Human Impact Project

Godfrey Wade, a 65-year-old Jamaican-born U.S. Army veteran and lawful permanent resident who came to the U.S. at 15 in 1975, was deported to Jamaica on February 5, 2026, while his appeal remained pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals. Wade worked as a chef, tailor, tennis coach and fashion designer while raising six children and three grandchildren with his fiancée April Watkins. He was detained by ICE for nearly five months following a September 2025 traffic stop for driving without a valid license, held at Stewart Detention Center in Georgia and later Richwood in Louisiana, where he endured overcrowding, inadequate food, a water outage, and illness that caused significant weight loss. His deportation stemmed from a 2014 in absentia removal order tied to a 2008 misdemeanor bounced-check conviction, after immigration court notices were mistakenly sent to the wrong address. His daughter said he was removed without warning, arriving in Jamaica with only the clothes he wore before being hospitalized for pneumonia; his fiancée and daughter said he drew portraits of fellow detainees to lift their spirits and have since raised funds and a petition seeking him a day in court. In October, a Douglas County Superior Court judge granted his habeas corpus petition, voiding the 2008 conviction and giving him a new chance to fight his case, which remains pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Arelys Barahona-Martinez, a 40-year-old Honduran national, was detained by ICE on June 10 during a routine, scheduled check-in appointment at an ICE office in Dallas, where she had checked in without incident for years. She was transferred to a detention facility in Oklahoma and faces deportation under a removal order issued in 2005, after having entered the U.S. without authorization more than 20 years ago and again in 2018, reportedly to seek medical care for her son. She is married to retired Staff Sergeant Wilmer Trujillo, who served 20 years in the U.S. Army and Texas National Guard with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan; the couple's household includes his daughters and her 20-year-old son, a U.S. citizen with neurofibromatosis. Trujillo says she has no criminal record and that they have been working with an attorney to correct her immigration status. Her attorney argues she is eligible for permanent residency through marriage to a U.S. citizen and may qualify for a parole-in-place program for military families, though USCIS rejected her application in November 2024. She was later granted bond but remains in custody pending payment; advocates say she is one of at least 52 parents and spouses of active-duty service members detained since the administration took office.

Sae Joon Park, 57, a Korean-born US Army veteran awarded a Purple Heart after being shot in the spine during the 1989 US invasion of Panama, self-deported to South Korea last year after ICE threatened to detain him at a routine immigration check-in over old criminal convictions. Park, who moved to the US at age 7 to join his mother, later settled in Hawaii, where he raised his two adult children, cared for his elderly mother and worked at the Aloha Kia auto dealership before his removal order led to deportation. He developed untreated PTSD after his military service, leading to a crack cocaine addiction, a 2007 drug possession conviction in Queens, N.Y., and a later bail-jumping conviction after he was apprehended in Hawaii and extradited to New York. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pardoned Park for the bail-jumping conviction last week, one of six pardons she granted after his legal team petitioned since January; his attorneys said the pardon does not guarantee his return, and Park remains in Busan, South Korea, separated from his family.

Benito Miranda Hernandez, brought to the U.S. from Mexico as a baby, joined the Navy after 9/11 and served three tours during the Iraq War. His mother, Maria Miranda, said he returned traumatized and unrecognizable, later serving years in prison on felony drug and weapons convictions and probation violations. After his green card was reinstated in November 2025, federal immigration agents detained him in June as he left a reentry halfway house in Barrio Logan, San Diego, where he had completed a sentence and was trying to turn his life around. He is now held at Otay Mesa Detention Center facing possible deportation. Advocates including deported Army veteran Hector Barajas and James L. Smith II say he struggles with PTSD from his deployments, and his case is part of a broader trend of immigrant veterans facing deportation despite military service.

Jack Chung, a lawful permanent resident and asylee who fled China after participating in pro-democracy protests, was taken into ICE custody on August 8 following what his family describes as a retaliatory report from a business associate. Chung, a father of three including a newborn, was transferred through Washington State and Virginia before being detained at a facility in Natchez, Mississippi, thousands of miles from his wife and children in Alaska. His wife Mojo is now caring for their newborn and two young sons alone in Alaska without his income, and the family is raising money for legal representation to fight the detention.

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.

Garnet Smith, a 44-year-old U.S. Army veteran originally from Jamaica, was released from the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma on July 21, 2026, after spending over nine months in ICE detention. During his detention, Smith reported experiencing sexual assault by a GEO Group guard during a pat-down search, as well as inadequate medical care for a broken hand and poor detention conditions including inedible food and foul drinking water. A federal judge granted Smith's habeas corpus petition on July 20, finding that his earlier bond hearing violated his due process rights and that his prolonged detention was unlawful. Smith continues to fight a deportation order to Jamaica while advocates call for an investigation into the alleged sexual assault.

Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Jaramillo, who has served in the Army for more than a decade, was forced to take administrative leave from his job training soldiers at Fort Polk, Louisiana after his Brazilian wife, Maisa Lopes Eliaser, was detained by ICE in early July 2026 following a missed asylum appointment. Eliaser is being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana and faces deportation. Jaramillo now cares alone for their 5-year-old son, Noah, who is missing his mother. Jaramillo said the situation is "really overwhelming" without family support and emphasized that his wife "is not a criminal" and is "trying to do the right thing to get a better life." He has applied for legal protections available to spouses of active-duty service members. Immigration attorney Aaron Cash noted that while some protections exist for military spouses, "ICE or whomever seems to be ignoring that these days." Jaramillo's case is one of at least 52 parents and spouses of active-duty service members detained since Trump took office for a second term.

Milana, a Russian immigrant and trafficking survivor, was detained at ICE's Oklahoma City office during a routine immigration check-in in September 2025. She arrived in the U.S. on a fiancé visa in the early 2000s, escaped an abusive first marriage involving human trafficking, and received a removal order in 2003 that was later converted to an order of supervision requiring routine check-ins. For over 20 years, she complied with these check-ins while building a life in the U.S., raising her U.S. citizen daughter, working consistently, and marrying Roger Swope, a U.S. Army veteran. On the day of her detention, ICE suddenly acted on the dormant removal order. Her attorney, Elissa Stiles, filed multiple legal challenges including habeas corpus petitions and argued Milana qualifies for a trafficking victim visa, but all were denied. A federal judge ruled on June 29, 2026, that Milana had not cooperated with Russian consulate authorities. ICE initially attempted to deport her to Russia despite the active war and closed airspace, then considered third-country removal options. Roger has spent over $20,000 on legal efforts. Since detention, Milana has been moved multiple times between facilities in Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas, shackled during transfers. Her attorney states the only remaining option is to appeal to ICE for humanitarian intervention, as Milana fears for her life if deported to Russia during the ongoing war.

Malton Lacerda, originally from Brazil and undocumented, was detained by ICE agents on June 28 while shopping at Walmart in Halifax with his son Victor Lacerda, a U.S. Navy veteran. The family's immigration attorney, Todd Pomerleau, says agents arrived without a warrant and acted aggressively, including drawing weapons; ICE denies that guns were drawn and says the operation was targeted and not based on racial or ethnic profiling. Malton has lived in the United States for roughly 25 years, works as a horse trainer providing therapy for disabled veterans, and was in the process of securing a green card through a veteran family member process when detained. He remains held at Plymouth County's ICE detention facility, and his legal team has filed court motions challenging the legality of his detention and seeking to block his transfer to another state without notice.

Activists from People Over Papers shared video footage claiming ICE agents detained a documented U.S. Army veteran in Marydel, Maryland on June 23, 2026. The man's brother, who filmed the encounter, said officers restrained the veteran in retaliation for observing them, shouting that he was "fully legal" before officers allegedly threatened to tase him for filming. ICE had not publicly commented on the allegations, and it remained unclear why the man was detained or whether charges had been filed.

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.

Susana, a 25-year resident of the United States who raised her family and volunteered in her community, was detained by ICE during a U.S. residency interview on June 2, despite holding parole status. She was deported to Tabasco, Mexico one week later. Her son, a U.S. Air Force veteran, was sponsoring her application. Susana missed her youngest son's high school graduation while detained, and her 9-year-old child is now separated from his mother.

Marie-Thérèse Ross, an 86-year-old French citizen and widow, was arrested by ICE agents on April 1, 2026, at her home in Anniston, Alabama, for overstaying her 90-day tourist visa. Ross had entered the U.S. in June 2025 on a Visa Waiver Program to marry William Ross, a retired U.S. military veteran whom she had known since the 1950s after meeting him while he was stationed at a NATO base in France. After her husband died unexpectedly in January 2026, she fell out of legal status and became involved in a contested probate dispute with her late husband's stepsons over his estate. She was handcuffed at her home and transferred to an immigration detention facility in Basile, Louisiana, where she was held for 16 days in dormitory conditions with approximately 58-70 other women. Despite suffering from pre-existing heart and back problems, she experienced deteriorating health during detention and reported post-traumatic stress symptoms. An Alabama judge noted that her stepson, a former state trooper and federal employee, may have used his position to prompt her detention. Following intervention by the French foreign minister and the French Consul General, who visited her twice and coordinated with U.S. officials, Ross was released and returned to France.

Lydia Rabara Swinburne, a 39-year-old Filipino national, was detained by ICE on April 7, 2026, during a green card interview after local authorities arrested her on domestic violence charges that were later dropped. On May 2, while in custody at the California City ICE facility, she suffered a medical emergency after being given unrecognized medication; her husband alleges a medication error occurred. A federal judge ordered her release on May 18 after her family filed a habeas corpus petition challenging her detention.

A woman who arrived in the U.S. at age 9 was detained by ICE and is facing deportation for overstaying her visa. She is married to a military veteran and has built her life in the country. Her family is raising funds to cover legal expenses.

Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal, 41, an Afghan national who worked alongside U.S. Army Special Forces in Paktika province starting in 2005, died in ICE custody at Dallas' Parkland Memorial Hospital shortly after his arrest. ICE agents arrested him outside his Richardson, Texas home on March 13, 2026, while he was driving his children to school; his wife's attempt to hand him his inhaler was reportedly rejected by agents. Paktiawal, who evacuated to the U.S. in 2021 after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan and held humanitarian parole valid through 2029 with a pending asylum application, called his brother Naseer that evening saying he couldn't breathe and was shaking and sweating. Hospital staff later found severe tongue swelling and administered epinephrine, but he was pronounced dead shortly after. The Dallas County Medical Examiner ruled the death accidental, caused by anaphylaxis from an adverse drug reaction to an unidentified substance that exacerbated his asthma. DHS said he had been arrested over alleged SNAP fraud and theft, though no charges were filed. His family and advocacy groups are demanding release of the full autopsy report, with his brother asking, "If they know he is going through pain and he is asking for someone to help, what were they waiting for? The last breath?"

Zahid Chaudhry, a disabled U.S. Army veteran and lawful permanent resident from Pakistan, was detained by ICE at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma in August 2025 after being arrested during a citizenship interview at a USCIS office. ICE cited undisclosed criminal charges from Australia in the early 1990s involving financial deception and passport-related offenses. After 124 days in custody, a federal judge ruled the detention was wrongful, finding that the government failed to provide Chaudhry notice or opportunity to be heard before detaining him, violating his constitutional rights. A government attorney apologized during the habeas hearing. In December 2025, Judge David G. Estudillo ordered Chaudhry's release.

Alejandra Juarez, a Mexican immigrant and wife of decorated Marine combat veteran Temo Juarez, was deported during the first Trump administration, leaving behind her husband and two school-age daughters. In 2021, after lawmakers' intervention, President Biden granted her humanitarian parole to reunite with her family. However, her parole expired in June 2025, and she has no path to citizenship. She signed a document as a teenager that permanently barred her from legal status. With the administration ramping up immigration enforcement and ending parole programs, Juarez sees no viable legal option and must leave the country by July 4 to celebrate her younger daughter's 16th birthday before departing.

George Retes, a 25-year-old U.S. citizen and Army veteran, was detained by ICE agents on July 10, 2025, during a workplace raid at Glass House Farms in Camarillo, Ventura County, California. Despite repeatedly identifying himself as a U.S. citizen, he was pulled from his car, tear-gassed, and arrested without being told why he was detained. He was taken to a Navy base for DNA collection, then held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles for three days without access to phone calls, legal representation, a shower, or a judge appearance before being released without charges. Retes filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the federal government under the Federal Tort Claims Act, challenging the Trump administration's claimed absolute immunity for immigration enforcement officers. In February 2026, he attended the State of the Union as a guest of Rep. Mark Takano.