Human Impact Project

An immigration detainee who entered the United States without inspection in 2007 and established deep community ties in Utah over nineteen years was arrested by ICE on June 8, 2026, while on his way to work in Salt Lake City. He was transferred between immigration detention facilities in Utah, Wyoming, and California without receiving an individualized custody determination or bond hearing. The court granted his petition for writ of habeas corpus in part, ordering respondents to either conduct a bond hearing before a neutral decisionmaker within seven days or cease his detention.

Jose Alejandro Cocmaxsolovid and Jose Luis Mejia Lopez, both Guatemalan nationals, were detained by ICE on June 8, 2026, at their place of work and residence in Waterloo, Iowa. According to immigrant advocacy groups, both men are workers with strong community ties and are not dangerous criminals. The detention is part of ICE enforcement actions following Congress's $70 billion funding increase for immigration enforcement, with advocacy groups expressing concern that the agency is increasingly targeting immigrants with community connections.

Edison Sinchi Taipe, 19, an Ecuadorian student at Framingham High School, was arrested by ICE while working a roofing job in New Hampshire to earn money for graduation expenses. He was detained and feared deportation to Ecuador, but was released in time to walk across the stage and receive his diploma on June 5, 2026. His community rallied to secure legal representation, and he now awaits an immigration hearing scheduled for July 15.

ICE and South Carolina law enforcement agencies raided Burnstein Von Seelen Precision Casting in Abbeville County on June 3-4, 2026, detaining 48 workers, most from Mexico and Guatemala, on suspected immigration violations. The operation, called Operation Ghost Story, stemmed from a two-year investigation that began in October 2024. Company managers Christopher Douglas Ramey and Sandy Lynn Willis were arrested and indicted for failing to verify employee identities and facilitating employment of undocumented workers using forged documents. Four additional defendants, including Xavier Martinez Adorno of Horry County, were indicted on state charges for manufacturing and selling counterfeit driver's licenses, Social Security cards, and green cards, some using real U.S. citizens' identities. None of the 48 detained workers faced criminal charges, though officials said some had prior ICE interactions or deportation orders. One detainee, eight months pregnant, was released under an ankle monitor and now faces deportation proceedings, while others remained in custody. Officials said further arrests are expected.

Luis, a roofer with no criminal record, was arrested during an ICE raid in Arkansas while working. He was transferred through multiple facilities—a local jail, a Texas prison, and ultimately the Torrance County Detention Facility in New Mexico—where he has been held for over a year without criminal charges and with limited legal assistance or clarity on his status.

ICE conducted raids at a metal casting plant in Abbeville, South Carolina and worksites in Lake Placid, New York in late May and early June 2026, detaining 48 workers at Burnstein von Seelen Precision Castings and 21 workers in New York. According to activist groups, many of the detained workers had legal permission to work in the U.S. and were not given the opportunity to provide documentation. The plant manager and HR director were also detained on charges of knowingly hiring undocumented workers.

A commercial truck driver who entered the United States on April 29, 2022, was initially taken into custody by DHS and subsequently released on his own recognizance pending removal proceedings. For approximately four years, he complied with all release conditions while working lawfully as a commercial truck driver. On June 1, 2026, ICE officers re-detained him while he was at work without providing pre-deprivation notice or a hearing. The court granted his petition for habeas corpus, finding that respondents violated Fifth Amendment due process protections and ordered his immediate release with constitutional safeguards for any future detention.

On June 6, 2025, ICE and federal agents raided Ambiance Apparel, a garment manufacturer in Los Angeles's Fashion District, detaining 40-44 workers, predominantly from Indigenous Zapotec communities in Mexico. Many were restrained with chains at the waist and ankles during arrest. Families gathered outside the facility to protest what they described as kidnappings, with detainees subsequently moved between multiple detention facilities, making family contact difficult. At least one worker was deported; others remain in immigration proceedings. A year later, affected families continue facing severe economic hardship, ongoing trauma, and family separation, with children left without primary breadwinners. The raid was part of a broader workplace enforcement crackdown that included multiple operations across Los Angeles and involved deployment of the National Guard.

On June 10, 2025, ICE conducted a workplace enforcement operation at Glenn Valley Foods meatpacking plant in Omaha, Nebraska, detaining 76 employees as part of a three-month investigation into identity theft. Workers were accused of using stolen Social Security numbers from over 100 U.S. citizens to gain employment. Luis Mejia's mother was among those detained while Mejia, then 19, was released to support the separated family. Of those arrested, approximately 17 were deported immediately, 25 were released on bond, and 25 were transferred to other facilities. Most detainees remained in immigration court proceedings months later.

ICE officers conducted raids at Don Patron Mexican Grill locations across West Virginia on May 30, 2026, detaining multiple workers. The enforcement action affected at least three locations in Elkins, Weston, and Bridgeport, with a fourth location in Buckhannon also closing, which management attributed to a broken pipe. As of mid-August 2026, the Elkins location remained closed outside its normal operating hours, with no response from management to requests for comment.

Authorities raided a seafood restaurant on Northwest 23rd Street in Oklahoma City, seizing methamphetamine, ketamine, ecstasy, and a firearm. Sixteen individuals were taken into ICE custody during the operation, which is part of a larger investigation into organized crime involving drug trafficking, money laundering, and potential human trafficking related to black market marijuana farms.

A Venezuelan maintenance worker at Grandview Resort in Lake Placid was arrested by ICE agents on May 28 when he arrived for work. He has lived in Lake Placid for over two years, holds valid work authorization through a five-year work permit tied to temporary protected status, has never missed an immigration check-in, and has no criminal history. He was one of 14 workers detained during the operation at the resort and was transported 12 hours to Batania Detention Center near Buffalo, where agents restrained detainees and he was held with only water for the journey. Unable to contact his family for three days, he was released on bail after approximately two weeks in detention and now wears an ankle monitor. His wife collapsed upon learning of his arrest. He is pursuing a pending political asylum case and reported experiencing daily fear and trauma, avoiding locations where he was detained.

Jose Luis Leon was detained by ICE on May 28, 2026, while working. He is the primary provider for his family, which includes his wife who has Lupus and two children ages 3 and 14. His family is fundraising to cover legal expenses and support costs during his detention.

Herber Aquino, a father of four with no criminal record and an ongoing immigration case, was detained on May 27th by multiple armed, masked agents in unmarked vehicles during a work stop in Riverside. According to accounts, agents surrounded his work truck, forcibly removed him from the vehicle, drew weapons, struck his head, and transported him and his work crew in unmarked vehicles. His family launched a fundraising effort to cover legal defense costs, bond, and living expenses while his wife recovered from childbirth.

ICE agents pursued three people into Central Diner and Grille in Robinson Township after a traffic stop on Route 60. The restaurant's manager, a U.S. citizen and military veteran, refused to let agents search the kitchen without a warrant, and the confrontation escalated when an agent pinned him to the floor, injuring him; ICE said he assaulted an agent and took him into custody. The manager had been hospitalized for heart issues the week before. Employees and customers were shaken, and the restaurant closed for the rest of the day; ICE said two people, including the person originally being pursued, were arrested.

Diego Hernandez Garcia, a 24-year-old construction worker who had lived in the U.S. since age 13, was detained by ICE on December 11, 2025, during a raid at a Hardin Valley construction site in Knoxville. Hernandez Garcia had been granted protective status in 2022 and had an approved I-360 petition for lawful permanent status. His attorney claimed he had valid work authorization at the time of detention and that ICE revoked his deferred status only after taking him into custody. A federal judge denied his habeas corpus petition and lifted a stay on a 2016 removal order, ruling the government was not constitutionally obligated to provide due process before terminating his deferred action status. Hernandez Garcia was subsequently deported to El Salvador.

ICE conducted a workplace raid at a mushroom farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania, resulting in the arrest of approximately a dozen workers. The incident appeared to be the first major workplace raid in the region's mushroom industry since the 1990s and signaled an intensified enforcement effort targeting undocumented immigrants. The raid prompted heightened anxiety among immigrant workers in the area.

Sofia, 35, an undocumented woman with no criminal record who was brought from Ciudad Juárez to El Paso as a child, was surrounded by masked ICE officers pointing guns at her outside her Central El Paso workplace on May 22, 2026, while leaving during a shift break. She was handcuffed and taken to the Otero County Processing Center in Chaparral, New Mexico, where she was held for about 50 days before being released on bond with a GPS monitor and required check-ins with a deportation officer. Her mother said Sofia is now raising her two children, ages 11 and 16, after her husband died in a car accident six months earlier, and that the family cannot afford a private attorney for her upcoming removal hearing.

A man was detained by ICE in Buffalo, New York on May 21, 2026, while traveling for work. His family is raising funds to cover legal fees and expenses to defend his case.

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.