Human Impact Project

Clemente Lara-Hernandez, a Mexican citizen, was the subject of an ICE arrest operation in Harrisburg on July 1, 2026. According to ICE, agents attempted a targeted vehicle stop and Lara-Hernandez drove his car into an ICE vehicle, then drove the wrong way on a one-way street and hit a civilian vehicle. An ICE agent fired one shot at his vehicle; Lara-Hernandez fled the scene and remains at large. One ICE agent sustained a hand injury. The FBI is investigating the shooting.

Jhon Perez Romero, 39, a former Venezuelan intelligence officer who fled after refusing an order during a 2019 crackdown on the opposition, was arrested by ICE in Philadelphia on June 30 when he appeared for what he expected to be a routine check-in. He entered the U.S. seeking asylum in late 2023, settled in York, Pa., worked as a Spark Driver for Walmart, and married U.S. citizen Sandra Quinones, a high school teacher, in 2025. He is now held at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg, Pa., and fears he could be tortured or killed if deported to Venezuela, where he has been branded a traitor. His wife said she believed the U.S. was a place where people fleeing persecution could find safety.

A Guatemalan citizen residing in the United States since 2018 and father of two sons was detained by ICE on June 29, 2026, along with his two sons when ICE agents pulled over their family car and shattered the window. He was held without bond at Pike County Correctional Facility under the mandatory detention provision of 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A). The court granted his habeas petition, finding his detention unlawful, and ordered his immediate release, ruling that § 1226(a) discretionary detention with bond hearing rights applies to him instead.

A Mexican citizen who entered the United States in July 2004 without inspection was arrested and detained by ICE on June 26, 2026 at the Philadelphia Federal Detention Center. He had previously been detained in 2018, released on bond in May 2018, and had his immigration proceedings taken off calendar in December 2022. The government sought to detain him without a bond hearing under INA § 1225, claiming he was "seeking admission." The court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release, finding the government's interpretation of the mandatory detention statute unlawful and unwarranted as applied to someone already present in the country for over two decades.

A Guatemalan national who entered the United States in 2007 was arrested by immigration authorities on June 26, 2026, while traveling to work. He was detained at the Philadelphia Federal Detention Center under mandatory detention provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1225 without a bond hearing. On June 30, 2026, the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted his habeas corpus petition, finding his detention unlawful because he was not 'seeking admission' under the statute, and ordered his immediate release.

A Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. in 2014 to request asylum was detained by ICE on June 24, 2026, while on his way to work. He had been residing in the United States for 12 years with a valid work permit and pending asylum claims. The court ordered his immediate release, finding that his mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b) without a bond hearing violated immigration law, as that provision applies only to those affirmatively seeking admission, not long-term residents.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted an operation at a Sheetz gas station on Freedom Road in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania on Tuesday morning, June 23, 2026. ICE officers, assisted by Butler County Sheriff's deputies, detained at least one person from a white van. Witnesses reported that ICE agents broke the vehicle's window to remove the individual within minutes. Video from the scene showed masked agents placing the person in handcuffs and loading them into a white van. Sheriff Slupe confirmed the person was wanted by ICE but did not provide details about the reason or the individual's immigration status.

A Mexican citizen who entered the United States in 2008 and held a valid work permit was arrested by immigration authorities on June 18, 2026, while getting into his car to go to work. He was detained at Philadelphia Federal Detention Center under the mandatory detention provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1225 and denied a bond hearing. The court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release, finding that the government's detention was unlawful because he was not "seeking admission" under the statute, as he had been in the country for 18 years.

A man was detained by ICE during an interview at the immigration office in Philadelphia while applying for adjustment of status (green card). He had a final exclusion order issued 30 years prior but no criminal history in the intervening decades. Under current immigration policies, ICE is detaining anyone with a final exclusion order who applies for adjustment of status, and he has been denied access to habeas corpus relief. His family is seeking legal options to prevent his deportation.

Fernando Rivas, a 46-year-old Dominican national, was arrested by ICE agents in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, on June 11 through a targeted enforcement action. A federal grand jury indicted him on June 24 for illegal reentry after he had previously been removed from the United States in 2015. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania is prosecuting the case, and Rivas remains in custody pending proceedings.

Joy, a 19-year-old immigrant, arrived in the United States five years ago with her husband and children. Her husband was detained by ICE, and during the detention his vehicle was damaged and impounded, leaving Joy without transportation and facing immediate eviction. Before she could communicate with her husband following his detention, he was deported to Louisiana. Because one of their four children was born in the U.S., the family cannot self-deport together or be accepted into family detention, leaving Joy to navigate obtaining passports and supporting her children alone.

A Guatemalan citizen was arrested and detained on June 6, 2026, at Moshannon Valley Processing Center after entering the United States without inspection around 2012. ICE agents and local police determined he was unlawfully present and detained him under what they claimed was mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A). The court ruled that he, as a noncitizen already present in the country rather than an applicant for admission, is subject to discretionary detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) and granted his petition for a bond hearing before a neutral immigration judge within 10 days.

Alessandro was detained by ICE agents on June 4 while on the streets of Northeast Philadelphia. He was held in federal detention in Philadelphia and was expected to be transferred to Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania before deportation to Brazil. His family launched a fundraiser to support deportation costs and lost household income.

ICE agents and Butler County Sheriff's office took at least one person into custody at the intersection of Route 228 and Heritage Creek Drive in Adams Township. Video on social media documented the operation. A separate operation also took place the previous day in southern Butler County, according to the social media page "Frontline Dignity," which opposes ICE action. The arrests are part of ongoing ICE enforcement in Butler County, where nearly 40 people have been detained since operations began over a year ago.

A Salvadoran man who has lived in the United States since around July 2005 was arrested and detained on or around June 2, 2026, after ICE agents and a local police officer determined he was unlawfully present in the country. He is currently held at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center. He filed a habeas corpus petition and a motion for a temporary restraining order, arguing he is subject to discretionary detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) rather than mandatory detention under § 1225(b)(2), entitling him to a bond hearing. He also alleged he had not received adequate medical care for serious medical conditions while detained, though the government stated he had attended at least seven medical appointments and had a general surgery appointment scheduled. The court agreed that his detention is governed by § 1226(a) and ordered that he receive an individualized bond hearing before an immigration judge within 30 days. The court denied his request for a temporary restraining order without prejudice, finding he had not shown irreparable harm was more likely than not absent emergency relief. The case was closed on the docket without prejudice, with the court retaining jurisdiction over further proceedings.

Randy Cordova Flores, a 36-year-old Peruvian landscaper and father of two children enrolled in the Allegheny Valley School District, was pulled over by Springdale Borough police for a traffic violation on February 10, 2026, and turned over to ICE agents. He had entered the U.S. without documentation in 2023 and was pursuing an asylum case with valid work authorization; ICE claimed he had missed an immigration hearing, but his family and legal representatives said he had been complying with check-in requirements. He was held at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County and later transferred to Northern Regional Correctional Facility in West Virginia, where he was confined to a small cell 23 hours a day. After his family launched a legal challenge, he won release through a habeas corpus petition in June 2026, four months after his detention began, and was freed on bond with an ankle monitor while his case continues.

ICE agents pursued three people into Central Diner and Grille in Robinson Township after a traffic stop on Route 60. The restaurant's manager, a U.S. citizen and military veteran, refused to let agents search the kitchen without a warrant, and the confrontation escalated when an agent pinned him to the floor, injuring him; ICE said he assaulted an agent and took him into custody. The manager had been hospitalized for heart issues the week before. Employees and customers were shaken, and the restaurant closed for the rest of the day; ICE said two people, including the person originally being pursued, were arrested.

ICE conducted a workplace raid at a mushroom farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania, resulting in the arrest of approximately a dozen workers. The incident appeared to be the first major workplace raid in the region's mushroom industry since the 1990s and signaled an intensified enforcement effort targeting undocumented immigrants. The raid prompted heightened anxiety among immigrant workers in the area.

A Mexican citizen who entered the US as a minor in 1996 and lived continuously in the country for 30 years with two US citizen children was arrested and detained by ICE on May 18, 2026. He was transferred to the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia under mandatory detention provisions. The court ruled his detention unlawful and ordered his immediate release, finding that the detention statute does not apply to long-term residents arrested in the interior.

Juan David Arango-Caicedo, a 28-year-old Colombian immigrant who had lived legally in the U.S. for over three years, was detained by ICE at a check-in appointment in May 2026. He became temporarily out of status when his lawyer failed to meet a deadline to file necessary paperwork following his marriage to a U.S. citizen, Nicole, despite having an approved green card petition from USCIS and valid work authorization. He was held at Moshannon Valley Processing Center while his wife pursued legal proceedings for his release. Arango-Caicedo was among 4,400 people whom federal judges determined were unlawfully detained by ICE during President Donald Trump's administration.