Human Impact Project

Ta Eh Doh Lah, a Burmese refugee mother of four lawfully admitted to the U.S. in November 2024, was arrested by ICE agents at her St. Paul apartment on January 10, 2026, while breastfeeding her five-month-old baby. The arrest occurred one day after USCIS announced Operation PARRIS to re-examine refugee cases. She was immediately transferred to Texas despite having a pending adjustment of status application and no criminal record. Ta Eh Doh Lah has congenital heart disease requiring expert medical care. A federal magistrate judge found her detention was not authorized under federal law and recommended her release. The federal court ordered her immediate transfer back to Minnesota and release, and blocked Operation PARRIS across Minnesota, preventing the arrest or detention of refugees solely because they are awaiting status adjustment.

Sithy Yi, a Cambodian Genocide survivor who arrived in the U.S. in 1981, was released from ICE detention following a federal judge's order. Yi was detained at a routine immigration check-in in Santa Ana on January 8 and held at the Adelanto Detention Facility for almost two months.

ICE agents with guns approached a Korean bakery in Minneapolis, pointing weapons through the glass door at employees. A manager hid Korean immigrant coworkers in freezers during the encounter. Agents allegedly stated they did not need or care about a warrant. After an employee called 911, local police arrived and the ICE agents left the scene.

Fong Khang, a Cambodian immigrant, was pardoned by the Minnesota Board of Pardons on January 20 for convictions from nearly 20 years ago. Less than 24 hours later, ICE detained him, threatening his ability to remain in the United States. The article also describes the case of Sithy Yi, a Cambodian genocide survivor and refugee, who was detained by ICE after 10 years of compliance with immigration instructions.

Ricky Chandee, an engineering technician for Minneapolis, was detained by ICE agents at his home in Brooklyn Park on January 24 during a surge of federal enforcement in Minnesota. Chandee, a Laotian refugee who was convicted of a drive-by shooting decades ago and never naturalized as a U.S. citizen, was transported to El Paso, Texas, where he faces possible deportation to Laos. The article describes how Laotian refugees who arrived after the Vietnam War are being deported at unprecedented rates under the Trump administration's mass deportation agenda, despite having built lives in Minnesota for decades.

A Chinese citizen who entered the U.S. without inspection in July 2023 was re-detained by ICE on January 23, 2026, when he appeared for a routine check-in. He had been living freely in Los Angeles under an Order of Release on Recognizance since 2023 and filed an asylum application based on fear of political persecution in China. The court ordered his immediate release, finding his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated his due process rights.

A man who has lived in the United States since 1987 was detained by ICE in Minnesota on January 21, 2026, and is currently held in El Paso, Texas. He was pressured into signing a voluntary removal document while detained and without legal counsel, facing deportation to Vietnam despite not having lived there since the 1980s and lacking citizenship there. He had been complying with immigration supervision for years without missing check-ins.

Kong Vang, a St. Paul resident, recorded federal immigration agents knocking on his door in the Frogtown neighborhood. Vang refused to open the door after agents did not explain the purpose of their visit, and they left after about 90 seconds. Vang said he lives with his son, parents, and sister, all U.S. citizens, and that his parents immigrated from Laos in the 1970s; he said he feared agents might detain him or his mother. The video was posted to Facebook and received over 400,000 views, as reports indicated the broader enforcement operation had initially been expected to focus on the Somali community.

According to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Online Detainee Locator System, an individual named Yee has been detained as a public safety or flight risk. However, no court hearing dates are available for Yee on the portal, and no deportation information is listed on the U.S. Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Parady La, a 46-year-old Cambodian refugee and longtime Philadelphia-area resident, died in January 2026 after being detained by ICE. La was arrested by ICE on January 6 outside his home and held at the Federal Detention Center (FDC Philadelphia), where he was treated for severe drug withdrawal. On January 7, officers found him unresponsive in his cell, administered CPR and Narcan, and transported him to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he was diagnosed with anoxic brain injury, shock, and multiple organ failures. He died on January 9. His family and organizations including the ACLU of Pennsylvania and CAIR-Philadelphia demanded accountability and transparency, with the ACLU filing a Freedom of Information Act request for records related to his detention, medical treatment, and death.

Thi Dua Vang, who legally came to the U.S. in December 2023 and is awaiting green card approval, was detained by ICE agents on January 8, 2026 at her St. Paul home. She was transferred to detention facilities in Texas for nearly two weeks before an immigration judge ordered her release on bond. Since her release and required check-in with ICE, agents have reportedly returned to her home three additional times attempting to make contact.

Hongbo Zhao, a Chinese citizen with a pending asylum application, was detained by ICE on January 7, 2026, during a routine check-in at an ICE field office. He had been released on his own recognizance since April 2024 and had complied with all reporting requirements. The federal court ordered his immediate release, finding that ICE violated his due process rights by detaining him without notice or a pre-deprivation hearing.

Rebecca Pinyerd, a 70-year-old Filipina lawful permanent resident who has lived in the United States for over 40 years, was scheduled for deportation to the Philippines but the flight was cancelled after airline officials determined she was medically unfit to fly due to advanced kidney disease, thyroid complications, and uncontrolled hypertension. She remains in immigration detention at Clay County Jail in Indiana with no new deportation date announced. Her family has expressed concerns about her access to medical care while in custody and has called for an independent medical evaluation.

Oudone Lothirath, a 57-year-old Laotian refugee who arrived in the U.S. in the early 1980s, was detained by ICE in January 2026 during an immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota. While held for 10 days at a detention facility in El Paso, Texas, he missed vital chemotherapy sessions for terminal Hodgkin's lymphoma and received no medical care for his diabetes and heart condition. After his release, he was too weakened to continue his remaining chemotherapy treatments, and his cancer subsequently spread to his bone marrow. His care assistant, Christina Vilay, said he would have had "many more months" to live had he completed his scheduled chemotherapy. Lothirath, a working member of the Minneapolis Lao community who attended a local Buddhist temple and held a current work authorization card issued in 2023, is now receiving hospice care.

Asif Amin Cheema, a 63-year-old Pakistani restaurant owner in Humboldt Park who lived in Chicago for 30 years, was deported to Pakistan in early 2026 after the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a deportation order from the 1990s that his family said they were unaware of. Despite having a valid work permit and a scheduled green card interview, Cheema was detained in September 2025 and subsequently removed. A community fundraiser was held in March 2026 featuring Chicago chef Zubair Mohajir to raise awareness and support for efforts to bring Cheema home, with proceeds directed to his family and immigration advocacy organizations.

Babblejit Kaur, an Indian-origin woman who has lived in the United States since 1994, was detained by ICE agents while attending a biometric interview for her green card application at a USCIS office. She had no criminal record, was sponsored by her daughter who is a green card holder, and worked for decades as a restaurant businesswoman and store employee. The detention occurred amid increased scrutiny of Indian nationals under new H-1B visa vetting policies announced in 2025.

Meenu Batra, a 50-year-old Indian immigrant living in Texas since 1991, was detained by ICE agents at an airport on March 17, 2026, while traveling to Wisconsin for work as a court interpreter. She had been granted court protection against deportation in 2000 due to persecution concerns and was authorized to work legally in the US. After more than six weeks in detention, Batra was released when a court questioned the legality of her detention. She reported experiencing dehumanization during her time in custody and expressed ongoing fear of re-arrest.

Mohan Karki, a 30-year-old refugee born in a Nepal refugee camp whose family fled persecution in Bhutan in the 1990s, faces deportation to Bhutan by the U.S. government despite having no passport or birth certificate from that country. He has been detained for over eight months pending removal proceedings stemming from a teenage burglary conviction. His attorneys have stated that deportation could result in statelessness, as Bhutanese authorities have previously denied entry to other deportees.

Mubashir, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen of Somali descent, was arrested by ICE agents on December 9, 2025, in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of south Minneapolis. According to Mubashir and community organization CAIR-MN, ICE agents tackled him during the arrest despite his repeated statements that he was a U.S. citizen and his display of his passport. He was detained at Fort Snelling federal building after agents allegedly failed to identify themselves. DHS disputed accounts of the incident, claiming officers were investigating criminal immigration violations and that Mubashir resisted arrest. According to CAIR-MN, the arrests were part of a pattern targeting Somali neighborhoods and included multiple U.S. citizens.

Guan Heng, a 38-year-old Chinese asylum seeker, secretly filmed internment facilities in Xinjiang in 2020 before fleeing China and arriving in the U.S. in 2021, where he applied for asylum, obtained a work permit, and worked as an Uber driver and delivery worker in Queens. In August 2025, ICE agents arrested him at his home near Albany, New York, during an operation targeting his housemates, and he has since been held at Broome County Correctional Facility. DHS initially sought to deport him to Uganda, but dropped that plan in December after his case drew attention from Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and public advocacy groups. Guan is now appealing to remain in the United States, saying he fears prosecution, imprisonment, or torture if returned to China.