Human Impact Project

Jack Chung, a lawful permanent resident and asylee who fled China after participating in pro-democracy protests, was taken into ICE custody on August 8 following what his family describes as a retaliatory report from a business associate. Chung, a father of three including a newborn, was transferred through Washington State and Virginia before being detained at a facility in Natchez, Mississippi, thousands of miles from his wife and children in Alaska. His wife Mojo is now caring for their newborn and two young sons alone in Alaska without his income, and the family is raising money for legal representation to fight the detention.

A man was detained by ICE in Fairbanks, Alaska on July 31, 2026, despite being in the United States legally and actively working toward permanent resident status. His sister describes him as hardworking and honest, someone who pays taxes, works steadily, and helps support their mother and his grandchildren. Within 24 hours of his detention in Fairbanks, he was transferred to Anchorage; his family fears further transfers out of state will make it increasingly difficult for them to communicate with him, secure legal representation, and advocate for his rights. The family is raising funds to cover immigration attorney fees, legal filings, travel, and communication costs necessary to fight for his release.

Jose Manuel Rivera-Rivera, 52, was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection during an operation near Thunder Mountain Middle School and held at Lemon Creek Correctional Center from Wednesday through Friday before being transferred to Anchorage Correctional Complex on a federal hold. Juneau Police Chief Derek Bos said his department was not involved in the CBP operation itself but assisted afterward, with an officer transporting Rivera-Rivera away from the area to help de-escalate the situation before returning him to Border Patrol custody. A friend, Kathleen Pollard, who has known him for more than a decade, said he has a family, goes to work, pays taxes, attends church weekly, and was seeking to become a legal citizen. He is the sixth person held in Juneau under a federal immigration custody hold since October, following the detentions of Ernesto Alanzo Haro, Alfredo Gomez-Guzman, Carlos Jara Medina, Peter Verkin, and Darwin Mendez-Cando.

Shucheng "Charlie" Yang, 32, a Chinese national employed as an attorney with Alaska's Department of Law Civil Division, was arrested by ICE on July 10, 2026 in Anchorage. Yang was admitted to the Alaska Bar Association and licensed to practice law in June 2025. According to ICE, Yang violated the terms of his admission to the U.S. and is subject to deportation, though the specific violation was not clarified by ICE. An attorney familiar with immigration proceedings suggested Yang likely applied for asylum. Court records show Yang received a speeding ticket in April for driving 103 mph in a 65 mph zone on the Seward Highway, which he resolved by pleading no contest and paying a $2,300 fine. As of July 16, he was being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington awaiting immigration proceedings scheduled for October.

Jefferson Hisola, a Filipino father and long-term Alaska resident, was released from ICE detention following a court decision in his favor and a widespread public campaign mobilizing community advocates. His release ended a legal battle that highlighted vulnerabilities in immigration status for long-term residents, even those with community ties and economic contributions.

A 12-year-old boy in Anchorage, Alaska, faces deportation by ICE despite claims to U.S. citizenship through his father, a U.S. military service member. USCIS has refused to recognize his citizenship claim without DNA testing to establish paternity. The boy was born to a Nigerian mother and the case remains pending.

Valeria Mendoza Santiago, a 25-year-old pregnant woman from Oaxaca, Mexico, was arrested by ICE agents at a bus stop in Anchorage on March 20, 2026, and transferred to Hiland Mountain Correctional Center before her lawyers won her release via a temporary restraining order citing ICE guidelines against detaining pregnant women. Her case is now proceeding in Alaska's federal court. Mendoza Santiago said she entered the U.S. near Tijuana in 2021 to join her husband, a flooring worker and member of the Triqui Indigenous group, and that she fears returning to Mexico due to threats of violence. She lives with her husband, their son, and her mother-in-law in Anchorage, where the family has enrolled their son in school and spent time together visiting parks.

A Vietnamese immigrant who arrived in the U.S. as a refugee in 1992 was detained by ICE on January 12, 2026, during what he believed was a routine check-in appointment at an Anchorage facility. He is a husband and father in the Anchorage area. ICE held him for 65 days in the Anchorage Correctional Complex, citing a denied green card application based on a prior conviction from the 1990s. His attorney and immigration lawyers disputed the detention, arguing he was eligible for permanent residency under the Indochinese Parole Adjustment Act and that the conviction on his DHS record was inaccurate. A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order, and ICE canceled his final administrative removal order on March 18, 2026, resulting in his release. He was released on conditions including an ankle monitor and weekly ICE reporting requirements.

On February 17, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained Sonia Espinoza Arriaga, a Mexican national, and her three children (ages 5, 16, and 18) in Soldotna, Alaska. The family had entered the United States in 2023 and declared themselves at the border seeking protection. Arriaga was married to a U.S. citizen and had been in regular contact with her immigration attorney, who believed no enforcement action would occur for 90 days. The detention followed Arriaga's missed immigration court hearing in January due to miscommunication about the date. Within 36 hours of detention, Arriaga and her two youngest children were deported to Tijuana, Mexico, while her 18-year-old son was transferred to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. An immigration attorney filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the legality of the detention, and the rapid deportation prompted an Alaska House Judiciary Committee investigation into ICE activity in the state.

Jhony Gonzalez Merino, a Mexican national from the Triqui Indigenous group, was arrested by ICE agents in Anchorage in February 2026 after dropping off his son at school. He had applied for asylum. After initial detention at the Anchorage jail, Gonzalez Merino was transferred to the federal immigration detention center in Tacoma, Washington, where he remains.