Human Impact Project

Dylan Lopez Contreras, a 21-year-old Venezuelan student at ELLIS Preparatory Academy in the Bronx, was detained by ICE in May 2024 after attending a mandatory immigration court hearing in Lower Manhattan. He was transferred to Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania, where an immigration judge denied his asylum claim in September 2024 and ordered his deportation to Venezuela. After nearly 10 months in detention, Contreras was released on March 18-19, 2025, while his legal team pursued an appeal of the deportation order. He returned to school while applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, subject to an ankle monitor and ICE check-ins as his asylum appeal remains pending. Dylan Lopez Contreras, a 20-year-old high school student at Ellis Preparatory Academy in the Bronx, was arrested by ICE agents in May 2025 at a Lower Manhattan courthouse after attending a mandatory immigration hearing. He was held in federal custody for nearly 10 months before being released on March 18, 2026, on his own recognizance with an ankle monitor. His detention was notable as the first widely documented case of a public school student in New York City being detained by federal agents under the Trump administration. A teenager named Ricardo was held in ICE detention and spent time in solitary confinement, prompting outrage from the Chicago community. His mother, Martha Liliana, and community members organized a rally calling for his release. Dylan, a 16-year-old high school student in the Bronx, was arrested by ICE when attending a routine court date at an immigration courthouse in New York City. The arrest occurred as part of ICE's campaign of arresting people at mandated immigration court hearings and fast-tracking deportations. Dylan, a 20-year-old student from Ellis Prep High School, was detained by ICE in May during an asylum hearing. He remains in ICE custody. This case is part of a pattern of ICE detention of NYC public school students attending legal hearings.

Peter Booth was arrested on charges of unlawful trespass and resisting arrest during a protest at an ICE digital surveillance center on May 14, 2026. Booth was carried out of the building by Vermont State Police officers. He had previously been cited for criminal trespass at a similar protest in February 2026.

Obi, who arrived legally on a visa and was in the process of obtaining a green card, was detained by ICE on October 20th without due process. He was held in a detention facility for ten days after a judge ordered his release and bond was posted. His wife, who relies on him as her caregiver due to chronic illnesses, was forced to attend their green card interview alone while he remained detained. He was released with conditions including GPS monitoring and travel restrictions.

Deisy Fidelina Rivera Ortega, wife of active-duty U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Jose Serrano stationed at Fort Bliss, was detained by ICE agents on April 14, 2026, while attending a USCIS appointment in El Paso, Texas to apply for Parole in Place. A native of El Salvador who had lived in the U.S. for approximately a decade, Rivera Ortega held valid work authorization and a 2019 court order granting her withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture. Despite these legal protections, ICE arrested her based on a December 2019 removal order for illegal entry and indicated plans to deport her to Mexico under third-country removal procedures. After approximately one month in custody at the El Paso Service Processing Center, Rivera Ortega was released on May 15, 2026, following media reporting and personal intervention by U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat and combat veteran who contacted the Department of Homeland Security on her behalf. She remains subject to GPS monitoring, mandatory ICE check-ins, home visits, and travel restrictions while facing potential deportation.

Four protesters, ranging in age from early twenties to late seventies, were arrested on charges of unlawful trespass and resisting arrest during a demonstration at an ICE digital surveillance center in Williston, Vermont. The protesters blocked entrances to impede ICE operations, and the property manager said he asked police to remove them after they refused to leave. One of those arrested, Peter Booth, had previously been cited for trespassing during a similar protest in February, when 11 people were arrested and two others were cited; Chittenden County State's Attorney Sarah George declined to prosecute any of those involved in that earlier action. All four arrestees are scheduled to appear in court on June 30, 2026.

A Honduran immigrant alleges that improper placement of an electronic ankle monitor by ICE resulted in a skin infection and emotional distress after extended wear of the device. The incident highlights concerns about the physical and psychological effects of electronic monitoring on detained immigrants.

Maikel Rojas, a 45-year-old Cuban, was released from Alligator Alcatraz detention center in March 2026 after nearly five months in custody and subsequently issued a removal order requiring self-deportation by August 4, 2026. The order requires him to obtain a Cuban passport and purchase a one-way airline ticket while wearing an electronic ankle monitor. Rojas, who arrived from Cuba in 2004 and was convicted as an accomplice to a crime in 2005 with a 13-year sentence, faces uncertainty about whether Cuba will accept his deportation and fears re-arrest by immigration authorities.

Manuela Hernandez, an asylum seeker from Colombia, was detained at California City's detention center for five months after her electronic monitoring device broke during a household accident in December 2025. She reported severe medical decline in custody, including fainting spells and a bacterial infection, while ICE pursued federal charges for property destruction. After her legal team filed a habeas corpus petition arguing the break was unintentional, she was released on May 4, 2026, and has reunited with her family while continuing her asylum case.

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.

Sundas Naqvi, a 28-year-old U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE agents at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on March 5, 2026, after returning from Turkey. She claimed a 43-hour ordeal involving transfer to Dodge County Jail in Wisconsin and was released early Saturday morning with a dead phone. Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt denied having any record of her at the facility, while DHS disputed her account by releasing surveillance footage showing secondary screening lasted less than an hour. In April 2026, Sheriff Schmidt filed a million-dollar defamation lawsuit against Naqvi, characterizing her detention claims as false and part of a "romantic scam" with her boyfriend. Naqvi's attorney provided location data and requested release of additional surveillance footage.

José and his family from Venezuela entered the U.S. legally in 2024 using the CBP One app and received parole to live and work while their asylum cases were pending. After their immigration court hearing in June 2025 was dismissed under a Trump administration order, they were arrested outside the courtroom and detained for a month at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley. Following their release, the family decided to abandon the asylum process and purchased one-way plane tickets back to Venezuela.

Yelitza Perez, a 29-year-old Venezuelan mother of two, spent weeks attempting to voluntarily return to Venezuela through the CBP Home app following her husband's deportation. She initially registered for voluntary departure but faced multiple obstacles, including lack of required Venezuelan travel documentation and airline verification issues. After being denied boarding at Miami International Airport in early April, she obtained a salvoconducto (safe pass) from Venezuelan authorities. Faith-based organizations including Hermanos de la Calle and Discerning Deacons provided shelter and assistance during her stay. Perez and her daughters successfully departed for Venezuela in mid-April after obtaining the required travel documentation.

On April 4, 2026, ICE agents arrested 13 undocumented individuals from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan at a PennDOT driver's license center in Kittanning, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. A website error had directed individuals seeking commercial driver's license renewals to the facility, resulting in an unusually large crowd of over 100 people. East Franklin Police received reports of the gathering and contacted ICE. During the operation, multiple people fled the scene, some abandoning vehicles and running through residential yards to evade agents. One person resisted arrest and allegedly assaulted a law enforcement officer. PennDOT stated it follows federal law and uses the SAVE database to verify legal presence for license applicants.

Annie Yaritza Ramos Alvarado, a 22-year-old Honduran-born immigrant who arrived in the U.S. as a toddler in 2005, was detained by ICE agents on April 2, 2026, at Fort Polk military base in Louisiana while attempting to complete paperwork to move in with her spouse, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Matthew Blank, 23, whom she had recently married. Ramos was a college student with no criminal history who had applied for DACA status in 2020, though her application was never processed. She was working with a lawyer to adjust her immigration status through marriage, a process that typically allows spouses of U.S. citizens to obtain legal permanent residency. She had been subject to an outstanding removal order issued in 2005 after her family missed an immigration court hearing when she was 22 months old. After being held for nearly a week at an ICE detention facility in Basile, Louisiana, Ramos was released on April 7 and ordered to wear a GPS monitor while removal proceedings continue.

Otofu Ayaku, a UT Austin graduate originally from Nigeria, was arrested during a traffic stop in March and detained for approximately one month in two Houston-area facilities. Though their criminal charges were dropped, Ayaku was released on bond with an ankle monitor while their immigration case continues. Ayaku has described their detention experience as dystopian, noting the lack of privacy and control, and has remained connected to other detained migrants they met during their time in custody.

The Colibrí Center for Human Rights' DNA database, which helped identify remains of missing migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border for a decade, has been inaccessible since fall 2024. The nonprofit's website has gone dark and communications ceased, leaving families like that of Irma Carrillo Nevares without hope of identifying their missing relatives. Arizona moved to dissolve the organization in December 2025 due to unfiled paperwork.

K, a 23-year-old man, fled Belarus after being stalked and threatened for participating in political rallies opposing the government. After the CBP One system was shut down and being extorted in Mexico, he crossed onto U.S. soil and walked toward a port of entry in South Texas, where Border Patrol arrested him and ignored his asylum request. His phone containing persecution evidence was confiscated and never returned. He was shackled and secretly flown to Costa Rica without being told the destination.

Several Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota reported being targeted and harassed by ICE agents during the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. State Rep. Brad Tabke said agents ran his license plate, photographed his home, and conducted surveillance outside his residence multiple times in January and February. Other DFL lawmakers reported similar incidents including verbal harassment, agents greeting them by name without prior interaction, and agents taking photographs around their homes.

A Dominican Republic native with an approved juvenile immigrant visa was detained by ICE on January 16, 2026, while traveling to work in Syracuse after being stopped by agents at a work site. He was held at detention facilities in Batavia and Louisiana, including Jackson Parish Correctional Center, for approximately nine weeks, during which he experienced illness including fever, sore throat and muscle aches. With support from his Syracuse community, including All Saints Catholic Church members who raised money and wrote letters on his behalf, he was released on bond with an ankle monitor on March 18, 2026; a stranger named Alexandra helped him resolve an issue with his withheld passport so he could fly home. He returned to Syracuse to reunite with his family, including his infant son.

Ben and five other people in Illinois, Oregon, and Minnesota were arrested while protesting at ICE facilities and had DNA swabs taken without clear consent. Ben was arrested during a protest at Chicago's Broadview ICE facility during Operation Midway Blitz; video reviewed by NPR shows a masked federal officer slamming him to the ground while three immigration officers pinned him down and dragged him to their vehicle. He was held in custody for approximately three hours, then photographed, fingerprinted, and had a DNA swab collected from inside his cheek without clear explanation. The six cases, reported in recent months across three states, are now part of litigation challenging the Department of Homeland Security and FBI DNA database collection practices as violations of First and Fourth Amendment protections.