Human Impact Project

Two months after 300 South Korean nationals were detained in a September immigration raid at Hyundai's electric vehicle manufacturing site near Savannah, some workers have returned to resume their jobs. Most of the 475 workers detained had entered the US with expired visas or visa waivers that prohibited employment. HL-GA Battery Co., the battery plant operator, confirmed construction has resumed with a mix of new and returning workers, with production expected to start in the first half of 2026.

CNN reviewed dozens of videos showing immigration agents using less-lethal weapons including pepper spray and munitions launchers. The investigation found repeated policy violations in the use of these weapons.

Two homeschooled brothers, Sam (16) and Ben (17) Luhmann, have been patrolling West Chicago and surrounding areas since mid-September to document and monitor federal immigration enforcement activity as part of Operation Midway Blitz. The brothers have had numerous encounters with ICE agents and have been threatened with arrest while documenting their activities.

Wilmer Toledo-Martinez, a 28-year-old Vancouver resident married to a U.S. citizen with three American-born children, was detained by ICE on November 14, 2025. According to his attorney and Senator Patty Murray, an ICE agent posed as a construction worker to lure Toledo-Martinez outside, after which another agent released a dog that attacked him on the arms and torso. Toledo-Martinez was hospitalized and received stitches. He was denied medical care while in federal immigration detention at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma.

On November 14, 2025, ICE agents detained Wilmer Toledo-Martinez using an attack dog despite him not resisting arrest or attempting to flee. An ICE agent posed as a construction worker to lure him out of his home, and a second agent released a dog on him, causing serious injuries. Toledo-Martinez was denied medical care for hours following the assault and remains detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center.

Josefa Hernandez Bernal, an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela with pending asylum applications, was detained by ICE officers on November 13, 2025, during a routine check-in at the ICE field office in San Francisco. Bernal had been released on an Order of Recognizance after arriving at the border in June 2024 and had complied with all release requirements and court hearings. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring her immediate release from custody and prohibiting re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing.

ICE agents approached the vehicle of Edith, an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate. Edith reported being subjected to physical violence during the encounter and was subsequently released. Edith sustained injuries including a torn rotator cuff, fractured shoulder, three herniated disks, and a ruptured eye requiring surgery.

British journalist and political commentator Sami Hamdi was detained by ICE at San Francisco International Airport on October 26, 2025, after his visa was revoked. Hamdi was on a speaking tour in the United States when detained. He was held in overcrowded detention facilities for 18 days before being released and returning to the UK on November 13. Trump administration officials stated his visa had been revoked, leading to deportation proceedings. Hamdi maintains he was legally in the US on a valid visa at the time of his detention. The Council on American-Islamic Relations reported on the detention.

A 33-year-old Queens woman reported that ICE agents raided her apartment on November 13, 2025 at 5:30 a.m. while searching for her cousin on a criminal arrest warrant. The woman claims agents forced entry, grabbed her by the hair, and pointed guns at her three children when the family attempted to record. ICE stated they knocked for 20 minutes before lawfully entering when no response was received.

A 24-year-old Native American woman from Arizona, Leticia Jacobo, was subject to an ICE detainer issued by Polk County Jail in Des Moines. The detainer was intended for a different person booked at the same time but was erroneously placed on Jacobo's file. Her family provided tribal identification documents, and she was released before being transferred to federal custody.

Ramiro Santiago Pacheco Martinez, a 53-year-old day laborer, was detained by ICE/Border Patrol on November 13, 2025, while at a bus stop in Pomona, California. He has been held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center for over two months and has no criminal record. He has serious health conditions including congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, and diabetes. According to community members, faith leaders, and advocates, he was denied heart medication for two weeks in custody and required emergency heart surgery while detained. On January 21, 2026, the community gathered to demand his release, and organizers plan to present a resolution to the Pomona City Council regarding his case and immigration enforcement.

A U.S. citizen, Carlos Jimenez, was shot by an ICE agent on October 30 in Ontario during an enforcement action. ICE stated Jimenez attempted to ram officers with his vehicle. Jimenez's attorney states Jimenez was attempting to alert officers about a nearby school bus stop and was leaving the scene when shot in the shoulder.

A U.S. congresswoman reported that detainees at Camp East Montana, the largest U.S. migrant detention facility in El Paso, face foul-tasting water, rotten food, and inadequate healthcare. The $1.2 billion tent facility is designed to house up to 5,000 detainees. The congresswoman stated conditions at the facility are dangerous and inhumane, while the Department of Homeland Security denied these allegations.

A Congolese mother and her three teenage children were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on November 12 at the Champlain Port of Entry in New York after being denied asylum in Canada. The family, who entered the U.S. without authorization in 2022, was transferred to a family detention facility in Texas. One of the children, 16-year-old Joel Andre, is a student at Deering High School and a prominent member of Portland's soccer community.

Norberto Ambrosio, owner of Just Peachy market in Encinitas, was called to immigration court after his deportation case was reopened in October, more than a decade after it was administratively closed in 2013. Ambrosio, who came to the U.S. from Mexico in 1990 at age 16 and has no criminal record, has filed to fight his deportation. Community members rallied in support at his hearing on November 25, with the next court date scheduled for May 19.

California revoked 17,000 commercial driver's licenses issued to immigrants after the Trump administration raised concerns about drivers whose legal status expired before their license expiration dates. The state had previously defended its licensing standards, but launched a review following federal pressure. Officials stated the affected drivers had valid work authorizations, though their licenses violated state law requiring expiration dates to match legal status end dates.

A man was forcibly removed from a car by federal immigration officers near West 157th Street and Broadway in Washington Heights on Wednesday morning around 8:15 a.m. The officers, including some appearing to be Homeland Security Investigations agents, placed the man into an unmarked black SUV. No immediate information was available about the person's identity or the reason for the detention.

Giorgi Gvedashvili, a Georgian citizen who entered the U.S. in 2022 and filed an asylum application, was detained by ICE in November 2025 during a routine check-in. He had originally been released on his own recognizance after being apprehended by Border Patrol. The federal court ruled his detention unlawful and ordered his immediate release, finding he did not meet the criteria for mandatory detention under immigration law.

ICE began arresting people at green card interviews in San Diego starting November 12, 2025, including spouses of military members and veterans. The arrests occurred during final interview steps in the legal green card process. One case involved Chanidaphon Sopimpa, a Thai national and wife of retired Marine staff sergeant Samuel Shasteen, who was arrested and detained at Otay Mesa Detention Center during her interview.

Seven people detained by ICE filed a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration on November 12, 2025, alleging severe medical neglect, punitive conditions, and inadequate accommodations at the California City Detention Facility. The plaintiffs describe denied medical care, solitary confinement for minor infractions, lack of disability accommodations, and inhumane living conditions at the privately-owned facility operated by CoreCivic.

Beginning in November 2025, ICE agents have detained spouses of U.S. citizens at USCIS offices immediately following marriage-based green card interviews. The arrests have occurred at multiple field offices including San Diego, Cleveland, New York City, and Utah, affecting applicants with visa overstays. Many detainees had no criminal history and were approved for their green cards, yet remained in ICE custody facing prolonged immigration court proceedings.

The Santa Ana Police Department has deployed approximately 57 automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras from Flock Safety and Motorola to track all drivers in the city, with data shared in national databases. Simultaneously, ICE is establishing a 24/7 social media surveillance team at the Pacific Enforcement Response Center in Santa Ana to identify and target individuals for arrest. The surveillance infrastructure represents a public-private partnership between local law enforcement and immigration authorities.

As the Trump administration intensifies a mass deportation campaign, immigrant parents are rushing to make temporary guardianship arrangements for their children. Legal clinics report increased demand as parents seek to designate emergency caretakers such as friends, acquaintances, or teachers to care for their kids.

An Instagram post reports ICE agents forcibly placing a person into a van at 7:50 AM near 148th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 16th Street. The person was reportedly pleading for help in Spanish while being detained. Bystanders observed the incident but did not intervene or identify the individual.

Rafael Veraza and his 1-year-old daughter were allegedly pepper-sprayed by ICE agents in a Chicago suburb while the family was going grocery shopping. The incident occurred last week, and the family held a news conference to discuss the alleged use of force. The Department of Homeland Security has disputed the allegation.

A high school student and mariachi musician describes two separate immigration raids on his family occurring four months apart. The article details the student's experience and documents the effects of federal immigration enforcement on young people of color across the United States.

The flow of migrants crossing from Guatemala into Mexico has dramatically decreased since the Trump administration implemented stricter border policies and mass deportation campaigns. Migrants who were traveling northward toward the United States are now turning around and heading south, with daily crossings at the Guatemala-Mexico border falling from over 1,000 to 40-50 people. Shelters in Tapachula that were overcrowded with migrants nine months ago have nearly emptied, and raft pilots who once earned over $100 daily ferrying migrants across the Suchiate River now have little work.

An ICE agent pointed a gun at a female driver in Santa Ana who was allegedly recording him. A Fullerton police officer intervened at the scene and the ICE agent identified himself and provided credentials. The officer declined to assist, noting no crime had occurred, and the woman left the area.

An ICE agent brandished a firearm at Sol, an unarmed community watch member, at the intersection of Santa Ana Boulevard and Shelton Street in Santa Ana on November 9, 2025. The agent pointed his gun directly at Sol after she had been legally observing and documenting what appeared to be an ICE vehicle. A Fullerton Police officer witnessed the incident but did not intervene after the agent identified himself as ICE and claimed Sol was following him.

Rafael Veraza and his 1-year-old daughter were pepper-sprayed at close range in a Sam's Club parking lot in Cicero while heading to go grocery shopping. The family said they were not protesting or interfering when a masked federal immigration agent fired pepper spray through their vehicle's open window. The Department of Homeland Security denied the incident occurred, claiming there was no pepper spray deployed in the parking lot.

Two SUNY Upstate hospital workers who are a married couple were detained by ICE in Mattydale while checking in for what they expected to be a routine final step before judicial approval to remain in the United States. The couple fled Cuba due to persecution related to their sexual orientation and now face potential deportation. Family, friends, coworkers, and Governor Kathy Hochul are advocating for their release.

The Trump administration launched Operation Midway Blitz, an immigration enforcement surge in the Chicago region beginning in early September 2025, resulting in over 4,300 arrests during the two-month operation. ICE confirmed at least 4 arrests of men from Mexico on charges including DUI, vehicular burglary, armed robbery, and assault. Federal data indicates most detainees lacked significant criminal records. Faith leaders held a rally at Daley Plaza. Immigrant advocates reported increased hotline calls about ICE encounters. Hundreds of immigrants, protesters, and bystanders were detained or arrested during raids and protests across the Chicago region and suburbs.

Federal agents sprayed pepper spray from a moving vehicle at a line of cars exiting a Sam's Club parking lot in Cicero on Saturday morning, striking a 1-year-old child among other occupants. Video footage shows a masked federal agent firing chemical irritants through open car windows.

J.A.M.C., who arrived in the U.S. at age 3 in 1991, was detained by ICE on November 7, 2025 during a scheduled check-in at the San Francisco ICE Field Office. ICE alleged he violated his GPS monitoring terms by visiting Stinson Beach on Labor Day, though he claims he had permission from his ISAP officer. The court ordered his immediate release and prohibited re-detention without a hearing before an immigration judge.

Kara Dominguez, a U.S. citizen and activist who runs La Voz del Pueblo, a grassroots group tracking ICE activity on Facebook, alleges that ICE arrested her husband Olvin Dominguez on November 5, 2025, in retaliation for her activism. According to Kara, her husband reported that ICE officers said they had been monitoring her Facebook page. Olvin Dominguez, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras with no criminal record who has lived in the U.S. for 17 years, was transferred to Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana.

The FBI issued a warning about criminals impersonating ICE agents to commit violent crimes including robberies, kidnappings, sexual assaults, and threats. At least five incidents have occurred since early 2025 in North Carolina, New York, and Florida, with impersonators using fake credentials and ICE-labeled clothing to target vulnerable communities. The FBI attributed the effectiveness of these scams to increased ICE enforcement activity and media coverage, and provided guidance to law enforcement on identifying impersonators and verifying legitimate agent credentials.

ICE agents surrounded a family's car in Fitchburg on Thursday morning to arrest Juliana Milena Ojeda-Montoya, who was wanted for allegedly stabbing a coworker with scissors. Video shows her husband Carlos Zapata, 24, appearing to have a seizure while holding their toddler daughter during the arrest. Zapata said agents pushed, hit him, and pressed on his neck, causing him to lose consciousness. DHS officials disputed his account, claiming he faked the medical emergency and stating medical personnel found no legitimate emergency.

Waukegan Alderman Juan Martinez was briefly detained by U.S. immigration enforcement agents on Baldwin Avenue while stuck in traffic on November 7, 2025. Four federal agents drew guns on Martinez while he sat in his car with his hands raised, with one agent threatening to shoot him. The agents eventually left after community members identified Martinez as a city alderman, and he filed a police report with the Waukegan Police Department.

Curtis Wright, a 39-year-old Canadian-born lawful permanent resident, has been detained by ICE since November 6, 2025, after being denied re-entry at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston upon returning from Mexico. ICE cited Wright's 2004 drug possession convictions as justification for detention, though his legal team argues the charges stem from a single teenage incident involving a Xanax tablet and that federal law protects him from removal given over 22 years have elapsed since the offense. Wright's green card has been renewed twice by ICE since the 2004 convictions, and his family contends his continued detention violates constitutional rights and due process. His attorneys filed a federal writ of habeas corpus in January 2026 challenging the lawfulness of the detention and arguing he poses no flight risk.

Petey Feng, a Taiwanese cook who worked at Dallas restaurants, was detained by ICE on November 6, 2025, after an immigration check-in for overstaying his visa since 2010 and a 2023 DWI misdemeanor. He spent 133 days in ICE detention facilities in southwest Texas. Feng was denied voluntary departure and inadvertently signed away his right to appeal. He was deported and arrived in Taiwan in March 2026, where he cared for his aging parents.

Dennis Quiñonez, a 32-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested during a DHS immigration enforcement operation at a Home Depot parking lot in Cypress Park on November 4, 2025. ICE agents took his 1-year-old daughter into custody during the arrest. The child was subsequently reunited with family members, including her grandmother. Quiñonez was released on bond on November 6, 2025, and reunited with his family. He has been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of domestic violence.

Jonathan Caravello, a philosophy lecturer at California State University Channel Islands, entered a not guilty plea in federal court to a felony charge of assaulting an immigration agent with a deadly or dangerous weapon. Caravello was arrested on July 10 during a confrontation between federal agents and activists protesting immigration raids at licensed cannabis facilities in Ventura County. The alleged weapon is a tear gas canister that agents deployed against protesters.

On November 5, 2025, ICE agents detained Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, a teacher at Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center in Chicago's North Center neighborhood, during morning drop-off hours. According to DHS, officers conducted a traffic stop that led to a vehicle pursuit ending at the daycare facility. Agents entered and forcibly removed Galeano in front of children and parents, searching the facility. Galeano claimed to have work authorization and a pending asylum case, while DHS identified her as undocumented from Colombia. A federal judge subsequently ruled her mandatory detention illegal and ordered a bond hearing before an immigration judge. The incident prompted a rally of hundreds of community members and local officials demanding ICE stay out of schools and daycares.

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction restricting the use of force by federal agents in Chicago, finding the Trump administration's version of recent events involving agents was not credible. The judge noted that Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino admitted to lying during proceedings related to the incident.

An investigation found that ICE staff at the Buffalo Federal Detention facility in Batavia, New York administered inadequate medical treatment to at least a dozen detainees over two years, including cases where serious injuries went untreated, medications were denied or reduced, and necessary appointments were delayed. Specific cases documented include a Nigerian migrant who lost portions of six fingers due to untreated frostbite and a Gambian man who suffered a stroke-like syndrome after going two weeks without heart medications.

A ProPublica report documents ICE's detention of approximately 170 American citizens during immigration enforcement operations, revealing widespread Fourth Amendment violations. The article details multiple cases of ICE agents using excessive force against U.S. citizens, including pepper-spraying a man filming agents, tackling a 79-year-old car wash owner, and detaining a woman without outside contact for over two days, despite Department of Homeland Security claims that ICE does not arrest U.S. citizens for immigration enforcement.

An immigrant named Javier experienced severe mobility issues while in ICE detention due to medical neglect. Advocates have called for an end to medical neglect of immigrant detainees.

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against ICE's processing center in Broadview, Illinois, following a class-action lawsuit filed by detainees regarding detention conditions. The judge's order cited overcrowding, filthy toilets, lack of water and hygiene supplies, and inadequate medical care. The 14-day order requires the facility to provide clean bedding, adequate space, soap, toilet paper, medications, and proper meals. The ruling also addresses allegations that immigration agents used pepper balls and tear gas against protesters outside the facility. Former detainees testified about coercive practices related to voluntary deportation papers.

Federal immigration agents arrested a U.S. citizen in Los Angeles and took control of his vehicle, which contained his one-year-old daughter inside. The agents drove away with the child in the car after detaining the father.

ICE agents arrested Juanita Avila, a 47-year-old legal permanent resident carrying her green card, during a traffic stop in November 2025 without showing a warrant or probable cause. Video evidence of the arrest captured by her daughter became part of a lawsuit challenging ICE's arrest practices. A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking ICE from continuing warrantless arrests in Oregon, citing the agency's conduct and systematic violation of constitutional rights.