Human Impact Project

Jean, a 12-year-old from Haiti, was detained at the U.S. border and held in federal custody for 505 days, spending his 13th birthday in an ORR shelter in California and later a foster care program in New Haven, Connecticut. His family in Fort Lauderdale—his father, stepmother, and two sisters—had completed all required vetting, background checks, and home studies, yet the Office of Refugee Resettlement repeatedly requested documents his family could not obtain, including a Haitian death certificate from territory controlled by gangs. After his sisters were released to their stepmother, Jean remained detained; ORR cited a DNA test showing his father was not his biological parent, though his father said this changed nothing. A federal judge ultimately ruled the government's process "arbitrary and capricious" and ordered Jean's release, with the judge noting that unlawful detention "results in an injury that really can never be remedied." In August 2026, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal cited Jean's case, along with a 5-year-old Connecticut girl held 118 days, in a letter demanding that the HHS inspector general investigate ORR's prolonged detention of immigrant children, accusing the agency of an "obstructionist policy" toward families seeking reunification.

Jose Guadalupe Rojas Quintanar was pulled over for not having a driver's license in Paragould, Arkansas, and arrested. An ICE hold was discovered during the traffic stop, and he is now detained at a correctional facility in Louisiana. His wife Cesilia, who works as an Uber driver at night, is caring for their two young sons alone while managing household expenses. Cesilia is raising funds for legal fees, court travel, and living expenses to support the family during his detention.

A delivery driver and father of three daughters was detained by ICE, creating financial and emotional hardship for his family. His detention occurred during his youngest daughter's middle school graduation. The family is raising funds to cover household expenses, legal fees, and other needs while he remains detained.

Alvaro Anastacio Garcia Tevalan, a 20-year-old Guatemalan citizen, entered the United States without authorization in November 2016 at age 11 and was released to his mother's custody in Clarion, Iowa, where he has lived for nearly a decade. He has a U.S. citizen child and maintained compliance with the terms of his release during that period. On April 29, 2026, he was arrested on a domestic abuse assault charge, and ICE took custody of him on May 1, 2026. Federal Judge Stephanie Rose ruled that the government violated his due process rights by re-detaining him without a hearing after allowing him to live freely in the country for nearly 10 years, and ordered that either he be released or given a bond hearing to determine his eligibility for release.

Darwin Alberto Gomez Corrales, a Venezuelan Uber and Lyft driver with Temporary Protected Status and a valid state driver's license, was arrested by ICE agents in the parking lot of Wow Supermarket on South Boulevard in Charlotte. Video and witnesses showed roughly 10 immigration officers surrounding his car and breaking the window to forcibly remove him. A Siembra NC volunteer and a store employee said he was assaulted during the arrest, prompting the store to close temporarily over safety concerns. His wife said agents refused to explain the reason for the arrest or show a warrant, told him to 'shut up,' and used profanity when he asked for a Spanish-speaking officer. Gomez Corrales, who has two children, is currently being held at an ICE facility in South Georgia.

Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian-Palestinian lawful permanent resident and Columbia University graduate student known for organizing pro-Palestinian campus protests, was arrested by ICE agents at his student housing in March 2025 with no prior notice. Agents initially claimed his student visa had been revoked, then arrested him anyway after he showed proof of his green card, alleging without explanation that his residency status had also been revoked. His wife, a U.S. citizen, was eight months pregnant at the time. Khalil filed a habeas corpus petition arguing the arrest violated his First Amendment and Due Process rights, accusing the government of using immigration enforcement to suppress student activism. The Trump administration sought his deportation, citing his prior employment with a UN Palestinian refugee agency and invoking a provision allowing removal of noncitizens deemed a foreign policy threat. Khalil was held 104 days at Louisiana's LaSalle Detention Center; a federal appellate court later reversed an earlier release order. After an immigration board denied his appeal in July 2026, Khalil sued Trump administration officials and pro-Israel groups, alleging a coordinated campaign to target pro-Palestinian activists.

Styrobert, a defected Venezuelan military officer who fled Venezuela in 2019 after opposing government corruption and human rights violations, was taken into custody at his routine ICE check-in appointment on July 14, 2026, despite appearing with his attorney and having a pending asylum petition. The ICE officer aggressively confined him to a separate room, insulted his attorney, and confiscated his phone, wallet, and clothing. Styrobert was transferred between multiple detention facilities—ICE Baltimore to Farmville, Virginia; then to Richmond ICE processing center; and finally to Wynn Detention Center in Louisiana. His attorney filed a Habeas Corpus Petition on 7/17 and a Temporary Restraining Order on 7/19 to prevent further transfers or deportation. Styrobert faces grave danger if deported to Venezuela, where he is considered an "Enemy of the State" and would face imprisonment and torture in the country's notorious prisons.

Carlos Ernesto Guerra Cruz, who arrived in the United States four years ago with a pending asylum case, was detained by ICE on a Saturday following a local incident. He was initially taken to a detention facility in Centennial, Colorado, and after spending the weekend in custody, was told he would be released on Monday. However, as he was being released, ICE took him into custody and transferred him to the ICE detention facility in Aurora, Colorado. His wife Yorliana and their two children, ages 8 and 12, are now facing financial and emotional hardship due to his detention.

A man who entered the U.S. on a valid visa and had complied with immigration appointments for seven years was arrested in the middle of his asylum interview. He faced transfer to a detention center near Bakersfield, separated from his American spouse and U.S.-born children. Attorney Elizabeth Knowles from the Bay Area Habeas Network filed an emergency habeas petition after midnight, and a federal judge ordered his immediate release within five hours.

Erick Lionel Cristal Cumes, a Guatemalan immigrant, was detained by ICE on May 28 at Don Patron Mexican Grill in Weston during a raid that also resulted in the detention of more than a dozen other employees. He has been held at Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania since his arrest. Cumes is married to Lauren, an American-born citizen whom he married in April; they have been together four years. His attorney argues ICE violated his constitutional rights by detaining him without individualized assessment of flight risk or danger to the community. A federal judge ruled Cumes is entitled to a bond hearing and that his continued detention would be unlawful if the government cannot prove he poses danger or flight risk, with a bond hearing ordered by July 14. Over 50 community members appeared in federal court on June 25 to support Cumes, testifying he is a member of the community in good standing. Lauren testified about poor detention conditions including spoiled food and lack of responsiveness to requests for help, stating she is allowed contact with her husband about once per day. His attorney also argued the case should remain in West Virginia court rather than be transferred to Pennsylvania, contending that transfer could delay resolution of his case.

Carlos Roberto Montoya Valdez, a 52-year-old day laborer from Guatemala who had lived in the U.S. about three years, died after being struck by an SUV traveling roughly 60 mph while fleeing across Interstate 210 during a federal immigration enforcement operation at a Monrovia Home Depot. He worked to support his wife of 35 years, Ana María Vásquez, their four daughters, and grandchildren in Guatemala. His daughter Ana Victoria recalled his final phone call the night before his death, in which he spoke of hoping to return to Guatemala once he had saved enough to start his own business; his wife described him as 'a light' who brought joy to everyone, especially his grandchildren. Between eight and ten other day laborers from Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras were also arrested in the operation. The Department of Homeland Security has denied that agents chased or pursued him. Community advocates, including the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, have blamed the enforcement tactics for causing the panic that led to his death and are demanding Home Depot release security footage, while state lawmakers have renewed calls for the REPAIR Act (SB 1103) requiring large retailers to disclose immigration enforcement activity on their property.

A mother and her adult son have lived in the United States since December 2022, when they were paroled into the country. The mother worked at a laundromat and supported her son's education, while the son worked at a food-packing facility, attended school, and earned his high school equivalency diploma. Both had complied with all ICE reporting requirements and had no criminal history. On July 13, 2026, over three and a half years after entering the country, they were detained without warning at a routine ICE check-in. They were held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center and filed petitions for writs of habeas corpus arguing their re-detention without notice or a hearing violated their Fifth Amendment due process rights. The government did not oppose their claims. The federal court granted the petitions, finding their re-detention violated due process, and ordered their release within 24 hours under their prior conditions of release, with return of their personal belongings and immigration documents.

Scull Delgado arrived in the US during the 1980 Mariel boatlift, fleeing Cuba's mandatory military service. He settled in California, married a U.S. citizen, raised three children and four grandchildren, and worked for decades while building toward retirement—just one month away when immigration agents arrested him during a routine annual sign-in at a U.S. immigration office. He had served his time for a crime committed in the 1990s and maintained a clean record afterward. By November 2025, he had been transported to Mexico, separated from his family after nearly 46 years in the country.

Jaime Alanis Garcia, a 57-year-old farmworker at Glass House Farms in Camarillo, California, died from injuries sustained during a federal immigration raid in July 2025. While fleeing federal immigration agents who deployed rubber bullets, tear gas, and stun guns, Garcia fell approximately 30 feet from a greenhouse roof, sustaining a broken neck and skull fractures. He was placed on life support before his family decided to discontinue his care. Garcia's wife and daughter filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Glass House Farms and the federal government, alleging that federal agents' use of excessive force caused Garcia to seek shelter on the roof. The raid resulted in more than 360 arrests of undocumented workers across Camarillo and Carpinteria locations. The Department of Homeland Security stated that Alanis was never in custody and was not being chased by federal agents. Community members later marched through Carpinteria to commemorate Garcia's death and demand accountability.

A man was detained by ICE while on his way to work. He has been a father figure for over 4 years to his stepdaughter and is the biological father of a 2-year-old son who recently celebrated his second birthday. His family describes him as someone who worked hard to provide for and care for them. His stepdaughter is raising funds for immigration legal representation to fight his case.

Nico Valencia, a Mexican national, was detained by ICE while traveling to work and is being held at Stewart Detention Center. His family, including his uncle Jacob and aunt Leanne Valencia, has been unable to contact him since his detention three days prior. Nico immigrated to the United States to support his mother and siblings in rural Mexico. His family is raising funds to cover legal and detention fees associated with his case.

José Luis, a Mexican man nicknamed 'El acomedido,' was detained by ICE on a street in southern California and held at the GEO Group-run Adelanto detention center, where he was paid just $1 a day to clean tables, bathrooms, dining areas and other common spaces through the facility's Voluntary Work Program. He said he took the work because his family could not deposit money into his account, leaving him needing income for basic items like instant noodles, toothpaste and soap that the facility was supposed to provide. He returned home with a fungal nail infection he suspects came from cleaning toilets, and as the sole provider for his family, his wife and children were left without support during his detention. Advocates, including Juan José Gutiérrez of the Full Rights Coalition for Immigrants, describe the $1-a-day wage as labor exploitation by GEO Group, a company valued at roughly $4 billion. The account comes amid a separate case in which GEO Group agreed to pay California regulators over $100,000 after Cal/OSHA found the company failed to provide protective equipment or training to detainees at its Golden State Annex facility who cleaned mold and handled toxic chemicals.

Eduard Safaryan, an Armenian national who entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in 1999 and overstayed, married his wife in Los Angeles in 2000 and had three U.S. citizen children; his wife later became a U.S. citizen. He has faced a final removal order since 2020, when the 9th Circuit upheld his removability based on a single conviction for a road rage incident on the 101-405 interchange in Sherman Oaks, for which he served five days of a 270-day sentence. On July 8, 2026, he was released from ICE custody on supervision under a prior court order, but when he reported to ICE on July 10, 2026, he was re-detained after the agency obtained travel documents from Armenia and scheduled his removal for July 26, 2026. Safaryan sued federal officials, including Todd Blanche, seeking emergency release, but a federal court denied his request, finding he had not shown a likelihood of success on the merits of his three legal grounds challenging the revocation of his supervision.

Inocencia Rodríguez, a 32-year-old Dominican mother of an eight-year-old daughter who works as a housekeeper in Guaynabo, was detained by at least eight ICE agents at a checkpoint while driving a friend to work. She had been pursuing a six-year process to regularize her status, including an I-130 petition filed by her permanent resident husband and an approved I-601A provisional waiver. Immigration Judge Elvin Talavera Peraza set a $5,000 bond allowing her to remain free while her case continues, and the ACLU of Puerto Rico, which represented her, called the bond "excessive and unjustified" given she posed no flight risk. Rodríguez thanked her legal team, family and community after her release, saying it showed people could still trust the justice system.

An immigrant who is married to a U.S. citizen was detained by ICE agents in New Jersey on July 10, 2026. The person's U.S. citizen spouse contacted immigration attorneys for assistance with the case. The detention occurred shortly after the law firm had warned that spouses of U.S. citizens are being targeted by ICE.