Human Impact Project

Marie-Thérèse Ross, an 86-year-old French citizen and widow, was arrested by ICE agents on April 1, 2026, at her home in Anniston, Alabama, for overstaying her 90-day tourist visa. Ross had entered the U.S. in June 2025 on a Visa Waiver Program to marry William Ross, a retired U.S. military veteran whom she had known since the 1950s after meeting him while he was stationed at a NATO base in France. After her husband died unexpectedly in January 2026, she fell out of legal status and became involved in a contested probate dispute with her late husband's stepsons over his estate. She was handcuffed at her home and transferred to an immigration detention facility in Basile, Louisiana, where she was held for 16 days in dormitory conditions with approximately 58-70 other women. Despite suffering from pre-existing heart and back problems, she experienced deteriorating health during detention and reported post-traumatic stress symptoms. An Alabama judge noted that her stepson, a former state trooper and federal employee, may have used his position to prompt her detention. Following intervention by the French foreign minister and the French Consul General, who visited her twice and coordinated with U.S. officials, Ross was released and returned to France.

Maria, a 29-year-old woman, fled Colombia in January 2024 after being kidnapped and tortured by the FARC rebel group and abused by her ex-husband, a police officer. In May 2025, a U.S. immigration judge found she would more likely than not be tortured if deported to Colombia and granted her protection under the Convention Against Torture. She was nonetheless detained at a routine ICE check-in earlier this year, told a third country had been found for her, and less than three weeks later flown to the Democratic Republic of Congo with her hands and feet restrained during a nearly 24-hour charter flight, learning her destination only the day before departure. She is one of 15 Latin Americans the Trump administration has sent to Congo, many despite U.S. court orders barring their deportation to their home countries, and a recent court ruling found the government likely broke the law in deporting a fellow Colombian there.

A federal magistrate judge in the Western District of Louisiana ordered Alireza Anjomshoa, an Iranian national, released from ICE custody after finding that an affidavit from ICE's assistant New Orleans field office director, Matthew W. Reaves, failed to show his removal was likely. Reaves had argued ICE was working with the State Department and DHS to deport Anjomshoa to a third country, but the judge found the affidavit instead documented 11 months of unsuccessful deportation efforts. His case was one of several in which judges rejected the government's arguments for continuing to detain Iranian nationals amid halted deportations to Iran following the war that began in February 2026. Despite the release order, Anjomshoa has since been held at Oldham County Jail in Kentucky, where he filed an amended habeas corpus petition in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky challenging his continued detention.

A 23-year-old Honduran man granted legal status and work authorization under a federal court settlement for families separated by the Trump administration's zero tolerance policy was arrested by ICE in October 2025 after Louisiana wildlife officers reported him for target shooting in a protected area. Despite possessing valid immigration documents and parole status, he was detained for over five months and issued a deportation order on January 6, 2026. At least 25 other people with similar legal protections have been detained or deported by ICE in recent months. The government has also imposed new $1,000-per-person fees and canceled contracts with legal service providers, violating the terms of the federal settlement agreement. The ACLU filed a motion for his release on April 1, 2026.

Annie Yaritza Ramos Alvarado, a 22-year-old Honduran-born immigrant who arrived in 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 attempting to complete paperwork to move in with her spouse, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Matthew Blank, 23, whom she had recently married. Ramos was a college student with no criminal history who had applied for DACA status in 2020, though her application was never processed. She was working with a lawyer to adjust her immigration status through marriage, a process that typically allows spouses of U.S. citizens to obtain legal permanent residency. She had been subject to an outstanding removal order issued in 2005 after her family missed an immigration court hearing when she was 22 months old. After being held for nearly a week at an ICE detention facility in Basile, Louisiana, Ramos was released on April 7 and ordered to wear a GPS monitor while removal proceedings continue.

Sinri Baltazar, a member of the Afro-indigenous Garifuna community from Honduras, was first separated from her then-5-year-old daughter in 2018 under the Trump administration's family separation policy. In 2024-2025, immigration officials presented her with a document they claimed would allow her family to stay together, but it actually facilitated their removal. She was deported with her three children, including one who is a U.S. citizen. Under a federal judge's order in April 2026, she was allowed to return to Louisiana with her three children. The family is currently living with an acquaintance from church while working to reestablish stable housing. Baltazar expressed gratitude that her children could seek a better life but emphasized the family's desire for a safe home of their own.

A Guatemalan national who entered the United States in 2008 at age 15 was taken into immigration custody on March 31, 2026. An immigration judge entered an Order of Removal on May 18, 2026, which he appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals. He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his continued detention as unlawful and unconstitutional, alleging inadequate medical care for cervical and lumbar spinal injuries, due process violations, and that less restrictive alternatives exist. The court denied his emergency motion for a temporary restraining order prohibiting removal but ordered respondents to file a sealed medical status report within 14 days.

On March 28, 2026, a charter deportation flight carrying several dozen Russian citizens departed from Alexandria, Louisiana, and arrived in Moscow on March 29 via Newark and Cairo. The deportees were gathered from five or six immigration detention centers across the United States. Human rights advocates reported harsh transfer conditions including shackles and extended periods without seating. Some deportees faced FSB questioning upon arrival, and human rights organizations noted concerns about potential Kremlin reprisals against returnees, including those who had opposed the invasion of Ukraine.

Ali and Adel, an Iranian gay couple in their late 30s and early 40s, were detained by border patrol after entering the U.S. from Mexico in early 2025, seeking asylum. Both fled Iran after being arrested by morality police for their relationship, which is punishable by death under Iranian law. Their asylum claims were initially denied, and their appeals are ongoing. Adel was injured in Mexico and remains wheelchair-bound without proper medical treatment; he has experienced severe health complications including organ damage, significant weight loss, and fainting while in ICE custody. Both men face potential deportation to Iran as the Trump administration has reversed decades of policy allowing Iranians fleeing persecution to remain in the U.S. Court orders have so far prevented their deportation, though deportation flights to Iran are paused due to ongoing war. Their lawyer, Rebekah Wolf, states they did not receive full hearings on their asylum claims.

Following President Trump's mass deportation campaign, federal agents have conducted large-scale immigration enforcement crackdowns across multiple U.S. cities, including a five-week operation in New Orleans, resulting in hundreds of thousands of arrests and deportations. Companion animals including dogs, cats, bunnies, and chickens have been left behind by deported families, overwhelming pet rescue organizations and animal control agencies. In New Orleans East, residents Luis and Nivia Burke have taken in a growing number of stray and abandoned pets, including a dog named Rocky whose owner left him behind when he returned to Honduras after growing fearful of detention. The Louisiana SPCA, which handles animal control for the city, reported the number of surrendered animals in 2025 was nearly double that of previous years, a rise attributed to both immigration arrests and families sheltering in place out of fear of deportation.

A 21-year-old Moroccan woman with a U.S. immigration judge's ruling prohibiting her return to Morocco was deported to Cameroon in mid-January 2026 as part of a secret third-country removal program. Without due process or legal counsel, she was subsequently returned to Morocco, where she faced persecution for her sexual orientation. She is now in hiding.

Lucia, a pregnant woman detained by ICE after appearing for a regular check-in appointment, began experiencing heavy vaginal bleeding in the middle of the night when she was two months pregnant. She requested immediate medical attention but was not taken to see medical staff for several hours. Instead, medical staff left her alone in a small room without food, water, or pain medication while she bled heavily. After significant blood loss, she was transported to an emergency room with her arms and legs shackled while actively miscarrying. She required a blood transfusion due to the miscarriage. She was returned to ICE custody and continued experiencing abdominal pain and heavy bleeding for another month before being deported.

Julieta, who held a valid visa, was detained for two months at Basile detention center. She was shackled at the ankles, hands, and waist during cross-country transport and feared that poor nutrition and the stress of detention could endanger her pregnancy.

Alicia arrived for a routine ICE check-in in Louisiana and was detained without warning, then sent to Basile detention center. She soon discovered she was pregnant. She received small portions of poor-quality food that left her feeling weak and hungry. By May, she began experiencing severe abdominal pain, cramping, and bleeding. She was taken to a local hospital for a blood test but received no explanation of her medical treatment or interpretation. At the emergency room, medical personnel performed an invasive uterine test without her consent, injected her with an unknown medication, and informed her that she had miscarried. Despite this miscarriage, ICE returned her to Basile that night and detained her for two more months. She continued to experience heavy bleeding, swelling, fever, and severe uterine pain, submitting repeated sick call requests that went unanswered. In July 2025, ICE deported Alicia, separating her from her children, and she later sought hospital care for a severe infection acquired while in custody.

A federal judge in Louisiana ordered the immediate release of four men who were unlawfully re-detained by ICE after living in their communities for years while regularly checking in with the agency. U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that ICE failed to justify the re-detention, failed to show deportation was likely, and violated due process rights. The men had been detained again in summer 2025 and were held at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola before their release. The ruling drew public criticism from the Department of Homeland Security and the Louisiana Attorney General, who both said the men should not have been freed.

Melissa Tran, a Maryland mother of four and former health care worker, was shackled at her wrists, waist, and ankles without food or water for over 10 hours before takeoff on an ICE deportation flight operated by Omni Air International. She remained shackled for approximately 80 hours total across a multi-day journey to Hanoi, Vietnam. Her wrists became dented and red from the restraints. She reported soiling herself during the flight and described feeling like she was less than an animal.

A former ICE detention officer named David Courvelle pleaded guilty in federal court to sexually abusing a woman while she was in federal custody at an ICE facility in Louisiana over several months. Courvelle faces up to 15 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.

Cecil Elvir-Quinonez, a 25-year-old Honduran national who has lived in the U.S. since 2014, was arrested on New Year's Eve 2025 after being stopped for speeding in Louisiana. She was separated from her two American-born children, including a five-month-old still breastfeeding at the time of arrest. While in ICE custody, Elvir-Quinonez discovered she was pregnant with her third child. She experienced heavy bleeding and cramps but received limited medical care beyond one emergency room visit. Her youngest child has been repeatedly sick since her arrest, and her five-year-old has developed new speech difficulties. Advocacy groups including the ACLU and National Immigration Project report that Elvir-Quinonez's case is part of a documented pattern: more than a dozen women have suffered medical neglect and mistreatment while pregnant in ICE custody, including cases of women shackled during miscarriages, denied prenatal care, and given inadequate nutrition. The advocacy coalition has urged ICE to release all pregnant detainees.

Federal agents conducted traffic stops near a Meta Platforms data center construction site in Louisiana as part of Operation Catahoula Crunch, targeting dump trucks and other vehicles headed to the build area. Over 90% of those detained had no criminal records. The enforcement activity disrupted construction logistics and caused community anxiety among immigrant households.

A 26-year-old woman from the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a court-granted protection order preventing deportation was removed to Cameroon in mid-January 2026 after spending a year in ICE detention. She had fled her country after being raped by police and mistaken for a Rwandan during armed conflict.