Human Impact Project

A non-citizen woman was detained at Adelanto ICE Processing Center for entering the United States without inspection. She was denied bond eligibility under a recent immigration decision but challenged her continued detention. The court granted her petition and ordered that she be provided a bond hearing within seven days or be released.

Luis Gilberto Loja Mayancela, a 24-year-old Ecuadorian immigrant living in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, held Special Immigrant Juvenile status and valid work authorization when he was detained by ICE. His detention separated him from his wife and their 3-month-old son. A local congressman investigated the case and confirmed Mayancela's valid work authorization at the time of his arrest. He was held at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center. A U.S. District judge ruled that he is entitled to a bond hearing in immigration court, giving authorities seven days to schedule it or release him.

A habeas corpus petitioner filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Eastern Division against Shannon Dicus and other respondents. On May 26, 2026, the court issued an order granting his petition for writ of habeas corpus. On May 29, 2026, the court entered final judgment granting the habeas corpus petition without requiring any further proceedings. The judgment was consistent with the reasons and findings set forth in the May 26, 2026 order. The case was decided by United States Magistrate Judge Angela C. C. Viramontes.

Jefferson David Fuentes Martinez, a native and citizen of Honduras who entered the U.S. in 2024 at age 17 and is seeking asylum, was arrested for driving without a valid license. Although he was set to be released on April 27, 2026, he remains detained at Volusia County Jail pursuant to an ICE detainer. The court granted a temporary restraining order preventing his transfer from the facility.

A woman was released from ICE custody in March 2026 by a federal court in Arizona, but was re-detained by ICE on April 27, 2026 when she reported to the Detroit ICE field office for a routine check-in. She was subsequently transferred to facilities in Louisiana and Texas without explanation or allegation of any violation of her supervision terms. The court granted emergency relief ordering her immediate release.

A woman detained by immigration authorities petitioned the United States District Court for the Central District of California for a temporary restraining order against James Janecka and other defendants. The court granted her petition and application for a temporary restraining order on May 18, 2026. Following the court's order, the government confirmed that she had been released from detention. On May 19, 2026, the court dismissed the petition as moot in light of her release, issuing a final judgment.

Hayam El Gamal and her five children, Egyptian citizens who entered the U.S. on B-1 visitor visas in 2022, were detained at Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas in June 2025 after overstaying their visas. The family was detained based on the alleged criminal actions of their estranged father, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who was later convicted of 101 charges including murder, though the family members were never charged with any crimes and stated they were estranged from Soliman and unaware of his plans. During nine months in detention, the family endured moldy and wormy food, inadequate medical care including failure to treat a 5-year-old's severe dental cavities, and religious freedom violations. Her 16-year-old son described the experience as "a nightmare" that made it difficult to return to normal life, writing that "nothing is normal anymore because you live in fear of going back to that place." An immigration judge granted the family bond in September 2025, but DHS appealed and obtained a stay. On April 24, 2026, a federal judge ordered their release; two days later, ICE re-arrested the family during a routine check-in at an ICE office in Denver and transported them to Denver International Airport for immediate deportation in violation of the federal court order. During transport and on a private jet, the family was subjected to verbal abuse, medical neglect, and physical restraint despite a medical emergency. Federal judges issued emergency orders blocking the removal and turning the plane around mid-air. The family was released on April 27 pending litigation on their asylum case, with electronic monitoring required as a condition of release.

A Venezuelan national entered the United States on April 14, 2024, and was granted parole. He has no criminal history and is not subject to a final removal order. On April 26, 2026, he was arrested following a routine traffic stop in San Angelo, Texas, and transferred into ICE custody at the Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Texas, then moved to Central Valley Annex Detention Facility in McFarland, California. He petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus, challenging his detention as a violation of Fifth Amendment due process rights, arguing he was re-detained without a pre-deprivation hearing. The federal court granted his petition and ordered his immediate release, finding that detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated the Due Process Clause. The court enjoined respondents from re-detaining him unless they provide seven days' notice and hold a bond hearing before a neutral arbiter where the government must demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he is a flight risk or danger to the community.

An immigrant previously released on bond or parole was detained on April 25, 2026, after previously being released on bond or parole. The court found that the government violated due process by re-detaining him without providing a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter. The court ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he had prior to detention and required the government to provide seven days' notice and a proper hearing before any future re-detention.

A Dominican Republic citizen who entered Puerto Rico without inspection in 2004 was detained on April 24, 2026 during an enforcement operation on Ave. Américo Miranda while on his way to open his business. He is the sole caregiver for his U.S. citizen wife and daughter and has a pending I-130 petition filed by his daughter. A federal court granted a temporary restraining order preventing his transfer outside Puerto Rico and ordered that he receive a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge.

Isaac Antonio Villegas Molina, a Pasadena construction worker and day laborer originally from Panama, is the lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit challenging ICE enforcement practices in Los Angeles, backed by the ACLU. He was first arrested by federal agents at a bus stop on June 18, 2025, along with two other day laborers, and was released on bond the following month. After the Supreme Court declined to hear his legal challenge against ICE, he was detained again on April 17, 2026, during a check-in with an Alternatives to Detention program. His attorney, Stacy Tolchin, filed a habeas petition arguing the arrest was unlawful and retaliatory, intended to shift his case to a more government-friendly immigration court in Adelanto; the Department of Homeland Security said the redetention followed missed check-ins, which Tolchin disputed. U.S. District Judge Michelle Williams ordered his immediate release, barring the government from redetaining him without notice and a hearing, and he was freed from Adelanto Detention Center following advocacy from local officials and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. Villegas is scheduled to appear before an immigration judge to seek termination of his removal proceedings.

A Venezuelan citizen was detained by ICE and held at Buffalo Federal Detention Facility. He filed a habeas corpus petition on April 24, 2026, alleging unlawful detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225 and requesting immediate release or a bond hearing. The court granted his motion to prevent removal from the United States until an evidentiary hearing determination is made, but denied his requests for immediate release and to prevent transfer within districts.

A Russian citizen was detained by ICE on April 24, 2026, during a routine check-in after living freely in the United States for four years since her 2022 release. She had been released on parole/supervision in April 2022 after ICE determined she was not a flight risk or danger to the community, and had been attending yearly check-ins with no criminal record. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring her immediate release, finding her detention violated due process rights as she received no notice or hearing before re-detention.

A federal judge in Philadelphia ordered the Trump administration to pay nearly $40,000 in legal fees to an immigrant who sued ICE over its attempt to require him to wear an ankle monitor. U.S. District Judge Kai N. Scott found that ICE's actions were unlawful and that the agency offered no factual basis to justify requiring the monitor as the man's immigration case proceeded. The man, identified only by his initials N.N., had been released on bond by an immigration judge who determined he was neither a safety nor flight risk.

Yasser Jose Lopez Soza, an 18-year-old high school student at Memphis Business Academy, was detained by ICE agents on February 20, 2026, while a passenger in a vehicle during a traffic stop on the way to a soccer game. He was held at the West Tennessee Detention Facility in Mason, Tennessee, as part of enforcement actions from the Memphis Task Force established in late 2025. Tennessee State Rep. Gabby Salinas visited him and noted he was a good student with a job and college soccer prospects. On April 24, 2026, Federal Judge Sheryl Lipman ordered his immediate release, ruling that his detention without bond violated his due process rights. Lopez Soza, originally from Nicaragua, was released after approximately two months in custody.

A federal judge in Florida ordered the immediate release of Alejandro Osvaldo Ghysels Reales, who had been detained by ICE despite holding deferred action status under a U-1 nonimmigrant visa, which makes him ineligible for deportation. Judge Kyle Dudek ruled that ICE's detention was unlawful and violated Reales' constitutional rights, criticizing the government for failing to recognize his valid legal protection.

An asylum seeker who entered the U.S. in September 2024 was released on parole in November 2024, then re-detained by ICE in April 2026 after reporting to a scheduled appointment. The government argued his parole was revoked for violating conditions, but provided no written notice. The court ordered his immediate release, finding the detention violated due process.

Allan Marrero, a Cayman Islands native, was detained by ICE on November 24, 2025, after arriving for a routine marriage-based green card interview at a USCIS office in Lower Manhattan. ICE discovered a prior removal order from 2022 related to an overstayed tourist visa and a missed immigration court hearing that occurred while Marrero was in alcohol rehabilitation. An immigration judge reopened his case and granted bond in January 2026, citing his clean criminal record and community support, but ICE refused to accept bond payment and used procedural mechanisms to continue his detention. Marrero was moved between multiple facilities across Arizona, Texas, Mississippi, and New York. After 150 days in custody, he was released on April 23, 2026, following a lawsuit that challenged ICE's refusal to honor the bond order. He was reunited with his husband Matthew.

A Mexican citizen who has resided in the United States since at least 2018 was granted withholding of removal to Mexico by an Immigration Judge that year based on his well-founded fear of persecution as a gay man, and he was released on an Order of Supervision. On April 22, 2026, he appeared at the ICE Los Angeles Field Office for his routine annual check-in, as he had done every year since 2018, but was detained by ICE officers and transported to Adelanto ICE Processing Center, where he remained detained. He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention, alleging violations of regulatory procedures requiring notice of revocation and an informal interview, as well as Fifth Amendment due process violations. On May 1, 2026, the court granted the petition without opposition from respondents, ordering his immediate release from ICE custody and requiring respondents to file a status report by May 8, 2026.

Wilfido Nolberto Cortez Esteban, a Guatemalan father, and his minor daughter Keyra Issa Susana Cortez Calderon were detained by immigration authorities after previously being released on Cortez Esteban's own recognizance while he served as his daughter's guardian. The detention came months after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied their petition for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture, finding that threats against the family stemmed from personal retribution over Cortez Esteban reporting a vehicle theft rather than a protected ground, and that relatives in Guatemala remained unharmed. Despite the denial, the pair had remained fully compliant with all ICE obligations, attending every immigration court hearing and committing no crimes since their release. A federal judge granted an emergency Temporary Restraining Order finding they had a strong likelihood of being entitled to a pre-deprivation hearing before an immigration judge, ordering the government to release both from custody and barring their re-detention or removal until a proper hearing was held before a neutral decisionmaker.