Human Impact Project

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.

Estela Ramos Baten was detained during a mandatory immigration check-in and deported to Guatemala with her teenage daughter Nory Sontay Ramos on July 4. Ramos Baten had lived in Los Angeles since 2016 and suffered from liver cirrhosis and high blood pressure. She died nine weeks after deportation from complications of liver cirrhosis. Her teenage daughter remained in Guatemala.

Two Iranian Christian converts have been held by ICE since December after appearing for a routine immigration check-in, despite being vetted at the border, receiving work authorization, and volunteering at a Houston church. One man had evangelized to Muslims in Iran, an offense that can carry the death penalty under Iranian law, and now faces deportation back to the country. Both are currently held at the Houston Contract Detention Facility. The Department of Homeland Security has stated that both men crossed into the U.S. without authorization in 2023 and 2024 and were released under the previous administration.

A Nicaraguan man has been in immigration detention since February 24, 2026, after being arrested at a scheduled ICE check-in. ICE did not set bond and did not provide him with a custody review by an immigration judge as required under the Board of Immigration Appeals' decision in Matter of Yajure Hurtado. A recent DHS policy classifies anyone arrested within the United States and charged with being inadmissible under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(A)(i) as an 'applicant for admission' subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A), a change from prior policy that allowed for bond or conditional parole under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). He filed a habeas corpus petition and ex parte application for a temporary restraining order seeking to prohibit his removal, transfer outside the Central District of California, and continued detention without a constitutionally adequate bond hearing. The federal court granted the temporary restraining order, ordering respondents to either provide him an individualized bond hearing before an immigration judge pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) on or before April 7, 2026 at 9:00 a.m., or release him from custody by April 7, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. The court set a hearing on the preliminary injunction for April 16, 2026.

Jorfrank Lugo, a Venezuelan father of two young children detained by ICE on February 23, 2026 during a routine check-in appointment, filed a habeas corpus petition seeking his release. On April 29, 2026, a federal district court in Missouri denied the petition, ruling that he is subject to mandatory detention under federal law and that his continued custody during removal proceedings does not violate his due process rights. He and his wife Daniela remain asylum applicants, and his removal proceedings are now underway. His detention has left his wife, who cares full-time for their two young children, without their family's sole source of income while she tries to fund his legal defense.

Luis Beltran Yañez-Cruz, a Honduran immigrant, died while in ICE custody at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Imperial County. His daughter Jocelyn provided a statement read at a February 21, 2026 vigil calling for justice. Organizers documented conditions of medical neglect, overcrowding, and unsanitary conditions at the facility that they say contributed to detainee deaths.

A woman identified as Alicia was detained in April 2025 during a routine ICE check-in in Louisiana and sent to the Basile detention center, where she discovered she was pregnant. She was given small, poor-quality food portions that left her weak and hungry. In May, she experienced severe abdominal pain, cramping, and bleeding, and was taken to a hospital where staff performed an invasive uterine procedure without her consent and told her she had miscarried. ICE returned her to detention that same night and held her for two more months, during which she suffered heavy bleeding, swelling, fever, and severe pain, with repeated sick call requests going unanswered. In July 2025, ICE deported Alicia, separating her from her children, and she was later diagnosed with and treated for a serious infection caused by the lack of treatment she received while detained.

Michael Opeoluwa Egbele, a Nigerian immigrant who entered the U.S. unlawfully in 2003, was detained by ICE in January 2026 during a routine check-in, despite having remained in compliance with his supervised release conditions for over a decade. He had been charged with a drug offense in 2012 and later placed on supervised release. A U.S. District Court in Minnesota granted his habeas corpus petition, ruling that the government unlawfully revoked his supervised release without due process or prior notification. The court ordered ICE to immediately release him, and he was freed from custody on February 20, 2026.

Lucia, a pregnant woman, was detained by ICE after appearing for a regular check-in appointment at a detention facility in Dilley. While two months pregnant, she began experiencing heavy vaginal bleeding and cramping in the middle of the night but was not taken to see medical staff for several hours. Medical personnel left her alone in a small room without food, water, or pain medication while she bled heavily. She was eventually transported to an emergency room about an hour away while shackled at the arms and legs, where she suffered a miscarriage and required a blood transfusion. She was returned to ICE custody and continued experiencing abdominal pain and heavy bleeding for another month before being deported. Representative Joaquin Castro raised allegations about conditions for pregnant women held at the Dilley detention center.

Jonathan Enrique Meza Ruiz, an Indiana man who came to the United States as an unauthorized minor nearly two decades ago, was ordered released by federal judge Matthew P. Brookman or granted a bond hearing by ICE. The ruling is part of a nationwide legal battle over whether the Trump administration can detain people in non-border areas for immigration violations and hold them without bond under a border-related legal provision.

Angie Rodriguez, a 24-year-old Colombian asylum seeker, was detained by ICE in July 2025 following a routine immigration check-in and sent to the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield, California. She discovered she was pregnant while in custody but received no prenatal vitamins, medical care, or nutrition education for weeks afterward. Facility meals were inedible to her due to their appearance and smell, forcing her to rely on costly commissary items like instant ramen, chips, and candy. After experiencing brown discharge, she was transported to an off-site hospital where she miscarried, then placed in medical isolation before her eventual release. Her case is among more than a dozen documented by the ACLU involving pregnant women held without proper medical care in immigration detention. Rodriguez has filed a lawsuit alleging unconstitutional detention, arguing that the stress of her arrest combined with inadequate food and lack of prenatal care may have contributed to her miscarriage.

A 48-year-old father of five with pending U-visa protection for victims of crimes cooperating with law enforcement was released from detention at Whipple Federal Building with only his belt, glasses, and wallet. ICE agents withheld his work permit, Social Security card, and consular card, claiming they did not know where the documents were. He has remained largely confined to his house out of fear.

Luis Roldan-Cerda, a DACA recipient, was detained and deported by ICE on February 17, 2026, after attending a biometric appointment for his U visa application at an immigration office in McAllen, Texas. He was deported to Reynosa, Mexico, and spent more than five weeks stranded there, witnessing cartel violence in the city. A federal judge ordered his return to the United States, and he was reunited with his wife Denisse Garcia and their children. Roldan-Cerda, who was brought to the U.S. at age three, said he was grateful to be back with his family and planned to return to his job as an electrician.

Niury Guerra, a Cuban national and wife of a U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE during a scheduled green card interview appointment in Dallas. ICE cited a 2018 removal after an attempted unauthorized entry with a fraudulent passport and a 2022 unauthorized re-entry as the basis for her arrest. Guerra has no criminal record beyond immigration violations and remains held at a detention center approximately 200 miles from her family, including her 15-month-old daughter. Rafael Alambarrio, a Venezuelan asylum seeker and husband of a McKinney elementary school teacher, was detained by ICE on January 15, 2026 during a routine check-in appointment at the Dallas ICE office. He had a credible fear determination from 2023, was seeking asylum, and was waiting for his green card application to be processed as the spouse of a U.S. citizen. His detention occurred after the Trump administration paused processing of green card applications from 19 countries including Venezuela. He is now held at Prairieland Detention Facility awaiting a hearing scheduled for February 3, 2026.

Ludovic Mbock, a 38-year-old competitive gamer from Cameroon, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on February 17, 2026, during a routine work permit renewal check-in at the Baltimore ICE office. Mbock legally entered the U.S. as a teenager and has lived in Maryland for 18 years. He was transferred across multiple states during 25 days in detention. His lawyer and family fear deportation to Cameroon, where same-sex activity is criminalized and he faces danger as an openly gay man. A federal judge ruled he will be held for 10 days pending a bond hearing in Immigration Court.

Diana Butnarciuc, a Moldovan immigrant who arrived in the U.S. legally in 2008, was arrested by ICE agents on February 13, 2026, during a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services interview for a permanent resident card in Las Vegas. Butnarciuc, who is married to Marine veteran Patrick Baja and has two children, has no criminal record, works, and pays taxes. Although she faced a 2018 deportation order after her asylum claim was denied, her marriage to Baja made her eligible for a green card. Her attorney stated that Butnarciuc entered the U.S. legally and should be entitled to permanent resident status. She is being held at Henderson Detention Center, and her husband is seeking her release.

Terez Metry, a 28-year-old dental assistant with no criminal record, was detained by immigration agents at a Department of Homeland Security office on Brick Church Pike in Nashville immediately after her I-130 petition was approved during what was meant to be a routine interview. Metry had fled Egypt as a teenager at age 13, when she received a removal order, and had been living and working in Nashville since 2018. She had submitted the I-130 as a step toward obtaining a Green Card, following procedures alongside her U.S. citizen husband, Dominique Flemister, whom she had been married to for three years. She was separated from her husband during the interview and detained, with her husband believing she was being transferred to Louisiana for removal proceedings. The couple said they believed they were following proper legal procedures throughout her immigration case.

Amalia Arrieta, an 18-month-old from Venezuela, was detained with her mother Kheilin Valero Marcano following an ICE appointment in El Paso on December 11, 2025, and transferred to Dilley Immigration Processing Center. Over weeks, Amalia developed severe respiratory symptoms including high fevers, persistent cough, and dangerously low blood-oxygen levels (dropping to the 50s). On January 18, 2026, she was hospitalized at Methodist Children's Hospital in San Antonio for 10 days, diagnosed with pneumonia, COVID-19, RSV, and respiratory distress. Upon discharge on January 28, doctors prescribed her a nebulizer, respiratory medications, and nutritional supplements. When ICE returned her to Dilley, detention staff allegedly confiscated her prescribed medications and breathing equipment. Her parents were forced to wait in daily outdoor lines to request treatment, often being denied. After lawyers filed an emergency habeas corpus petition in federal court, the family was released on either January 31 or February 7, 2026.

Amalia, an 18-month-old Venezuelan girl, arrived in the United States with her parents Kheilin Valero Marcano and Stiven Arrieta Prieto through the CBP One appointment system and was living in El Paso while awaiting asylum processing. On December 11, 2024, the family was arrested during a routine ICE check-in despite complying with all immigration requirements and checking in regularly. They were detained at Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas. In early January 2026, Amalia developed a high fever, vomiting, and breathing difficulties. Despite her parents' repeated requests for medical care at the facility's clinic, staff provided only Tylenol. On January 18, her oxygen levels dropped critically to the 50s, and she was rushed to Methodist Children's Hospital in San Antonio, where she was hospitalized for 10 days and diagnosed with pneumonia, COVID-19, RSV, and viral bronchitis. After discharge on January 28, doctors prescribed nebulized breathing treatments and nutritional supplements. ICE returned Amalia to Dilley detention instead of her prior community, where staff confiscated her nebulizer, albuterol, and nutritional supplements. Her parents were forced to wait daily in an outdoor 'pill line' and were frequently turned away without her prescribed medications. After her attorneys filed an emergency federal habeas corpus petition, the family was released in February 2026. Upon release, they were transported to a shelter in Laredo without her medications, birth certificate, vaccination records, or money for travel. Amalia developed behavioral changes after detention, crying when separated from her mother. Her case is one of more than 500 infants and toddlers under age three detained by ICE since January 2025, according to documentation by MS NOW and The Marshall Project.

Juan David Quichimbo, an Ecuadorian father living in Springfield, Massachusetts, has been held at the Plymouth ICE detention facility for nearly two months despite having a pending T-visa application as an alleged labor trafficking victim. Quichimbo has no criminal record; his family received notice at a routine immigration check-in in November before his detention. His attorney Elizabeth Shaw said he and his family 'have been diligently pursuing their relief from removal' since arriving in the U.S. and that he has never had any interaction with law enforcement, 'not even a minor driving infraction.' After one federal judge lifted a ban on his transfer or deportation, a second federal judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking ICE from moving him, which the government has moved to dissolve.