Human Impact Project

Justo Betancourt, a 54-year-old Cuban national who entered the U.S. in 1990 and held lawful status, was detained by ICE on October 29, 2025, during a routine annual immigration check-in. He was held for roughly seven months at the South Florida Detention Facility, known as Alligator Alcatraz, despite being unable to be readily deported to Cuba. During detention he was shackled up to 23 hours a day and denied adequate care for his diabetes, neuropathy, and heart conditions, leading to strokes, cardiac arrest, a diabetic coma from withheld insulin, significant weight loss, and lasting neurological damage including tremors and mobility impairment. His daughter Arianne organized weekly vigils outside the facility for 44 weeks advocating for his release. U.S. District Judge Kyle Dudek granted his habeas corpus petition on May 13, 2026, finding the detention erroneous and unlawful, and ordered his release within 48 hours; Betancourt was freed on May 14-15, 2026.

LT, a 30-year-old Haitian woman, fled her home country after supporters of an opposing political party burned down her house, kidnapped her, and raped her, and after her sister was later murdered. She arrived in Miami by boat in 2019 and sought asylum, later giving birth to a daughter. LT was detained at the Dilley detention center in Texas, roughly 1,500 miles from her 13-month-old daughter, who remained in Florida with LT's mother. The child has food allergies and sensitivities causing vomiting when fed formula, and the government denied LT's requests to pump and mail breastmilk or to bring the child into detention, citing a policy against holding US citizen children at immigration facilities. LT's mother struggled to work full time while caring for the infant's medical needs. LT's asylum case was ultimately denied after three months in detention.

On March 14, 2026, Gerardo Gonzalez Reyes, 44, and his 17-year-old son Esteban were arrested during a traffic stop in San Marcos after police responded to a false report. Police confirmed no crime had occurred. Esteban was released, but ICE placed a detainer on Gonzalez Reyes based on prior DWI convictions from 2004 and 2005 and transferred him to T. Don Hutto Detention Center. Despite over two months of community advocacy, vigils, and petitions to drop criminal charges by his family—including U.S. citizen children and a disabled wife who depends on him as a caretaker—an immigration judge ordered his deportation to Mexico in May 2026. His family plans to appeal.

Roberto Orozco-Ramirez, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who had lived in Froid, Montana for 25 years and built a successful diesel repair business, was arrested by Border Patrol agents on January 25, 2026, after they staked out his home. He was charged with illegal reentry, but the government dropped that charge in April 2026, and he remained detained under the Trump administration's expanded mandatory detention policy for undocumented immigrants. Orozco-Ramirez is a father of four U.S. citizen children with no criminal record. The small, conservative town of Froid organized community fundraisers to support his family during his detention. On May 14-15, 2026, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Brian Morris ruled that his continued detention was unlawful, finding the administration's interpretation of mandatory detention law erroneous and in violation of due process and constitutional rights, and ordered his immediate release from the Cascade County Detention Center.

A Mexican national who has resided in the United States since approximately 1997 was arrested by ICE agents on May 15, 2026, while entering his residence after walking his dogs. He is the father of one U.S. citizen son, age 20, who is autistic and currently resides in Mexico, and has U.S. citizen nephews and nieces in the United States. He is a skilled electrician with no criminal convictions and no history of violence or criminal conduct during his nearly three decades of U.S. residence. He was seized without a warrant, without notice, and without an opportunity to contact counsel, and transferred directly to ICE custody at Delaney Hall Detention Facility in New Jersey, where he has been held since May 15, 2026. A Notice to Appear was issued on or about May 20, 2026, initiating removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review. He filed a habeas corpus petition seeking immediate release from custody or an individualized bond hearing, arguing his detention violates his Fifth Amendment due process rights and is arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Seven people believed to be immigrants from Mexico and Honduras died from heat stroke while being smuggled in a sealed Union Pacific boxcar in South Texas. Six bodies were discovered inside the boxcar at a rail yard in Laredo on May 10, 2026, when temperatures reached 97–105 degrees. The victims ranged in age from 14 to 56, with three from Mexico and three from Honduras. A woman inside the container called her sister reporting dangerous heat and physical distress, prompting a police response. A seventh body was found near railroad tracks in Bexar County, approximately 150 miles north of Laredo, on May 11 and is believed connected to the incident. Authorities attributed the deaths to heat-related illness and contacted the Department of Homeland Security, with federal officials leading the investigation into the human smuggling operation.

Ronald, a Venezuelan immigrant, was arrested in November 2025, two days before Thanksgiving, at what he believed was a routine check-in appointment at the Centennial ICE field office in Colorado. He had previously been arrested and released at the same office in spring 2024. His detention left his pregnant wife, Cecilia, 29, as the sole breadwinner for their three sons, ages 6, 9, and 12. The family had walked to the United States in 2024 seeking stability, but lost their apartment and income after Ronald's arrest. As her pregnancy became visible and the family faced homelessness, Cecilia decided to pursue assisted voluntary departure, surrendering to ICE with her children on May 5, 2026. The family arrived in Caracas, Venezuela, on May 13, 2026.

Julio was detained by ICE while traveling to work. He has no criminal history and was actively pursuing naturalization. His detention has left his wife Maria managing household expenses and bills on a single income while facing legal fees and bond expenses.

Dr. Rubeliz Bolívar, a Venezuelan physician working at South Texas Health System, was detained by CBP in mid-April 2026 at McAllen International Airport while attempting to board a flight with her five-year-old U.S. citizen daughter. CBP claimed she had overstayed a visa that expired in 2017, despite her holding a valid work permit and having a pending green card application and active asylum proceedings. Her daughter was held briefly before being released to her maternal grandparents. After approximately one month in El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, a judge ordered Bolívar's release on bail on May 13, 2026, and she was reunited with her family. Her attorneys are appealing ICE's allegations that she violated visa conditions.

Patricia Balbuena Soto, a 49-year-old mother who had lived in New Jersey for roughly 30 years since age 19, was arrested in Atlantic City on July 24, 2025, on charges including home invasion burglary, weapon possession, criminal mischief and property damage. She was transferred to ICE custody the next day and held at Elizabeth Detention Center before being moved to Port Isabel in Texas. DHS said she had previously been removed from the country four times and illegally reentered a fifth time, a felony. She was deported to Mexico on August 5, 2025, leaving behind her 17-year-old daughter, Allison Garcia, a U.S. citizen and honors student with a 4.8 GPA. Garcia told reporters she felt alone navigating daily life without her mother, missed 21 school days, dropped two AP classes, saw her GPA fall to 3.5, abandoned her college plans, and depleted her $10,000 college fund to cover her mother's legal defense while managing the family's mortgage and finances alone.

Jesus Hernandez, a single father of six children including two U.S. Marines, was detained by ICE on May 12, 2026, despite having spent seven years in immigration court proceedings to pursue legal citizenship. His family launched a fundraising campaign to secure legal representation, pay an immigration bond, and cover household expenses during his detention. The family believes he has a strong case to remain in the United States.

A Mexican agricultural worker first entered the United States in 1989 and most recently in 2000. He has lived in Napa, California with his wife, a U.S. permanent resident, and four U.S. citizen children, working as an agricultural worker. He was arrested by DHS in April 2016 and placed in removal proceedings under INA § 240; he was released on bond by an immigration judge that same year. In 2017, he filed an EOIR-42B application for cancellation of removal, noting his youngest son's emotional and behavioral health problems and the hardship his family would experience upon his removal. On May 12, 2026, he was detained by ICE without a pre-detention hearing and taken to the ICE Detention Facility at 630 Sansome Street in San Francisco. He filed a habeas corpus petition and motion for temporary restraining order seeking release and an injunction preventing re-detention without a hearing. On May 21, 2026, the federal court granted a preliminary injunction, finding that he has serious questions going to the merits of his Fifth Amendment due process claim and that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm. The court ordered that he cannot be re-detained without notice and a pre-deprivation hearing before a neutral immigration judge at which the government must establish by clear and convincing evidence that re-detention is warranted.

Carmelo Gonzalez, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, discovered his 11-year-old daughter Maria murdered in their Pasadena, Texas apartment in August 2023. Maria had been sexually assaulted and strangled; a neighbor was arrested and charged with capital murder. Gonzalez is a crucial witness in the case and had filed a U-Visa application, which is granted to crime victims and witnesses who assist law enforcement investigations. On January 26, 2025, Gonzalez was arrested for a first-time misdemeanor DWI offense and flagged by ICE. Despite his pending U-Visa application, he was taken into ICE custody upon bond release and placed on a deportation flight within a week. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare expressed alarm, stating he had never seen a witness with a pending U-Visa application removed so quickly, and warned that such enforcement policies are deterring witnesses from cooperating in criminal prosecutions.

José Contreras Díaz, a 30-year-old DACA recipient raised in Edinburg, Texas, was arrested by ICE agents during a routine check-in appointment in January 2026 and deported to Honduras despite holding valid DACA status. He missed the birth of his son, Mateo, while separated from his family. His attorney, Stacy Tolchin, argued the deportation was unlawful, citing a federal judge's ruling in a similar DACA case, and immigration officials agreed to facilitate his return. When he landed at Harlingen Airport on April 29, 2026, agents detained him again at the Port Isabel Detention Center rather than releasing him. He was released on May 7-8, 2026, after more than three months of separation from his family, and reunited with his wife and newborn son. Contreras said, "They detained me, sent me to a country I barely remember, and then gave me hope — the hope that I could come home, see my family, and hold my son again. Then that hope was taken away." DHS has stated it still intends to deport him, arguing DACA does not confer legal status, and he continues to face removal proceedings.

Maria Lidia Valle-Hernandez, a 28-year-old from Mexico, was removed from the United States on May 11, 2026, after attempting to fraudulently transfer her newborn baby to another undocumented immigrant to pay a debt to smugglers. She registered under a false name at St. Joseph's Hospital in Lake Saint Louis before giving birth in January 2024 and gave her hospital identification wristband to another woman to falsely claim the infant. Valle-Hernandez had been caught illegally entering the U.S. five times in August 2022 and was arrested for domestic assault in April 2026, which led to an ICE detainer. The newborn was taken into protective custody by Missouri Children's Division.

Milena Araya-Davis, a 27-year-old therapist and Palm Springs High School graduate, was arrested by ICE agents on December 15, 2025, outside a USCIS office in San Diego immediately after being told her green card application was approved. Araya-Davis was brought to the U.S. from Peru at age 4 and received DACA protection as a teenager, going on to earn a master's degree in marriage and family therapy. She was detained for overstaying a tourist visa from her childhood. During her seven-day detention at Otay Mesa Detention Center, Araya-Davis slept on the floor, shared a single sink with roughly 150 women, and received inadequate food and medical care, relying on other detainees for basic supplies and support. Her husband, a U.S. citizen whom she married in April 2025, was home waiting for brief phone calls during her detention. Araya-Davis has since shared her experience on social media, drawing thousands of responses from people fearing detention or worried about loved ones. San Diego County subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and private prison operator CoreCivic after being denied inspection access to the facility.

Axel Sánchez Toledo called 911 in December 2025 to request a welfare check on his 4-year-old daughter in Palm Beach County, Florida. When a sheriff's deputy, part of the county's 287(g) Task Force with ICE, arrived, he accused Toledo of being undocumented and detained him. Body camera footage shows deputies tasering, tackling, and striking Toledo with a baton as he attempted to flee, despite his claims of having a pending asylum case and documentation. Toledo was arrested on a resisting arrest charge and held in jail for four months before prosecutors dropped the charge in exchange for an apology letter. He was then transferred to ICE custody on May 1, 2026, and now faces deportation proceedings.

Maria, a single mother, was apprehended by ICE while dropping her children off at school, leaving her two children, ages 5 and 7, alone and bewildered without knowing when or if they would see her again. The arrest was part of a broader enforcement operation that resulted in the arrest of parents of at least 27,000 children over a seven-month period.

Miguel was detained by ICE on May 10, 2026, while sitting parked in his car. He has three children who are experiencing emotional distress from his absence. His family is fundraising for legal representation to fight his case and prevent his deportation to Mexico.

The ACLU of Puerto Rico denounced ongoing ICE interventions in communities and streets, stating that masked agents are targeting immigrants and violating their rights while endangering public safety. The organization documented cases involving physical assaults, arbitrary interventions near minors, and due process violations. Of nine represented cases, eight resulted in stopping expedited transfers or obtaining court orders, though immigration judges denied bond in two cases despite no danger or flight risk.