Human Impact Project

Wendy Hernandez Reyes, a 29-year-old undocumented immigrant and domestic violence survivor with no criminal record, was detained by Baldwin County sheriff's deputies in Mobile, Alabama on January 8, 2026, during a traffic stop while on her way to work. After ICE was contacted, she repeatedly requested to take her young U.S. citizen son, Orlin, with her or be released to care for him, but ICE denied these requests. She was deported to Honduras on January 26, 2026, forced to leave Orlin in the care of her brother-in-law, Samuel Maldonado Erazo. On March 4, 2026, Orlin died from multiple blunt force traumas inflicted by Maldonado, who was charged with first-degree murder. Hernandez Reyes remains in Honduras grieving her son's death, while a federal court reopened a case against the Department of Homeland Security alleging ICE failed to follow safety protocols and lacked a reunification plan; ICE has blamed Hernandez for leaving her son with the relative.

Aniceto Hernandez-Reyna, who came to the United States from Guanajuato, Mexico at age 17, was detained by ICE officers at a gas station outside Phoenix in front of his two younger sons. His daughter, Army Spc. Jasmine Hernandez, was stationed 2,000 miles away at Fort Stewart, Georgia, at the time; she had enlisted in 2024 in part to protect her family and had filed a Military Parole in Place application on her father's behalf more than a year earlier, which was still pending when he was detained. An ABC News review of state and federal records found no record of violent crime for Hernandez-Reyna, who has had several traffic violations including a 2002 DUI. He remains held at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona, and his daughter said she has only spoken with him once since his arrest, calling it 'a slap in the face' given her military service and describing the situation as a significant source of stress.

Juan Nasario-Reyes, 43, from Beaver, Oklahoma, was arrested at a Border Patrol checkpoint in Sarita after authorities discovered 42 undocumented immigrants in his tractor-trailer, which was sealed shut with no means of escape and an internal temperature of 92.5 degrees. He also faces charges for possessing approximately 16 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. If convicted on smuggling charges, Nasario-Reyes could face up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine; drug charges carry a maximum sentence of 40 years.

Deisy Fidelina Rivera Ortega, wife of active-duty U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Jose Serrano stationed at Fort Bliss, was detained by ICE agents on April 14, 2026, while attending a USCIS appointment in El Paso, Texas to apply for Parole in Place. A native of El Salvador who had lived in the U.S. for approximately a decade, Rivera Ortega held valid work authorization and a 2019 court order granting her withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture. Despite these legal protections, ICE arrested her based on a December 2019 removal order for illegal entry and indicated plans to deport her to Mexico under third-country removal procedures. After approximately one month in custody at the El Paso Service Processing Center, Rivera Ortega was released on May 15, 2026, following media reporting and personal intervention by U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat and combat veteran who contacted the Department of Homeland Security on her behalf. She remains subject to GPS monitoring, mandatory ICE check-ins, home visits, and travel restrictions while facing potential deportation.

Tuan Van Bui, a 55-year-old Vietnamese national who legally entered the U.S. in 1990 under the Amerasian Homecoming Act, died on April 1, 2026, at Miami Correctional Facility in Bunker Hill, Indiana while in ICE custody. Staff found him unresponsive, initiated CPR, and called emergency services; he was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. His autopsy ruled the death natural, caused by hypertensive arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Bui had been ordered removed from the country by an immigration judge in 2005 and was challenging his detention through a habeas corpus petition at the time of his death. His death was the second at the facility since October 2025, prompting the ACLU of Indiana to call for transparency and advocates to organize a statewide day of action on May 16, 2026, with over 70 protesters rallying at the Allen County Courthouse in Fort Wayne.

Annie Yaritza Ramos Alvarado, a 22-year-old Honduras-born immigrant who came to the U.S. as a toddler in 2005, was detained by ICE agents on April 2, 2026, at Fort Polk military base in Louisiana while trying to register for military benefits just days after marrying U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Matthew Blank, 23. Ramos, a college student with no criminal history, had applied for DACA in 2020 though her application was never processed, and was working with a lawyer to adjust her status through marriage. Her detention stemmed from an outstanding removal order issued in 2005 after her family missed an immigration hearing when she was 20 to 22 months old. She was held for about five days at an ICE facility in Basile, Louisiana, before being released on April 7 with a GPS ankle monitor, though a DHS spokesperson said the government would continue pursuing her deportation. "All I have ever wanted is to live with dignity in the country I have called home since I was a baby," Ramos said in a statement.

Justo Betancourt, a 54-year-old Cuban national who entered the U.S. in 1990 and held lawful status, was detained by ICE on October 29, 2025, during a routine annual immigration check-in. He was held for roughly seven months at the South Florida Detention Facility, known as Alligator Alcatraz, despite being unable to be readily deported to Cuba. During detention he was shackled up to 23 hours a day and denied adequate care for his diabetes, neuropathy, and heart conditions, leading to strokes, cardiac arrest, a diabetic coma from withheld insulin, significant weight loss, and lasting neurological damage including tremors and mobility impairment. His daughter Arianne organized weekly vigils outside the facility for 44 weeks advocating for his release. U.S. District Judge Kyle Dudek granted his habeas corpus petition on May 13, 2026, finding the detention erroneous and unlawful, and ordered his release within 48 hours; Betancourt was freed on May 14-15, 2026.

LT, a 30-year-old Haitian woman, fled her home country after supporters of an opposing political party burned down her house, kidnapped her, and raped her, and after her sister was later murdered. She arrived in Miami by boat in 2019 and sought asylum, later giving birth to a daughter. LT was detained at the Dilley detention center in Texas, roughly 1,500 miles from her 13-month-old daughter, who remained in Florida with LT's mother. The child has food allergies and sensitivities causing vomiting when fed formula, and the government denied LT's requests to pump and mail breastmilk or to bring the child into detention, citing a policy against holding US citizen children at immigration facilities. LT's mother struggled to work full time while caring for the infant's medical needs. LT's asylum case was ultimately denied after three months in detention.

U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested 52 people under Operation Checkmate in Arizona's Yuma Sector between May 11-15 for residing illegally in the United States. Thirty of those arrested were Indian nationals, with 36 total detainees driving commercial semi-trucks. Three of the Indian nationals lacked valid driver's licenses. All individuals arrested during the operation face deportation proceedings.

On March 14, 2026, Gerardo Gonzalez Reyes, 44, and his 17-year-old son Esteban were arrested during a traffic stop in San Marcos after police responded to a false report. Police confirmed no crime had occurred. Esteban was released, but ICE placed a detainer on Gonzalez Reyes based on prior DWI convictions from 2004 and 2005 and transferred him to T. Don Hutto Detention Center. Despite over two months of community advocacy, vigils, and petitions to drop criminal charges by his family—including U.S. citizen children and a disabled wife who depends on him as a caretaker—an immigration judge ordered his deportation to Mexico in May 2026. His family plans to appeal.

The petitioner has been held in immigration detention since May 15, 2026, at the Golden State Annex Detention Facility. He was subject to discretionary detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) after having previously been released on bond, conditional parole, or humanitarian parole. He filed a habeas corpus petition and a motion for a temporary restraining order, arguing that the government re-detained him without providing a constitutionally required pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter. The government conceded that the case was not distinguishable from the court's prior rulings finding such re-detention unconstitutional. The court agreed, finding the Due Process Clause required a pre-deprivation bond hearing before re-detention. The court granted the habeas petition and TRO, ordering his immediate release under the same conditions he had before detention, and required the government to give seven days' notice and hold a bond hearing before any future re-detention.

A Mexican citizen who entered the United States via Arizona in 1998 without inspection and has lived in the U.S. for 28 years. On May 15, 2026, while in Utah, he was stopped by local law enforcement during a traffic stop for a broken taillight and was subsequently placed in immigration detention at Mesa Verde Detention Center. ICE argued he could be detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), but the court rejected this argument, finding it inconsistent with prior precedent establishing that individuals who entered without inspection and were not apprehended upon arrival are not subject to mandatory detention. The court granted his petition for writ of habeas corpus on June 29, 2026, finding that his detention violated his procedural due process rights. The court ordered his immediate release and enjoined respondents from re-detaining him without providing notice and a pre-detention hearing before an immigration judge.

A Honduran citizen who entered the United States in August 2023 was paroled on September 21, 2023 with reporting requirements. On May 15, 2026, he appeared at his scheduled ICE check-in appointment in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he was taken into immigration custody. The court found that respondents failed to provide written notice of the reason for parole revocation and that the mandatory detention statute did not apply to paroled individuals. The court ordered his immediate release on his prior parole conditions and enjoined respondents from re-detaining him without notice and a pre-detention hearing before an immigration judge.

Roberto Orozco-Ramirez, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who had lived in Froid, Montana for 25 years and built a successful diesel repair business, was arrested by Border Patrol agents on January 25, 2026, after they staked out his home. He was charged with illegal reentry, but the government dropped that charge in April 2026, and he remained detained under the Trump administration's expanded mandatory detention policy for undocumented immigrants. Orozco-Ramirez is a father of four U.S. citizen children with no criminal record. The small, conservative town of Froid organized community fundraisers to support his family during his detention. On May 14-15, 2026, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Brian Morris ruled that his continued detention was unlawful, finding the administration's interpretation of mandatory detention law erroneous and in violation of due process and constitutional rights, and ordered his immediate release from the Cascade County Detention Center.

A Mexican national who has resided in the United States since approximately 1997 was arrested by ICE agents on May 15, 2026, while entering his residence after walking his dogs. He is the father of one U.S. citizen son, age 20, who is autistic and currently resides in Mexico, and has U.S. citizen nephews and nieces in the United States. He is a skilled electrician with no criminal convictions and no history of violence or criminal conduct during his nearly three decades of U.S. residence. He was seized without a warrant, without notice, and without an opportunity to contact counsel, and transferred directly to ICE custody at Delaney Hall Detention Facility in New Jersey, where he has been held since May 15, 2026. A Notice to Appear was issued on or about May 20, 2026, initiating removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review. He filed a habeas corpus petition seeking immediate release from custody or an individualized bond hearing, arguing his detention violates his Fifth Amendment due process rights and is arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Loba, a transgender woman from El Salvador, was detained at California City ICE detention center for six months in 2025. She experienced sexual harassment and intimidation from guards while housed in male dormitories. Due to the traumatic conditions and lack of support for LGBTQ+ detainees, she signed voluntary departure paperwork and self-deported to El Salvador.

Edual Rafael Ulloa, 25, of Framingham was arrested by Brookline Police on Thursday. After being released on bail that evening, ICE agents detained him near Boylston and Eliot streets in Chestnut Hill, citing an outstanding warrant from Natick District Court. Video showed agents forcibly placing him into a vehicle as he shouted for help and asked for water, claiming he had asthma and needed a hospital. ICE called 911 for assistance during the transport after Ulloa became disruptive, but Brookline officers who responded only monitored from a distance, citing a 2017 department policy against participating in federal immigration enforcement, according to Police Chief Jennifer Paster. Ulloa remains in ICE custody.

William Fabian Peralta-Malla, an Ecuadorian, was detained by ICE after being charged, but not convicted, in a vehicular manslaughter case. The government invoked the Laken Riley Act to justify mandatory detention based on the unproven charge alone. U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres ruled that detention without an individualized bond hearing violated due process, ordering a bond hearing within seven days and requiring the government to demonstrate clear and convincing evidence to justify continued detention.

Six people have been federally indicted in the Southern District of Georgia on charges of re-entering the United States after prior deportations. The defendants — Alejandro Mendoza-Hernandez, Didier Mora-Tino, Marcos Saraya-Canales, Porfirio Suarez-Olan, Luis Angel Velasquez-Montes, and Kenny Omar Diaz-Diaz — were arrested across multiple South Georgia counties including Long, Ware, Evans, Atkinson, and Chatham counties. According to prosecutors, all are citizens of Mexico or Honduras and were allegedly in the United States illegally after prior removals. The charge carries a maximum penalty of up to two years in federal prison, followed by deportation proceedings.

Jose Francisco Orellana-Rivera, a Honduran who entered the U.S. as a 4-year-old in 2001 and is a DACA recipient married to a U.S. citizen with two U.S.-citizen children, was detained by ICE without a pre-detention hearing. U.S. District Judge Hernán D. Vera ruled the detention violated his constitutional rights and due process protections, ordering ICE to release him immediately and barred re-detention without a proper bond hearing. He was arrested six times as an adult between 2016 and 2025, but all charges were dismissed and he has no criminal convictions.