Human Impact Project

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested at least nine people across Vermont over a weekend in August 2026, including five construction workers arrested in Londonderry, one person in White River Junction, and two roof repairmen in a raid in Cornwall. A Haitian man with employment authorization and an asylum application under review was arrested at his home in White River Junction after ICE agents arrived at 7 a.m.; his wife reported that an ICE agent pointed a gun at her while she was in her car when she asked where they were taking him. Immigration advocates say at least one additional arrest occurred in the Upper Valley, and a local volunteer group reported three people were separately detained by ICE in West Lebanon, New Hampshire. The arrests, described by advocates as rare workplace and commuting operations involving groups of workers, occurred amid months of heightened federal enforcement across the state; the ACLU of Vermont has filed federal claims against ICE over a separate March raid in South Burlington, alleging constitutional violations.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement concluded Operation Safe Community-Atlanta on August 7, 2026, with 1,226 arrests across Georgia in one of the largest single-state immigration enforcement operations in recent memory. According to ICE, 720 of those arrested had been charged with or convicted of crimes in the United States, including sex crimes, crimes against children, assault, drug violations, burglary, weapons offenses, and impaired driving. All 1,226 people arrested violated U.S. immigration law. The operation was conducted across multiple Georgia jurisdictions with participation from federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, including five arrests at a local trucking company. The operation occurred during a period of increased ICE enforcement, as the agency set a new monthly record high for detentions in July with more than 46,000 arrests nationwide.

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.

Two men were detained after officers in ICE garb arrived in six vehicles at a gas station in Marshall on Tuesday morning, boxed in their vehicle at a gas pump, and smashed the windows before taking them into custody. Bystanders witnessed the enforcement action.

Ángel Muñoz, known on social media as Ángel Muñeco, was detained by ICE on August 6. His wife Blondi, a content creator known for her height, confirmed the detention, saying she did not want to make a video about it but did so for his fans. The couple went viral roughly a year earlier after his marriage proposal, and their wedding was celebrated by thousands of followers online. Blondi says Ángel is legally in the United States and that their marriage is valid, but he now faces an administrative process that could result in deportation.

Eduardo Aguirre Esparza, a 53-year-old Mexican national and small business owner who has lived in the United States for over 20 years, was arrested by ICE on July 23, 2026, while working on a home remodeling project in West Seattle. Approximately 20 ICE agents in unmarked vehicles surrounded him, allegedly physically pushing him and threatening him when he refused to sign a voluntary departure form; he requested his lawyer instead. Without appearing before a judge or having contact with his attorney, Aguirre Esparza was transferred between multiple ICE facilities over three days and flown to El Paso, Texas, where he is detained at ERO El Paso Camp East Montana. His wife, Stacey Fitzpatrick, a U.S. citizen attorney, disputes ICE's claim that he has a 2005 DUI arrest from Kansas, noting he has never lived in Kansas and background checks show only a resolved 2015 traffic citation. Aguirre Esparza has a pending green card application and is married to a U.S. citizen with deep community ties. Community members organized rallies and fundraisers in West Seattle to raise awareness and support for his family, and Senator Patty Murray called the arrest "fundamentally wrong and un-American."

A Venezuelan woman who entered the United States without authorization in September 2023 was ordered removed by an immigration judge in March 2026; her appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals remains pending. She was detained by ICE on August 6, 2026 following a routine traffic stop and has since been held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana. She filed a pro se habeas petition alleging that her prolonged detention without a bond hearing violates due process, that her warrantless arrest violated the Fourth Amendment, that a serious medical condition has been aggravated by her detention, and that her detention imposes a hardship on her minor children. She sought immediate release or, alternatively, an emergency individualized bond hearing, along with a temporary restraining order barring her removal or transfer while the petition is pending. The court denied the emergency motion, finding that the request for a bond hearing sought the ultimate relief of the habeas petition itself and that claims of imminent removal or transfer were speculative.

A 29-year-old Mexican national who had lived in the U.S. since December 2024 on a nonimmigrant visa was arrested by immigration authorities on August 6, 2026, after overstaying his visa's authorized period, which had expired in June 2025. He had been residing with his fiancée, a U.S. citizen and homeowner, and was pursuing English classes and pilot training, with no criminal convictions. Following his arrest, he was placed in removal proceedings and detained at the Adelanto Detention Facility, where he remained held without ever receiving a bond hearing. He filed a habeas petition arguing his detention without an individualized custody determination violated due process, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act, seeking immediate release or a constitutionally adequate bond hearing with a heightened evidentiary burden on the government. The court found he was subject to standard detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) and was not entitled to release or a heightened bond standard, but ordered that he be released unless given a new bond hearing within seven days.

ICE arrested Heriton Da Silva Aredes, a Brazilian national previously deported in 2008 who later reentered the U.S., during a targeted operation in Taunton, Massachusetts. He faces a pending charge of negligent homicide with a motor vehicle after a November 20, 2025 crash in which his car struck 75-year-old Kenneth Carr of Taunton, a former Fall River fisherman, who died two days later from his injuries. ICE said local and state authorities released Aredes from custody on three prior occasions without honoring ICE detainers before he was ultimately arrested at large.

Luis Morales, a Venezuelan pastor who leads four Adventist churches in the Houston area, was detained by ICE agents at George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Aug. 6 while preparing to fly to New York with his wife to visit their daughters. Morales came to the U.S. with his wife, Karina, and their two daughters in 2020 and the family has lived in Houston since 2023. His wife says his Temporary Protected Status was revoked in November 2025, but the family's asylum case remains pending, and they had not received any deportation orders. Morales remains held at an ICE detention center in Livingston, Texas, while his family awaits answers.

Ana Caridad Linares, a 45-year-old woman from Coral Gables, admitted in federal court to falsely impersonating a federal officer by inventing a non-existent "Legal Administrative Specialist" position within ICE and using that fake title to file fraudulent motions with immigration courts requesting dismissal of deportation cases. She collected fees from clients before submitting documents formatted to appear as authentic government filings. The scheme was discovered in February 2024 when an immigration judge flagged one of her motions as fraudulent, leading investigators to trace at least three more similar motions filed during the same period. Linares faces up to three years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for August 20, 2026.

A Venezuelan woman living in Eagle Pass, Texas, who holds Temporary Protected Status and asylum, is seeking help to free her father, mother, and younger brother, who were detained by ICE within days of each other. Her father was detained at a checkpoint while driving a truck and is now held at the Pearsall detention center; the family has work permits and Social Security numbers. Her mother and brother were later detained while returning from Laredo to Eagle Pass and are held at Dilley. Her brother, who is about to graduate high school and wants to be an engineer, has struggled emotionally in detention, losing interest in eating and sleeping most of the day. According to the family's attorney, the parents have been building an asylum case with supporting evidence and have strong prospects for release, as both have no criminal history.

A Maryland federal judge held ICE in civil contempt for wrongfully deporting more than 50 unaccompanied minors in violation of a blanket court order barring their removal. The judge found that subsequent efforts to bring some of the minors back did not remedy the initial violation.

An 11-year-old unaccompanied migrant named Diego appeared alone before an immigration judge in New York City without legal representation, struggling to complete an asylum application in English. The hearing occurred after a federal contract funding legal services for detained immigrant children expired on July 31, leaving thousands of minors to represent themselves. Judge Lisa Ling, a former ICE prosecutor, gave Diego two and a half weeks to file his asylum application or face deportation, despite his expressed fear of returning to Guatemala. Multiple other unaccompanied children, some as young as 11, appeared in court that day without lawyers or adult advocates.

Mohamed Guezoui, born in Algeria, moved to the U.S. after marrying an American citizen. After his marriage ended, he found community through his friend Staci Tighe, whom he met at karaoke. Tighe was struggling through an illness at the time, and Guezoui visited her daily to offer support before his arrest. While working his shift at King Kabab restaurant in West Virginia, three masked ICE officers arrested him at his workplace. He was eventually deported. His detention marked the beginning of Operation Country Roads, a DHS enforcement sweep that resulted in approximately 600 arrests across West Virginia, primarily relying on local law enforcement cooperation.

Brayan Omar Sánchez, a 26-year-old Honduran truck driver and owner of a pressure-washing and painting business who had lived in South Florida for nearly a decade after fleeing gang violence that killed his father and other family members, was detained by ICE agents on May 13 while heading to a job site. He was transferred through detention centers in Colorado, Arizona, California and Texas before being flown roughly 21 hours to Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, on July 30 along with five other men — Cuban nationals Omar Rodríguez, Arístides Fernández, Yasmany Moreno and Daniel Lázaro Fuente, and Ecuadorian Mauricio Alvarado. Sánchez said he never signed deportation paperwork, believed he had asylum protection and a court order preventing removal, and said an ICE officer threatened the group with violence the night before if they refused to board the plane. He described arriving with only $20, which was confiscated by customs, and said he and the others are being held at a hotel in Bangui fearing for their safety. Sánchez is asking the Honduran government and members of Congress to help secure his return to the United States.

Four construction workers were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday, August 6, 2026, following a traffic stop conducted by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers outside Austin City Hall. DPS troopers, who are federally certified Designated Immigration Officers under the 287(g) program, pulled over a vehicle at Guadalupe Street and César Chávez Street after observing it driving the wrong way on a one-way street just before 9:30 a.m. The driver did not have a valid driver's license. After determining that all four occupants were not lawfully present in the United States, troopers contacted ICE agents, who arrived within three to four minutes and took the individuals into custody, confiscating their phones. The detention occurred while the Austin City Council was holding a budget meeting, and community members expressed outrage during public comment. By Thursday evening, family members did not know where the detainees had been taken. City Council members, including Mike Siegel, condemned the operation, with Siegel characterizing it as "state-sponsored kidnapping" and criticizing the collaboration between DPS and ICE.

Salvador Alvarenga Valle was arrested by ICE on July 17, 2026 while voluntarily appearing for a routine supervisory check-in, despite having lived in Tennessee's Middle District for 21 years and having no criminal record. He is married with two children and is the primary caretaker for one of his daughters, who has a life-threatening medical condition. A 2005 removal order against him had been vacated in 2024, and he has an active immigration case seeking relief under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act. After his arrest, ICE transferred him to a detention facility in Mason, Tennessee, denied him bond, and attempted to move him to Louisiana before an immigration judge in Memphis ultimately granted him bond of $1,500 on July 21, 2026.

A citizen of India entered the United States without inspection near Yuma, Arizona in December 2022 and was briefly detained before being released on parole and enrolled in an Alternatives to Detention program. He was issued a Notice to Appear in February 2023 charging him as removable, and he timely filed an asylum application while obtaining employment, developing community ties, and maintaining a clean criminal record. On August 5, 2026, he was taken into ICE custody after reporting to ICE offices, following multiple alleged violations of his Alternatives to Detention conditions dating back to 2023. He is currently detained at the Golden State Annex Detention Facility in McFarland, California. He filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus and a motion for a temporary restraining order, arguing his detention without a prior hearing violated his due process rights and seeking immediate release or a bond hearing. The government argued he was subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A). The court found that § 1226(a) governs his detention instead, granted the habeas petition in part, denied the TRO as moot, and ordered an individualized bond hearing within 14 days where the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that he is a flight risk or danger to the community.

A citizen of India who entered the U.S. in December 2022 and was released on parole under Alternatives to Detention has lived in the country for nearly four years, maintaining stable employment and strong ties to his Sikh community. He filed an asylum application in April 2023, which remains pending, and obtained work authorization valid through October 2028, complying with all ATD monitoring requirements and having no criminal history. On August 5, 2026, he was swept up when Deportation Officers assisting the FBI executed a search warrant at an apartment in Antelope, California—an address that was not his own residence, as his driver's license lists a Sacramento address. Although an I-213 noted he was 'identified as being part of an active shooting investigation,' the record contains no evidence connecting him to the shooting, and officers instead ran a biometrics check, determined he lacked lawful status, and arrested him on an administrative warrant. He was issued a Notice to Appear and detained at the Golden State Annex Detention Facility in McFarland, California, without a prior hearing. He filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus and a motion for a temporary restraining order, arguing his detention without notice or a hearing violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights. The court agreed, granted the habeas petition, ordered his immediate release, and enjoined the government from re-detaining him absent seven days' notice and a bond hearing demonstrating by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a flight risk or danger to the community.