HUMSI — Human Security Initiative

Human Impact Project

A living database documenting reported immigration enforcement incidents and their human impact.

Isabel: Honduran asylum seeker held by ICE, work permit and daughter's passport missing

Isabel, a 41-year-old Honduran woman with a pending asylum case, was detained four days at her routine check-in and released missing her work permit, ID, and daughter's passport. Lawyers say lost belongings are a widespread pattern.

Feb 2026MinnesotaCountry of origin: Honduras

Isabel: Honduran asylum seeker held by ICE, work permit and daughter's passport missing
Photo via Mother Jones

During ICE's Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, Isabel, a 41-year-old Honduran woman with a pending asylum case and valid five-year work permit, was arrested at her monthly immigration check-in in Bloomington and detained for four days across three locations. After a federal judge ordered her release, she was given back a mostly empty bag missing her work permit, state ID, daughter's passport, and two uncashed checks worth over $700. Immigration lawyers report this is a widespread pattern: one attorney estimates 35 of her clients lost documents in detention, with another describing it as "more the rule than the exception" that people are not returned their belongings. A federal judge found a Trump administration attorney in civil contempt of court for failing to return documents to another detainee, Rigoberto Soto Jimenez, and imposed daily fines until documents were returned via overnight mail. The seizure and non-return of documents from people not in removal proceedings affects immigrants with work permits, pending visas, U-visas, and refugees with legal entry status.

“When I leave work or go to work, I’m shaking because I’m afraid that I’ll get arrested,”
— Isabel
“Most of the time, we are locked inside our house,”
— a 48-year-old father of five

Timeline

Feb 2026—Isabel arrested at monthly immigration check-in in Bloomington during Operation Metro Surge
Feb 2026—Isabel detained for four days across three locations
Feb 2026—Federal judge ordered Isabel's release and return of belongings; she was released without work permit, state ID, daughter's passport, and two uncashed checks
Feb 2026—Federal judge found Trump administration attorney in civil contempt for failing to return documents to Rigoberto Soto Jimenez and imposed daily fines
Suggest a correction, comment, or update

Tags

Sources

Similar Incidents

Loading…

More incidents in Minnesota