Human Impact Project

Katsiaryna Bartko, a 33-year-old Belarusian thyroid cancer survivor, has been held by ICE since early June 2026, most recently at the CoreCivic-run Midwest Regional Reception Center in Leavenworth, Kansas. She requires daily hormone medication and calcium supplements for permanent hypoparathyroidism and chronic hypocalcemia following cancer surgery, but her partner, Dmitry Shyshov, says she was initially denied her prescribed medications despite intake records documenting her needs. She was hospitalized three times in four days, once in acute distress requiring intravenous calcium, and lab records showed her thyroid-stimulating hormone soaring to over 31 times normal. A Harvard endocrinologist and an independent physician with Physicians for Human Rights both warned her continued detention is medically unsafe, risking organ failure, coma, or death. Bartko entered the U.S. legally on an F-1 student visa in March 2022 and filed for asylum in 2023, citing persecution over her pro-democracy activism and opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine; she was detained in Florida after local domestic battery charges against her were dropped and has never been convicted of a crime. She was placed in solitary isolation days before a federal court hearing, and a judge has ordered the government to bring her to a Kansas City courthouse to hear her petition for release.

Orolua Eluonyechie, a Nigerian national, has been held in immigration detention for over two years, initially detained in Atlanta in April 2024 and later transferred to Allen Parish in southwest Louisiana. While detained, he has been injured by guards and placed in solitary confinement. He filed a federal habeas petition seeking release or deportation but remains waiting for judicial action as federal courts in Louisiana become overwhelmed with habeas petitions from detainees held in prolonged detention.

All detainees at the South Florida Detention Center, a facility in Florida's Everglades known as "Alligator Alcatraz" that opened in July 2025, were transferred to other facilities in mid-June 2026. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security cited hurricane season safety concerns as the reason for the transfers. However, immigration advocates and lawyers dispute this explanation, noting the facility operated throughout the previous hurricane season without prior closures. Approximately 800 detainees have been transferred, with families and legal representatives reporting difficulty locating them and unclear information about their current status. The facility had faced persistent criticism and lawsuits over poor conditions, including worms in food, non-functioning toilets, flooding, denial of medical care, solitary confinement, and inadequate legal access.

Hanne Engan, a 24-year-old Norwegian citizen applying for a green card through her U.S. citizen husband, was arrested by ICE agents on November 17, 2025, during a green card interview at a San Diego facility and held at Otay Mesa Detention Center for eight to nine days. Despite her Type 1 diabetes diagnosis, ICE confiscated her insulin and continuous glucose monitor, misclassified her condition in detention records, and denied her mealtime insulin despite repeated requests, resulting in dangerously elevated blood sugar levels (508 mg/dL), weight loss, infections, and suicidal ideation. She was placed in solitary confinement for five days. A federal judge found no flight risk, ordered her release on a $1,500 bond after nine days, and later terminated her deportation case after ruling ICE lacked jurisdiction to detain her.

Beginning May 27, 2026, hundreds of detainees at Delaney Hall, a 1,000-bed private immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey operated by GEO Group under contract to ICE, initiated a hunger and labor strike protesting conditions including expired and contaminated food infested with worms, forced labor at wages as low as $1 per day, stiflingly hot conditions due to ventilation problems, and reports that female detainees had been groped by a guard. Federal data showed that of 591 detainees held at the facility, only 76 (about 13 percent) had criminal convictions and 123 (about 21 percent) had pending criminal charges. Organizer Martin Soto led the strike and was transferred to another facility during escalation. Some detainees had been held for 8 to 12 months. Outside the facility, protesters gathered nightly and clashed with federal police and state troopers in riot gear. ICE responded with chemical agents including pepper spray and pepper balls, armored vehicles, and batons against both detainees and external protesters, with at least 90 arrests of external protesters since May 26. Detainees involved in the strike faced retaliation including solitary confinement and transfers to other facilities. The action was part of at least six concurrent hunger strikes at immigration detention facilities nationwide.

Emanuel Rodrigues, a Brazilian man with a rare life-threatening condition restricting his mobility, was held in solitary confinement for five months at Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey. During his detention, Rodrigues became seriously ill and unable to walk after a fall that he says occurred when a guard prevented him from using crutches. His wife was unable to visit the facility. He was released on June 4, 2026, following advocacy from Rep. Rob Menendez's office, with assistance from a journalist.

Randy Cordova Flores, a 36-year-old Peruvian landscaper and father of two children enrolled in the Allegheny Valley School District, was pulled over by Springdale Borough police for a traffic violation on February 10, 2026, and turned over to ICE agents. He had entered the U.S. without documentation in 2023 and was pursuing an asylum case with valid work authorization; ICE claimed he had missed an immigration hearing, but his family and legal representatives said he had been complying with check-in requirements. He was held at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County and later transferred to Northern Regional Correctional Facility in West Virginia, where he was confined to a small cell 23 hours a day. After his family launched a legal challenge, he won release through a habeas corpus petition in June 2026, four months after his detention began, and was freed on bond with an ankle monitor while his case continues.

Legal organizations filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of four people detained at Camp East Montana, a massive immigration detention tent camp at Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, alleging severe rights violations including medical neglect, violent uses of force by officers, excessive solitary confinement, inadequate food, and dangerous living conditions. The lawsuit seeks class certification to represent all people detained at the facility and alleges violations of Fifth Amendment due process rights and the Administrative Procedure Act.

The ACLU, civil rights organizations, and individual detainees filed a federal lawsuit against ICE and DHS challenging conditions at Camp East Montana, the largest immigration detention center in the U.S., located at Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas. The complaint alleges physical abuse by guards, inadequate medical care, solitary confinement, disease exposure including a measles outbreak, and nearly 50 violations of detention standards. At least three detainees have died since the facility opened nine months prior, including a Cuban immigrant ruled to have died from asphyxia due to neck and torso compression. Named plaintiffs Navdeep, a former mail handler, and ZOR, a father detained over eight months, detailed specific conditions including contaminated water, inadequate drinking water access, breathing problems from desert dust, lack of medical care, and family separation.

Navdeep, a detainee with preexisting injuries that prevent him from putting his hands behind his back, was locked in solitary confinement for appearing to refuse guard orders to do so. He described feeling like a political pawn taken from his job and family and forced into unsafe tent conditions. He is one of four named plaintiffs in the ACLU lawsuit against ICE over Camp East Montana conditions.

Gerald Akari Angye, a 35-year-old former high school teacher from Cameroon who fled after experiencing kidnapping and torture, crossed into the U.S. in December 2024 and sought asylum. After his asylum claim was denied, he was detained at Camp East Montana ICE detention center at Fort Bliss military base in El Paso for over a month. While detained, Angye was severely beaten by guards after requesting to speak with an attorney before signing documents, suffering injuries to his hands and wrists that required a brace and hospitalization. He was subsequently placed in solitary confinement for 15 days. The ACLU of Texas and partner civil rights organizations filed a federal class-action lawsuit against ICE on behalf of Angye and three other named plaintiffs, challenging severe conditions at the facility including violent use of force, medical neglect, disease outbreaks, excessive solitary confinement, and inhumane living conditions.

Erik Ivan Rodriguez was detained at Camp East Montana, a tent detention facility at Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas. While detained, he experienced physical violence by officers who attempted to coerce him to sign deportation papers. Rodriguez and three other detainees filed a class-action lawsuit through the ACLU of Texas and partner civil rights organizations in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, challenging inhumane detention conditions including medical neglect, disease outbreaks, inadequate food, unsanitary living conditions, excessive solitary confinement, and violent use of force.

Ricardo Navarrete, an 18-year-old senior at Mather High School, was detained by ICE agents on March 16, 2026, during a scheduled check-in appointment for his pending asylum case. He had fled Colombia in 2022 seeking asylum, held a valid work permit and REAL ID, and had been accepted to play soccer at Truman College. Following his detention, Ricardo was transferred between multiple ICE detention facilities across Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, where he reported sleeping on floors without blankets and spending time in solitary confinement. His attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention, and he was released on May 26, 2026, just days before his high school graduation.

Gabriel Leiva was detained at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan. He fought with staff who removed him from his pod and requested to be killed while handcuffed and shackled. After being placed in solitary confinement, he covered his cell window, kicked the door, and displayed suicidal behavior. When police responded to a 911 call, he expressed confusion about being in solitary confinement.

Yanquiel Lima came to the U.S. from Cuba in 2023 under a humanitarian visa program that Trump ended in 2024. He was arrested shortly after the program's termination and denied a bond hearing under ICE's mandatory detention policy. He spent 10 months at Pearsall detention facility in a room with 64 other detainees sharing two toilets and three showers. He reported being served spoiled food and hearing racist comments from guards. He was placed in solitary confinement for six days after complaining about conditions.

Dylan Lopez Contreras, a 21-year-old Venezuelan student at ELLIS Preparatory Academy in the Bronx, was detained by ICE in May 2024 after attending a mandatory immigration court hearing in Lower Manhattan. He was transferred to Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania, where an immigration judge denied his asylum claim in September 2024 and ordered his deportation to Venezuela. After nearly 10 months in detention, Contreras was released on March 18-19, 2025, while his legal team pursued an appeal of the deportation order. He returned to school while applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, subject to an ankle monitor and ICE check-ins as his asylum appeal remains pending. Dylan Lopez Contreras, a 20-year-old high school student at Ellis Preparatory Academy in the Bronx, was arrested by ICE agents in May 2025 at a Lower Manhattan courthouse after attending a mandatory immigration hearing. He was held in federal custody for nearly 10 months before being released on March 18, 2026, on his own recognizance with an ankle monitor. His detention was notable as the first widely documented case of a public school student in New York City being detained by federal agents under the Trump administration. A teenager named Ricardo was held in ICE detention and spent time in solitary confinement, prompting outrage from the Chicago community. His mother, Martha Liliana, and community members organized a rally calling for his release. Dylan, a 16-year-old high school student in the Bronx, was arrested by ICE when attending a routine court date at an immigration courthouse in New York City. The arrest occurred as part of ICE's campaign of arresting people at mandated immigration court hearings and fast-tracking deportations. Dylan, a 20-year-old student from Ellis Prep High School, was detained by ICE in May during an asylum hearing. He remains in ICE custody. This case is part of a pattern of ICE detention of NYC public school students attending legal hearings.

Angel Lemus-Linares, a 32-year-old from El Salvador seeking political asylum, was placed in solitary confinement at T. Don Hutto Detention Center in Texas for seven consecutive days after being beaten by ICE officers following an altercation with another detainee. He reported being locked in isolation without adequate medical care or bathroom access, and experienced multiple additional solitary confinement placements and prolonged lockdowns during his 28+ months in ICE custody. After an immigration judge denied his asylum claim in December 2025, Lemus-Linares was deported to Mexico and is now applying for refugee status.

A 33-year-old man from the Middle East was detained by ICE in December 2024 after a scheduled check-in with immigration officials. While held in solitary confinement, he experienced panic attacks and chest pains, and repeatedly struck his head against a door. According to his brother, he is a Christian who fled religious persecution in his home country and has no criminal record. An ICE officer informed him he could be deported to Uganda. Facing indefinite detention, he chose to voluntarily depart the United States rather than continue in custody.

Anstasiia and Andrei, Russian activists who fled Russia fearing retaliation for their involvement with the Navalny campaign, sought political asylum in the U.S. but were detained at separate ICE facilities in Louisiana. Anstasiia was held at Basile ICE jail, where she alleges she was stripped naked and confined to a glass room for 24 hours. She also reported that women detainees were subjected to male guards while showering and using the bathroom. Andrei was detained at Allen Parish Public Safety Complex. The facilities are reported to have conditions including physical and sexual abuse, medical neglect, rat infestations, black mold, expired food, and prolonged solitary confinement.

Denny Adan Gonzalez, a 33-year-old Cuban national, was found unresponsive in his cell at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, on April 28, 2026, at approximately 10:25 p.m. and pronounced dead at 11:11 p.m. ICE reported the suspected cause as suicide, though the official cause remained under investigation. Gonzalez had been in solitary confinement following an alleged altercation with a staff member the day before. He had arrived at a U.S. port of entry in 2019, was deported in 2020, re-entered without authorization in 2022, and was transferred to Stewart in January 2026 after arrest in North Carolina on assault and domestic violence charges. Immigration advocates, his mother Lourdes González Suárez, and U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock called for independent investigation and improved transparency regarding ICE custody deaths.