Human Impact Project

Thierno Diallo, a Guinean national previously granted withholding of removal to Guinea, was detained by ICE during a routine check-in at 26 Federal Plaza in New York after the agency moved to deport him to Ghana as a third-country national. He was then transferred to the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, New Jersey. Diallo filed a federal habeas corpus petition challenging his detention, and a district judge granted the petition in part, ordering relief while denying other requested relief.

Detainees at facilities including the Buffalo Federal Detention Center have faced delayed or denied medical treatment since ICE stopped paying external medical providers on October 3, 2025, after the Department of Veterans Affairs abruptly ended its decades-old agreement to process these payments following criticism from activists who falsely claimed immigrants were diverting veterans' resources. Eleven months later, ICE still has no system to pay for outside care, leaving providers like UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital owed more than $4 million for 150 detainee hospital admissions and visits, and Moshannon Valley EMS in Pennsylvania unpaid for 43 ambulance calls to a detention center since October 2025. The VA had processed over $246 million in claims for detainee medical care in 2024 before ending the arrangement, even though ICE had been fully reimbursing the VA for the service.

Alicbiades "Alex" Lazaro Ramirez Gonzalez, husband of Yannier Vazquez Hidalgo, was ordered deported to Ecuador by an immigration judge one week before his husband received the same order. Ramirez Gonzalez fled Cuba with his husband and they married in the U.S., both requesting asylum based on persecution fears as gay men. He was detained by federal agents in October during a routine ICE appointment in Mattydale. Like his husband, he faces deportation to a country where he has no ties and argues he will be persecuted for being gay and Cuban.

A New York City Council employee was detained by ICE during a routine immigration court appointment in Bethpage, Long Island on Monday. DHS identified the employee as Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez from Venezuela, alleging he entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2017 that expired and has a criminal history. City officials and Democratic leaders called the detention egregious government overreach, noting the employee had work authorization and passed background checks for his position as a data analyst.

Shovgi Huseynov, a UB medical researcher from Azerbaijan, was detained by ICE after making a wrong turn onto the Peace Bridge on January 7 and crossing into Canada. Upon his return to the United States, border agents arrested him. ICE claims he was in the country illegally on an expired visa, but his attorney states he applied for permanent legal status while his visa was active, which provides authorized stay, and he has valid work authorization through 2029. Multiple state and local officials, including Rep. Tim Kennedy, have condemned his detention and called for his immediate release.

Jose Manuel De Paz Cruz, a 31-year-old father with no criminal record, was arrested by ICE agents in Sunset Park on January 10, 2026, while walking home from work to attend his step-son's birthday party. After being detained in Brooklyn, Cruz was transferred to multiple locations including Manhattan, New Jersey, Arizona, and California.

Under President Trump's administration, the Trump administration has detained and transferred asylum-seekers to out-of-state detention centers before they receive final removal orders. This represents a change from previous administrations' practice of allowing asylum-seekers to remain in the U.S. during court proceedings.

A 24-year-old from Honduras was walking to catch the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in Hempstead when seven cars full of immigration enforcement agents surrounded him. Officers arrested him without asking any questions and then later produced a warrant. ICE officials admitted they arrested the wrong person. Federal Judge Gary Brown, a Trump-appointed judge overseeing the case, ruled that ICE agents "grossly abused their authority" and concluded that "the abhorrent and illegal practices identified in this opinion are not limited to this case but are seemingly being inflicted on a widespread basis."

Ariana Velasquez, a 14-year-old from Honduras who moved to the U.S. with her mother, Stephanie Valladares, at age 7, has been held at the Dilley immigration detention center for about 45 days. Valladares had applied for asylum and later married a neighbor from Honduras already living in the U.S., with whom she had two more children, Gianna ("Gigi") and Jacob, whom Ariana cared for after school. Ariana, a freshman at Hicksville High School, has fallen behind in her classes and misses her siblings and her favorite sign language teacher; her mother installed a kitchen security camera so she could check on the younger children from work, and Jacob has been talking to the camera hoping to reach his mother. Ariana has reported severe depression, sadness, and inadequate medical care with long wait times for medication.

ICE has agreed to reform measures at its Central Islip federal courthouse holding facility after a federal judge found the agency in contempt for inhumane conditions and excessive detention lasting up to 72 hours. More than 100 migrant detainees reported sleeping on floors, lacking access to showers and medical care, and being held in spaces designed only for brief detention. The agreement comes as ICE expands its nationwide detention capacity amid increased enforcement operations.

ICE agents arrested a Honduran mother and her two children, including a 4-year-old U.S. citizen, at a check-in appointment on December 20, 2025. The family was detained in hotel rooms for 18 days across multiple locations, including near LaGuardia Airport and Alexandria, Louisiana, during which they had minimal contact with the outside world. They were briefly placed on a plane to Honduras before being taken off due to a federal judge's temporary restraining order blocking their deportation, and were eventually released on January 7, 2026.

Andrei Bankevich, a Belarusian migrant granted relief from deportation, was detained by ICE in December 2025 despite having no legal authority to hold him. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger ruled in March 2026 that federal officials violated his due process rights by keeping him incarcerated in Muscatine County Jail for over a year, stating it was "untenable" that officials refused to comply with the law without a court order.

Omar Ramos Jimenez, 50, a Mexican national who has lived in Rochester since 2004 and co-founded the La Casa restaurant, was detained by ICE on Wednesday after being lured to their Buffalo field office under the pretext of installing a new reporting app. Ramos Jimenez, who has an ongoing appeal for asylum and has been complying with ICE check-ins for five years, was arrested upon arrival. His attorney filed a federal complaint alleging denial of due process and seeking his immediate release or a bond hearing.

Omar Ramos Jimenez, a 50-year-old restaurant founder and community leader, was detained by ICE in December 2025 during a check-in appointment and has remained held at a federal detention facility in Batavia. A federal judge denied his requests for release and bond hearing in February 2026. Ramos Jimenez, who has lived in Rochester since 2004 and is originally from Mexico, is seeking asylum and appealing the denial of his release petition.

Asif Ali, 26, was charged with second-degree assault after shoving a wooden pallet into an officer's foot during a protest against an ICE operation on Canal Street in lower Manhattan. Ali was among 18 people arrested when activists blocked ICE agents from leaving a garage. He pleaded not guilty and was released without bail.

Natalia Arai, 37, was charged with second-degree assault and resisting arrest after kicking a garbage can that struck an officer in the leg during a protest against an ICE operation on Canal Street in lower Manhattan. Arai was among 18 people arrested when activists formed a human chain and used debris to block ICE agents from leaving a garage. She pleaded not guilty and was released without bail.

Guan Heng, a 38-year-old Chinese asylum seeker, secretly filmed internment facilities in Xinjiang in 2020 before fleeing China and arriving in the U.S. in 2021, where he applied for asylum, obtained a work permit, and worked as an Uber driver and delivery worker in Queens. In August 2025, ICE agents arrested him at his home near Albany, New York, during an operation targeting his housemates, and he has since been held at Broome County Correctional Facility. DHS initially sought to deport him to Uganda, but dropped that plan in December after his case drew attention from Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and public advocacy groups. Guan is now appealing to remain in the United States, saying he fears prosecution, imprisonment, or torture if returned to China.

Florencio, from Guatemala who had lived in the U.S. for nearly 13 years, was arrested by ICE agents on his block in Corona, Queens as he returned home from a day of painting an apartment in Manhattan. His wife, Fidelina, and their three children—ages 13, 9, and younger—witnessed the arrest from their doorway. ICE agents claimed Florencio matched the appearance of a different target they were seeking, but arrested him anyway based on his appearance. When Florencio tried to explain he was Guatemalan, not Ecuadorian, the agents told him it did not matter because he lacked papers. Agents forcibly took him to the ground, twisted his ankle, and handcuffed him before placing him in an unmarked vehicle. He was detained for four months before being separated from his family.

A dairy farm worker in New York's North Country was detained by Border Patrol. His girlfriend, Myrna Romero, spoke about the impact of the detention on their family, expressing concerns about freedom and safety in the country.

Ehsan Rajabi, an Iranian graduate student at Johns Hopkins University studying art history, had his student visa cancelled by U.S. border officials at the American border near Buffalo, New York. After presenting all required documentation including his student visa and Canadian visitor visa, officers searched his car and phone, interrogated him for hours, and then used a red marker to draw a cancellation line across his student visa.