S. Immigration Judge Drew Nishiyama ordered Kumar deported to India before he can stand trial on those charges. Deschutes County Attorney Steve Gunnels and the victims' families said they had hoped Kumar would face trial in the U.S. for the deaths of Carter and Lower.

Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics agents seized approximately 8,897 marijuana plants during a raid at a marijuana grow operation in Wynnewood. Three people were detained, with one taken into ICE custody.

Javier, a 76-year-old Cuban man with dementia, has been detained by ICE and is being held at a GEO facility in Aurora, Colorado. His next court appearance is scheduled for mid-May, and advocates are raising funds to cover an estimated $11,000 in legal fees for his immigration case.

ICE agents disguised as contractors offered children $100 to perform yard work in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, then revealed themselves when the children arrived. Two minors fled and fell from a second-story balcony while being chased by agents, sustaining severe leg injuries. One minor was detained after being taken to an emergency room; the second minor, also with a leg fracture, avoided seeking medical care out of fear.