Showing 353 of 353 documented incidents
Lorth Sim, a 59-year-old Cambodian national, died in ICE custody at Miami Correctional Facility in Indiana on February 16, 2026. Staff found him unresponsive in his cell, and the cause of death is under investigation. This marks at least the seventh death in 2026 in federal immigration custody.
ProPublica found more than 40 cases over the past year of immigration agents using chokeholds and other life-threatening neck restraints on immigrants, citizens, and protesters, despite a federal ban on such tactics. Multiple incidents resulted in apparent seizures, loss of consciousness, and physical injuries. The government has not publicly acknowledged any punishment for agents using these prohibited techniques.
Leqaa Kordia was hospitalized for over 72 hours following a seizure and then returned to ICE detention at Prairieland Detention Facility. During her hospitalization, neither her family nor legal counsel were granted access to her or information about her health status. She has been detained by ICE for nearly a year after speaking out about the Gaza conflict.
Seamus Culleton, an Irish national who has lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years, was detained by ICE for almost five months despite having a valid U.S. work permit and a pending green card application as the spouse of an American citizen. Culleton is held at El Paso Camp East Montana in Texas and has reported poor detention conditions including inadequate food, lack of outdoor time, and unsanitary facilities. DHS confirmed his arrest on September 9, 2025, stating he entered on a tourist visa in 2009 and overstayed, though he claims to have been pursuing legal permanent residency.
ICE agents conducted a targeted enforcement operation on February 9, 2026, to apprehend Jose Manuel Cordova Lopez, a Mexican citizen who overstayed his H-2A visa. After agents attempted to stop his vehicle, he drove to a home in Lower Providence Township where agents surrounded the house and broke down doors. Cordova Lopez was taken into custody while family members inside, including two minors, were present during the operation.
Aliya Rahman, a disabled U.S. citizen with autism and traumatic brain injury, was violently removed from her car by ICE agents in Minneapolis on January 13, 2026. Despite repeatedly telling agents she was disabled, she received no medical attention or accommodations during detention at the Whipple Federal Building. Rahman was never charged with a crime, never informed of her arrest, and was denied access to legal counsel. She was hospitalized for assault injuries and describes ongoing physical and psychological trauma from the incident.
ICE agents conducted a raid on January 11, 2026 at a laundromat in Morristown, New Jersey, detaining several people. The raid occurred in the heart of the Hispanic community and resulted in at least one father being taken into custody, leaving his 6-year-old daughter alone on the street. Community members and local officials expressed concern about the impact on residents and families.
Jean-Pierre Obiang, an 18-year-old University of Southern Maine student, was detained by ICE agents on January 21, 2026, after a minor vehicle accident near a Market Basket parking lot in Westbrook. The agents ran the license plates of the vehicle Obiang was in and detained him despite having no criminal record and being enrolled in school. Obiang's family are asylum-seekers from Gabon who have been living in Maine for three years.
ICE smash car window & drag 2 sisters out—in front of elementary school at pick up time. 13 masked agents surround car—while children yelled "It's ICE!" running away in fear. "My name is Jocelyn, I'm from Cicero," she cries. "They forced us out of the car, they followed us... they don't have a warrant." Both Jocelyn and her sister, who was driving the car, are DACA recipients—and were eventually released after they were finally allowed to prove their legal status. A teacher exiting an Uber at the time started to take this video when she heard the children screaming. The incident occurred at West Loop Elementary School in Chicago, Illinois.
ICE agents reportedly knocked on the door of a St. Paul resident and asked her to identify Hmong and Asian households in her North End neighborhood. The officers did not clearly display their badges and asked the resident to help locate an unspecified person, then followed up with questions about Asian families when she refused to help. The incident is part of broader ICE enforcement operations targeting immigrant communities.
Two protesters were charged with felony assault after blocking an ICE operation in lower Manhattan on Canal Street. The protesters formed a human chain and used garbage cans and planters to prevent ICE agents from leaving a garage. A total of 18 people were arrested during the chaotic protest, with two facing felony charges for injuring officers.
"They put me on suicide watch and they put me in the cell, I'm naked, in like a hospital dress and just a concrete bed with like a mattress, like a thin mattress and, they leave the light on 24/7, there's a glass door, and officers just always standing, like sitting out there, the psychiatric nurse comes and checks on me once a day, and so from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon when I'm released, I'm literally on In that cell, naked just in that room, with the light on this real, like this is a nightmare."@Timodc talked to a veteran and American citizen who ICE wrongly detained and brutalized
ICE agents allegedly placed a 16-year-old U.S. citizen in a chokehold during an encounter while his undocumented father was being detained. After confiscating the teenager's phone, it was reportedly sold to a used electronics vending machine near an ICE detention center. The incident resulted in the teen requiring hospitalization for trauma evaluation.
Federal immigration agents detained Thao Xiong, a community organizer and volunteer food shelf delivery driver, in the parking lot of the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center in St. Paul on city-owned property. The detainment occurred despite objections from community center staff and legal observers, and Xiong's U.S. citizenship or immigration status remained unclear. The incident occurred during Operation Metro Surge, which brought approximately 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota for immigration enforcement.
A volunteer legal observer was detained by ICE agents for eight hours while legally observing and recording ICE activities in Minneapolis. The observer was pepper-sprayed, roughly handcuffed, and held in detention without charges at the Whipple Federal Building. The incident occurred amid organized community efforts to monitor and alert residents to ICE presence in the area following a recent death in the community.
Federal law enforcement agents in Minneapolis struck a car containing six children with a flash bang and tear gas while dispersing a protest. A 6-month-old baby was hospitalized after losing consciousness from the incident. The family was uninvolved in the protest and were driving home from a basketball game when they became trapped in the area.
Documents Allege a Federal Agent at Portland ICE Threatened to Shoot an Ambulance Driver
David Courvelle, a former contract detention officer at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Louisiana, pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a detainee in federal custody. Between May and July 2025, Courvelle had multiple sexual encounters with a Nicaraguan detainee inside the facility, including in a janitorial closet, and arranged for other detainees to act as lookouts. He also smuggled gifts into the facility and resigned after investigators obtained recordings of phone calls with the detainee.
Heber Sánchez died while in ICE custody at Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility in Clayton County, Georgia. The cause of death is unclear and an autopsy is being performed by the Clayton County Medical Examiner's Office. The Mexican Consulate has requested clarification on the circumstances and is coordinating to return Sánchez's body to Mexico. He is survived by a wife and two children.
A 15-year-old boy named Kevin Martinez died of cancer two days after his mother, Arlit Maria Martinez, was arrested by ICE agents. Martinez was detained while on her way to work and held in ICE custody in Baltimore, preventing her from saying goodbye to her dying son. The family's requests for her release to be with her son during his final days were denied by federal officers.
ICE agents detained Juan Sebastian Carvajal-Munoz, a civil engineer from Colombia with a work visa and master's degree from University of Maine, on Pearl Street in downtown Portland. Agents used a crowbar to smash his car window and forcibly removed him from his vehicle while he was compliant. The detainee has no criminal record, despite the operation targeting individuals described as criminal aliens.
Donna Hughes Brown, an Irish citizen and permanent U.S. resident, was released from ICE detention after nearly five months. She had been detained in July due to two misdemeanor charges from over 10 years ago for writing bad checks. Her case gained national attention after her husband testified before Congress and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem promised a review.
Marcos Flores, bassist for local band Summer of Peril, was detained by ICE on December 23 while attempting to pick up a visitor's badge at Colorado Springs Air Force Academy. Flores, who was brought to the U.S. as a young child from Mexico, has been held at Aurora ICE Detention Center with his bond request denied despite community support and legal efforts. His case was affected by a federal policy memo reversing protections against no-bond detentions.
ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old queer mother of three, through her car windshield in Minneapolis on January 7. Good appeared to have four gunshot wounds according to a Minneapolis Fire Department report. Bystander and leaked cell phone footage showed Good attempting to drive away when the shots were fired, contradicting claims by government officials that she had used her vehicle as a weapon.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainee Geraldo Lunas Campos died on January 3 at a Texas detention facility. A medical examiner is likely to classify the death as a homicide. ICE initially reported only that staff observed him in distress without providing a cause of death.
Marcelo Gomes da Silva, an 18-year-old high school student from Brazil who came to the U.S. at age 7, was arrested by ICE agents in May 2025 while driving to practice because his student visa had expired. He was detained for six days in a Burlington ICE facility under poor conditions, including sleeping on concrete floors with no beds or windows. After his release on bond, he was invited by Congressman Seth Moulton to attend the State of the Union as a guest, where he plans to advocate for immigrants.
ICE agents detained at least 100 asylum seekers and refugees in Minnesota and transported them by air to detention facilities in Texas for questioning and reprocessing. Some detainees were released in Texas without documentation, money, or phones, while others remain in custody without clear information about why they are being held. The operations have caused panic in immigrant communities, with many afraid to seek medical care, send children to school, or leave their homes.
ICE agents visited El Tapatio, a Mexican restaurant in Willmar, Minnesota for lunch on January 14, 2026, then returned and detained the restaurant's owners and a dishwasher. According to DHS, agents were conducting surveillance of an illegal alien from Mexico and apprehended three individuals total, including one with a final order of removal from an immigration judge. The restaurant closed early following the incident.
Federal immigration agents intimidated two women who were documenting their activity on the west side this morning near Grand and Kostner. In a video posted to social media, they say agents boxed their car in a parking lot and surrounded it—but the women themselves never exited their vehicle. Agents threatened the women with arrest, and shined a flashlight into their vehicle.
U.S. Army Captain Josie Guilbeau, a 17-year veteran and decorated Intelligence Officer, was arrested for peacefully protesting ICE outside Greg Bovino's hotel. The arrest occurred while she was protesting alongside community members using non-violent methods such as banging pots, blowing whistles, and honking horns.
Mirian, a legally present resident of the United States who recently graduated from college, was followed by ICE from Westbrook to Scarborough, Maine. She was ordered to pull over during a traffic stop and was subsequently detained by ICE. Her family is seeking community support for her release.
A 62-year-old Somali elder was detained by ICE and subsequently transported to a local hospital in Minneapolis. She is currently unresponsive in the ICU. The circumstances of her detention and medical condition remain unclear pending further information.
Five-year-old Génesis Ester Gutiérrez Castellanos, a U.S. citizen, was deported to Honduras on January 11, 2026, alongside her mother Karen Guadalupe Gutiérrez Castellanos despite being born in the United States. ICE agents acted on an administrative deportation order against the mother issued in 2019, before the child was born. The two were detained for nearly a week in a hotel without access to legal representation or a judge hearing before being deported. The mother plans to send her daughter back to the U.S. with a relative, as the child is a U.S. citizen.
Heidy Sánchez was separated from her one-year-old daughter during an immigration appointment when ICE agents took the child away while she was breastfeeding. Sánchez was subsequently deported to Cuba and remains separated from her daughter and American husband eight months later.
Two protesters were blinded by less-lethal munitions fired by federal officers during an anti-ICE protest in Santa Ana, California. Kaden Rummler, 21, was shot at close range in the face, causing blindness in his left eye with glass shards and metal fragments lodged in his skull. Britain Rodriguez, 31, suffered a similar close-range shot to the face at the same protest.
A 21-year-old woman who was eight months pregnant and in medical distress was deported to Colombia by ICE on January 22, 2026, despite a temporary restraining order issued too late to prevent her deportation. The woman, Zharick Daniela Buitrago Ortiz, had crossed the border seeking asylum in November 2025 and was reportedly denied adequate medical care while in custody. A federal judge issued the order enjoining ICE from deporting her, but she had already been boarded on a plane by that time.
British journalist Sami Hamdi was detained by ICE at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday morning while on a speaking tour in the US. His detention came after criticism of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, with the Council on American-Islamic Relations characterizing it as retaliation for free speech. A Trump administration official stated Hamdi's visa was revoked and he faces deportation.
Dulce Consuelo Díaz Morales was detained by ICE on December 14 near her home in Maryland despite claiming to be a U.S. citizen born in the state. She was held for 25 days while her attorneys presented documentation including a U.S. birth certificate to support her citizenship claim. After a federal court judge issued an order preventing her deportation, she was released and reunited with her family, though deportation proceedings may continue.
A French scientist traveling to a conference near Houston was denied entry to the United States and expelled after US Customs and Border Protection officers searched his phone and found messages critical of the Trump administration's research policy. French Research Minister Philippe Baptiste stated the scientist was accused of expressing personal opinions about Trump's research policies. US authorities allegedly accused the researcher of hateful messages and mentioned an FBI investigation before expelling him.
Queer and trans immigrants detained at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center alleged they were forced into an unsanctioned work program performing hard manual labor for minimal pay, and sexually harassed and assaulted by an assistant warden named Manuel Reyes between 2023 and 2025. Detainees reported facing medical neglect, retaliation for reporting abuse, and having their complaints systematically ignored by ICE officials. Four detainees filed administrative complaints under the Federal Tort Claims Act, and civil rights complaints were submitted to DHS oversight bodies by RFK Human Rights, the ACLU of Louisiana, and the National Immigration Project.
Miguel García-Hernández, an undocumented immigrant awaiting intake at an ICE facility in Dallas, was shot on September 24, 2025, when a gunman opened fire outside the facility. He died from his injuries on September 29, leaving behind his wife Stephany Gauffeny and three children. García-Hernández had been in ICE custody following a DUI arrest and was working toward legal status through a Biden administration initiative when the shooting occurred.
ICE agents arrested a Honduran mother and her two children, including a 4-year-old U.S. citizen, at a check-in appointment on December 20, 2025. The family was detained in hotel rooms for 18 days across multiple locations, including near LaGuardia Airport and Alexandria, Louisiana, during which they had minimal contact with the outside world. They were briefly placed on a plane to Honduras before being taken off due to a federal judge's temporary restraining order blocking their deportation, and were eventually released on January 7, 2026.
Any Lucia López Belloza, a 19-year-old Babson College student, was detained by ICE at Boston airport while attempting to travel to Austin for Thanksgiving. Despite a federal judge issuing an emergency order barring her removal for 72 hours, she was deported to Honduras within 48 hours of her arrest. López had left Honduras at age seven and had no criminal record.
George Retes, a 25-year-old U.S. Army veteran and U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE agents for three days while attempting to go to work at a cannabis farm in Southern California. During his arrest, agents used tear gas and pepper spray, knelt on his back and neck, and held him in jail without allowing him to make a phone call, see an attorney, or shower. He was eventually released without charges and is now pursuing legal action under the Federal Tort Claims Act.
ICE agents detained a father driving his two-year-old son to daycare in Shoreline, Washington. The child was left alone in the vehicle surrounded by armed agents for approximately 30 minutes while waiting for a family member to pick him up. Community volunteers arrived at the scene and documented the incident while supporting the child until a family friend arrived to take him to the father's workplace.
Two children from a Columbia Heights school were taken into ICE custody after their mother was detained at a court appointment. School leaders reported that the mother requested they bring the children to the detention center because there were no family members in Minnesota available to care for them.
Three women have been federally indicted for allegedly following an ICE agent home, livestreaming the pursuit on Instagram, and publicly posting his address on social media. Cynthia Raygoza, Sandra Carmona Samane, and Ashleigh Brown are charged with conspiracy and disclosing a federal agent's personal information, with each facing up to five years in prison per count. The charges come as Attorney General Pam Bondi deploys Justice Department agents to protect ICE facilities and personnel following recent incidents including a deadly shooting at a Dallas ICE facility.
Fong Khang, a 46-year-old Twin Cities auto shop owner and legal permanent resident, was granted a pardon by Minnesota's Board of Pardons on January 20, 2026, which set aside eight criminal convictions. Less than 24 hours later, federal agents detained him and transferred him to a Texas detention facility, where he faces possible deportation to Laos despite the state pardon.
Court filings have revealed new insights into conditions at the Whipple Federal Building, where a federal judge granted The Advocates for Human Rights access to tour the ICE detention facility. Observers noted inaccessible phones for legal counsel, incorrectly listed numbers, dirty conditions, and limited English-only information about legal rights. While Congresswoman Kelly Morrison raised concerns about lack of beds, blankets, minimal food, and cold temperatures, Homeland Security issued a statement denying claims of subpar conditions and asserting detainees receive proper care and due process.
A 26-year-old San Jose woman learned of her pregnancy and miscarriage in a Central California immigrant detention facility. Here’s why she may be part of a broader pattern.