Human Impact Project

A detainee is being held at the Dodge County Detention Facility in Juneau, Wisconsin by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention, arguing he is properly categorized under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) rather than § 1225(b)(2), and that his continued detention without an individualized assessment of flight risk or danger to the community violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause, and the Fourth Amendment's Search and Seizure Clause. Along with his petition, he filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent his transfer to another detention facility during the litigation. On April 9, 2026, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin denied the motion for temporary restraining order, finding that he failed to make a specific showing of immediate and irreparable harm before the respondent could be heard in opposition, beyond the harm inherent in being detained unlawfully. The denial was issued without prejudice, allowing him to renew the request if warranted.

A Mexican national filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his immigration detention that has lasted nearly two years. The court found his petition unclear about whether he is detained under pre-removal or post-removal statutes. The court denied his motions for emergency relief and appointed counsel but ordered the government to respond and clarify the legal basis for his continued detention.

A Nicaraguan asylum seeker was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without a prior hearing before a neutral decisionmaker. The court granted a temporary restraining order for his release and issued a preliminary injunction barring further detention without a pre-detention hearing. The court also prohibited transferring him out of the district without prior approval.

A Guatemalan national was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and held at Mesa Verde Detention Center. Government alleged he ran upon seeing officers and resisted arrest, and had no pending applications for relief with immigration authorities. The Eastern District of California granted his motion for preliminary injunction and ordered respondents to provide him with a bond hearing before a neutral arbiter within seven days.

A Chinese national, detained at Imperial Regional Detention Facility, filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his prolonged immigration detention without a bond hearing as a due process violation. The government conceded and the court ordered a bond hearing within seven days where the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a danger or flight risk. The court declined to order immediate release.

An immigration detainee held in ICE custody at the Adelanto Detention Facility in California filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 on April 1, 2026, challenging the lawfulness of his detention. He argued that his continued detention violated his Fifth Amendment right to due process. On April 3, 2026, the respondents (represented by Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche) filed a response expressly stating they did not oppose his motion for a temporary restraining order. United States Magistrate Judge Alka Sagar found the requested restraining order was warranted based on the motion and record. The court granted his motion and ordered his immediate release from immigration detention.

Stephanie Kenny-Velasquez, a 25-year-old Venezuelan asylum seeker married to a U.S. Army Reserve Black Hawk pilot, was detained by ICE in Houston on December 5, 2025, during a routine check-in despite having been released in 2021 pending her asylum claim and consistently complying with all required appointments and hearings. She was held at the Houston Contract Detention Facility for about four months, reporting overcrowding with roughly 60 women, lack of privacy, inadequate food, anxiety attacks, and limited medical care. A federal judge found due-process violations in her case and ordered her release within 48 hours, allowing her to continue pursuing her asylum claim outside detention.

Octavio Andrade-Aguilera, a Mexican national, remains in ICE custody at the Etowah County Detention Center in Gadsden, Alabama, as of April 10, 2026, after being transferred there on April 5. Magistrate Judge Mike Dumitru had denied the federal government's request to detain him, finding he was not a flight risk, in order to avoid harming his wife and disabled American citizen daughter. Andrade-Aguilera has lived with his family in north Georgia for several years and is their sole financial provider, while his wife is their daughter's sole caregiver.

A Chinese national filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging his prolonged immigration detention without a bond hearing, arguing it violated due process rights. The government conceded that he was entitled to a bond hearing and agreed to bear the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a danger to the community or risk of flight. On March 26, 2026, the federal court granted his petition and ordered respondents to arrange a bond hearing before an immigration court within seven days. The court declined to order his immediate release or issue further declaratory or injunctive relief. He must pursue any request for attorneys' fees through a separate noticed motion.

Efrain C.G., a Mexican citizen who entered the U.S. in 1993 and has been working since arrival, was arrested by ICE on April 7, 2026, at the Fresno County Superior Courthouse while inquiring about charges from a December 2025 domestic violence incident. He had no prior criminal history except traffic violations and no prior immigration history. The court ordered he receive a bond hearing within 14 days or be immediately released.

Lydia Rabara Swinburne, a 39-year-old Filipino national, was detained by ICE on April 7, 2026, during a green card interview after local authorities arrested her on domestic violence charges that were later dropped. On May 2, while in custody at the California City ICE facility, she suffered a medical emergency after being given unrecognized medication; her husband alleges a medication error occurred. A federal judge ordered her release on May 18 after her family filed a habeas corpus petition challenging her detention.

Miguel Angel Lopez Luvian (also referred to as Miguel Angel López), a Livermore welder who lived in the U.S. for nearly 30 years, was detained by ICE during a routine immigration check-in in San Francisco and deported to Mexico on June 7, 2025, just hours before a court order might have allowed him to stay. His wife, Rosa Lopez, says the deportation was wrongful given his decades-long legal battle and prior green card grant, and she has become the family's sole provider while fighting for his return. In April 2026, a federal court ruled against the family on a statute of limitations technicality. With support from U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell, the family is now appealing to the Ninth Circuit Court in a final effort to bring López home.

Arpine Misakyan, a Southern California resident with a pending asylum case, was taken into custody after a domestic altercation with her husband at The Buffet at Wynn in Las Vegas. Although the Clark County District Attorney's office declined to pursue a domestic battery charge against her, ICE arrested her while she was being held at the Clark County Detention Center. She was transferred to the Henderson Detention Center and then to the Adelanto ICE Processing Facility, where she filed a lawsuit challenging her detention before ultimately withdrawing it and agreeing to voluntary departure to Armenia three months after her arrest.

A Russian citizen arrived in the United States on April 6, 2023, at San Luis, Arizona, without inspection. He was released into the interior and served with a Notice to Appear charging him as inadmissible. He filed for asylum with the Immigration Court, and his application remains pending. On April 4, 2026, he was detained by police for driving with a suspended driver's license. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers assumed custody and transferred him to the West Tennessee Detention Facility. He filed a habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging his detention without an individualized bond hearing and sought a temporary restraining order to stay his removal from the United States. The federal court denied both the petition and the motion, finding that he remains an "applicant for admission" subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), that he failed to exhaust administrative remedies, and that neither statute nor the Constitution provides him a right to a bond hearing.

A man who had lived in the United States for 25 years was detained by ICE at the Aurora ICE Processing Center. He has five siblings and one daughter who are U.S. citizens and worked as the primary breadwinner for his family in construction. The court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release, finding he was improperly subjected to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2).

A Guatemalan citizen married to a lawful permanent resident was taken into custody by ICE while her appeal was pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals. She had missed her March 2020 immigration hearing due to attorney error, resulting in a removal order in absentia. The court denied her request for emergency relief to delay removal and release from detention.

A man detained under immigration law filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus challenging his detention. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted his petition on April 7, 2026. The court ordered respondents to immediately release him from custody and return all personal belongings and identification documents confiscated during his detention. The court enjoined respondents from detaining him for seven days following his release based on 8 U.S.C. §§ 1225 or 1226. If the government seeks to detain him after seven days, it must provide a bond hearing within 48 hours or his remedy will recur. The petitioner may submit a motion for attorney fees within 60 days of the order.

A Cuban citizen who entered the United States from Mexico on March 24, 2022, was issued a Notice to Appear for removability under immigration law. She was released on her own recognizance and complied with all conditions of her release. She filed applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture; an immigration judge denied her asylum application, and her appeal remains pending. On April 3, 2026, local police in Odessa, Texas arrested her for an alleged local ordinance violation, and ICE took her into custody on April 6, 2026, transferring her to the Otero County Processing Center. The petitioner, who is approximately ten weeks pregnant and has been diagnosed with diabetes during detention, filed a habeas corpus petition challenging her continued detention without a bond hearing. The U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico granted her petition, finding that 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) governs her detention and that continued detention without a bond hearing violates her Fifth Amendment due process rights. The court ordered her immediate release and prohibited re-detention without a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral Immigration Judge.

An undocumented immigrant entered the United States without authorization in 2020 and was recently detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pending removal proceedings. He is currently held at the Florida Soft Side Detention Facility in Ochopee, Florida. He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), which mandates detention without a bond hearing, arguing he should instead be subject to § 1226(a)'s discretionary detention scheme where he could be eligible for release. The court agreed with his statutory interpretation argument, finding that § 1226(a) applies to noncitizens already present in the United States, not § 1225(b)(2). The court granted his petition in part and ordered the government to provide him with a bond hearing as required under § 1226(a), but denied his request for immediate release.

Jose Espinoza Hernandez was arrested and detained by ICE outside his home in the early morning of April 2, 2026, when he was leaving for work. He is currently in removal proceedings and has a pending U-Visa application. The court granted his habeas petition and ordered his immediate release, finding his detention violated due process. Jose Espinoza was detained by ICE on April 2nd in the morning just outside his home as he was heading to work. His family launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to support his case and bring him home.