Human Impact Project

A Chinese citizen who entered the U.S. without inspection in July 2023 was re-detained by ICE on January 23, 2026, when he appeared for a routine check-in. He had been living freely in Los Angeles under an Order of Release on Recognizance since 2023 and filed an asylum application based on fear of political persecution in China. The court ordered his immediate release, finding his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated his due process rights.

A York County Jail corrections officer, who had worked at the jail for about a year after passing a criminal background check and federal work-authorization check, was arrested by ICE on Wednesday outside a scheduled immigration appointment in Scarborough. Sheriff William King said ICE did not notify his office of the arrest; the officer's family learned of it and alerted the sheriff. King described the officer as a valued staff member at a jail facing a staffing shortage. He remains held at a facility in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and King said the case has made him question ICE's stated focus on 'the worst of the worst.'

Francisco Gaspar Andrés, a 48-year-old Guatemalan immigrant, died on December 3, 2025, at The Hospitals of Providence East in El Paso after 93 days in ICE custody at Camp East Montana detention facility. He was arrested in Florida on September 1 and transferred to the facility on September 19, marking the first confirmed death there. His health deteriorated in mid-November with complications from alcoholic hepatic cirrhosis, low sodium levels, and kidney failure. He was hospitalized on November 16 and placed on dialysis and a liver transplant list before being pronounced dead on December 3. His daughter said during weekly phone calls he reported suffering from lack of food, lack of medical care, and terrible conditions, and stated: 'My dad was taken to the hospital when he was already dying, and it was too late.' Another detainee confirmed he had asked for help but did not receive it. His wife, Lucía Pedro Juan, was deported to Guatemala on November 28 before learning of his death. An immigration judge had ordered his removal on November 14, two days before his hospitalization. The El Paso County Medical Examiner attributed his death to natural causes stemming from advanced alcoholic liver cirrhosis with renal failure and internal bleeding, though conflicting reports indicate authorities also ruled it a homicide.

Yannier Vazquez Hidalgo, a Cuban man working at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Central New York, was ordered deported to Ecuador by an immigration judge. Hidalgo fled Cuba and married his husband in the U.S., requesting asylum based on persecution fears as a gay man. He was detained by federal agents in October during a routine ICE appointment in Mattydale. Though he passed an immigration test demonstrating a credible threat to his life in Cuba due to his sexual orientation, the judge ordered his deportation to a country where he has no ties and where he argues he will face persecution for being gay and Cuban.

Armande Namegni, a 30-year-old Cameroonian asylum seeker, was detained by ICE on January 22, 2026, during a routine immigration check-in in St. Louis. Officers reported finding a pending shoplifting charge on her record. Namegni stated the charge was misattributed to her and should have been cleared. Officers stated it appeared in the court system. She was transported to Phelps County jail in Rolla and remained in custody awaiting her asylum hearing. She was denied bond.

A federal court judge ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to explain why it detained Yanick Joao Carneiro, an Angolan man, during a routine immigration check-in at an office in Scarborough. Carneiro is undocumented but filed for asylum within his first year in the U.S. His lawyer stated he has no criminal record. He was granted a temporary 72-hour order preventing his removal while the court determines why he was detained.

Jelili Qudus, a Nigerian described in court filings as a Muslim faith leader who conducts weekly prayers, visits the sick, and distributes food to people in need, was re-detained when he appeared for his annual ICE check-in in Chicago after approximately 17 years of complying with an Order of Supervision. He was subsequently held at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas. A federal judge later granted his habeas petition and ordered his immediate release under supervision, finding that immigration authorities violated his due process rights by re-detaining him without providing required notice or an opportunity to respond.

A 25-year-old Guatemalan woman of indigenous Mam ethnicity was detained on January 16, 2026, at an ICE check-in appointment in Eugene due to a pending felony criminal mistreatment case in Marion County. She claims persecution in Guatemala based on her indigenous heritage and reports her daughter is at risk of violence because her former partner is a gang member. Court records show she was released pending the outcome of her habeas petition after attorneys argued she posed neither a flight risk nor danger to the community.

Alicbiades "Alex" Lazaro Ramirez Gonzalez, husband of Yannier Vazquez Hidalgo, was ordered deported to Ecuador by an immigration judge one week before his husband received the same order. Ramirez Gonzalez fled Cuba with his husband and they married in the U.S., both requesting asylum based on persecution fears as gay men. He was detained by federal agents in October during a routine ICE appointment in Mattydale. Like his husband, he faces deportation to a country where he has no ties and argues he will be persecuted for being gay and Cuban.

A Peruvian man who had been paroled into the United States under the Migrant Protection Protocols program was detained during a scheduled ICE check-in appointment on January 13, 2026. He had been living in Memphis, Tennessee, had obtained a driver's license and work authorization, and had been regularly reporting to ICE as required. The court denied his habeas corpus petition challenging his detention without an individualized bond hearing. Another Peruvian citizen, who entered the U.S. in November 2022, was detained on December 1, 2025 after voluntarily appearing at the Memphis Immigration office for allegedly failing to comply with ATD program conditions. He had previously been released on parole due to time in custody constraints and placed in the Alternatives to Detention program. The court denied his habeas petition seeking release or a bond hearing, ruling that as an applicant for admission he is subject to mandatory detention under federal law.

A same-sex female couple in Pennsylvania had one woman detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a regularly scheduled immigration check-in. The detainee was transferred to a detention center in California.

A 25-year-old dual national of Venezuela and Colombia entered the United States without inspection on February 24, 2024, and was released by ICE on an Order of Release on Recognizance under the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program. On January 13, 2026, while appearing for a scheduled check-in in San Bernardino, California, ICE took her into custody, alleging violations of her supervision conditions. The court granted her Temporary Restraining Order application, finding she was likely detained in violation of her due process rights, and ordered her immediate release pending resolution of her habeas corpus petition.

David Vargas-Rivera, a Mexican national, was arrested by ICE Dallas officers on January 12, 2026, in Frisco, Texas. According to federal authorities, Vargas-Rivera is wanted in Mexico on homicide charges and is suspected of laundering more than $4.6 million through real estate transactions in 2025. Authorities also noted he had previously been arrested in Canada and Colombia. He was deported on July 14, 2026, and turned over to Mexican law enforcement authorities.

An Eritrean single mother of three with a pending green card application was detained during Operation PARRIS operations beginning January 9, 2026. During a five-hour interview with USCIS officers, she was questioned about her application materials and reasons for fleeing her country. Her attorney reported that the USCIS officer conducting the interview stated he had no knowledge of why she was detained or authority regarding her detention. She was released a few days after arrest and returned to Minnesota, and her green card application was approved while she was in detention.

A 42-year-old Salvadoran national was arrested by ICE agents on January 9, 2026, when he and his wife appeared at the Santa Ana Field Office for a scheduled interview regarding their pending I-130 petition. He had been living in the U.S. since 2004 and was previously released on his own recognizance in 2011 after removal proceedings were initiated. He is the primary financial provider for four U.S. citizen children. The court granted his application for a temporary restraining order and ordered his immediate release from custody.

A Chinese national who filed for asylum in 2017 based on religious persecution was detained by ICE agents when he appeared for his asylum interview at the USCIS office in Tustin after waiting over nine years. He was served with a Notice to Appear for overstaying his visitor visa and has been held at Adelanto Detention Center since January 2026. The court granted his habeas petition and ordered his immediate release, finding the government violated his due process rights by detaining him without notice and opportunity to be heard.

Hongbo Zhao, a Chinese citizen with a pending asylum application, was detained by ICE on January 7, 2026, during a routine check-in at an ICE field office. He had been released on his own recognizance since April 2024 and had complied with all reporting requirements. The federal court ordered his immediate release, finding that ICE violated his due process rights by detaining him without notice or a pre-deprivation hearing.

Melisa, a Maryland resident with a valid work permit and pending asylum case, was detained on December 15, 2025 during a routine immigration check-in. She had no criminal record and was employed full-time while preparing to start classes at Carroll Community College and planning her wedding. Her community is raising funds to help her hire an immigration attorney.

A Nigerian national who had been released on recognizance and participating in an Alternative to Detention program for over two years was arrested by ICE agents during a routine ATD appointment on January 7, 2026. He had no criminal history and had attended all required check-ins, with a pending asylum application. The court granted a preliminary injunction ordering his immediate release, finding his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated due process.

A man granted withholding of removal to Nicaragua was ordered removed to Nicaragua on January 25, 2023, and granted withholding of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3). He was released from immigration custody that same day. On January 5, 2026, ICE re-detained him and sought to remove him to Mexico, a third country not listed in his removal order. The court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release, finding that respondents failed to meet their burden to justify continued detention where removal to his country of removal (Nicaragua) was barred by withholding of removal.