Human Impact Project

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. A federal judge ordered a bond hearing following a habeas petition filed by his attorney, Rachel Marandett of the American Friends Service Committee, after the government could not prove he posed a danger or flight risk. An immigration judge then set bond at $35,000, which hundreds of individuals and organizations helped raise. Mojtaba, who was held at the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, New Jersey, is now building a life in New Jersey.

A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper stopped a white Volvo truck on Interstate 35 in Webb County on May 18 during Operation Lone Star and discovered 20 undocumented immigrants—16 adults and 4 minors from Mexico and Guatemala—hidden in the truck's sleeping compartment. The driver, 25-year-old Miguel Angel Velazquez Chavez, a Mexican national, fled on foot but was arrested and charged with evading arrest and smuggling people. All 20 migrants were turned over to U.S. Border Patrol.

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.

Alejandro Josue Cervantes-Mencia was arrested by ICE officers on Lafayette Street in Hartford on May 18, 2026. Several officers wore masks and lacked clear identification, violating Connecticut's recently signed law prohibiting immigration officers from wearing masks during enforcement actions. According to ICE, Cervantes-Mencia entered the U.S. illegally in 2016 and had a final removal order issued by an immigration judge on April 5, 2022. He was also facing state charges for possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent to sell.

Angel Lemus-Linares, a 32-year-old from El Salvador seeking political asylum, was placed in solitary confinement at T. Don Hutto Detention Center in Texas for seven consecutive days after being beaten by ICE officers following an altercation with another detainee. He reported being locked in isolation without adequate medical care or bathroom access, and experienced multiple additional solitary confinement placements and prolonged lockdowns during his 28+ months in ICE custody. After an immigration judge denied his asylum claim in December 2025, Lemus-Linares was deported to Mexico and is now applying for refugee status.

Ursula Gomez completed over two decades in California state prison and participated in rehabilitation programs and college coursework. Upon her release in July 2024, the California Department of Corrections transferred her to ICE custody rather than releasing her. After 11 months in multiple ICE detention centers, facing threats of deportation to countries she had no ties to, Gomez agreed to voluntary removal to Mexico, the country she left at age 5. She was deported later in 2024.

Cali Overs, a 17-year-old student body vice president at Dysart High School in Surprise, Arizona, is leading student opposition to a planned ICE detention facility being built about a mile from her school. The Department of Homeland Security purchased a 418,400-square-foot warehouse in January 2026 to convert into an immigration detention center with up to 542 beds. Overs has spoken at city council meetings, met with federal lawmakers and state officials, and advocated for a three-mile buffer zone between ICE facilities and schools, given that Hispanic students comprise over 60% of her school's population.

Besnik "Nik" Shembitrasi, a 49-year-old barber from Albania who immigrated to the U.S. in 2006, was arrested by ICE on May 17, 2026, outside his home in Elmwood Park as he was leaving for work. Shembitrasi has built a life in Illinois over two decades, working as a barber at Frank's Barber Shop in Oak Park, married to a U.S. citizen, and father to an 8-year-old daughter born in the U.S. His uncle and employer Frank Shemitraku described him as hardworking, respectful, and dedicated to supporting his family, noting that Shembitrasi had recently purchased a home in Elmwood Park and works two jobs. At the time of reporting, Shembitrasi was being held by ICE in Brazil, Indiana, and his family expressed concern about his separation and uncertain immigration status.

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.

Sara Yazmin Garcia was arrested on May 15, 2026, and taken into ICE custody on May 17, 2026, due to her immigration status. She is being held in Atlanta, Georgia, over seven hours from her family. She has no criminal record and has lived in the United States for over 20 years, leaving behind her husband of 10 years, her 15-year-old son, and extended family who depend on her emotionally and financially.

Peter Booth was arrested on charges of unlawful trespass and resisting arrest during a protest at an ICE digital surveillance center on May 14, 2026. Booth was carried out of the building by Vermont State Police officers. He had previously been cited for criminal trespass at a similar protest in February 2026.

Vivian Do's father was detained by ICE on March 5 at a GEO processing facility in Adelanto, California. Despite legal assurances and ICE's own notification that he would not be moved until June 5, he was transferred without notice on May 14, flown from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and deported to Vietnam the same day. The family had spent over $50,000 in legal fees seeking his release.

Ernesto, a construction worker, was detained by ICE on December 10 while traveling to his job in Washington, DC. He was transferred to a detention center in Texas, leaving his wife Ana and their three children (ages 3, 7, and 8) without their primary source of income. Ana now works nights as a university cleaner and relies on a moped for transportation while struggling to afford rent, groceries, medical bills, and legal fees.

A man detained by ICE in March after 30 years in the U.S. was released this month after an immigration judge vacated a decades-old drug conviction from 1999 and restored his lawful permanent resident status. The judge found he had not been informed of immigration consequences when he entered the plea. His case is among roughly 19 Laotian cases handled by the Seattle Clemency Project this year, part of a broader enforcement sweep affecting longtime residents in the region.

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.

Obi, who arrived legally on a visa and was in the process of obtaining a green card, was detained by ICE on October 20th without due process. He was held in a detention facility for ten days after a judge ordered his release and bond was posted. His wife, who relies on him as her caregiver due to chronic illnesses, was forced to attend their green card interview alone while he remained detained. He was released with conditions including GPS monitoring and travel restrictions.

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.

Carlos Alborozo was detained by ICE while working in a construction job. His family launched a fundraising campaign to help cover legal expenses and immigration lawyer costs to support his case.