Human Impact Project

A Chinese citizen who fled persecution for his political views and applied for asylum in 2022 was abruptly re-detained by ICE in March 2026 after complying with immigration reporting requirements for over three years. He had been released on parole since arriving in September 2022 and has no criminal history. The court granted a preliminary injunction ordering his immediate release, finding his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated due process rights.

Jin Hao Zhang, 56, who ran the China Moon restaurant on Main Street in Camden for nearly 20 years, was detained by ICE agents in June 2025. Reports indicate Zhang entered the U.S. on a fraudulent visa in 1990, and an immigration court judge ordered him to leave the country in 2000, but he remained for 25 years. His detention forced the restaurant's closure. Zhang was held at an ICE facility in Batavia for eight months before winning an appeal and being released, returning home to his family in March 2026.

Seamus Culleton, an Irish national who has lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years and is married to U.S. citizen Tiffany Smith, was arrested by ICE agents at a Boston hardware store on September 9, 2025, during a random immigration sweep. Culleton entered the U.S. in 2009 on a visa waiver and overstayed, but held a valid work permit tied to a pending green card application as the spouse of a citizen and has no U.S. criminal record. He was held for roughly six months across facilities in Massachusetts, New York, and Texas, including El Paso Camp East Montana, where he and his attorney reported overcrowding, inadequate food, lack of outdoor time, unsanitary conditions, and significant weight loss. A judge approved his release on bond in November 2025, but ICE continued detaining him after claiming he had signed deportation documents, a claim Culleton and his lawyer dispute due to documentation irregularities. His detention caused him to miss a critical green card interview. A 2009 bench warrant from Ireland, related to alleged possession of 25 MDMA tablets and obstructing police, was also reported. In March 2026, a U.S. Court of Appeals judge paused his deportation pending resolution of his petition for review.

An asylum seeker who entered the United States in 2023 was initially detained by ICE but released on his own recognizance under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). He obtained employment and had no criminal history. In March 2026, ICE re-detained him at an ICE check-in appointment without notice or opportunity to be heard, claiming he was subject to mandatory detention under § 1225(b). The court granted his habeas corpus petition, finding that § 1226(a) applied and that the re-detention violated both the INA and his Fifth Amendment due process rights. The court ordered his immediate release by July 25, 2026.

Olman, a father of two from Central America who fled gang violence and death threats in his home country, was detained at an ICE voluntary check-in in Richmond in June 2025 and held at Caroline Detention Facility for nine months despite having no criminal record. His application for withholding of removal was denied, but he appealed. A federal judge ruled in March 2026 that the government unlawfully detained him beyond six months and noted that DHS appeared to falsify a notice claiming it was served before his detention. The judge ordered his release, and Olman was reunited with his wife Leyla and their two children in Staunton. His wife's asylum case was also opposed by DHS, and they were ordered to self-deport by April, though they appealed and remain in the country in a precarious legal situation. Olman has since returned to construction work but experienced psychological trauma during detention and fears an upcoming ICE check-in later in the year.

An Armenian man in removal proceedings since 2022 was arrested by ICE agents at his home in March 2026 following a DUI citation. He had been living at liberty for over four years while his immigration case was pending. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring his immediate release and mandating pre-detention hearings for any future arrests.

A longtime resident, who has lived continuously in the U.S. since entering without inspection in 2004, was arrested and detained by immigration officers on his way to work in March 2026. The court granted his habeas corpus petition in part, finding he is entitled to a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) since he is not subject to mandatory detention as an arriving noncitizen. The court ordered respondents to provide him a bond hearing before a neutral decisionmaker within seven days.

A.G., a 26-year-old Venezuelan national with a pending asylum application and valid work authorization, was detained by ICE agents outside his apartment in Orange County as he prepared to leave for work. Court records showed he was lawfully in the country. A federal judge ordered his release six days later without a hearing, but ICE retained his documents including his driver's license and work permit.

A noncitizen detained at the South Texas Immigration Processing Center filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in federal court challenging his detention there. The case centers on whether his detention without a bond hearing violates due process rights afforded to noncitizens who have established a presence in the United States. The court ordered respondents to file a response within seven days identifying his country of birth, date of entry and statutory basis for removability, previous immigration detention history if any, and alleged immigration status. The court issued an immediate stay on any possible or anticipated transfer of him outside the Western District of Texas judicial district during the pendency of litigation. The stay does not stay removal proceedings or preclude respondents from taking necessary steps to effect removal, but only prevents the physical transfer of the petitioner at this time.

An immigrant previously released on bond or conditional parole was re-detained by immigration authorities on February 27, 2026. The court found that his re-detention violated due process because the government failed to provide a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter. The court ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he had prior to detention. A second immigrant previously released on bond or conditional parole was re-detained on March 1, 2026. 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.

Elaina Aghayeva, an Azerbaijani national and senior neuroscience researcher at Columbia University, was detained by Department of Homeland Security agents at a university residential building on February 26-27, 2026. DHS agents entered without a warrant and falsely claimed to be searching for a missing child. DHS stated Aghayeva's student visa had been terminated in 2016 for failing to attend classes, though her attorney and the university stated she was a current student in good standing. After approximately nine hours in custody, Aghayeva was released following intervention by NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who met with President Trump regarding the case. Aghayeva's attorney filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court, and the detention prompted student protests at Columbia University.

A Chinese asylum seeker was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on February 27, 2026, and detained at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield, California. He had previously been released on recognizance after entering the U.S. in December 2023, but was later arrested for DUI in November 2023. The court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered the government to provide him with an individualized bond hearing within 14 days.

Elmina Aghayeva, a senior at Columbia University's School of General Studies from Azerbaijan, was detained by federal immigration agents who entered her university-owned residence by falsely posing as New York police officers, according to university officials. University security who asked to see a warrant were turned away, and Aghayeva texted fellow students for help before posting on Instagram that agents were trying to take her away. She filed a habeas corpus petition in the Southern District of New York and was released from custody the same afternoon. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani reportedly raised her case with President Trump, who called to say she would be freed. DHS said her student visa had been revoked a decade earlier for failing to attend classes and that she has been placed in removal proceedings. Aghayeva later posted that she was "safe and okay."

An Indian citizen entered the United States on June 17, 2023, and was initially detained and released on conditional parole on June 19, 2023. Over the following two years, he complied with all ICE reporting requirements, attended scheduled check-ins, obtained employment authorization, and worked lawfully as a commercial truck driver. He also filed an asylum application in October 2023 with removal proceedings still pending. On February 25, 2026, after obtaining required ICE permission, he commenced a work trip. The next day, ICE officers approached him, claimed he had an ICE violation, and took his biometrics despite his assertion that he had prior authorization. He was transferred to Indio, California, where his phone and wallet were confiscated, then detained in El Centro for two days before being transferred to Imperial Regional Adult Detention Facility. He was never provided written explanation of the alleged violation, supporting documentation, or opportunity to contest his arrest. On April 1, 2026, he filed a habeas corpus petition claiming his detention violated the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause. The court granted his petition, finding that ICE's revocation of his conditional parole without a pre-deprivation hearing violated due process rights, and ordered his immediate release subject to the conditions of his preexisting parole.

Yubizay del Carmen Torrealba Linarez, a 20-year-old Venezuelan single mother, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on Wednesday while traveling to her job at Backyard Farms greenhouses in Madison. She fled political violence in Venezuela after her family experienced violent repression by the Maduro regime, including a 2024 home invasion where agents beat her husband and threatened her 2-year-old daughter. She was paroled into the United States in December 2024 and has been awaiting an asylum decision. Her attorney filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court challenging the legality of her detention; a judge ordered her kept in Maine pending review and ordered the government to respond by Wednesday. Since her detention, her sister has been caring for her 4-year-old daughter.

Carlos García, 42, the former mayor of Mérida, Venezuela, was detained by ICE agents on January 23, 2026, during what his wife Gaby Duarte described as a routine immigration check-in near their home in Butler County, Ohio. García fled Venezuela in 2017 after refusing government orders to suppress anti-Maduro protests, was removed from office, and was sentenced to prison by the Chavista-controlled Supreme Court; he crossed into Texas with his family in 2022, applied for asylum, received Temporary Protected Status, and worked as an Amazon delivery driver. His wife said he has no criminal record and fears torture if returned to Venezuela, where an arrest order remains against him. His attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition, but a February 10 hearing revealed DHS is instead seeking to deport him to Ecuador, a country where he has no family or support network. Duarte said, 'We are simply asking that he be allowed to defend his case where he formally requested asylum.'

Joel Angel-Becerril, a 27-year-old DACA recipient from Omaha, was released from Sarpy County Jail on February 20, 2026, after nearly three months in ICE custody. His release followed a federal judge's mid-February order declaring his detention without a bond hearing unlawful. An Omaha Immigration Court judge subsequently dismissed his removal proceedings on Friday, February 24, 2026, finding that his DACA status provided protection against deportation. Angel-Becerril had filed a civil rights lawsuit with the ACLU of Nebraska, which intervened in the case.

Anselmo Martin Matias, who had been released on $16,000 bond in 2019 during withholding proceedings, was detained by ICE on February 24, 2026, during his routine check-in. ICE told him he was being detained for "breaking the rules" due to his March 2025 guilty plea to reckless driving, which they incorrectly described as driving under the influence. The federal court ordered his immediate release, finding that due process requires a hearing before a neutral arbitrator when someone is re-detained based on alleged supervision violations.

A Nicaraguan man has been in immigration detention since February 24, 2026, after being arrested at a scheduled ICE check-in. ICE did not set bond and did not provide him with a custody review by an immigration judge as required under the Board of Immigration Appeals' decision in Matter of Yajure Hurtado. A recent DHS policy classifies anyone arrested within the United States and charged with being inadmissible under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(A)(i) as an 'applicant for admission' subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A), a change from prior policy that allowed for bond or conditional parole under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). He filed a habeas corpus petition and ex parte application for a temporary restraining order seeking to prohibit his removal, transfer outside the Central District of California, and continued detention without a constitutionally adequate bond hearing. The federal court granted the temporary restraining order, ordering respondents to either provide him an individualized bond hearing before an immigration judge pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) on or before April 7, 2026 at 9:00 a.m., or release him from custody by April 7, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. The court set a hearing on the preliminary injunction for April 16, 2026.

A West Virginia federal judge ordered the immediate release of Eduardo Tinajero Rodriguez from ICE custody, finding his detention violated federal law and the Constitution. The judge found serious procedural failures including ICE's use of a document showing marijuana convictions from 2009 when Rodriguez was only four years old. Rodriguez was detained following a traffic stop based on an illegible license plate and an officer's call to ICE due to a language barrier.