Human Impact Project

Rigoberto Santillan-Quiroz, a longtime U.S. resident of about twenty years who is married to a legal permanent resident and serves as stepfather to a U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE following a traffic stop in November 2025. He was held for eight months without a bond hearing under a Trump administration policy that categorically denied bond hearings to certain noncitizens. He had never been charged with a crime and was found to pose no flight risk or danger to public safety. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled the detention policy unlawful, finding it violated due process by denying individualized review, and reversed a lower court decision. The court ordered the government to provide Santillan-Quiroz a bond hearing within seven days or release him, with the ruling applying across the circuit's six-state jurisdiction and reaffirming bond hearing rights noncitizens have held for nearly 30 years.

Margarita Melgar, a mother from Honduras who had lived in the U.S. for 12 years after fleeing extreme violence, was told by immigration agents she could either face indefinite detention or self-deport. She chose to leave, departing for Honduras on June 28, 2026, with her 10-year-old daughter Katherin, a U.S. citizen who had never been to Honduras. Her two older daughters, 20-year-old Damary and 17-year-old Tania, remained behind in Boston. Damary, a college student at Simmons College who works full-time as a restaurant server, switched her studies from pre-med to business and finance due to financial pressures, and now must support her mother and sister from abroad while also finding stable housing after being unable to afford the family's Brighton apartment alone. The family said their goodbyes at Logan Airport. Damary said the family had fully complied with immigration check-ins and procedures, and that she must remain strong for her family while sending money to Honduras.

Laura, a mother of four children including a 2-week-old newborn, is in immigration detention facing deportation proceedings. She has lived in the United States since age 9 and has no criminal record. Her children are being cared for by their grandmother while Laura's case moves through the legal system. The family is seeking financial support for food, childcare, rent, legal expenses, and other necessities while Laura is detained.

On June 24-26, 2026, the US deported approximately 146 Venezuelans, including minors, on a repatriation flight to Venezuela. The deportees were placed in Hotel Santuario (also called Hotel El Santuario) in La Guaira while undergoing repatriation processing. Within hours, twin earthquakes struck Venezuela with magnitude and force sufficient to collapse the hotel. At least 2,200 people were killed and 50,000 reported missing across the country. Among the deportees, some were killed, others severely injured with amputations, and many remain unaccounted for. Families gathered outside the hotel rubble searching for information, hampered by limited rescue access and unclear communication from authorities.

Daniel Alejandro Núñez Ramírez, 28, had lived in Jacksonville, Florida for four years after leaving Venezuela at age 20. He was detained by ICE during a traffic stop on May 10, 2026, and pressured to sign voluntary deportation papers. He was deported on a flight carrying 146 migrants that landed in Venezuela on June 24, 2026, after which authorities placed him in the Santuario La Llanada hotel in La Guaira while repatriation procedures were completed. Hours after arrival, powerful earthquakes struck the area, collapsing the hotel and killing him instantly along with dozens of others; only 32 of the 146 deportees survived. His mother, Oswadeliz Núñez Ramírez, a lawyer, said she was not notified of his deportation until after he had been handed to Venezuelan intelligence services. She spent five days searching hospitals, morgues, and the cities of La Guaira and Caracas before recovering his body, identifying him by a tattoo, and later received only a box of his ashes after being unable to retrieve his belongings. The U.S. government said it bore no further responsibility once he left ICE custody.

Isalia Martínez, a 46-year-old Mexican mother, was detained by ICE agents in the parking lot of Community Care clinic in Austin on June 29 while heading to a medical appointment. After six days in immigration custody and being transferred between two detention centers, she was deported to Michoacán, Mexico. Martínez has two sons, ages 17 and 22, who remain in the United States, and she has expressed devastation at being separated from them. CommUnityCare Health Centers' CEO later confirmed the detention occurred at its facility, said the clinic does not participate in immigration enforcement, and noted an increase in missed appointments as local groups protested the incident and broader ICE activity in Central Texas.

A Guatemalan citizen residing in the United States since 2018 and father of two sons was detained by ICE on June 29, 2026, along with his two sons when ICE agents pulled over their family car and shattered the window. He was held without bond at Pike County Correctional Facility under the mandatory detention provision of 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A). The court granted his habeas petition, finding his detention unlawful, and ordered his immediate release, ruling that § 1226(a) discretionary detention with bond hearing rights applies to him instead.

Tania Hernandez's father was arrested on June 29, 2026, for driving without a license. After the family paid his bond and he was scheduled for release, ICE placed a hold on him at the detention facility, preventing his release. The family is now seeking legal representation to address the immigration enforcement action.

An 18-year-old from El Salvador was detained by ICE on June 29, 2026, and transferred to Golden State Annex Detention Facility in McFarland, California. He entered the United States in May 2019 and was released on his own recognizance. He obtained Special Immigrant Juvenile status in September 2023 and had his removal proceedings administratively closed in October 2023, with no criminal history and no final removal order. The court granted his habeas corpus petition, finding his detention violated the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause, and ordered his immediate release with restrictions on future detention requiring advance notice and bond hearings.

Milana, a Russian immigrant and trafficking survivor, was detained at ICE's Oklahoma City office during a routine immigration check-in in September 2025. She arrived in the U.S. on a fiancé visa in the early 2000s, escaped an abusive first marriage involving human trafficking, and received a removal order in 2003 that was later converted to an order of supervision requiring routine check-ins. For over 20 years, she complied with these check-ins while building a life in the U.S., raising her U.S. citizen daughter, working consistently, and marrying Roger Swope, a U.S. Army veteran. On the day of her detention, ICE suddenly acted on the dormant removal order. Her attorney, Elissa Stiles, filed multiple legal challenges including habeas corpus petitions and argued Milana qualifies for a trafficking victim visa, but all were denied. A federal judge ruled on June 29, 2026, that Milana had not cooperated with Russian consulate authorities. ICE initially attempted to deport her to Russia despite the active war and closed airspace, then considered third-country removal options. Roger has spent over $20,000 on legal efforts. Since detention, Milana has been moved multiple times between facilities in Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas, shackled during transfers. Her attorney states the only remaining option is to appeal to ICE for humanitarian intervention, as Milana fears for her life if deported to Russia during the ongoing war.

Estenderly Marte Polanco, a 31-year-old undocumented immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was arrested by ICE agents on June 27 during a traffic stop at 26th and Mitchell on Milwaukee's South Side while her 7-year-old daughter sat in the back seat. Videos and photographs documented that agents broke both the driver's and passenger-side windows of her car, pulled her onto the ground, and briefly pointed a taser at a cooperating driver. Family members shared photographs showing bruises, scrapes, and cuts on her neck, arms, and lip that they said were inflicted during the arrest. Wisconsin court records show no prior convictions or citations under her name. Her partner Frankeli, who is also undocumented, expressed concern about the welfare of their children. Polanco was held at Waukesha County jail and was among 39 people detained during a surge of ICE enforcement operations in the Milwaukee area. Legal experts who reviewed the incident questioned whether the window-breaking tactic was necessary or if adequate time was given for compliance.

A man who lived in the United States for over 25 years was stopped by police in Utah on June 28 while dropping off his son at work. He was transferred to ICE custody and subsequently moved to Golden State Annex detention facility in California before his scheduled court date. He has no criminal record. His family of seven, including a child with autism, is seeking legal representation and has organized a fundraiser to cover legal costs for his case.

Malton Lacerda, originally from Brazil and undocumented, was detained by ICE agents on June 28 while shopping at Walmart in Halifax with his son Victor Lacerda, a U.S. Navy veteran. The family's immigration attorney, Todd Pomerleau, says agents arrived without a warrant and acted aggressively, including drawing weapons; ICE denies that guns were drawn and says the operation was targeted and not based on racial or ethnic profiling. Malton has lived in the United States for roughly 25 years, works as a horse trainer providing therapy for disabled veterans, and was in the process of securing a green card through a veteran family member process when detained. He remains held at Plymouth County's ICE detention facility, and his legal team has filed court motions challenging the legality of his detention and seeking to block his transfer to another state without notice.

Jorge, a husband and father of five, was detained by ICE last week. He is the sole provider for his family. A GoFundMe was created to help cover legal fees and living expenses during his detention.

Oliver was detained by ICE agents on June 27, 2026, while heading to work with his father-in-law. According to his wife Claudia Sotelo, Oliver has no criminal history and was detained unlawfully. This detention occurred months after Claudia's father was also detained by ICE in December 2025 and subsequently released in February 2026. The family is seeking financial support to cover legal expenses for Oliver's case.

An Ecuadorian man was arrested by ICE agents at an immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan on Thursday, June 26, 2026. The man had fled persecution in his home country, entered the U.S., and was released from detention while his immigration case proceeded. He appeared at court as legally required for his scheduled hearing. ICE cited a 2025 conviction for disorderly conduct as justification, but advocates with Make the Road New York argue the arrest violates a federal court order issued May 18, 2026, that barred ICE from making arrests at Manhattan immigration courts except in narrow circumstances. The man has since been transferred to the D. Ray James ICE Processing Center in Folkston, Georgia.

Luis Juarez-Trevizo, a Mexican national who has lived in the United States for more than 30 years and is married to a U.S. citizen with four U.S. citizen children, was arrested by ICE at a McDonald's in Fontana, California on June 20, 2026. He had previously been removed to Mexico in 2001 and later reentered without authorization; ICE reinstated his 2001 removal order and provided written notice on Form I-871 the day of his arrest. Juarez-Trevizo filed an emergency application for a temporary restraining order to stop his removal, arguing his arrest was warrantless and his detention violated due process, but a federal court denied the request, finding he had not shown likelihood of success on those claims. On June 26, 2026, he filed a habeas corpus petition against ICE official Todd M. Lyons in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, challenging his continued detention; the case was assigned to Judge Michael Walter Fitzgerald.

A Wapato father was detained by ICE more than two weeks ago after his wife confronted immigration officers at a courthouse. He has lived in the U.S. for about two decades, has no criminal record, and has worked at the same Yakima Valley fruit company for 15 years. He is the sole provider for his wife and five children, who are all U.S. citizens, and is currently held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. The family had been working with a Seattle attorney to pursue legal status before his detention.

A 24-year-old woman originally from Guatemala who was detained by ICE in Minnesota and transferred to South Dakota was later held for four months at a detention center in Texas, where she suffered from a painful ovarian cyst and was denied surgery. Congressional intervention helped secure her a temporary reprieve from deportation, and she has since returned to Minnesota, living with her mother and siblings in a Burnsville apartment while wearing an ankle monitor. She is now pursuing an asylum case, and her family had previously raised funds for her legal expenses.

A construction business owner with no criminal history was detained by ICE while traveling to work. He is the father of an 11-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old nonverbal autistic son who depends on him for daily care and support. His family is seeking legal representation to fight his detention and reunify the family.