Human Impact Project

Jesus Verde Hernandez, a Worden man who has lived in Montana for 10 years with his partner of 14 years and their three children, ages 9, 6 and 4, was arrested on July 30 by Customs and Border Patrol without a warrant or probable cause while agents searched for another man they said resembled him. He is also stepfather to his partner's two adult children, and his partner and all five children are U.S. citizens. During his 30-hour transport between Lewistown, Jordan, Malta, Havre and Great Falls, he was given only crackers and water, denied medication for chronic pain, and pressured by federal authorities to self-deport. Chief District Judge Brian Morris ordered his release, ruling the detention violated his constitutional rights and that the government lacked statutory authority to hold him, and his attorneys at Upper Seven Law are pursuing class certification for roughly 17 people similarly detained at the Cascade County Detention Center, with a court order barring authorities from moving any of them out of Montana before an Aug. 18 hearing in Missoula.

A Laotian refugee admitted to the U.S. in 1983 and lawful permanent resident since 1986 was detained by ICE on July 30, 2026, during a routine check-in without prior notice or opportunity to be heard. ICE officers informed him they had obtained travel documents for his deportation to Laos and cancelled his 26-year order of supervision, placing him into custody despite his attorney's notice of intent to file a motion to reopen immigration proceedings. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring his immediate release and prohibiting his re-detention without notice and a pre-deprivation hearing before a neutral decisionmaker.

A man whose daughter was killed has been detained by ICE while fighting to remain in the United States. He has been actively involved in investigating his daughter's death and pursuing justice in her case. Despite progress in his legal efforts to stay in the country, he remains in ICE custody as his case continues.

A family was detained by ICE less than two days after a federal court ordered their release, violating the court's directive. The family had been in immigration proceedings when the court issued an order for their freedom, but ICE apprehended them again shortly after, defying the judicial decision.

Ezzat Adel Abdalla Magly, an Egyptian national, is detained at the Western Tennessee Detention Facility pending removal proceedings. He filed a habeas corpus petition seeking release from custody or a bond hearing, along with a motion for temporary restraining order to prevent transfer outside the district. The court denied his motion for temporary restraining order, finding he failed to demonstrate irreparable harm from a potential transfer.

Marvin Alexander Mejía Alvarado, a Honduran national with family in Memphis, died on July 27, 2026, weeks after being released from ICE detention. A federal judge in Colorado ordered his release on bond at the end of June after determining the government had not presented clear and convincing evidence to justify continued detention. After his release in early July, Mejía wrote to his aunt thanking God for allowing him to leave the detention facility and acknowledging the prayers that gave him strength to endure mistreatment by detention staff. His family reported that following his release, he experienced severe health complications they attribute to his treatment during detention, including lack of access to medications needed for a preexisting medical condition.

Nepthali Zozaya Saucedo and Cinthia Sarai Cardona Otero, assistant pastors at Comunidad Cristiana Emanuel in Edinburg, Texas, were detained by immigration agents on Thursday while boarding a flight to a Billy Graham Evangelistic Association retreat—their first time away from their three children. The married couple was released on Saturday. During a Sunday worship service and press conference, they revealed that immigration agents allegedly mocked them and threatened family separation to coerce them to sign voluntary departure papers. DHS claimed they had overstayed a visa that expired in 2022, but faith leaders disputed this, saying the couple held valid religious worker visas. The couple must report to ICE in person in 6 months and call in monthly, with their immigration cases to be heard by an immigration judge.

At least 11 people, including asylum seeker Jesus Carrión, were detained during check-ins at ICE's Malta field office, according to court records and immigrant rights advocates. An emergency habeas petition was filed the same day to prevent their transfer outside the Northern District of New York, and they were initially held at Montgomery County jail before a court ruling allowed transfer to the Batavia detention center with restrictions on further movement. Carrión's wife, Jean Aurilio, said he was taken into custody while waiting for what was expected to be a routine check-in. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the detained individuals lacked legal status and would receive due process, as nationwide ICE arrests rose to an average of 1,474 per day by late July, according to federal data.

Luis Vasquez Alvarado fled Guatemala in 2023 after being threatened by a gang and applied for asylum with his family, settling in the Las Vegas area. On May 30, 2026, he was arrested by Metropolitan Police Department; upon his June 1 release, ICE detained him without providing a bond hearing. Vasquez Alvarado filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention, but federal authorities failed to substantively respond and made misrepresentations about their communication with his attorneys. U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware ruled on Friday that Vasquez Alvarado was subject to mandatory detention, found his detention was erroneous and prolonged, and determined that federal authorities failed to identify any lawful authority permitting continued detention. The judge ordered his immediate release.

Carlos Hugo Betancur, a 52-year-old Colombian national, was detained by ICE on July 8, 2026, while pumping gas at a Marathon station in Doral on his way to work. An immigration officer approached him from behind, asked for identification, and detained him after he provided his Florida driver's license. Betancur had filed a political asylum application in January 2023 and possessed both an employment authorization card and a Florida driver's license. He spent 8 days at the Miramar Processing Center and 8 days at Krome Detention Center before being released on electronic monitoring. At Miramar, he described severe overcrowding, with 93 to 104 detainees held in a single room with insufficient space for everyone to sit or sleep simultaneously. His daughter, Maria Alejandra Betancur, disputed the detention, noting he had valid asylum and work authorization documents. He is now required to wear an ankle monitor while his immigration case proceeds before an immigration judge.

A native and citizen of Mexico has been present in the United States since 2018. On July 24, 2026, he was detained by immigration officials in Ocean City, Maryland and taken into custody at the Farmville Detention Center in Virginia, where he remained for over a week. He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his classification as an "applicant for admission" subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), arguing instead that he should be subject to discretionary detention under § 1226(a) with the right to a bond hearing. The federal government argued that anyone in the United States without lawful admission is subject to mandatory detention. The district court agreed with him, finding that § 1226(a) is the applicable detention scheme for noncitizens already present in the country. The court granted the habeas petition, ordering he be released from custody and provided an individualized bond hearing before an Immigration Judge within 14 days, where the judge must determine whether he poses a danger or is a flight risk.

Napo, a Mexican national, was detained by ICE in Tulsa, Oklahoma on July 24, 2026, while traveling to a work conference to receive an award. According to his wife MaKayla, he is hard-working, a dedicated partner, and has never had a criminal record. His detention has created severe financial hardship for the family: MaKayla lost her job while completing her graduate degree, Napo was their sole income, and she is now at risk of losing their home and may be forced to relocate to Mexico within weeks. The family is uncertain whether Napo will be deported or if they can fight the case, and faces significant anticipated attorney fees.

Jesus Acevedo Sanchez, a 39-year-old father of two U.S. citizen daughters from Mexico, was arrested by ICE agents on June 11 outside Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School in East Baltimore while dropping off his children. Unmarked ICE vehicles cut off his SUV at Dundalk Avenue and O'Donnell Street; armed agents in plain clothes with guns drawn broke his driver's side window. Believing he was being carjacked and fearing for his children's safety, Acevedo Sanchez drove to the school seeking protection. He sustained injuries including bleeding from his leg and face during the extraction. His partner, Adriana Gavilan Sanchez, 37, a mother of two U.S. citizen daughters from Mexico, was also detained by ICE that same day outside the school. She reported feeling terrified and experiencing nightmares following her detention. U.S. District Judge Julie Rubin ruled that ICE lacked probable cause and violated due process in Acevedo Sanchez's arrest, calling it a "stomach churner" and stating his detention was not justified. Judge Rubin ordered his release from Farmville Detention Facility. His attorney Rachel Girod said the judge reached the right result, noting that any other outcome would have been "rubber-stamping lawlessness." U.S. District Judge Matthew Maddox ordered Gavilan Sanchez's release from immigration detention, and she was freed on July 15 from Caroline Detention Facility in Virginia.

Dr. Badar Khan Suri, an Indian postdoctoral fellow and peace scholar at Georgetown University, was arrested without a warrant by ICE agents in March 2025 after expressing pro-Palestinian views on social media. He was held in multiple detention facilities for nearly six weeks and subjected to conditions including denial of religious accommodations. A federal court ordered his release on bail. The Trump administration attempted to re-detain him, arguing federal courts lacked jurisdiction to review his case. In July 2026, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the administration's re-detention attempt, upholding habeas corpus protections that allow immigrants to challenge their detention in federal court.

Chansareth Hong, 50, a Cambodian refugee who arrived in the United States as an infant in 1978 and has lived in Rhode Island for nearly 50 years, was taken into ICE custody on July 22, 2026, while attending a required in-person check-in at the Warwick field office—a practice he had maintained for nearly 28 years. Hong is the sole caretaker of his nonverbal 9-year-old autistic son and his elderly mother; his son's mother died in 2025 and Hong's father died in June 2026. In his late teens and early 20s, Hong pleaded no contest to drug-related charges but maintained a clean record for three decades without missing a single ICE check-in. He was transferred to the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls. Over 100 community members, including members of the Cambodian Society of Rhode Island and other refugee advocacy organizations, gathered outside the ICE office to protest his detention. Governor Dan McKee, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, 13 members of the Providence City Council, and U.S. Representative Seth Magaziner sent letters to ICE urging his release, citing his rehabilitation and essential role as family caretaker. Over 2,000 people signed a petition on his behalf. A federal judge ordered that Hong cannot be moved out of Rhode Island without 72 hours notice, and his legal team filed a habeas petition in federal court challenging his detention.

Marlon Andres Torres Gomez, a Colombian national, was granted voluntary departure by an immigration judge and ordered to leave the United States by June 11, 2026. He purchased a one-way plane ticket to Colombia departing June 10 and repeatedly contacted ICE to coordinate his departure, but ICE detained him and prevented him from boarding the flight. When the deadline passed, the government argued he was subject to mandatory detention, a position U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz called an "after-the-fact justification" rather than a genuine basis for custody. Farbiarz, who noted an immigration judge had previously found Torres Gomez did not pose a danger to the community, ruled on July 22, 2026, that ICE violated his due process rights and ordered his immediate release, saying he expected Torres Gomez to promptly leave the country voluntarily.

A man was arrested by federal agents in the parking lot of a Walmart in Yakima, Washington. A witness recorded video of the arrest, capturing agents subduing the man as he repeated "Estoy sangrando" (I am bleeding). The incident occurred amid growing concern over deaths during immigration enforcement operations. A man was detained by ICE agents in a Home Depot parking lot in Yakima, Washington. According to Jamie Angel, who recorded the detention, agents blocked the man's vehicle from multiple sides before removing him from the car. Angel reported seeing several ICE vehicles parked and concealed in various points of the parking lot when he arrived at the store. Home Depot stated it is aware of agent presence at some of its locations and said it seeks to maintain a welcoming environment while complying with applicable laws.

Marlon Andres Torres Gomez, a Colombian man who has been in ICE custody since March 18, was granted voluntary departure by an immigration judge on May 12 and ordered to leave the United States by June 11. He purchased a one-way ticket from New York to Colombia for June 10 and his attorney repeatedly contacted ICE to coordinate his departure, but immigration officials kept him detained and prevented him from boarding the flight. A federal judge in New Jersey, Michael Farbiarz, ruled that ICE violated his due process rights by blocking his compliance with the voluntary departure order and then using his failure to depart as justification for continued detention, ordering his release.

A Guinean woman is a national of Guinea currently detained by U.S. immigration authorities at the Port Isabel Service Processing Center in Cameron County, Texas. She has protection from removal to Guinea. Respondents intend to remove her imminently to Ghana, a third country, without providing her a reasonable fear interview regarding removal to that country. She filed a verified petition challenging her removal as violating her constitutional rights and seeking a temporary restraining order. The court found that her removal would cause immediate and irreparable injury, as she would be unable to seek habeas relief if removed. On August 5, 2026, the court issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting removal to a designated third country less than seven days after providing notice, requiring compliance with March 2025 Guidance procedures regardless of diplomatic assurances, and prohibiting transfer outside the Southern District of Texas except to a third country subject to the order's conditions. The court ordered her to file a response to the motion to dismiss by August 14, 2026, clarifying jurisdictional bases for her claims.

Airida Gould, a Lithuanian national and licensed massage therapist who has lived in the United States for 26 years, was detained by ICE on May 16, 2026, during a green card interview at which USCIS had just approved her marriage petition. Gould is married to U.S. Army veteran Mark Gould and has three U.S.-born adult children. ICE officers handcuffed and detained her based on a 2009 removal order issued after she missed a court hearing due to road construction; DHS says she entered the U.S. in June 2000 on a visa valid until December 2009 and was ordered removed after overstaying it, adding that approval of a marriage-based petition does not confer immigration status. During her 66 days in ICE custody, Gould was held at multiple facilities including Broadview, Illinois, Brazil, Indiana, and Kentucky, and described conditions at the Brazil facility as extremely poor. Her legal team, led by former immigration court Judge Carla Espinoza Grcic, filed an Emergency Motion to Reopen with the Board of Immigration Appeals, but Gould was deported on July 21, 2026, flying from Chicago O'Hare to Warsaw, Poland; Mark Gould said ICE allowed him to drop off cash, cards and a bag for her but denied his request to see her or say goodbye.