Human Impact Project

Freelance photojournalist Dave Decker was shot multiple times with pepper balls by federal officers and had his camera lens damaged while covering protests outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois on September 27, 2025. Officers appeared to target Decker specifically, pointing him out before firing. The incident occurred during protests at an ICE detention and processing facility.

Six detainees at the California City Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility, which reopened in late August as the state's largest ICE detention center, described poor conditions including filthy cells, lack of medical care, insufficient food and hygiene supplies, and aggressive staff behavior. The facility, operated by CoreCivic on the grounds of a former state prison, has faced criticism for allegedly operating without proper permits. Detainees characterized conditions as inhumane, while CoreCivic disputed the allegations.

Ian Roberts, superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on September 26, 2025, after authorities discovered he lacked valid work authorization. Roberts, a native of Guyana, falsely claimed U.S. citizenship when hired in 2023 and is expected to plead guilty to making false statements on employment verification forms. He was also found in possession of illegal firearms at the time of his arrest. Roberts is no longer serving as superintendent of the district.

Maikol Carreno, a 24-year-old Venezuelan barber in Yuma, Arizona, was detained by ICE agents while giving a haircut at Stay Faded Barbershop. Carreno, who is seeking asylum, was transferred to Eloy Detention Center. His U.S. citizen wife, who is three weeks away from giving birth, is pleading for his release with community support.

Federal immigration agents used baton rounds, tear gas, and chemical agents against protesters outside the ICE detention facility in Broadview on September 26, 2025. This was the third consecutive Friday of confrontations between protesters and federal agents at the facility. At least two people were arrested as agents attempted to clear the street and protesters refused to disperse.

An ICE officer was placed on administrative leave after video footage showed him shoving a woman to the ground in a courthouse hallway in New York. The incident occurred after federal agents attempted to detain the woman's husband during an immigration enforcement action. DHS stated the officer's conduct was unacceptable and initiated a full investigation into the incident.

A 25-year-old paraprofessional at a special education school in Inver Grove Heights was taken into custody early Monday after an apparent collision with a federal vehicle in the parking lot of Concord Education Center. She was held at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility at Fort Snelling for nearly 12 hours before being released pending an investigation. Her mother reported a lack of communication during the detention. U.S. Rep. Angie Craig's office commented on the detention.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained at least five Austin Independent School District employees, including instructional and support staff such as teachers, bus drivers, and lunchroom workers. Roberto López Falcón, a Cuban immigrant and fifth-grade ESL teacher at Hart Elementary School, was arrested on September 3, 2025, during a routine check-in appointment in San Antonio after entering the U.S. without authorization in March 2022. López Falcón has been held at a federal immigration facility in Karnes County for three weeks with limited communication access. The school district replaced him with a substitute teacher and offered counseling services to students, though it initially told students he was sick rather than explaining his detention. Coworkers and administrators reported being left without adequate information about their colleagues' status and whereabouts.

Three women known as "Las Tres Guerreras" or the "Baldwin Park Three" (Akalei Brown, Cynthia Saragoza, and Sandia) were charged by the Department of Homeland Security in September 2025 for documenting an ICE agent during a community watch patrol. They face charges including conspiracy and doxxing with potential sentences exceeding 10 years in federal prison, with trial scheduled for February 24, 2026. Sandia is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles awaiting trial.

On September 26, 2025, federal agents used chemical agents including pepper balls and tear gas against over 100 protesters gathered outside an ICE detention facility in Broadview, Illinois. The protest was organized to demonstrate against detention conditions and show support for detainees. Some protesters attempted to block vehicles from entering the facility, though most of the crowd remained distant from the perimeter fence. Federal agents also deployed non-lethal projectiles from rooftop positions during the incident. Following the confrontation, 11 people were taken into custody, with five subsequently facing federal charges including assault on federal officers.

On Wednesday morning in Key Largo, Florida, federal immigration agents stopped a woman driving a white Toyota Corolla and forcibly removed her from the vehicle while she stated she was a U.S. citizen. According to CBP, the woman refused to provide her driver's license or cooperate with agents during the stop. After agents removed her from the car, they located her driver's license in the vehicle, confirmed she was a U.S. citizen, and released her shortly thereafter. The operation was part of ongoing immigration enforcement activities in the Key Largo area.

Rafie Ollah Shouhed, a 79-year-old U.S. citizen and car wash owner in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, was injured during an immigration raid conducted by ICE and Border Patrol agents on September 9, 2025. Shouhed claims agents body-slammed him to the ground, resulting in multiple broken ribs, elbow injuries, and a traumatic brain injury. He was detained for nearly 12 hours despite being identified as a U.S. citizen. Shouhed subsequently filed a $50 million federal tort claim against the Department of Homeland Security alleging assault, battery, civil rights violations, and deliberate indifference to serious medical conditions.

Paramjit Singh, a lawful permanent resident who arrived in the U.S. 30 years ago, was detained at Chicago O'Hare Airport on July 30, 2025, based on a 25-year-old theft conviction. DHS subsequently filed for his removal citing an alleged 2008 forgery conviction that appears not to exist; an immigration judge ordered his release on a $10,000 bond in August, but DHS filed an automatic stay to keep him detained. Singh, who is suffering from a progressive brain tumor causing vision loss, remains in a Kentucky county jail awaiting removal proceedings scheduled for September 29.

The National Immigrant Justice Center and ACLU of Illinois filed a federal court notice on behalf of 27 people arrested without warrants or probable cause by Department of Homeland Security officers since May 2025, with at least 20 arrested in September. The filing challenges violations of a consent decree that prohibits racial profiling and warrantless arrests, documenting incidents where people were arrested while walking in neighborhoods, at parking lots, during traffic stops, and at their homes.

Independent journalist Leigh Kunkel was shot in the face and back of the head with pepper balls by federal officers while reporting on protests outside an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois on September 26, 2025. Kunkel was documenting demonstrations at the facility when ICE agents emerged from the gates and began firing crowd-control munitions at journalists and protesters gathered nearby.

At least 16 deaths have occurred in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since January 2025, with the latest being Ismael Ayala-Uribe, a 39-year-old Mexican national who died at an ICE facility in Adelanto, California. ICE is holding 59,762 detainees as of September 25, 2025. The death rate under Trump's second term is approximately 1.88 deaths per month compared to 0.54 deaths per month during the Biden administration.

ICE is transferring detained immigrants faster and more frequently than in 2024, with 12% of detainees transferred at least four times compared to 6% in the same period last year. These transfers move people far from family, attorneys, and legal resources, with some individuals transferred up to 15 times across multiple states before deportation.

Xiomara Suarez-Marin, a 29-year-old Peruvian national seeking asylum, was detained by ICE during a scheduled USCIS appointment in Los Angeles on September 26, despite having a pending green card application through her wife. She had entered the U.S. in 2022 under humanitarian parole and had complied with all previous ICE check-ins. She remains in federal custody at Adelanto Detention Center with an immigration court hearing scheduled for January 28.

Ayman Soliman, an Egyptian-born imam and hospital chaplain at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, was detained by ICE on July 9, 2025, during a routine immigration check-in appointment after USCIS terminated his asylum status. Authorities alleged he provided material support to terrorists through involvement with an Egyptian charity organization. During approximately 10 weeks in custody at Butler County Jail, Soliman was held in freezing conditions, placed in isolation, and denied access to his attorney. The Department of Homeland Security subsequently withdrew its deportation case after court filings documented errors and inconsistencies in the government's evidence. Soliman was released in mid-to-late September 2025, his asylum status was reinstated, and his green card application was revived.

ICE enforcement actions in major U.S. cities on September 25-26, 2025 resulted in several incidents including an officer shoving a woman in a New York courthouse, tear gas used against protesters outside a Chicago detention center, and a woman injured during an arrest in the Boston area. A Guatemalan permanent resident named Hilda was forcibly detained in Chelsea, Massachusetts, sustaining injuries requiring hospitalization.

Four D.C. residents and the Maryland-based immigrant rights organization CASA filed a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration alleging that ICE violated immigration law by systematically arresting people in the District whom they perceived to be Latino without warrants or probable cause. A DHS spokeswoman called the allegations categorically false.

ICE agents arrested Jorge Elieser Gonzalez Ochoa, a 27-year-old Colombian national, at Bread Garden Market in Iowa City on September 25, 2025. Advocacy group Escucha Mi Voz stated the arrest involved the use of force in a public marketplace. Gonzalez was working toward asylum with an ankle monitor and is now held in Linn County Jail on an ICE hold.

Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez, 32, died from injuries sustained in a sniper-style shooting at a Dallas ICE facility on September 24. He was shot at least eight times and had been in critical condition at Parkland Hospital before being removed from life support. Garcia-Hernandez was the second victim to die from the attack, leaving behind his wife and four children.

A federal judge ordered the immediate release of Paulo Cesar Gamez Lira, a 27-year-old DACA recipient and father of four U.S. citizen children who was detained by ICE for 42 days. Gamez Lira was detained on August 13 when federal agents surrounded his vehicle in Horizon City, Texas, with two of his young children present. He was held at the Otero County Processing Center in Chaparral, New Mexico, separated from his family including a three-month-old infant with serious medical conditions. The federal government declined to oppose his release.

ICE agents pointed guns at and smashed the window of a car carrying a couple and their 1-month-old baby in Alamosa on September 24, 2025. The agents arrested Jose Aguilera, 33, from Mexico, who was returning from a court hearing with his partner and infant son. The arrest violated a 2020 Colorado law prohibiting ICE arrests of people going to or coming from courthouses.

A shooting occurred at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Dallas on Wednesday morning. The shooter, 29-year-old Joshua Jahn, fired from a rooftop across the street, killing one detainee and wounding two others before dying by self-inflicted gunshot wound. Evidence suggests the attack was anti-ICE in nature, with shell casings engraved with anti-ICE messages.

On September 24, 2025, a shooter identified as Joshua Jahn fired from a rooftop into an ICE facility near Interstate 35E in Dallas, killing three people detained by ICE and injuring one other before shooting himself. Two of the three victims were taken to hospitals in critical condition, with one dying six days later. Authorities found anti-ICE markings and notes in Jahn's personal effects, concluding the attack was a premeditated terrorist act targeting ICE agents.

Marcos Antonio De Oliveira Barros, 57, was detained during a 5 a.m. ICE raid on September 24, 2025, for allegedly overstaying his tourist visa. His daughter Daianne, an American citizen, says her father had lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years and attempted to secure legal status but was confused by language barriers when signing deportation papers. Marcos has been held at multiple detention facilities and transferred to Louisiana before being moved to Broward Transitional Center in Florida, where his daughter has filed an I-130 petition to help initiate his green card process.

Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez, a 31-year-old immigrant from Mexico detained at a Dallas ICE facility, was critically injured in a shooting on September 24, 2025, and remains on life support. His wife, Stephany Gauffeny, spoke to NPR about her husband's character and the impact of the incident on their family of five children, with another on the way. The shooter, identified as Joshua Jahn, died of self-inflicted wounds after targeting the ICE facility.

A CNN investigation found that more than 100 US citizen children have been separated from their parents following ICE enforcement actions. After their undocumented parents were detained and deported, these children—ranging from newborns to teenagers—were placed in foster care, with relatives, or left with strangers. ICE failed to allow parents adequate time to arrange childcare before deportation according to its own policies. Some children are relying on GoFundMe and community support, while some parents remain in detention and others have been deported.

The ACLU of Massachusetts and partner organizations filed a class-action lawsuit challenging the widespread denial of bond hearings to people detained by ICE. The complaint alleges that the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice have systematically reclassified arrested individuals from statutory authority that allows bond requests to provisions that deny bond, violating constitutional and statutory rights and affecting thousands of people.

Victor Acurio Suárez, a 52-year-old Ecuadorian man with developmental disabilities living in Seaford, Delaware, has been detained at an ICE facility in Pennsylvania for three months following his arrest in a Lowe's parking lot. Governor Matt Meyer called for his immediate release and asylum. Suárez has no criminal history and has a credible fear of gang violence if deported to Ecuador.

Young children were left unattended on the side of the road after ICE agents detained their parents and an older sibling during an enforcement action in Cicero, Illinois.

Ismael Ayala-Uribe, a 39-year-old Mexican national and former DACA recipient, died on September 22, 2025, while in ICE custody at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. He was arrested by ICE/Border Patrol agents on August 17, 2025, during an enforcement operation at Fountain Valley Auto Wash and transferred to Adelanto on August 22. During his detention, Ayala-Uribe reported illness symptoms including cough, fever, shaking, and pain for approximately two weeks. On September 19, medical staff evaluated him for a potential life-threatening emergency but cleared him to return to his unit after 1.5 hours without hospitalization. He was admitted to Victor Valley Global Medical Center on September 21 for evaluation of an abscess and hypertension, and was pronounced dead early on September 22. His family alleged inadequate medical care during detention, and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department initiated an investigation into the cause of death.

Marwan Marouf, a community leader in North Texas who has served the Muslim community for 30 years, was arrested by ICE on September 22, 2025, the same day his green card application was denied. He was transferred to Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Anson. His green card application denial relied on allegations from over a decade ago. The Muslim Legal Fund of America is challenging the denial in immigration and federal court.

Harjit Kaur, a 73-year-old East Bay resident who had lived legally in the United States for 33 years with no criminal record, was detained by ICE for 15 days after a routine check-in on September 8 and deported to India on September 22. During her detention at facilities in Bakersfield and Georgia, Kaur reported being denied basic hygiene supplies, vegetarian meals consistent with her Sikh faith, water to take with her medication, and was forced to sleep on detention cell floors. Her attorney claimed ICE deported her without notice and ignored family requests for a brief release with monitoring or commercial flight accompaniment due to her age and medical conditions.

The Department of Homeland Security subpoenaed activist Sherman Austin and social media accounts associated with Stop ICE, a crowdsourced alert network documenting immigration enforcement activities, after they posted a video of a Border Patrol agent in February 2025. DHS alleged the post constituted doxing and violated officer safety protocols. Austin and civil liberties lawyers representing him argue the information was publicly available and that the post is protected speech under the First Amendment.

A 26-year-old San Jose woman learned of her pregnancy and miscarriage in a Central California immigrant detention facility.

A San Diego family's parents were ordered removed to Mexico on September 22, 2025, after an eight-year legal battle that began with their detention in May 2017. The parents worked as a paletero and had lived in the community for nearly thirty years. Their adult children have organized a fundraiser to support their parents' transition to Mexico.

Mi nombre es Ernesto y estoy recaudando fondos para ayudar a mi papá, Julio Ernesto Chavez Linares, quien fue detenido por inmigración mientras trabajaba el dia 11 de septiembre en un car wash que se llama 100 % hand Wash en Los Angeles California . Él es salvadoreño, nació el 13 de enero de 1983, y siempre ha sido el pilar de nuestra familia, especialmente para mi hermana menor de 12 años. La ausencia de mi papá ha sido muy difícil para nosotros, ya que él se encargaba de la vida diaria de mi hermana, su educación y el bienestar del hogar.

A 26-year-old asylum-seeker from San Jose was detained by ICE after a hearing in San Francisco and held at Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield. While in detention, she discovered she was pregnant but subsequently miscarried. She experienced severe bleeding and cramping but was denied immediate medical care for hours, and when transported to a hospital the next day, she was shackled. She required a blood transfusion and continued experiencing pain and bleeding for over a month after returning to detention.

Congressional candidates Mayor Daniel Biss, Kat Abughazaleh, and Bushra Amiwala were teargassed by ICE agents during a protest at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois. Abughazaleh reported being thrown to the ground, and multiple protesters were struck with pepper balls and teargassed. ICE agents allegedly attempted to run over a peaceful protester with a van and detained at least one protester at the facility.

Paramjit Singh, a green card holder who has lived in the U.S. for more than 30 years and operates a business in Fort Wayne, was detained by ICE and DHS on July 30 at O'Hare. He was held incommunicado for five days before being hospitalized. His family learned of his location when a hospital bill arrived. He remains held at Boone County Jail in Kentucky. According to records, Singh is being detained for a 25-year-old infraction related to a payphone.

Federal immigration agents conducted an operation on Chicago's Southeast Side near 105th Street and Avenue N, pursuing and deliberately ramming a vehicle that resulted in a crash. Two occupants were arrested on allegations of being in the U.S. without legal status. When dozens of neighbors gathered to protest the aggressive enforcement tactics, federal agents deployed tear gas, pepper balls, and smoke grenades as crowd control measures. The response affected residents, children, and at least 13 Chicago police officers, with at least four protesters detained during the incident.

Federal ICE agents used tear gas and pepper balls to disperse approximately 100 protesters outside a Chicago ICE detention facility during a demonstration against immigration enforcement operations. Protesters included a pastor and two Democratic congressional candidates. The protest aimed to block government vehicles from entering the facility. At least three arrests resulted and there were clashes between federal agents and demonstrators. A DHS official defended the ICE officer's use of pepper balls against the pastor.

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.

NYC Comptroller Brad Lander and 10 state lawmakers were arrested during a civil disobedience protest inside 26 Federal Plaza where ICE maintains holding cells for recently detained immigrants. Federal prosecutors offered to drop obstruction charges if the officials avoided arrest in federal buildings for six months, but Lander rejected the deal while the lawmakers accepted. Lander stated the protest was to draw attention to detention conditions at the ICE facility.

The ACLU filed a class-action lawsuit against ICE on September 18, 2025, challenging arrest practices at immigration courts and detention conditions at the ICE field office at 630 Sansome Street in San Francisco. The suit alleges that asylum-seekers are arrested in courthouse hallways and held in inhumane conditions including cold cells with no beds, inadequate hygiene facilities, and limited access to counsel. The lawsuit seeks to nullify ICE memos allowing courthouse arrests and mandate improvements to detention conditions.

Wesley Powers, a U.S. Navy veteran and U.S. citizen, was shot with chemical agent by ICE agents while protesting at Minnesota's Whipple Detention Center in January 2026. He was detained for 9 hours in an overcrowded cell, had his lawyer calls monitored, and was photographed by agents using personal phones before being released without charges. Powers reports subsequent incidents including vehicles at his home and lost work income.

Detainees at the California City ICE Detention Facility reported denied medications, delayed healthcare appointments, and unsafe conditions. Medical staff withheld treatment and medications according to detainee accounts. Some detainees experienced serious health crises including pre-heart attacks and worsening chronic conditions. Civil rights organizations filed a class-action lawsuit.