Human Impact Project

Homero Calderón, a professional soccer player from Venezuela who played for clubs in Venezuela, Portugal, Cyprus and Italy, has been held in an ICE detention center in Folkston, Georgia for about five months. He was pulled over for speeding by the Marion County Sheriff's Office in Florida in late February 2026, arrested for driving without a valid Florida license, and transferred to ICE custody despite having two pending applications with USCIS — a tourist visa extension and an EB-1A visa for people with extraordinary abilities. He is a father of two U.S. citizen children, ages 1 and 3, and recently missed his daughter's first birthday. His wife said that in 17 years together she had 'never heard him cry or ask for help like he has.' His family says he has no criminal record, and USCIS has a backlog of 11.3 million pending cases.

Abraham Domingo and Maria Leiva, a Guatemalan couple who had lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years, were pulled over and detained by Border Patrol agents on August 9, 2026, while driving with their five children near Greenacres/Lake Worth, Florida. Domingo worked as a plumber and electrician, while Leiva managed the household; agents said the family's car had a license plate flagged as belonging to a non-citizen. Their 18-year-old daughter Wendy, a U.S. citizen who had just turned 18 and was driving because her parents could not, was left in charge of her four younger siblings, ages 3 to 16. A video showing the children crying and hugging their parents goodbye circulated widely online. The parents are now held in separate detention facilities in Broward County, and an immigration judge has ordered Leiva deported. Wendy said she now plans to work two jobs to support her siblings instead of attending college classes she had been accepted into to study to become an ultrasound technician, saying, 'I never thought both my parents would get taken away at the same time, leaving me in charge of my four siblings.'

Luckner Jean Louis, a Haitian immigrant, was arrested by ICE officers on the morning of August 9, 2026, in West Park while on his way to work. Video footage captured the moment officers approached, handcuffed him, and took him into custody. Details about Jean Louis' immigration status, where he was taken after arrest, and the reason ICE targeted him were not immediately available. The arrest sparked concern within the Haitian community, which includes many TPS beneficiaries, asylum seekers, and people with pending status adjustments. Community leaders and immigrant rights advocates called for increased vigilance, urging people to consult immigration attorneys and monitor developments in U.S. immigration policy.

A man was arrested by ICE agents outside his family's home in Florida moments after dropping his younger son off for soccer practice. He was held at the Miramar GSA ICE Processing Center for about 96 hours, with roughly 67 hours passing without any contact with his family, before being transferred to the Broward Transitional Center. Despite his family submitting over 200 pages of documentation, including community testimonies and 20 years of tax records showing no criminal history after more than 25 years in the U.S., his bond was denied on flight-risk grounds. He was then transferred again, traveling more than 27 hours with his hands and feet restrained to the Rio Grande Detention Center in Texas, during which he was fed only about twice. His family describes him as a husband of over 28 years, a father of two, a taxpayer, a maintenance supervisor, and a soccer coach, and is now pursuing a bond redetermination.

Magdalena Jimenez Juan and her husband Antonio Pedro Andres came to the United States from Guatemala over 25 years ago seeking medical treatment for their son Rafael, who has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a genetic neurological disorder causing progressive muscle weakness. The couple has four American citizen children, including their 18-year-old son Yoni who also has the same rare disorder and requires wheelchair assistance. Despite ICE permitting them to live and work in the country for decades and their documented medical hardship and clean criminal record, ICE denied their stay of removal on June 23 without explanation. Antonio is detained at Krome Detention Center in Miami awaiting deportation to Guatemala, and Magdalena has until August 27 to self-deport or face detention. If deported, Yoni and Rafael will be placed in state custody while their 22-year-old brother Ervi becomes the sole guardian of their 15-year-old sister Erica.

A witness recorded video of ICE agents using a vehicle to pin a Guatemalan man against a fence to detain him on Aug. 10 in Hallandale Beach. The footage sparked outrage among activists from several organizations, including the Guatemalan-Maya Center and 50501, who gathered to protest at Hallandale Beach City Hall. Advocates said the incident occurred amid an escalation in ICE activity across South Broward and North Miami following the end of TPS, and called on the Hallandale Beach Police Department to document federal misconduct and avoid partnering with ICE under 287(g) agreements.

Leonel Armando Bolívar Linares, a 29-year-old Venezuelan custodian at a St. Johns County school, was detained by ICE agents on August 5, 2026, while driving to work after a traffic stop. Bolívar Linares holds a valid work permit and driver's license, has a pending asylum application, and is legally present in the country. He has no criminal record and holds a university degree in journalism. His mother, Dayana Linares, and other family members who also work at the school expressed concern about the manner of his arrest and fear of deportation, noting that returning to Venezuela would pose a risk to his safety. His union, the St. Johns Educational Support Professionals Association, backed him and demanded his release. His family is raising funds to cover immigration bond, attorney's fees, and legal expenses.

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.

Migrant children as young as six were detained at the Homestead facility adjacent to Homestead Air Reserve Base, a Superfund site with roughly 16 pollution sources including arsenic and lead, according to over 20,000 pages of records released in federal litigation. The records link the contamination to risks of cancer, kidney and liver damage, immune-system harm and developmental delays, and show no documented environmental assessment, cleanup or hurricane plan at the site. The facility, which closed in 2019, also exposed children to constant noise from F-16C fighter jets, with some detainees separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. Earthjustice sued the Air Force, DHS and ICE in 2021 to obtain the records, and the federal government has agreed to pay legal fees now that the litigation has concluded; officials declined to comment.

Claudia Carolina Rodríguez Caglianone, a 28-year-old Venezuelan who entered the U.S. on a student visa in January 2017, was detained by ICE agents at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on July 17 after passing through TSA security while boarding a domestic flight. She had a pending asylum application and previously held Temporary Protected Status, and had earned bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, where she also captained the women's soccer team. She was held for eight days at the Miramar processing facility, describing overcrowding, moldy food, and lack of access to showers, before being transferred to the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach for nine more days, during which she lost about 15 pounds. On August 3, an immigration judge set bond at $5,000 and she was released; Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz publicly supported her and conducted an inspection of the Pompano Beach facility.

A Venezuelan man who was paroled into the United States in September 2023 was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on August 3, 2026, following a traffic stop. An immigration judge had ordered him removed to Venezuela on July 13, 2026, but he is pursuing an appeal of that removal order, so it is not yet final. He is held at the North Florida Detention Facility. He filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus arguing he was not subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) and sought immediate release. The court agreed, finding that because he was not seeking entry at the border when re-detained, he was not subject to mandatory detention under § 1225 and was instead entitled to an individualized bond hearing under § 1226(a). The court granted the petition, ordering respondents to either provide him a bond hearing within seven days or release him, and denied the government's motion to dismiss.

Jorge Luis Eliecer Ruiz, a 36-year-old Venezuelan national, was detained by ICE on August 3, 2026, after being stopped near the intersection of Wiles Road and State Road 7 in Coconut Creek. He is married to Courtney Walter, a U.S. citizen who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. The couple married in 2025 and filed an I-130 family-based petition in September 2025 to establish Ruiz's lawful permanent residency. Walter said the stress of her husband's detention has worsened her health, causing her to lose weight and struggle to eat. Ruiz is being held at the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach. His attorney, David Estrella, is pursuing a habeas corpus petition and argues that Ruiz has withholding of removal protection that prevents his return to Venezuela.

Claudia Rodríguez, a 29-year-old Venezuelan immigrant who earned her master's degree in business administration from St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, was detained by ICE at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in July while attempting to board a flight to North Carolina. Rodríguez arrived in the U.S. legally in 2017 on a tourist visa, applied for asylum within six months, and was granted Temporary Protected Status in 2023 while her asylum case remains pending. She was transferred between two South Florida detention facilities, spending eight days at the ICE office in Miramar in severely overcrowded conditions—sleeping on floors in a cell with 75 people, unable to shower or change clothes, and losing 15 pounds. Her cousin Gabriel Domínguez described her as an exemplary athlete with no criminal record. U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz visited the Miramar facility to advocate for her release, calling the detention "unacceptable." Rodríguez was released on Monday evening.

ICE Miami, working with the Miami-Dade County Sheriff's Office, arrested Roberto Gonzalez-Fonseca, a 57-year-old lawful permanent resident from Cuba, on July 31. Gonzalez-Fonseca had been ordered removed by an immigration judge in 2010 following a prior conviction. He is currently in ICE custody pending removal from the United States.

Yasmany Noel Moreno-De Armas, a Cuban immigrant who fled Cuba by raft and reunited with his family in the U.S. in 2022 after six years apart, was deported on July 30, 2026 to the Central African Republic, a country he has no ties to. He says he fears punishment from the Cuban government for having been a balsero and for trying to use the 'wet foot, dry foot' policy, and did not know where he was being sent until the plane landed. He now lives in Bangui under IOM protection, has developed high blood pressure and panic attacks, and his father in South Florida says the family is once again separated.

Jacob Zapeta-Castro, a Guatemalan national and owner of El Quetzal Bakery in Lake Worth Beach, was detained by ICE agents on July 9, 2026. According to his family and advocates, Zapeta-Castro locked himself and his coworkers inside the business to protect undocumented employees from detention. ICE characterized his actions as fleeing agents. At the time of arrest, Zapeta-Castro held a valid work permit, Social Security number, and driver's license, and had filed for asylum in June 2024 and a withholding of removal petition. Multi-agency law enforcement—including ICE, Florida Highway Patrol, and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office—surrounded the business with approximately 50 officers while roughly 50 community members protested outside. The standoff lasted hours in extreme heat. He was charged with re-entering the country after deportation and held in ICE detention in Stuart, with his arraignment scheduled for July 29 in federal court in West Palm Beach. His arrest occurred during a four-day ICE operation in Palm Beach County that resulted in 309 total arrests.

A Venezuelan influencer known on social media as "La Real Muñeca" was detained by ICE agents at Orlando International Airport while preparing to board a flight. According to reports on social media, the agents were in plain clothes and were waiting near the boarding gate. She had been participating in a digital program called "La Prisión de Destino" and was heading back to her residence. A person close to the case reported that she has retained a lawyer. Immigration authorities have not publicly disclosed the reasons for her arrest or additional details about her legal situation.

Alexander Jarquin-Jarquin, a Nicaraguan asylum seeker with a valid work permit and driver's license, was arrested on July 26, 2026, while on his way to work with no stated reason. He entered the U.S. in 2021 through the southern border, was released by ICE under parole, and has since obtained legal work authorization and worked 12-hour days supporting his elderly father in Nicaragua and his wife in the U.S. He has no criminal history. He is now in immigration custody with his case before an immigration judge, and his family is raising funds for legal fees and bond to secure his release and demonstrate community ties.

Four U.S. citizen siblings—Eliza, 21; Jessica, 18; Romeo Jr., 15; and Cynthia, 13—have been living on their own in Florida since last fall when both their parents, who are from Guatemala and undocumented, were detained by ICE. Their father was held at Alligator Alcatraz and then transferred to a detention center in Georgia, while their mother was held at a federal facility in Arizona. Eliza dropped out of college to take over the family landscaping business and pay rent, while the children await the outcome of their mother's deportation hearing. According to the Brookings Institution, approximately 205,000 children—including 145,000 U.S. citizens—have likely had a parent detained in the past year and a half due to immigration enforcement actions.

Carlos Hugo Betancur, a 52-year-old Colombian national, was detained by ICE on July 8, 2026, while pumping gas at a Marathon station in Doral on his way to work. An immigration officer approached him from behind, asked for identification, and detained him after he provided his Florida driver's license. Betancur had filed a political asylum application in January 2023 and possessed both an employment authorization card and a Florida driver's license. He spent 8 days at the Miramar Processing Center and 8 days at Krome Detention Center before being released on electronic monitoring. At Miramar, he described severe overcrowding, with 93 to 104 detainees held in a single room with insufficient space for everyone to sit or sleep simultaneously. His daughter, Maria Alejandra Betancur, disputed the detention, noting he had valid asylum and work authorization documents. He is now required to wear an ankle monitor while his immigration case proceeds before an immigration judge.