Human Impact Project

Beginning May 27, 2026, hundreds of detainees at Delaney Hall, a 1,000-bed private immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey operated by GEO Group under contract to ICE, initiated a hunger and labor strike protesting conditions including expired and contaminated food infested with worms, forced labor at wages as low as $1 per day, stiflingly hot conditions due to ventilation problems, and reports that female detainees had been groped by a guard. Federal data showed that of 591 detainees held at the facility, only 76 (about 13 percent) had criminal convictions and 123 (about 21 percent) had pending criminal charges. Organizer Martin Soto led the strike and was transferred to another facility during escalation. Some detainees had been held for 8 to 12 months. Outside the facility, protesters gathered nightly and clashed with federal police and state troopers in riot gear. ICE responded with chemical agents including pepper spray and pepper balls, armored vehicles, and batons against both detainees and external protesters, with at least 90 arrests of external protesters since May 26. Detainees involved in the strike faced retaliation including solitary confinement and transfers to other facilities. The action was part of at least six concurrent hunger strikes at immigration detention facilities nationwide.

Beginning May 25, 2026, hundreds of protesters gathered outside Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, to support detainees staging a hunger strike over poor living conditions including moldy and expired food, overcrowded cells, and lack of air conditioning. The 1,000-bed facility, operated by the GEO Group under a $1 billion contract and opened in early 2025, became the site of escalating confrontations over several days. ICE agents and New Jersey State Police deployed pepper spray, tear gas, batons, and horses against demonstrators who formed human chains and used makeshift shields. Senator Andy Kim was exposed to pepper spray, a U.S. military veteran providing medical assistance was detained, and an ICE agent supervisor was filmed pushing a photographer off a public sidewalk. At least 80 people were arrested, with some charged with rioting after authorities imposed a curfew, and Congresswoman LaMonica McIver was later charged with assaulting officers. Mayor Ras Baraka announced plans to shut down the facility and to sue the GEO Group, while the state filed a lawsuit seeking unrestricted health inspections.

ICE agents detained a man in Albany Park on Tuesday morning, using a Taser on him while he was already handcuffed on the ground near the intersection of Kedzie and Lawrence avenues. During the arrest, a black Nissan SUV believed to be driven by an ICE agent struck a woman's sedan stuck in traffic; the SUV driver fled the scene. Witnesses reported agents chased and arrested the shirtless man in what neighbors described as a chaotic operation. About 12 neighbors and at least one journalist gathered at the scene, blowing whistles and filming federal agents. One federal agent pointed what appeared to be a Taser at the group of bystanders and the journalist while shouting at them to move back. During the operation, agents also dropped a loaded magazine clip. Following the incident, organizers announced an emergency protest for Wednesday evening at Horner Park to oppose what they characterized as aggressive and reckless federal immigration enforcement tactics.

Carlitos Ricardo Parias, a 44-year-old Mexican immigrant from Puebla living in South Los Angeles, built a TikTok following of over 340,000 documenting ICE enforcement activity and received a Los Angeles City Council certificate of recognition for his community reporting. On October 21, 2025, federal agents attempting an immigration arrest boxed in his car near Santee High School; agents said he rammed their vehicles, and video showed 11 shots fired, striking Parias in the elbow and wounding a deputy U.S. marshal by ricochet. Councilmember Curren Price called him 'a pillar of our community, a fearless citizen journalist,' and his attorney described him as a hardworking, pacifist father of two U.S.-citizen children with no criminal record. He was charged with assault on a federal officer and property damage, then detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center; a federal judge later dismissed the indictment with prejudice, citing denial of counsel and missed evidence deadlines, but ICE returned him to custody afterward. After more than 300 days in detention, Parias' injured arm reportedly became discolored and atrophied without adequate treatment, with his congresswoman warning he may need amputation, and his attorney said he remains in pain.

Dhaval Amratbhai Patel, an Indian national living in the U.S. without authorization, was arrested by Worcester Police on May 16, 2026, for assaulting a customer with a baseball bat at a liquor store where he worked. Local authorities released him from jail without notifying ICE. Federal immigration officials arrested Patel on May 18 after his release. DHS subsequently criticized Massachusetts sanctuary policies for the lack of cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

At least 20 detainees at Desert View Annex (Adelanto ICE Processing Center) in Adelanto, California, launched a hunger strike in mid-May 2026 to protest inadequate health care, food portions, unsafe conditions, and demand bond reform and accountability. The facility, operated by the GEO Group, experienced four deaths between September 2025 and March 2026. A lawyer with the National Day Labor Organization described the hunger strike as a last resort when other options have been exhausted. One detainee's wife spoke publicly about the inhumane treatment at the facility. The facility's population increased dramatically from 424 detainees in 2023 to 2,087 in 2025.

Dolores Bustamante Romero, a 54-year-old apple picker and farmworker advocate from Wayne County, New York, was detained by ICE on April 22, 2026, during a mandatory check-in appointment at the Buffalo office without notice that her supervised release was being revoked. A Mexican national who fled gender violence in 2003 and arrived in the U.S. seeking asylum, Bustamante has lived in upstate New York since 2012 and was a well-known advocate for migrant farmworkers and member of Alianza Agricola. She was instrumental in securing New York's Green Light Law and an executive order banning State Police from inquiring about immigration status. She had no criminal record and had attended four previous check-in appointments without incident while enrolled in an alternatives-to-detention program under the Biden administration. U.S. District Judge Meredith Vacca ordered ICE to return her to Western New York and held an evidentiary hearing on May 26, 2026, to review whether ICE violated her due process rights by detaining her without proper notice.

Sean Beckner-Carmitchel, a Los Angeles-based journalist and videographer, was covering a protest against ICE raids in Paramount when law enforcement moved to disperse the crowd using tear gas, percussion grenades, and other crowd-control weapons. A tear gas canister struck him in the head, exploding crystalline CS powder across his face; he sought emergency medical care but was not severely injured. He said the canister appeared to have been fired by Homeland Security Investigations agents, part of ICE. Nearly a year later, Beckner-Carmitchel filed a federal tort claim with the ACLU against immigration officers over the incident.

Jairo Antonio Molina Moron, a 38-year-old Venezuelan national, was arrested by ICE Buffalo's Fugitive Operations Team and U.S. Marshals Service deputies during a targeted operation in Albion, New York, on May 24, 2026. Molina had been paroled into the United States in 2023 and was arrested twice by New York police before this operation: by the NYPD in December 2024, with charges later dropped, and by the Yonkers Police Department in February 2025 on a felony assault charge. After the Yonkers arrest, ICE lodged an immigration detainer, but local authorities refused to honor it and released him. He is now in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings, with the New York assault charge still pending.

Michael Rabbitt and five other protesters were indicted on felony conspiracy charges for blocking an ICE vehicle during demonstrations at a detention facility in Broadview, Illinois. The case collapsed in May 2026 when a federal judge found prosecutors engaged in grand jury misconduct, including improper jury influence and removal of disagreeing jurors. All charges were dropped by the U.S. Attorney's office, though defendants report enduring months of stress and owing over $1 million in legal fees.

Rafie Ollah Shouhed, a 79-year-old U.S. citizen and owner of Valley Car Wash in Van Nuys, California, was physically assaulted by immigration agents during a September 9, 2025 raid on his business. When Shouhed questioned the operation and attempted to vouch for employees being arrested, masked agents forced him to the ground. Surveillance footage shows an agent striking him while three agents tackled him as he pleaded for an ambulance, stating he had recently undergone heart surgery and couldn't breathe. One agent pressed a knee on his neck while applying additional physical force. The incident resulted in broken ribs, an injured elbow, and post-concussive symptoms of a traumatic brain injury. Shouhed was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center and held for 12 hours without medical attention before being released without charges. He filed a $50 million civil rights lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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.

Three activists—Jac Archer, Justice Forral, and Bajun Mavalwalla II—were convicted on federal conspiracy charges on May 28, 2025, for their roles in a June 2025 protest at an ICE facility in Spokane aimed at preventing the transfer of two detained asylum seekers to a facility near Tacoma. The three defendants were among nine people arrested on federal charges stemming from the protest, which involved hundreds of demonstrators who blocked ICE vehicles for approximately nine hours. Six other protesters, including former City Council President Ben Stuckart who posted the social media call that mobilized the demonstration, accepted guilty pleas and received reduced sentences. The three convicted defendants face up to six years in prison and fines up to $250,000, and plan to appeal.

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.

Federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations executed coordinated search warrants on May 13-14, 2026, targeting VC Defensa, an immigrant rights organization in Ventura County, California. Over 100 agents raided the homes of multiple volunteers and the organization's Oxnard office, seizing electronic devices including phones, computers, and USB drives. During the operations, agents pointed guns at residents, handcuffed activist Leonardo Martinez and the 16-year-old son of volunteer Alexandria Quintanar, and broke down doors. No arrests were made and authorities did not publicly disclose the basis for the searches or specific criminal allegations. All detainees were released from federal custody, and VC Defensa and allied organizations stated they would contest the raids in court.

Maria Betania Uzcategui Castillo, a Venezuelan asylum-seeker with valid work authorization through 2030, and her two children, 11-year-old Victor Uzcategui-Labrador Jr. and 8-year-old Monserrat Uzcategui-Labrador, were detained by ICE agents at a school bus stop in Alamo Heights, Texas. The family had arrived at the U.S. border in 2021 seeking asylum, complied with prior immigration requirements, and had a court date scheduled for 2027. Both children attended Cambridge Elementary in the Alamo Heights Independent School District and were reported as deeply traumatized by the detention. The family spent 17 days at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, the country's largest family detention facility, while community members organized a rally and a fundraising campaign that raised more than $28,000 for legal fees. Her husband, Victor, and the family's attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, worked to secure their release. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia ordered the family released, and they were freed pending future immigration hearings.

A young dairy worker was detained by ICE agents at a Hispanic-owned convenience store in King Ferry on Friday morning, marking the third immigrant detained in the area in approximately six weeks. The detentions have affected dairy farm workers in Cayuga County, prompting community members to organize a rally and march on Saturday to protest the increased enforcement actions.

ICE arrested a 40-year-old man from Mexico after Chicago police released him, with a federal arrest warrant on file. The warrant, issued April 29 for illegal reentry, was confirmed by Chicago police on May 1, but the department did not transfer him to ICE despite multiple requests, citing the city's sanctuary policies. He had previously been removed by ICE in 2022.

A Twin Cities activist initially facing four felony charges and decades in prison for allegedly assaulting federal agents during an anti-immigration enforcement protest in south Minneapolis has accepted a plea deal reducing the charges to a single misdemeanor, avoiding prison time and a felony record. Her guilty plea marks the first conviction federal prosecutors have secured against a Minnesota protester arrested during the operation. Charges against a third of the 36 people originally arrested have been dismissed, while others continue to fight their cases.

On May 2-3, 2026, ICE agents arrested Chidozie Wilson Okeke, a Nigerian national who had overstayed his tourist visa since August 2023, during an enforcement operation near Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn. Okeke sustained injuries during the arrest and was taken to the hospital's emergency room. Approximately 200-300 anti-ICE protesters gathered outside the hospital in response, resulting in a five-hour confrontation with NYPD. Nine people were arrested on charges including obstructing traffic, blocking emergency entrances, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, reckless endangerment, and criminal mischief. During the protest, ICE vehicles were damaged, pepper spray was used against agents, and an ICE vehicle struck a protester; four NYPD officers and several DHS agents sustained minor injuries. On May 4, elected officials and community leaders, including City Council Member Sandy Nurse, rallied against the incident, citing direct coordination between ICE and NYPD and demanding the city respect sanctuary city laws.