Human Impact Project

M, an uncle and construction worker living in the Atlanta area for nearly twenty years, was detained by ICE in late June after being pulled over in Gainesville for an expired vehicle tag. He was held at Stewart Detention Center and was released on bond a few days before his brother's arrest, but is required to wear an ankle monitor.

Jaqueline (Jacky) Ramirez Juarez, an honors student at Cedartown High School in Georgia, was detained by ICE weeks before her scheduled graduation. The student, who planned to attend Georgia Highlands College to pursue nursing, faced an uncertain future as her family fought for her release while dealing with mounting legal fees. Her community launched a fundraiser to support her case. Despite her detention, she was recognized during graduation ceremonies for her academic achievements, with classmates and faculty honoring her despite her absence from the ceremony.

Jimmy Chang, a 37-year-old Georgia realtor, was killed in a crash in Chamblee when 20-year-old Christian Fernando Irias-Ruiz ran a red light at 100 mph and struck Chang's vehicle. Irias-Ruiz, a noncitizen from Honduras who was previously arrested by Border Patrol in 2021, faces charges including homicide by vehicle, DUI, reckless driving, and driving under the influence while underage. ICE placed a detainer with the DeKalb County jail.

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.

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.

Suzy Gerónimo, a transgender activist and founder of Fuerza y Unión Múltiple in North Carolina, was detained by ICE following a traffic stop in Franklin County in March 2026 and transferred to Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. She reported being housed in a male unit despite being a transgender woman, and faced harassment, unsafe conditions, lack of Spanish-speaking staff, and inadequate privacy. During her April 28 bail hearing, her legal team announced plans to file an asylum application. A judge ordered DHS to provide accommodations, though implementation has been inconsistent. The community organized support funds and legal defense for her case.

Buenos Dias Coffee, a Latin-owned coffee shop in Rossville, Georgia, is closing after three years in business following the ICE detention of its owner and operator. The owner was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a traffic stop and is facing deportation. Her family, who co-own the business, announced the closure on Facebook and decided to sell the cafe and relocate to Mexico to reunite with and support the detained mother while she remains in custody.

Axel Gerardo Archaga Rios, an 18-year-old junior at Dunwoody High School who arrived in the U.S. at age 4 with his mother seeking asylum, was arrested by Dunwoody Police on March 27, 2026, for running a stop sign and driving without a valid license. He was booked into DeKalb County Jail under the 287(g) program, posted bond, and was released into ICE custody on March 29. Rios was transferred to Folkston ICE Processing Center near Brunswick, Georgia. His attorney filed a stay of removal and a motion to reopen his 2015 removal order to pursue asylum relief, but both requests were denied. Rios was deported to Honduras, where he subsequently adjusted to life with his grandmother.

Rodney Taylor, a 47-year-old double amputee barber from Liberia who arrived in the U.S. as a child on a medical visa, was arrested by ICE on January 15, 2025, and held at Stewart Detention Center in South Georgia for 15 months based on a decades-old burglary conviction from his teenage years. Despite receiving a state pardon in 2010, holding a valid work permit, and having a pending green card application through his adult son, Taylor remained in ICE custody. During detention, he experienced severe medical neglect including denial of adequate food, proper prosthetics, exposure to contaminated water, and inadequate medical care for his disabilities, resulting in new health conditions such as bone spurs and neuropathy. Taylor was released in early May 2026 following sustained advocacy by U.S. Representative Lucy McBath, Senator Raphael Warnock, Representative Pramila Jayapal, additional members of Congress, his wife Mildred, community organizations, and legal representatives. His deportation case remains pending appeal.

Dy, who was previously detained by ICE for over five months during Trump's first term and released after a habeas corpus petition, has been detained again at Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. He is separated from his wife Tammy and their family, with another child expected soon, and notes that habeas cases at the facility go to a single lifetime-appointed judge. Denny Adan Gonzalez, a 33-year-old Cuban national, died on April 28, 2026, at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. He was found unresponsive in his cell at approximately 10:26 PM and pronounced dead within an hour despite lifesaving measures. Authorities suspected suicide, though the official cause remained under investigation. Gonzalez had been arrested by local police in Charlotte, North Carolina in January 2026 on assault and domestic violence charges before being transferred to ICE custody. His death marked the 18th detainee fatality in ICE custody in 2026 and the fourth Cuban national to die during the current Trump administration.

Denny Adan Gonzalez, a 33-year-old Cuban national, was found unresponsive in his cell at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, on April 28, 2026, at approximately 10:25 p.m. and pronounced dead at 11:11 p.m. ICE reported the suspected cause as suicide, though the official cause remained under investigation. Gonzalez had been in solitary confinement following an alleged altercation with a staff member the day before. He had arrived at a U.S. port of entry in 2019, was deported in 2020, re-entered without authorization in 2022, and was transferred to Stewart in January 2026 after arrest in North Carolina on assault and domestic violence charges. Immigration advocates, his mother Lourdes González Suárez, and U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock called for independent investigation and improved transparency regarding ICE custody deaths.

Dy, a Vietnamese refugee with an order of supervision, was arrested by ICE in November 2017 during a home visit and detained for five months and twenty-one days before being released following public attention and a habeas corpus petition. In fall 2025, during Trump's second term, Dy was arrested again after attending an ICE check-in appointment at the Atlanta field office, where he was sent on what he describes as a trap involving confusing directions between floors. He was transferred to Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, where he remained in detention as of April 2026. Dy is a former incarcerated person who turned his life around, became a Christian, married Tammy, and together they own a home and are raising three children with a fourth on the way. His wife and community have organized to support him, including celebrating a gender reveal party during his detention via video call with commissary materials.

A father of seven in Gainesville, Georgia was taken into custody by local police on March 24, 2026, and placed on an ICE hold. Despite the family taking out a loan for legal help, he was deported to Mexico, leaving his wife and children behind. He had been the family's sole provider, and his children now struggle to cover the mortgage on the home they have lived in for over twenty years, facing possible eviction.

An Emanuel County Commissioners' Office employee was arrested after an internal audit discovered unauthorized use of a county credit card for personal purchases. Risa K. Fortner, 48, of Kite, Georgia, was charged with theft by taking after receipts showed items were delivered to her home address. She was booked into the Emanuel County Detention Center.

Celia, a single mother of five, was arrested by ICE at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport on March 12, 2026, while boarding a flight to San Diego after attending her stepson's military graduation. She had a pending U-visa application certified by the U.S. Attorney General's Office after coming forward with claims of sexual abuse by a former officer at Federal Correctional Institution Dublin in California, where she had been incarcerated. Despite informing ICE agents of her pending U-visa and assisting in the federal investigation, supervisors told agents to proceed with her deportation regardless of her pending immigration relief. She was sent to Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, and was deported to Mexico about a week later. Her attorney, Susan Beatty, characterized the action as "a slap in the face."

An man who was in ICE custody escaped from an ICE agent's vehicle near Chambers Drive and Sigman Road in Rockdale County, Georgia on Monday afternoon. The man had been arrested by Conyers Police on Saturday for a traffic violation and was being transferred by ICE when he jumped from the vehicle and fled. Law enforcement from multiple agencies established a perimeter and captured the man shortly after 3 p.m.

Special education teacher Linda Davis was killed when a man fleeing immigration officers crashed into her car. The incident involved a driver who was being pursued by ICE at the time of the collision.

Jimmy Paz, a Georgia man with a valid work permit and no criminal record, was detained by ICE agents during a traffic stop in January despite presenting valid identification documents. Paz, who has lived in the U.S. for 21 years and was approved for temporary protected status in 2022, is being held at the ICE Processing Center in Folkston. His family expresses concern about his health, as he had a heart transplant four years ago, and hopes he will be released to continue his asylum process outside of custody.

A 21-year-old woman who was eight months pregnant and in medical distress was deported to Colombia by ICE on January 22, 2026, despite a temporary restraining order issued too late to prevent her deportation. The woman, Zharick Daniela Buitrago Ortiz, had crossed the border seeking asylum in November 2025 and was reportedly denied adequate medical care while in custody. A federal judge issued the order enjoining ICE from deporting her, but she had already been boarded on a plane by that time.

Heber Sánchez, a 34-year-old day laborer from Las Choapas, Veracruz, Mexico, died in ICE custody at the Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility in Clayton County, Georgia. He had been arrested in Atlanta on January 7, 2026 for driving without a license and transferred to the facility, where a guard found him a week later tied to his bunk with a rope around his neck; resuscitation attempts failed and he was pronounced dead. His family disputes that he took his own life and is demanding an investigation into why he did not receive adequate medical care. The Mexican Consulate has requested clarification on the circumstances and is coordinating to return his body to Mexico. He is survived by a wife and two children.