Andrea, a longtime U.S. resident with a Green Card, was taken into ICE custody in February 2025 after calling the police during a domestic dispute, despite a judge approving her release from the local jail. She was transferred in shackles through multiple facilities—including the male-only Krome center—where she and other women faced degrading conditions, lack of medical care, and restricted access to lawyers and family. After two months in detention and once authorities confirmed the expungement of an old conviction, she was finally released in late April.

Chauhan, a 56‑year‑old British entrepreneur with serious medical conditions, was detained by ICE in February despite his lawful presence and no clear flight risk, and was cycled through multiple facilities where he endured cold, overcrowded cells, lack of medication—including insulin—and degrading treatment. His health deteriorated sharply, culminating in a collapse that led to a hospital stay during which ICE obscured his whereabouts from his family by using an alias. After months of mistreatment, lost belongings, and delays caused by ICE mismanagement—including losing his passport—he was ultimately deported to the United Kingdom in June.

Aguilar, a Honduran restaurant manager who had lived in the U.S. since he was a teenager, was detained and deported in May 2025 immediately after his marriage‑based petition was approved, despite having no criminal record and trying to regularize his status. ICE transferred him through five detention centers marked by freezing cells, constant bright lights, overcrowding, and severe lapses in medical care, while his wife struggled to track his location as he was repeatedly moved. Deported to Honduras, he described the experience as inhumane and devastating, especially after spending half his life in the United States, which he still considers his home.

Chernyak, a Ukrainian who had recently settled in Florida with his wife, was arrested after a neighbor reported a domestic dispute and was transferred to Krome, where he endured freezing cells, lack of food, no translation support, and pressure to sign documents he could not understand. As his health rapidly deteriorated—fever, chest pain, high blood pressure, and blood in his stool—staff repeatedly denied him adequate medical care until he was finally hospitalized, with ICE withholding information from his wife. He died on February 20, and weeks later his wife received his ashes, describing him as a warm, joyful person whose life ended far from home and without the care he urgently needed.

Pedro, a 21‑year‑old who has lived in the U.S. since childhood, was taken into ICE custody after a minor traffic stop spiraled into criminal charges that should have been resolved through a plea deal but instead trapped him in detention. He spent months cycling through freezing, overcrowded facilities with inadequate food and virtually no medical care, while his undocumented parents—too afraid to visit—worked overnight shifts to cover legal costs and stood outside detention buildings hoping he might hear their voices. His detention has left the family financially and emotionally shattered, feeling as unsafe in the U.S. as they once did in Guatemala.

Rosa, a Honduran woman who fled homophobic violence and had lived in the U.S. for over a decade, was twice arrested by ICE in January 2025 after a routine traffic stop, eventually ending up in overcrowded, stressful conditions at BTC before being deported in July. During detention she witnessed medical neglect, a woman’s sudden deportation after planning to file a complaint, and the death of another detainee, all of which deepened her trauma and left her fearful of speaking openly about her mental health. Her deportation has also pushed her and her partner—who both lack secure status—into near-total invisibility.