Human Impact Project

Dr. Badar Khan Suri, an Indian postdoctoral fellow and peace scholar at Georgetown University, was arrested without a warrant by ICE agents in March 2025 after expressing pro-Palestinian views on social media. He was held in multiple detention facilities for nearly six weeks and subjected to conditions including denial of religious accommodations. A federal court ordered his release on bail. The Trump administration attempted to re-detain him, arguing federal courts lacked jurisdiction to review his case. In July 2026, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the administration's re-detention attempt, upholding habeas corpus protections that allow immigrants to challenge their detention in federal court.

An ICE operation in Sterling, Virginia on July 22 ended when a white pickup truck being pursued by federal agents crashed into a residential home after the driver fled an unsuccessful traffic stop. The vehicle rolled down a hill into the unoccupied residence, causing property damage. ICE agents made no arrests during the operation. The homeowner reported that neither ICE nor those involved have assumed responsibility for the damage.

A native and citizen of El Salvador who entered the United States in 2007 was detained on July 21, 2026, and has been held at the Farmville Detention Center in Virginia. He filed a federal habeas corpus petition arguing that he was being detained under the discretionary detention provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) rather than the mandatory detention provisions of § 1225(b)(2), and that his prolonged detention without a bond hearing violated his due process rights. He sought release or, alternatively, a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge. The government argued he remained an 'applicant for admission' subject to mandatory detention under § 1225(b)(2) because he had not been lawfully admitted. The court found his case indistinguishable from numerous similar rulings in the district and concluded that § 1226(a)'s discretionary framework applies to him since he was already inside the country. The court granted the petition, ordering that he receive a bond hearing within seven days and enjoining the government from denying bond based on § 1225(b)(2) or from rearresting him after release except under limited circumstances.

James Wambui, a Kenyan truck driver, was arrested by ICE at a weigh station in Middletown, Virginia during a routine cargo stop after a local sheriff handed his documents to waiting ICE officers. He was transferred to Farmville Detention Center and held for three weeks, incurring $50,000 in legal fees. Wambui was eventually released due to pending marriage-based immigration petition, asylum application, and marriage to a U.S. citizen, though ICE retained his driver's license, work permit, Social Security card, and other personal documents.

Victor Alfredo Perez Martin, a Guatemalan national, was arrested by ICE on July 6, 2026, outside Sentara BelleHarbour outpatient campus in Suffolk during a targeted enforcement operation. Bystander video documented ICE agents tackling him to the ground and repeatedly striking him with punches and knees to the stomach and back while attempting to handcuff him. ICE initially claimed Perez Martin had accepted voluntary departure, but his attorney James Reyes withdrew that acceptance and requested a notice to appear in immigration court. On July 16, U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles ruled that ICE had detained him under the wrong statute and ordered his release, finding he was entitled to a bond hearing. Perez Martin was released the same day and will proceed with immigration court proceedings where he will seek bond and face removal.

Josue Castro Rivera, a 24-year-old from Honduras who had lived in the United States for four years, was fatally struck by a pickup truck on October 23, 2025 while attempting to cross Interstate 264 during an ICE traffic stop in Norfolk, Virginia. Castro Rivera was on his way to a gardening job with three passengers when immigration officers pulled over their vehicle as part of a "targeted, intelligence-based" operation. His brother Henry Castro described him as having "a very good heart" and noted that he was working to send money to his family in Honduras. When ICE officers began detaining the vehicle's occupants, Castro Rivera resisted and fled on foot onto the busy highway around 11 a.m., where he was struck by a 2002 Ford pickup truck. An ICE officer administered CPR, but Castro Rivera was pronounced dead at the scene. According to DHS, the vehicle's occupants were determined to be in the country without authorization. Virginia State Police responded to the crash but clarified they did not participate in the pursuit. Josue Castro Rivera, a 24-year-old Honduran man, was hit and killed by a pick-up truck while crossing a highway during an immigration traffic stop in Norfolk, Virginia. The death occurred during intensified federal immigration enforcement operations.

Multiple ICE agents were recorded engaging in physical violence with a man outside Sentara BelleHarbour Hospital Emergency Room in Suffolk, Virginia. According to witness accounts and video shared on social media, after the man was thrown to the ground, agents punched and kicked him while he had his hands up in a compliant position. The incident occurred in broad daylight at the corner of Bridge Road and Plummer Boulevard. DHS has said the man resisted arrest and signed a voluntary departure agreement, but his attorney disputes this, saying the document was signed under duress, and has filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court while pursuing bond in immigration court.

Moises Domingo Rico Rosales, a Nicaraguan national who entered the U.S. in Arizona in 2022, was arrested after allegedly exposing himself to one woman and attempting to abduct another at Wakefield Park in Annandale, Virginia. He was previously arrested in Fairfax County in 2024 on felony drug trafficking charges, which were later dropped by the Commonwealth's Attorney's office, and he was released after local officials declined to honor an ICE detainer. He is now charged with abduction with intent to defile and indecent exposure, and ICE has lodged a new detainer, with DHS urging Virginia officials to turn him over to federal custody. Abdul Jalloh, a 32-year-old from Sierra Leone, was charged with second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 41-year-old Stephanie Minter at a Virginia bus stop; he had over 30 prior arrests and was released by Fairfax County officials despite ICE detainer concerns, and a House Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing on the county's sanctuary policies following the case.

On June 23, 2026, ICE agents and Greene County Sheriff's deputies conducted a large-scale immigration enforcement operation in Ruckersville, Virginia, near Routes 29 and 33. ICE agents rode in sheriff's vehicles and conducted numerous traffic stops targeting work trucks, resulting in dozens of arrests. Many vehicles were abandoned or towed during the operation. Detainees were processed in sheds behind the sheriff's office. An attorney attempting to observe and offer legal representation was stopped at gunpoint by ICE agents and cited for multiple violations. The operation occurred eight days before new Virginia state laws prohibiting local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration authorities were set to take effect.

Aliaksei Shcharbachenia, a 35-year-old asylum-seeker from Belarus, has spent nearly a year at Farmville Detention Center in Virginia, where he says he is experiencing medical neglect as a tumor grows on his arm. He claims the U.S. government attempted to illegally deport him back to Belarus in a botched operation, and that despite requesting specialist care in December, he has not received a diagnosis or seen a specialist for the growth.

ICE agents conducted enforcement operations in Page County, Virginia on June 12, 2026, detaining 16 people in coordination with local law enforcement. Among those arrested was a 48-year-old woman who had lived in the U.S. for 18 years, was married to a U.S. citizen, and was in the process of obtaining her paperwork. She was detained at her home shortly after attending a church service at the REC Center, with her son present during the arrest. Pastor Audre King witnessed multiple ICE operations throughout Luray that evening and subsequently organized community efforts to educate immigrants about their legal rights.

ICE arrested Jose Jairo Rivas-Santiago, 32, a Honduran national, on June 15 after he was released from a Virginia correctional facility where he was serving a 30-year sentence for first-degree murder and armed robbery. In 2019, ICE Homeland Security Investigations special agents had arrested him on armed robbery and conspiracy charges and turned him over to the Richmond City Police Department for prosecution, leading to his 2021 conviction. ICE had lodged an immigration detainer with Coffeewood Correctional Center following that conviction. Rivas-Santiago is now in ICE custody awaiting removal to Honduras under a previously issued final order of removal.

Willian, the father of two U.S.-citizen children and son of a naturalized U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE while at work on Monday. He has active work authorization issued by the U.S. government and was actively pursuing his immigration case through the legal system. A federal judge subsequently ordered that he cannot be transferred or removed while his case is reviewed.

Cristian Romario Saenz-Argueta, a 31-year-old noncitizen from El Salvador, was arrested after an investigation into reports that he sexually assaulted a girl under 15 in a parking lot in November 2025. He is charged with three felony counts including rape and carnal knowledge of a child. According to authorities, Saenz-Argueta used social media to connect with the victim, falsely portraying himself as 18 years old before arranging an in-person meeting where the assault occurred. ICE lodged an immigration detainer against him, claiming he entered the U.S. without legal documentation. DHS used the case to criticize Virginia's sanctuary policies and the expiration of Prince William County's 287(g) agreement with ICE.

A Honduran man who entered the United States in 2014 and has been living in the country since that time was detained by immigration officials on June 1, 2026, and is currently being held at the Farmville Detention Center. The government sought to detain him under the mandatory detention provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), arguing that because he entered without inspection, he remained an "applicant for admission" subject to mandatory detention. He challenged his detention through a habeas corpus petition, arguing that as someone already present in the country for over a decade, he should be governed by the discretionary detention provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), which would entitle him to a bond hearing. The federal district court granted his petition, finding that the Supreme Court's decision in Jennings v. Rodriguez established that § 1226(a) is the default rule for noncitizens already in the country in removal proceedings, while § 1225(b) applies only to those actively seeking admission. The court ordered that he be provided a bond hearing before an immigration judge within seven days and enjoined immigration officials from denying him bond solely on the basis of § 1225(b)(2) detention.

ICE arrested Lins Dos Santos-Melo, a Brazilian national, on Interstate 81 in Virginia for operating a tractor-trailer without a required commercial driver's license. Dos Santos-Melo possessed a valid Massachusetts driver's license but lacked the proper credentials for the vehicle he was operating. The arrest was part of ICE enforcement operations targeting undocumented immigrants operating commercial vehicles.

Erik Maradiaga Alvarado was detained by ICE without warning or judicial warrant. He is the sole provider for his family, which includes two sons, one with a medical disability (Apert Syndrome). His wife is seeking funds for legal fees, rent, and living expenses during his detention.

Anabella Gyasi, 38, a pregnant Ghanaian woman, and her 4-year-old son who has a physical abnormality affecting his hands arrived at Dulles International Airport on valid tourist visas to seek medical care for her son at Akron Children's Hospital in Ohio. At customs, she disclosed a fear of returning to Ghana because of persecution she faced for her son's disability. CBP officers took them into custody as asylum seekers after she stated under oath that she did not intend to return to Ghana, which led officials to nullify her tourist visa. Gyasi, who was about four months pregnant, was held in a windowless room at the airport with her son for more than a week without adequate food or medical care. She was twice transported to a hospital for treatment. DHS denied her care was inadequate. The ACLU of Virginia filed an emergency petition, and Judge Leonie Brinkema called the detention a "terrible situation," saying Gyasi should not spend another night at the airport. A Justice Department attorney said immigration authorities were prepared to deport Gyasi and her son back to Ghana that night. CBP had interviewed her and judged she did not have a "credible fear" of returning. The judge ordered the government to confirm her departure and ruled the petition moot. Gyasi and her son were deported to Ghana.

A 14-year-old minor was handcuffed and detained during an ICE raid in Manassas despite not being targeted by the operation. Virginia State Delegate Michelle Maldonado criticized the detention, stating that the minor was not charged with a crime and calling the incident a reckless disregard for human decency and constitutional protections.

Marvin Len Morales was arrested by ICE during a raid in Manassas on Friday. According to reports, Morales has a criminal record and has been deported twice before. The raid was attended by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.