Human Impact Project

A federal judge ruled that at least 32 people arrested during Operation Midway Blitz, a major ICE enforcement action in the Chicago area between June 2025 and October 2025, had their arrests violated a 2022 consent decree governing warrantless apprehensions. Among those improperly arrested were Jose Miguel Jimenez and Jeickson Delgado Avila, undocumented immigrants detained during a September 29 raid on an apartment building at 75th and South Shore Drive when ICE agents rappelled from helicopters and broke down doors. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings found the arrests lacked sufficient probable cause that individuals were flight risks, as required by the Castañon Nava consent decree, and that agents provided no justification for their assessments. Of the 32 improperly arrested, 11 are believed to still be in detention, 11 have left the country, and 10 have been released under various conditions. The judge also rejected a recent agency directive that sought to give immigration agents more discretion to make warrantless arrests.

Yoshi Cuenca Villamar, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen and landscaper from Charlotte, was tackled by immigration agents while working during warrantless enforcement operations across North Carolina in late 2025. Villamar is one of five plaintiffs—four U.S. citizens and a visa holder—who filed a federal class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina on February 28, 2026, against the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, CBP, and USBP. The lawsuit alleges the agencies conducted unlawful warrantless arrests without probable cause during and after Operation Charlotte's Web. ICE arrested 3,304 people in North Carolina between January and October 2025, more than 2.8 times the total during the same period in 2024. The lawsuit seeks to declare the warrantless arrest policy unlawful and block the agencies from continuing such arrests.

Juan Diego Lopez Macias, a 19-year-old Enid High School senior, was arrested during a traffic stop for speeding on February 28, 2026, and subsequently transferred to ICE custody after being charged with driving without a valid license. He was transferred to the Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Anson, Texas, where he awaits immigration court proceedings. Student walkouts and protests occurred across Oklahoma following his detention, with classmates and family members gathering at the state Capitol on March 16.

An immigrant previously released on bond or conditional parole was re-detained by immigration authorities on February 27, 2026. The court found that his re-detention violated due process because the government failed to provide a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter. The court ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he had prior to detention. A second immigrant previously released on bond or conditional parole was re-detained on March 1, 2026. The court found that the government violated due process by re-detaining him without providing a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter. The court ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he had prior to detention.

Elaina Aghayeva, an Azerbaijani national and senior neuroscience researcher at Columbia University, was detained by Department of Homeland Security agents at a university residential building on February 26-27, 2026. DHS agents entered without a warrant and falsely claimed to be searching for a missing child. DHS stated Aghayeva's student visa had been terminated in 2016 for failing to attend classes, though her attorney and the university stated she was a current student in good standing. After approximately nine hours in custody, Aghayeva was released following intervention by NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who met with President Trump regarding the case. Aghayeva's attorney filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court, and the detention prompted student protests at Columbia University.

A Chinese asylum seeker was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on February 27, 2026, and detained at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield, California. He had previously been released on recognizance after entering the U.S. in December 2023, but was later arrested for DUI in November 2023. The court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered the government to provide him with an individualized bond hearing within 14 days.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents reportedly detained two people in Lawrence on February 27, including near the University of Kansas campus. Approximately 80 protesters gathered outside Strong Hall. The university stated it was still gathering information about whether any KU students or employees were involved.

Ahmed, a nursing student and certified nursing assistant with legal status and a work permit, was detained by ICE while attending a routine immigration check-in. He immigrated to the United States around 2023 from Dadaab refugee camps. Project Relief is raising funds for legal representation to secure his release and prevent his transfer to another state.

Kuy Nam Ko, a Presbyterian pastor from South Korea, was detained at a USCIS interview in California. He was later released with GPS monitoring while his immigration case continued.

Dayton Andre Lindsay, a Jamaican green-card holder who has legally resided in the United States for over 28 years, was detained by ICE at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport upon returning from vacation in Jamaica. He and his wife, Benji Lindsay, have been married for over six years and share a blended family of five children and seven grandchildren. Before his arrest, he worked at a Walmart Distribution Center in Joliet, Illinois, and as a chef at several local restaurants. As of July, he remains in ICE custody, and his attorneys have filed a federal habeas corpus petition challenging the legality of his detention.

Alberto Gutiérrez Reyes, 48, a construction worker from Veracruz who had lived in the United States for nearly 25 years, was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol on January 9, 2026, in Los Angeles for lacking authorization to reside in the country. He was transferred to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center on January 12, where he had pre-existing diabetes and high cholesterol. Throughout February, he experienced persistent fever, headache, sore throat, dizziness, body aches, high blood pressure, and elevated glucose levels. Despite repeatedly requesting medical attention and filling out medical request forms, he was denied proper care. His wife Patricia Martínez reported seeing yellowing of his skin, face, and eyes during visits. On February 25, he reported feeling faint and weak and was transferred to Victor Valley Global Medical Center with chest pain and shortness of breath. He became unresponsive and died on February 27 of cardiac arrest. His wife and 19-year-old son Erick, born in Los Angeles and the family's sole financial provider along with his father, were not immediately informed of his death. Mexico's Office of Foreign Affairs demanded an investigation into the conditions that led to his death. According to local officials, Gutiérrez Reyes was the ninth detainee to die in ICE custody since the beginning of 2026.

The South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, operated by CoreCivic, faced multiple documented problems affecting detained immigrant families and children. Emergency responders handled at least 11 medical emergencies since September 2025, including respiratory distress, seizures, and fever in infants and young children. Detainees reported finding worms, bugs, and mold in food, contaminated drinking water, and inadequate nutrition, leading to a confirmed measles outbreak in early 2026. Children experienced inadequate medical care, 24-hour lighting, and some were detained beyond the 20-day legal limit. A 13-year-old girl denied prescribed anxiety medications experienced a mental health crisis and attempted suicide before deportation. Following media coverage and a January protest, facility staff increased confiscation of art supplies, drawings, and personal items from detainees, and restricted communications with family and lawyers through Google services and video calls. A federal judge ruled some detentions unconstitutional, and medical advocates and congressional representatives called for facility closure.

Elmina Aghayeva, a senior at Columbia University's School of General Studies from Azerbaijan, was detained by federal immigration agents who entered her university-owned residence by falsely posing as New York police officers, according to university officials. University security who asked to see a warrant were turned away, and Aghayeva texted fellow students for help before posting on Instagram that agents were trying to take her away. She filed a habeas corpus petition in the Southern District of New York and was released from custody the same afternoon. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani reportedly raised her case with President Trump, who called to say she would be freed. DHS said her student visa had been revoked a decade earlier for failing to attend classes and that she has been placed in removal proceedings. Aghayeva later posted that she was "safe and okay."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents conducted an immigration enforcement operation on Wednesday morning, detaining approximately a dozen workers traveling to Backyard Farms greenhouses in Madison. This was the second enforcement operation at the facility in recent weeks; a similar operation on February 10 detained 17 workers from the same agricultural employer. A judge ordered the release of one detainee from the February 10 operation, a Venezuelan man who had entered as an unaccompanied child, and two other Venezuelan men withdrew habeas petitions shortly after filing them. The fate of most detainees from both operations remains unclear. Advocates and attorneys have characterized the operations as planned and representing an escalation in enforcement tactics.

An Indian citizen entered the United States on June 17, 2023, and was initially detained and released on conditional parole on June 19, 2023. Over the following two years, he complied with all ICE reporting requirements, attended scheduled check-ins, obtained employment authorization, and worked lawfully as a commercial truck driver. He also filed an asylum application in October 2023 with removal proceedings still pending. On February 25, 2026, after obtaining required ICE permission, he commenced a work trip. The next day, ICE officers approached him, claimed he had an ICE violation, and took his biometrics despite his assertion that he had prior authorization. He was transferred to Indio, California, where his phone and wallet were confiscated, then detained in El Centro for two days before being transferred to Imperial Regional Adult Detention Facility. He was never provided written explanation of the alleged violation, supporting documentation, or opportunity to contest his arrest. On April 1, 2026, he filed a habeas corpus petition claiming his detention violated the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause. The court granted his petition, finding that ICE's revocation of his conditional parole without a pre-deprivation hearing violated due process rights, and ordered his immediate release subject to the conditions of his preexisting parole.

Yubizay del Carmen Torrealba Linarez, a 20-year-old Venezuelan single mother, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on Wednesday while traveling to her job at Backyard Farms greenhouses in Madison. She fled political violence in Venezuela after her family experienced violent repression by the Maduro regime, including a 2024 home invasion where agents beat her husband and threatened her 2-year-old daughter. She was paroled into the United States in December 2024 and has been awaiting an asylum decision. Her attorney filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court challenging the legality of her detention; a judge ordered her kept in Maine pending review and ordered the government to respond by Wednesday. Since her detention, her sister has been caring for her 4-year-old daughter.

Ramon Checo Hilario, a Providence Uber driver, was arrested by Cranston police on Feb. 26, 2026, after being wrongly identified as the suspect in a Jan. 27 theft of about $3,300 worth of sunglasses from a Cranston Sunglass Hut. Police linked the crime to Hilario through his car's registration despite differences between him and the surveillance footage, and ICE then detained him for 56 days, from Feb. 26 to April 23, before his release on bond. The shoplifting charge was later dismissed, and on May 27 Hilario filed suit in U.S. District Court in Providence against Cranston police, the city, an unnamed officer, Sunglass Hut, and a store employee, seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages for false arrest, malicious prosecution, negligence, and emotional distress.

A 21-year-old Hispanic man identified as Juan Miguel Munoz Penalver died in Louisville Metro jail on February 26, 2026, while subject to an ICE immigration detainer. He had been in custody since February 14 on criminal assault charges and was held under an ICE detainer that could have extended his detention beyond his scheduled release. The death is under investigation by LMDC's Professional Standards Unit and Louisville Metro Police's Public Integrity Unit.

Luis Duque was driving his boyfriend Oscar to work in Charlotte when ICE agents stopped their vehicle during a traffic stop. The agents detained Oscar, who is in the process of becoming a U.S. citizen, without presenting a warrant. Oscar was taken to Stewart Detention Center in Georgia and given the option to self-deport to Mexico or wait months for a court hearing.

Carlos García, 42, the former opposition mayor of Mérida, Venezuela, was detained by ICE agents on January 23, 2026, during what his wife, Gaby Duarte, described as a routine immigration check-in near their Butler County, Ohio home. García fled Venezuela in 2017 after refusing government orders to suppress anti-Maduro protests, was removed from office, and sentenced to prison by the Chavista-controlled Supreme Court; he, Duarte, and their two children crossed into Texas in 2022, where he applied for asylum, received Temporary Protected Status, and worked as an Amazon delivery driver. Duarte said she believed the family would be safe in the U.S. after García persuaded her to relocate, and that he has no criminal record. His attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition, but a February 10 hearing revealed DHS is instead seeking to deport him to Ecuador, a country where he has no family or support network. Duarte said, 'We are simply asking that he be allowed to defend his case where he formally requested asylum.'