Human Impact Project

Florencio de León Olmos, an undocumented man from Guatemala who had received a final removal order in August 2025, was among those detained in ICE's sweep of New Bedford. Court records reviewed by The New Bedford Light did not show why he received the removal order or any criminal record. He could not be located through the ICE Detainee Locator, and he voluntarily withdrew his federal habeas corpus petition on Sept. 23, 2026.

A man was struck by a car while ICE agents pursued him on foot near Jersey City's Liberty State Park light rail station on a Wednesday evening around 6:20 p.m., and the driver fled the scene. City officials said an ICE agent was also hit by the vehicle, with both the agent and the man sustaining minor injuries. Footage showed agents handcuffing the man on the sidewalk and placing him in an ICE vehicle before an ambulance took him to Jersey City Medical Center, where agents and the man later entered the emergency room. The mayor's chief of staff said Jersey City police were not involved in the pursuit or arrest and only responded afterward to complete an accident report, adding that such ICE operations "put residents and bystanders at risk." ICE said it had transported a patient in custody for medical evaluation and that standard protocols were followed.

Ariel Arias, a husband, father, and grandfather, was taken into custody by ICE agents in Houston on the morning of September 23, 2026 as he was leaving for work in his residential parking lot. His family says the arrest was unlawful and were unable to locate him within ICE's standard 24-48 hour processing window. Arias has a heart condition and relies on sublingual medication to prevent a heart attack, and his family is urgently trying to confirm his location so he can access it. They have appealed to Representatives Sylvia Garcia, Greg Casar, and Joaquin Castro for help.

A Colombian asylum seeker who fled to the United States in 2022 was detained without warning while attending a routine ICE check-in in San Francisco. He had previously been released from custody after DHS determined he posed no danger or flight risk, and he attended every scheduled check-in since then. He held employment authorization and a Social Security number, worked assembling ventilation and refrigeration equipment, filed federal tax returns for two years, resided in Fremont, California, had a partner of one year, and regularly attended a Mormon temple. In June 2026, he was arrested for an alleged DUI after being found sleeping in his parked car outside his home. He was not shown a warrant at his re-arrest and was subsequently transferred to the Central Valley Annex detention facility in McFarland, California. He filed a habeas petition and motion for a temporary restraining order, arguing his detention violated due process because he was not given a pre-detention bond hearing. The court granted the TRO, ordering his immediate release and barring re-detention pending further briefing and a hearing scheduled for October 8, 2026.

A witness described being followed by immigration officers from a Medford store to Emigrant Lake in July before he and a companion were taken into custody. His account was presented as evidence in a federal hearing examining whether ICE officers in the Rogue Valley complied with a February court order requiring individualized assessments before warrantless arrests. Government attorneys have disputed the allegations, and the judge has not yet ruled on the claims.

ICE detained at least 21 people, believed to be agricultural workers at local cannabis farms, during raids conducted September 23-24 at farms in Ruch, West Medford, and Cave Junction, Oregon. The September 23 raids in Ruch and West Medford involved DEA, Customs and Border Protection, Medford Police, and the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, and resulted in 13 detentions, with eyewitnesses documenting a GEO Group passenger van loading detainees at the Medford ICE office. A separate raid on September 24 at a farm in Cave Junction involved the FBI, Josephine Marijuana Enforcement Team, Josephine County Sheriff, Oregon State Police, and ICE, with at least 8 people detained and GEO Group vehicles, including a Nissan Pathfinder and passenger van, observed on site. Advocates with Rogue Valley Migra Watch say these raids, along with a July 2025 raid that detained 17 farmworkers, represent the largest documented ICE operations in Southern Oregon and have questioned whether local and state law enforcement participation violates Oregon's sanctuary law barring such agencies from assisting federal immigration enforcement.

Retired Wayne County judge Michael Callahan said a convoy of eight armed ICE officers arrived at his metro Detroit home in August, falsely claiming they only intended to place an ankle tether on his foster son, a Congolese refugee who had lived in the U.S. for more than seven years, attended every required ICE check-in, had no criminal record and worked full-time as a truck driver. The officers had no warrant or court order, according to Callahan, and took the foster son into custody once he stepped outside. DHS disputed that officers used a ruse, saying they identified themselves as law enforcement, and a federal court declined to block the deportation after the government cited a 2019 final removal order. About two weeks after his arrest, he was flown to Cameroon, a country where he has no known ties, despite having been granted protection from return to his native Democratic Republic of Congo, which he had fled due to violence tied to his father's political opposition activity.

Rapheal Oludemilade Adebowale, a Nigerian national, was arrested by ICE in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, as part of a Department of Homeland Security enforcement operation. Adebowale had been previously convicted of larceny and money laundering in Massachusetts following a jury trial, after a motion to dismiss the indictment against him was denied. DHS also arrested Jawwad Ali Ahmed, a Pakistani national with a prior conviction in Sacramento, California, and Alexandre Esdras Pandolfi-Soares, a Brazilian national with a prior conviction in Salt Lake City, Utah, during the same operation. DHS described the men as priority targets but did not disclose further details about their immigration status, pending court dates, or the specific immigration allegations against them. Adebowale now faces immigration proceedings and possible removal from the United States.

Carlos Josué Marchena-Marchena, a 36-year-old Costa Rican father of four who worked as a ride-service driver, was found unresponsive on September 18, 2026 at Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana, and pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. He had Type 1 diabetes and had been detained since January, transferred between facilities in Michigan, California, and Louisiana; his cousin said his care was adequate in Michigan but worsened after later transfers, though his sister said his decline began in Michigan after he was placed in a security cell following an argument with another detainee. His sister, girlfriend, and a fellow detainee said he repeatedly complained of missed insulin shots, inadequate food and water, and worsening symptoms including chest pain, vomiting, chills, and stomach pain, with his girlfriend saying he called around midnight the night before his death saying his medication wasn't helping. An immigration judge ordered his removal on July 29, 2026, and he had requested bail and voluntary deportation to Costa Rica, both denied. ICE said he received appropriate medical care, while a fellow detainee said he received only irregular insulin shots and a single pill for his symptoms. His death is the third reported at the Louisiana facility since April 2026, following a DHS Inspector General report finding violations in medical care, food service, and use of force, and at least the 58th ICE detainee death nationwide since January 2025. A GoFundMe was launched to return his body to Costa Rica while his family awaits autopsy results.

Unmarked vehicles carrying agents wearing 'ERO' patches, identifying them as ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers, entered a Home Depot parking lot in Concord early one morning and detained up to five day laborers who were waiting for work. Advocates with the Concord Immigrant Protections Network said the detained individuals' names and whereabouts remain unknown, and that ICE has not responded to requests for information. Advocates and community members rallied outside the store the following day, calling on Home Depot and city officials to take action to protect immigrant workers.

An 18-year-old University of Alaska Fairbanks sophomore majoring in physics, a Panamanian-Russian dual national and graduate of Alaska Middle College School, was detained by ICE at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport after her plane landed. She was held overnight at the mostly male Anchorage Correctional Complex before being transferred the next morning to Hiland Mountain Correctional Center for women, then released after posting bond while her removal proceedings continue. She had entered the U.S. legally in July 2023 but was supposed to leave by May 2024; a former teacher described her as "an incredibly hard worker" with "a beautiful personality" and "a kind soul," and she remains enrolled at UAF.

Tomas Pacajoj Lastor, known as "the mechanic," was detained by ICE on September 22, 2026, around 7:35 a.m. while driving his young son to school. His daughter Baudelia searched for him through multiple phone calls as he was transferred between detention facilities before she confirmed his location and safety. He has not yet been given a court date and is working with an attorney, while his family describes him as a hardworking provider and devoted father who regularly helped neighbors in need. His detention has left the family struggling financially, as his daughter postponed her college plans at Emporia State University to help care for her nine-year-old sibling and support her mother, who has ongoing health issues.

A father seeking asylum in the United States with his wife and three children, ages 2, 8, and 10, was detained by ICE a few days before a GoFundMe was launched on his family's behalf. The family had fled their home country due to political persecution and had an active asylum case. His wife, who does not speak fluent English and has no income, was left alone to care for the children and is struggling to pay rent, utilities, and buy food.

A father who co-owns a food truck business with his wife was detained by ICE on a Tuesday morning while leaving home to take his children to school. His family describes him as a calm, loving, and hardworking man deeply involved in his community. With him detained, his wife is now struggling to keep the family's food truck business running while covering household expenses and attorney fees.

Guilherme, a husband and father of 5-year-old twins, was detained by ICE according to his wife Camila. She says he had no criminal history and was not out of status, which made his detention especially shocking. Guilherme was the family's main provider, and his wife is now raising funds to cover attorney fees and household expenses while he is held.

Bulmaro, a father and husband who has worked in construction labor for 23 years to support his family of seven, was pulled over by ICE officers while heading to work with his son on September 22, 2026. He was then taken into custody by ICE. His family says he has no criminal record and is now raising funds to secure legal representation to fight for his release.

A 40-year-old Guatemalan man was detained by ICE agents on Sept. 22, 2026, while working as a DoorDash driver in the New Bedford area. Court records show he is documented, holding deferred action for labor enforcement protections, a valid work permit through 2029, and is in the process of obtaining a U-Visa for assisting law enforcement with a criminal investigation. His record included a dismissed 2007 assault and battery charge, a 2010 disturbing-the-peace charge dismissed after restitution, and a 2016 guilty plea for operating under the influence that resulted in a fine.

A man was detained by masked men identifying themselves as ICE agents moments after a judge dismissed the criminal case he had come to fight at the Otero County District Courthouse, according to Dayna Louise Jones, District Defender for the 12th Judicial District. His children, who were present, described the men as masked and traveling in an unmarked vehicle, and Jones said witnesses told her office the detention 'appeared to be coordinated and preplanned with local entities.' Twelfth Judicial District officials, including chief clerk Audrey Hukari, say court staff had no advance knowledge that federal agents were present and that the detention took place in the courthouse parking lot, which is owned by Otero County rather than the court. Hukari cited a New Mexico Supreme Court order requiring outside law enforcement to present credentials to courthouse security and to avoid interfering with proceedings, though the policy does not address parking lots; the man has not been publicly identified, and Otero County has not responded to requests for comment.

Christina Pérez, a DACA recipient who has lived in the United States for 37 years, was detained by ICE on February 22 while walking to her car, in the midst of renewing her deferred action protection. She was transferred first to a facility in Broadview, Illinois, and later to a jail in Kentucky, where she was held alongside both immigration detainees and people facing criminal charges. When she was detained her son was 10 months old, and after seven months in custody he did not recognize her when she returned home. Pérez was eventually released after filing Form 42B, an application for cancellation of removal and adjustment of status, and said she wants other families in similar situations not to give up and to seek legal counsel quickly.

Camilo Quino, a Guatemalan national with a pending immigration case, was detained by ICE agents in New Bedford shortly after dropping his daughter off at school on a Tuesday. Video shared with NBC10 Boston showed officers breaking the window of his pickup truck before taking him into custody. His wife, Juana Tiniguarro, spoke publicly about the arrest, calling him "a hard-working man" and saying "they can't be doing that." Local officials and school administrators said they had received reports of agents near the school, though it was not established that the arrest occurred on school grounds. The arrest was part of a broader surge of ICE arrests in the New Bedford area that left families seeking information and support.