Human Impact Project

Orlando Martinez Mendoza, 48, migrated from Cuba to the US in 2015 by boat. Immigration authorities arrested him at a court hearing in Tennessee where he had appeared for a speeding charge. He was transported to three different detention centers in Tennessee over two months, then to a holding facility at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola), then to Arizona, and finally to Palenque, Mexico in 2025. He described the transfer to Angola as staged for media purposes, with police escorts, sirens, and TV cameras present. He said immigration officials "dumped us right in front of COMAR like we were dogs."

ICE lodged an immigration detainer against Alfonso Vasquez-Morales, a Mexican national, after he was charged in a fatal DUI crash that killed 69-year-old motorcyclist William Richard Sauer. Vasquez-Morales told deputies he had consumed several beers before crossing into oncoming traffic and striking Sauer's motorcycle. He told ICE officers he entered the U.S. without authorization through Arizona about three years ago. The Washington County Sheriff's Office, a 287(g) partner, facilitated the transfer of custody to ICE.

An Egyptian citizen and practicing Coptic Orthodox Christian who has resided in the United States since August 2023 was taken into ICE custody on July 1, 2026, during a routine ICE check-in. He was detained at the West Tennessee Detention Facility without an individualized determination regarding the necessity of continued confinement. The court stayed his transfer and required ICE to respond to his habeas petition, noting that under Lopez-Campos v. Raycraft, noncitizens who have spent significant time in the United States interior and have not committed disqualifying offenses may not be detained without an individualized bond hearing. A second Egyptian citizen and Coptic Orthodox Christian who fled religious persecution was detained by ICE on July 1, 2026, at the West Tennessee Detention Facility. He had resided in the United States continuously since July 2023, maintained steady employment in Nashville, attended all required ICE check-ins, and had no criminal history. He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention without an individualized bond hearing. The court issued an order staying his transfer and requiring the government to respond within two business days, with instructions to either distinguish the case from Lopez-Campos v. Raycraft or consent to release.

A man previously granted release under a federal court injunction filed a second habeas corpus petition after being re-arrested by ICE on June 30, 2026, during a scheduled supervision check-in at the ICE ISAP office. He states he was not arrested on any criminal charge and did not violate any condition of his supervision. This follows an earlier habeas petition in which the same court ordered his release on May 21, 2026, and enjoined the government from detaining him under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A). Despite that injunction, he was taken back into custody about six weeks later and is now held at the West Tennessee Detention Facility. He is challenging his renewed detention without a bond hearing. The court ordered Respondent to either immediately release him or explain within three business days how his circumstances have changed since the prior order, and barred his transfer out of the facility while the case is pending.

A detained immigrant held at West Tennessee Detention Facility filed a habeas corpus petition seeking release pending removal proceedings or a bond hearing. He simultaneously filed for a temporary restraining order to prevent his transfer outside the district, arguing such transfer would sever access to his New Jersey-based counsel. The court denied the motion, finding no irreparable harm since electronic communication would remain possible and no litigation on the habeas petition had yet commenced.

Jorge Mata Campos, a 51-year-old Costa Rican man from Hatillo, San José, lived in the United States for 18 years, working in construction, buying a home, marrying, and raising a 16-year-old U.S. citizen son. On June 21, 2026, ICE agents detained him at his residence in Nashville, Tennessee, following a 911 call that led to confusion, after he had voluntarily gone to an ICE office to try to resolve his immigration status; he was then transferred to the Richwood Correctional Center in Louisiana, where he shares space with about 120 other men awaiting deportation. Mata, who says he held a U Visa and was in the process of applying for legal permanent residency, reported losing nearly 15 kilos over three months due to poor food, broken air conditioning, and unsanitary bathroom conditions, and said he has been unable to get his prescribed medication for injuries from a prior car accident that left him with metal plates in his hip, leg and foot. He agreed to waive his appeal and accept deportation to Costa Rica, but still has no departure date, saying immigration authorities reportedly lost his case documents while his lawyer continues trying to resolve his situation.

A long-term law-abiding resident of the United States, a noncitizen, was detained at the Western Tennessee Detention Facility pending removal proceedings without receiving a bond hearing. He filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus challenging his detention as violating due process rights. The court noted that he, described as a long-term law-abiding resident of the United States, had been held in mandatory detention. Following the Sixth Circuit's decision in Lopez-Campos v. Raycraft, which established that noncitizens are entitled to a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), the respondent agreed that a custody redetermination hearing was required. The district court granted the habeas petition to the limited extent of ordering that he receive a bond hearing within ten days or be released from custody, finding that Section 1226 guarantees only a hearing opportunity, not automatic release.

A 22-year-old woman was detained by police in Hamilton, Tennessee, who then contacted ICE, leading to her transfer into immigration custody. She was moved to a jail in Etowah County, Alabama, before being transferred to a facility in Louisiana after three days. Her girlfriend, who organized a fundraiser to cover legal and bond costs, described her as hardworking, cheerful, and always willing to help others; she also cares for her 14-year-old brother.

ICE New Orleans lodged an immigration detainer for Felipe Alvarado Hernandez, a 48-year-old Mexican national, following his July 29 arrest in connection with a June 13 hit-and-run near Demonbreun Street and Music Circle East in downtown Nashville. Authorities allege Hernandez drove his pickup truck onto a sidewalk while making a left turn, striking four pedestrians, including two wheelchair users; one victim remained hospitalized in Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Burn Unit as of the arrest date. He was later located at a home in Antioch, where he admitted to driving the vehicle that morning. Hernandez faces 21 charges, including counts of leaving the scene of an accident, failing to render aid, reckless endangerment, and financial responsibility violations, and had previously agreed to removal in 2004 following a Michigan arrest before reentering the country.

A Nicaraguan citizen who had resided continuously in the United States since December 2022 was taken into ICE custody on June 13, 2026, and detained at the West Tennessee Detention Facility without an individualized bond hearing. He had strong family and community ties, a fiancée, other relatives, lawful employment history, and no criminal record. The court ordered ICE to respond within two business days and prohibited his transfer during the litigation, citing the Sixth Circuit's Lopez-Campos decision requiring bond hearings for noncitizens with significant interior U.S. presence.

ICE lodged immigration detainers against three Cuban nationals arrested during a joint law enforcement human trafficking investigation in Sumner County, Tennessee. The operation resulted in five arrests and identified nine potential trafficking victims. The three men faced charges related to promoting prostitution and had been encountered by CBP at the southern border between 2021 and 2023.

A noncitizen who has continuously resided in the United States since August 2023 was taken into ICE custody on June 6, 2026, and detained at the West Tennessee Detention Facility. He challenged his detention without an individualized bond hearing before an immigration judge. The court stayed his transfer and ordered the ICE respondent to respond within two business days, requiring them to either distinguish the case from Lopez-Campos v. Raycraft or consent to the issuance of the writ if detention was under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A).

Federal immigration officials conducted Operation Smoky Mountains from May 24-30, 2026, in Sevier County and surrounding East Tennessee areas, resulting in 117 arrests. The operation was carried out by ICE in partnership with local law enforcement agencies, including the Sevierville Police Department and Sevier County Sheriff's Office, through the federal 287(g) program that authorizes local law enforcement to assist with immigration enforcement. Officials stated that some of those arrested had prior criminal charges including theft, domestic assault, DUI, and other offenses, with some facing potential federal charges including illegal reentry.

ICE agents in unmarked gray and blue SUVs conducted a roundup operation in McMinnville, Tennessee on May 27, 2026, detaining multiple people. Initial reports indicated at least 6 people were taken into custody, with subsequent reports showing 11 people detained and one released. Video footage showed agents exiting unmarked vehicles, handcuffing individuals, and approaching workers outside a Lowe's store, and those taken into custody were transported to Putnam County Jail and held overnight before potential transfer to other facilities. On June 29, 2026, a Cookeville chancellor ruled that Putnam County Sheriff Eddie Farris can withhold jail records identifying people held there on federal immigration charges, citing a 2002 federal regulation as an exception to the Tennessee Public Records Act. The ruling dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition and a University of Tennessee sociology professor who had sought intake records identifying those detained.

Diego Hernandez Garcia, a 24-year-old construction worker who had lived in the U.S. since age 13, was detained by ICE on December 11, 2025, during a raid at a Hardin Valley construction site in Knoxville. Hernandez Garcia had been granted protective status in 2022 and had an approved I-360 petition for lawful permanent status. His attorney claimed he had valid work authorization at the time of detention and that ICE revoked his deferred status only after taking him into custody. A federal judge denied his habeas corpus petition and lifted a stay on a 2016 removal order, ruling the government was not constitutionally obligated to provide due process before terminating his deferred action status. Hernandez Garcia was subsequently deported to El Salvador.

ICE conducted a targeted enforcement operation in the Green Drive area of Cleveland, Tennessee that resulted in the arrest of eight undocumented immigrants at a gas station on May 22, 2026. The operation targeted a specific individual with a history of DUI convictions and prior deportations; several people attempted to flee as agents approached. On May 26, ICE released the identities and backgrounds of those arrested, noting that some were apprehended as collateral arrests during the operation. Three of those arrested accepted Incentivized Voluntary Departure, while the remaining five remained in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition filed a lawsuit against the Tennessee Highway Patrol over its partnership with ICE, alleging the collaboration violates multiple constitutional amendments and constitutes racial profiling. The lawsuit references a May 2025 operation in South Nashville where THP conducted traffic stops for minor infractions and ICE agents detained 20 people the first night, with nearly 200 arrested during the entire weekend. The complaint alleges warrantless detention, subterfuge use of traffic stop powers, and misuse of taxpayer dollars, and also cites ongoing THP-ICE operations in Memphis and a DUI checkpoint in Robertson County.

ICE New Orleans conducted a week-long enforcement operation in Sevier County and surrounding areas in East Tennessee from May 24-31, 2026, resulting in 117 arrests. The operation targeted noncitizens, some of whom had prior criminal convictions. According to ICE, those arrested included individuals with convictions for assault, driving under the influence, and other offenses, though some may have faced immigration charges rather than criminal prosecution.

Daniel Romero, 18, a Colombian national and recent graduate of Ooltewah High School in Tennessee, was taken into ICE custody on May 18, 2026, during what his family believed was a routine appointment related to an immigration program. ICE cited missed check-ins and failure to submit required weekly photos as reasons for detention. Romero's family disputed the allegations, claiming the check-in app malfunctioned for four weeks and provided documented evidence of the technical error, but officials did not allow Romero to present this proof before his arrest. Records provided by the family indicated compliance with program requirements. He was held at Etowah County Jail in Alabama before being transferred to a detention center in Louisiana, where no bond, video calls, or visitation were allowed.

Javier Ramirez, a U.S. citizen, was detained for five days after being racially profiled by ICE during a traffic stop in Nashville. Body camera footage reveals ICE and state troopers targeting Black and brown drivers for minor traffic infractions while using fewer enforcement actions against white drivers.