Human Impact Project

Friedrich Castillo-Ormeno self-deported to Peru in March 2026 after receiving a final deportation order and was approved for CBP Home incentive payments ($2,600) in April verifying his departure. In June 2026, ICE mistakenly identified him as a suspect in a violent incident in Stafford Township, New Jersey, where an officer was struck by a vehicle during an enforcement operation on Route 72. Federal prosecutors later charged a different man, Eduardo Cruz Garcia, with the assault. Castillo-Ormeno expressed concern that the misidentification could harm his reputation and affect his ability to legally return to the United States, as well as his U.S.-born daughter's documentation.

On June 17, 2026, ICE agents stopped a vehicle on Highway 59 near Mobile, Alabama, and detained Alejandro Alvarado Ramírez, leaving his 5-year-old son Ericson/Erikson alone in the car at a church parking lot. An ICE agent provided the child with his father's phone to contact his mother. The child's mother called a babysitter, and when the babysitter's 20-year-old twins arrived at the parking lot to retrieve the child, ICE agents approached them, requested identification, and photographed their licenses before departing. Advocates raised concerns about the safety risks posed by leaving a young child unattended during the detention.

Diego Armando Escalona Polanco, a 19-year-old Chipotle cook in Orlando, was detained by ICE agents following a Florida Highway Patrol traffic stop for a vehicle registration issue. Unable to afford legal representation and facing unfavorable odds in his case, Escalona signed paperwork to self-deport. He spent 42 days at Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami before being transported through four states in shackles and flown to Venezuela, where he reunited with family in Maracaibo after 11 years living in the United States.

A 19-year-old Russian citizen lawfully entered the United States on a visa in 2022 at age 16 with his parents and younger sister. His father filed an asylum application listing him as a derivative beneficiary before his visa expired in September 2022. USCIS granted him work authorization in July 2024 while his asylum application remained pending. He graduated from high school, worked lawfully at two jobs, obtained a Florida driver's license, and has no criminal history. On June 16, 2026, Border Patrol agents stopped him while he was driving to work without a traffic violation, arrested him for visa overstay despite his pending asylum application, and transported him to Golden State Annex Detention Facility in McFarland, California. After being detained for over 40 days with his bond hearing postponed to August 5, 2026, he filed a habeas corpus petition. The federal court granted the petition and ordered his immediate release, ruling that due process required a pre-deprivation bond hearing before detention given his four years of government-sanctioned liberty while his asylum case proceeded.

Felipe Linares de Oliveira Dell Aquilla, a Brazilian noncitizen, was arrested on June 5, 2026, during a traffic stop in Mooresville, North Carolina. According to law enforcement, he was a commander of two Brazil-based organizations designated as foreign terrorist organizations and held an international arrest warrant from Brazil for criminal association and extortion. During the traffic stop, Aquilla attempted to flee in his vehicle, leading to a high-speed chase that ended in a crash with parked cars. He was apprehended while fleeing on foot. Authorities seized cell phones, laptops, cash, and a 9mm handgun from his vehicle. Aquilla is also accused of holding his wife against her will. He faces state charges for fleeing to evade arrest and federal charges including illegal firearm possession and kidnapping.

Three teenagers from Collinsville, Illinois—16-year-old Jesus Alexis Cruz and 19-year-olds Hector Cruz Sanchez and Jonathan Godoy—were detained by ICE on June 9, 2026, after a traffic stop by Morrisonville Police for a vehicle licensing violation. After the vehicle was towed and the teens left at a gas station, ICE agents took them into custody. Cruz was transported to a juvenile detention facility in Texas; Sanchez and Godoy were sent to Ste. Genevieve Detention Center in Missouri. Illinois state officials, including the Attorney General's office, State Rep. Katie Stuart, Rep. Nikki Budzinski, and candidate Marsie Geldert-Murphey, have begun investigating whether the police's involvement violated the state's TRUST Act, which prohibits local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration enforcement.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement partnered with South Carolina law enforcement agencies, including the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, State Transit Police, and Duncan Police Department, to conduct two coordinated highway enforcement operations named Operation Safe Drive and Operation Rubber Duck. The operations took place along Interstate 26 and Interstate 85 from May 12 to May 14, 2026, targeting commercial vehicles, fraudulent truck drivers, invalid operator licenses, and immigration violations. The operations resulted in 114 arrests for immigration and criminal violations. Authorities conducted 145 vehicle stops, performed 77 vehicle inspections, issued 89 traffic citations, and removed 22 drivers and vehicles from service. Seizures included approximately 10 kilograms of cocaine valued at $200,000 and cash. According to advocacy groups and the ACLU, undocumented immigrants traveling in work trucks and vans, including construction and landscaping workers, were disproportionately affected by the stops and arrests. The operations are part of expanded immigration enforcement cooperation in South Carolina under a 287(g) agreement between state and local law enforcement and ICE.

On June 9, 2026, three teenagers were stopped by Morrisonville police in Christian County, Illinois while traveling together to work. Police determined the vehicle lacked proper licensing and towed it. While waiting at a nearby gas station, ICE agents took the teens into custody. Hector Cruz Sanchez, 19, and Jonathan Godoy, 19, were among those detained and subsequently transferred to Ste. Genevieve County Jail in southeastern Missouri, which holds ICE detainees under contract.

Jesus Alexis Cruz, 16, was detained by ICE following a traffic stop in Morrisonville, Illinois on June 9, 2026. Local police towed his vehicle, and ICE agents subsequently picked him up at a nearby gas station. Cruz's family, which includes documented relatives, requested his release to their custody, but ICE denied the request. He was transferred to a juvenile detention facility in Texas without family involvement in the transport. Representative Nikki Budzinski's office became involved to seek answers regarding his detention and transfer.

Three Collinsville, Illinois teens — Jesus Alexis Cruz, 16; Hector Cruz Sanchez, 19; and Jonathan Godoy, 19 — were detained by ICE on June 9, 2026, in Morrisonville, Illinois, while traveling for a summer job doing internet line work. They were pulled over by the Morrisonville Police Department, after which ICE took them into custody. Cruz, 16, is being held at an unidentified detention facility in Texas, while Sanchez and Godoy are detained at Ste. Genevieve Detention Center in Missouri. The Illinois Attorney General's Office noted that state law sharply limits local police participation in federal immigration enforcement, and State Rep. Katie Stuart called the incident "horrifying." U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski said her office is seeking answers and pledged to use oversight tools to demand transparency, noting the detentions came two weeks after she toured the Ste. Genevieve facility and heard detainee concerns about access to medical care.

Gabriel Yonathan Gonzalez Godoy, 23, from Honduras, was pulled over on Illinois Route 48 when his work vehicle's license plate was flagged for expired registration. Police impounded the truck containing fiber wiring equipment and transported him and two others to a gas station, where ICE agents arrested all three. Gonzalez Godoy was initially held at Ste. Genevieve County Jail in Missouri. On June 22, a federal immigration judge approved his request for voluntary deportation to Mexico, and he was deported by ICE.

Hector Cruz-Sanchez, 19, from Mexico, and Jesus Alexis Cruz, 16, from Collinsville, Illinois, were detained by ICE on June 9, 2026, after Morrisonville Police stopped their vehicle on Illinois Route 48 for expired registration during a work trip. Police impounded the truck and transported the three occupants to a gas station, where ICE agents arrested them. Cruz-Sanchez was initially held at Ste. Genevieve County Jail in Missouri before being transferred to Port Isabel Service Processing Center in Texas, while the 16-year-old was transported to a juvenile detention facility in Texas. Family representatives alleged police violated the Illinois Trust Act by facilitating the ICE pickup and characterized the transfer of the minor as a kidnapping due to denial of information about transportation and family accompaniment across state lines. U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski's office sought information about the detentions and raised concerns about the circumstances, particularly regarding the age of one detainee.

A Polish immigrant was detained by ICE agents on June 9 after federal immigration agents chased his vehicle through the Dunning neighborhood on the Northwest Side. Surveillance footage shows the chase beginning around 10:24 a.m. on West Grace Street, with an ICE vehicle colliding with his car before it crashed into a tree in the 3800 block of North Olcott Avenue. He then fled on foot before being apprehended. DHS characterized the operation as a targeted enforcement action.

Juana, a mother of four with no criminal record, was arrested by ICE agents on the side of the road in Grants Pass on June 9, 2026. A bystander videotaped the arrest, which showed agents handcuffing her and placing her in an unmarked vehicle while her van was left locked on the roadside. She was transported to the Tacoma immigration detention center and is facing deportation.

Ernesto Puac Son, a 33-year-old roofer and legal resident of Stuart, Florida, with a valid work permit and pending asylum case, has lived in the United States for 18 years. On October 1, 2025, FDLE agents conducted a traffic stop near his house after he made a rolling stop. Puac refused to exit his van because he had just witnessed agents arresting his brother Felipe, who had a deportation order but no criminal history. FDLE agent John Soltys smashed Puac's van window and dragged him through the broken glass, pinning him face-down on the ground and leaving him with gashes on his face, back, and arms. Despite showing a valid Florida driver's license, Puac was charged with resisting arrest with violence. He was convicted on January 7, 2026, and sentenced to one year in Martin County Jail. FDLE was operating under the 287(g) program, which authorizes state and local law enforcement to enforce immigration law.

Jairo Isaias Alvarado-Lopez, 38, was booked into Shawnee County Department of Corrections on June 8, 2026, following a traffic-related arrest involving allegations of operating a motor vehicle without a valid license, speeding, and unlawful vehicle registration violations. An ICE detainer was placed on him, designated as "NO BOND." He is scheduled to appear in court on July 15, 2026.

Gerardo Reyes Gonzalez, a 44-year-old father, was arrested on March 14, 2026, during a traffic stop in San Marcos while sitting as a passenger in his 17-year-old son's truck. Police initiated the stop based on an emergency call about a vehicle matching the truck's description, though the reported incident never occurred. He was charged with Interference with Public Duties after allegedly trying to prevent his son from being removed from the vehicle. Reyes Gonzalez was transferred to ICE custody and detained for over two months. The Hays County District Attorney dropped the criminal charge on May 11, and a federal judge granted his habeas corpus petition on June 1, ordering his release. The San Marcos Police Department was found to have committed multiple policy violations, including making inaccurate statements in court documents and failing to verify facts before arrest. His daughter Lupe Sarinana credited community activism and a petition with over 200 signatures for his release.

Avelino Lage was detained by ICE for five months at Alligator Alcatraz facility. While he was detained, his apartment was robbed and he lost all his belongings. He also lost access to his bank accounts during detention, resulting in his car being repossessed. He is now rebuilding his life from scratch.

A husband was detained by ICE while traveling to work, leaving his wife and children without immediate answers about his whereabouts. His wife discovered his detention through a Facebook post after hours of unsuccessful phone calls and searching. The family is now facing legal expenses, household bills, and childcare costs while navigating the immigration legal process to reunite.

Andrea Pedro-Francisco, a 23-year-old Guatemalan asylum seeker who fled to the U.S. with her mother in 2019, was arrested on February 5, 2026, by federal agents during a traffic stop while driving to work in Minnesota. She was immediately transferred to Camp East Montana, a tent detention facility at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, where she was held for nearly four months in crowded conditions. Pedro-Francisco had a golf-ball-sized ovarian cyst that required surgery before her arrest; nine independent physicians concluded the procedure was medically necessary to prevent serious complications including infertility and potential death. ICE repeatedly denied approval for the surgery and provided only over-the-counter pain relief despite a doctor's opioid prescription. Her mother, who has two younger U.S. citizen children, was released at the scene. Following legal motions, advocacy by U.S. Representatives Angie Craig, Greg Casar, and Veronica Escobar, Senator Tina Smith's intervention with DHS, and sustained efforts by lawyers and organizers, Pedro-Francisco was released in early June 2026 with GPS monitoring and her case transferred back to Minnesota for a July hearing.