Human Impact Project

San Diego County's Immigrant Legal Defense Program, which provides free legal counsel to detained immigrants and unaccompanied minors, faces significant funding gaps as costs are expected to reach $13.4-$18 million annually while the budget remains at $5 million. The increased demand is driven by a nearly 200% increase in detention levels at the Otay Mesa Detention Center under the Trump administration. Without additional funding from philanthropic and state sources, the program may be unable to maintain current service levels.

UC Irvine criminologist Charis E. Kubrin received the Stockholm Prize in Criminology, the field's highest honor, for her two decades of research demonstrating that immigration does not increase crime in the U.S. Despite rigorous evidence supporting her findings, a January 2024 Pew Research Center survey found that 57% of American adults believe immigrants bring crime to the country.

A witness recorded ICE agents beating a man inside a Home Depot store in Paramount, California. The man appeared unable to stand on his own as agents dragged him from the store. An agent stated they had a warrant for the man's arrest.

An Emanuel County Commissioners' Office employee was arrested after an internal audit discovered unauthorized use of a county credit card for personal purchases. Risa K. Fortner, 48, of Kite, Georgia, was charged with theft by taking after receipts showed items were delivered to her home address. She was booked into the Emanuel County Detention Center.

Five individuals previously deported from the United States were charged with illegal reentry and remanded to ICE custody in Las Vegas between March and April 2026. Juan Manuel Castellanos-Velazquez, a Mexican national, was remanded on April 13 after serving a 36-to-96-month sentence for drug trafficking and had been deported eight times between 2008 and 2016. Jimmy Jeyson Escobar-Nerio, a Salvadoran national, was remanded on April 8 after arrest by North Las Vegas police for driving under the influence and had been deported twice in 2019 and 2021. Victor Hugo Garcia-Dominguez, a Mexican national, was remanded on April 16 after serving a 19-to-96-month sentence for conspiracy to commit robbery and had been deported twice in 2020 and 2023. Marbin Alexander Ramirez-Rodas, a Salvadoran national, was arrested on March 16 for domestic battery by strangulation, battery on a pregnant victim, coercion, driving under the influence, and child abuse or neglect. Antonio Trinidad Garcia-Gallo, a Mexican national, was remanded on April 22 after serving a two-to-five-year sentence for drug trafficking and had been deported twice in 2015 and 2020. All five were charged with one count of deported alien found in the United States.

Ricardo Navarrete, an 18-year-old senior at Mather High School, was detained by ICE agents on March 16, 2026, during a scheduled check-in appointment for his pending asylum case. He had fled Colombia in 2022 seeking asylum, held a valid work permit and REAL ID, and had been accepted to play soccer at Truman College. Following his detention, Ricardo was transferred between multiple ICE detention facilities across Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, where he reported sleeping on floors without blankets and spending time in solitary confinement. His attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention, and he was released on May 26, 2026, just days before his high school graduation.

A Trump administration rule has prevented approximately 200,000 immigrant truck drivers, including DACA recipients, asylum seekers, and refugees, from obtaining or renewing commercial driver's licenses, citing safety concerns. Texas began canceling existing licenses held by legally present noncitizens in December 2025, leaving drivers like Veronica Viera, a DACA recipient and mother of four, unemployed and forced to seek other work.

Leqaa Kordia, a 33-year-old Palestinian woman from Paterson, New Jersey, was detained by ICE in March 2025 after attending a voluntary immigration check-in at the Newark ICE office. She had participated in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University in 2024 and was charged with overstaying her student visa, despite having a pending green card application through her U.S. citizen mother. Kordia was held at Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas for over one year, where she experienced a seizure, was chained to a hospital bed, and reported conditions of overcrowding and inadequate food. On March 16, 2026, an immigration judge ordered her release on a $100,000 bond, citing minimal flight risk and serious medical concerns. The government did not appeal the decision.

The Florence Project reports increases in medical neglect of ICE detainees in Arizona facilities, with multiple cases of individuals with serious chronic illnesses and conditions receiving inadequate care. Documented cases include individuals with prostate enlargement, spinal stenosis, broken ankles, tuberculosis, cirrhosis, and blindness who were denied specialist appointments, necessary surgeries, and adequate pain management. ICE policies authorize only emergency care via emergency rooms, denying preventive and specialist treatment. U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar visited Camp East Montana ICE detention center on January 28, 2026, and expressed concerns about worsening conditions for detainees, including limited legal access, inadequate hygiene, and three deaths since December. She reported that over 325 women, many legally in the U.S., were being held in poor conditions with restricted communication with lawyers and lack of fresh clothing.

Vilma Bautista Torres and her 9-year-old son Kenek, who has Level 3 autism, were detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center for more than 80 days despite a federal settlement limiting child detention to 20 days. During detention, Kenek lost access to specialized therapy and schooling, experienced frequent meltdowns, self-harm episodes, and became increasingly disoriented and afraid. After a pro bono law clinic filed a parole request documenting his autism diagnosis and self-harm, ICE released the family with an ankle monitor.

Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal, 41, an Afghan national who served alongside U.S. Special Forces for a decade, was arrested by ICE agents on March 13, 2026, outside his home in Richardson, Texas, while taking his six children to school. He had legally entered the U.S. in 2021 after evacuating from Afghanistan and had a pending asylum application. During his arrest, his wife attempted to give him his inhaler, but ICE agents rejected it. While in ICE custody, Paktiawal called his brother Naseer to report chest pain and requested medical care, which ICE staff ignored. He was transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital on the evening of March 15 after reporting shortness of breath and chest pains during ICE intake processing. The following morning, he died from anaphylaxis triggered by an adverse drug reaction that exacerbated his asthma. Hospital staff noted tongue swelling and administered epinephrine, but he was pronounced dead approximately 40 minutes later. His death certificate and the Dallas County Medical Examiner both ruled the cause of death as accidental, attributed to an adverse drug reaction to an unidentified substance. His family and advocacy groups are demanding the full autopsy report be released and questioning what substance caused the reaction. His brother asked: "If they know he is going through pain and he is asking for someone to help, what were they waiting for? The last breath?"

According to ICE data from February, nearly 70% of people held in California's ICE detention centers have no criminal conviction. The figure is consistent with national trends, where 74% of detainees nationwide have no criminal convictions. More than 6,400 people are currently detained in California's facilities. The data shows enforcement has expanded under the Trump administration.

An article examines the lobbying operations of private prison companies GEO Group and CoreCivic, which profit from ICE detention contracts. The report details the lobbyists and millions of dollars spent annually to influence federal policy, with GEO receiving 43% of its revenue from ICE contracts and CoreCivic receiving 30%, while over 70,000 people remain detained across 225 facilities.

Dr. Badar Khan Suri, a Georgetown University peace scholar, returned to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals one year after being arrested and detained by ICE in March 2025. He was arrested without a warrant, held in multiple detention facilities for nearly six weeks, and was subjected to detention conditions including denial of religious accommodations. The Trump administration is attempting to re-detain him, arguing federal courts lack jurisdiction to review his case, while the ACLU argues the Virginia court has proper habeas jurisdiction and he must remain free.

The Department of Homeland Security plans to convert a warehouse in Oakwood, Georgia into an ICE regional processing facility to detain over 1,000 immigrants before deportation. Local businesses, residents, and officials are opposing the facility due to concerns about infrastructure, water and sewer capacity, and the impact on the community's Latino population and local economy.

ICE agents arrested an undocumented father while he was taking his 15-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter, both U.S. citizens, to school in New Jersey. According to witnesses and the family, agents asked the boy to call a relative but drove away before anyone arrived, leaving the two minors unattended on the roadside. The incident violates ICE policy and DHS directives requiring agents to remain on scene until a third party assumes physical custody of minor children.

The Trump administration significantly expanded immigration enforcement operations beginning in 2025, deporting over 2,000 individuals including Southeast Asian refugees and resuming deportation flights to Iran after decades without such transfers. By early 2026, the administration had conducted at least 78 deportation flights to Venezuela and three flights to Iran, while detaining approximately 15,000 additional individuals for deportation. Among those affected was Hai Nguyen, a Vietnamese refugee detained based on an expunged nonviolent conviction, and two 12-year-old U.S. citizen twins who were wrongfully deported to Guatemala during their mother's ICE appointment and returned the same day after a federal judge ruled the deportation unlawful.

Erendira Rendon, a DACA recipient of more than 14 years and vice president of immigrant justice at The Resurrection Project, applied for DACA renewal in February 2026 and is facing uncertainty as processing delays have extended up to six months. Unlike previous years when a lapsed DACA was manageable, Rendon said current delays create risk of detention if her renewal lapses. As an immigrant advocate who has helped thousands navigate the system, she now confronts the same vulnerabilities affecting hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients nationwide.

Franco Guzman Lopez, a DACA recipient who has lived in the U.S. for an extended period, was detained by immigration authorities immediately upon his release from local criminal custody at the Santa Barbara County jail on March 15, 2026. He was held for over a month without a bond hearing despite being eligible for one under immigration law. The federal court ordered his immediate release and prohibited re-detention without a pre-deprivation bond hearing.

Operation Metro Surge, conducted between December 2025 and mid-March 2026, resulted in 4,030 arrests in Minnesota. ICE labeled approximately 1,300 arrests (35 percent) as "collateral," meaning the detainees were not intended targets. Data revealed 63 percent of those arrested had no criminal convictions or pending charges. On February 13, ICE agents detained a 52-year-old Ecuadorian man after stopping a vehicle in an elementary school parking lot while searching for someone named Helen; he was released four days later after a judge ordered his release when ICE did not challenge facts in his habeas petition.

Zahid Chaudhry, a disabled U.S. Army veteran and lawful permanent resident from Pakistan, was detained by ICE at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma in August 2025 after being arrested during a citizenship interview at a USCIS office. ICE cited undisclosed criminal charges from Australia in the early 1990s involving financial deception and passport-related offenses. After 124 days in custody, a federal judge ruled the detention was wrongful, finding that the government failed to provide Chaudhry notice or opportunity to be heard before detaining him, violating his constitutional rights. A government attorney apologized during the habeas hearing. In December 2025, Judge David G. Estudillo ordered Chaudhry's release.

The Trump administration has modified the H-2A visa program in response to agricultural labor shortages. Changes include adjusting wage calculations that lower hourly rates by $1-$7 depending on state and allowing housing to count as worker compensation. Labor unions and some immigration advocates have opposed the changes, citing concerns about potential displacement of American workers and wage suppression.

San Diego County officials released a report finding that the average daily population at Otay Mesa Detention Center has increased approximately 200% in recent years. DHS stated that ICE facilities comply with detention standards and provide meals, medical care, and legal access. County leaders noted overcrowding, lack of inspection access, and strain on the county's Immigrant Legal Defense Program, whose caseload grew from 56 to nearly 800 clients.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is planning to expand immigrant detention capacity to accommodate up to 125,000 people by purchasing warehouses and existing privately owned detention facilities operated by contractors like GEO Group and CoreCivic. Buying rather than leasing these facilities would give the federal government greater control and exemption from state and local regulations. The expansion is part of the Trump administration's mass deportation efforts and follows the addition of over 10,000 new deportation officers.

The Trump administration has reduced the release of publicly available immigration enforcement data despite promoting aggressive deportation goals of 1 million people. Key statistics from the Office of Homeland Security Statistics have not been updated since early 2025, and figures the administration has released show inconsistencies, with deportation numbers ranging from 400,000 to 700,000.

Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee confirmed that 60 Irish nationals were detained by ICE over the past year, with 5 active cases currently being held. The minister noted that Ireland has expanded its consular teams in the U.S. to provide support for citizens facing immigration difficulties. The case of Seamus Culleton, an Irish citizen detained since September who refused to sign deportation documents, was highlighted as a particularly difficult situation.

Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal, a 41-year-old Afghan asylum seeker and former Afghan special forces soldier who worked with U.S. military forces, died on March 14, 2026, less than 24 hours after being detained by ICE in Richardson, Texas while dropping off his children at school. Paktyawal had entered the U.S. legally in 2021 through Operation Allies Refuge and was awaiting an asylum decision; his temporary parole status had expired in August 2025. During ICE custody on March 13, he complained of shortness of breath and chest pain during a medical intake exam and was taken to Parkland Hospital in Dallas. The following morning, his tongue swelled and medical staff administered epinephrine and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation before he was pronounced dead at 9:10 a.m. The exact cause of his death remains unknown to his family, with results pending from the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office. His 12-year-old son and brother have publicly sought answers about his death.

Jonatan, a legal resident with an upcoming asylum hearing, was detained by ICE and held in a local jail in Virginia for three weeks before being released on March 14, 2026. His partner Kirby credits community organizing and intervention by people tracking ICE movements with preventing his disappearance and securing his release. The incident left lasting psychological and financial impacts on both of them.

On March 14, 2026, Gerardo Gonzalez Reyes, 44, and his 17-year-old son Esteban were arrested during a traffic stop in San Marcos after police responded to a false report. Police confirmed no crime had occurred. Esteban was released, but ICE placed a detainer on Gonzalez Reyes based on prior DWI convictions from 2004 and 2005 and transferred him to T. Don Hutto Detention Center. Despite over two months of community advocacy, vigils, and petitions to drop criminal charges by his family—including U.S. citizen children and a disabled wife who depends on him as a caretaker—an immigration judge ordered his deportation to Mexico in May 2026. His family plans to appeal.

A man with no criminal record who entered the United States legally and pursued an asylum claim for a decade was transported across multiple states in federal custody. During the multi-day transfer beginning March 14, he experienced prolonged restraint, overcrowding, sleep deprivation, and limited access to food, water, and medical care. Detainees were handcuffed for up to 14 hours, held in facilities beyond capacity, and did not receive proper medical screening or attorney notification.

A woman protesting immigration enforcement operations outside a federal detention facility in downtown Los Angeles was struck by a vehicle on March 14, 2026, as it exited the compound. The vehicle, driven by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, made contact with the protester twice before she landed on the hood and was thrown to the curb. The protester sustained minor injuries and was evaluated at a hospital. The Department of Homeland Security stated the officer was attempting to exit after being surrounded by demonstrators, while the protester said she did not intentionally step into the vehicle's path.

Undocumented immigrant parents across the United States are taking legal precautions, including drafting wills, guardianship papers, and advance healthcare directives, in response to intensified immigration enforcement operations. The trend has accelerated sharply in states like Florida, Texas, and California. Legal professionals and advocacy organizations report a significant increase in such preparations. These actions reflect concern among immigrant families facing expanded federal enforcement initiatives, including local police participation through programs like 287(g), combined with documented increases in death rates within the immigration detention system.

Laotian refugees who fled to the U.S. after the Vietnam War and settled in Minnesota are being deported to Laos due to decades-old criminal convictions. Under the Trump administration's mass deportation policy, over 400 people have been deported to Laos since May 2025. Those detained include Ricky Chandee, an engineering technician for Minneapolis, and Ounheuan Hong, a chef, both of whom have criminal records from their youth but have since been employed in their respective fields.

ICE arrested Desbele Gebre Tewelde on March 13, 2026, after he had resided in the United States for about three years. Tewelde entered the U.S. on March 9, 2023, without inspection or admission. He was placed in removal proceedings and detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2). The court denied his motion for a temporary restraining order seeking individualized custody determination or release.

An individual who entered the U.S. in December 2023 was initially detained by immigration authorities, then released on their own recognizance after approximately one month. On March 13, 2026, they were taken into custody for a traffic violation and subsequently detained again by immigration authorities. The court ordered their immediate release, finding that their prior release created a liberty interest and that continued detention violated due process.

Daniel Lomeli-Rodriguez, a 42-year-old who has lived in the United States since 2004, was detained by ICE on March 13, 2026, while attending a court hearing for the dismissal of an offense. He is engaged to a U.S. citizen and is the father of three U.S. citizens. The federal court ordered his release from Adelanto Detention Facility within 48 hours, finding he was entitled to a bond hearing.

Virginia Lissbeth Pineda Lemus, a 21-year-old Salvadoran woman who crossed the U.S. border as an unaccompanied minor at age 16, was arrested on domestic assault charges in January 2026 and taken into ICE custody after posting bond on those state charges, which were later dismissed. She was held at Lincoln County Jail on an ICE hold for two months before U.S. District Judge John Gerrard ordered her outright release on March 13, 2026. Pineda described her detention as traumatizing, saying she was treated "more like an animal than a person." She remains in deportation proceedings but has reunited with her boyfriend and is building her case outside of jail.

Curtis Wright, an Edmonton-born permanent resident who lived in the United States for 30 years, was detained by ICE on November 6, 2025, after returning from a work trip to Mexico at a U.S. port of entry. ICE cited drug possession charges from when Wright was 17 years old as grounds for detention. After four months in custody at the South Texas ICE Processing Center, a judge ordered his deportation on March 13, 2026. Wright's legal team filed evidence supporting his case and is pursuing a habeas corpus request and plans to appeal the deportation order.

A whistleblower at the Baltimore ICE detention facility alleged severe conditions including use of a restraint chair and unsanitary environments. A video documented overcrowding in January 2026, prompting Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen to raise concerns. ICE transferred approximately 100 detainees from the facility to Arizona on March 12, 2026, the day before a congressional oversight visit. A federal judge subsequently ruled in March 2026 that ICE must limit capacity at the downtown Baltimore holding facility to 56 people across five cells, citing health and safety risks. The court ordered ICE to conduct medical screenings within 12 hours of arrival, clean cells daily, and ensure access to hygiene supplies and medication within 24 hours.

Federal prosecutors in Arizona charged 374 individuals across two immigration enforcement operations in late February and early March 2026. The first operation, conducted February 28 through March 6, resulted in 177 charges including 124 for unauthorized re-entry, 35 for unauthorized entry, and 18 for human smuggling, with three men specifically charged in connection with a Phoenix-based smuggling operation that transported undocumented migrants. A second operation from March 7-13 yielded 197 additional charges comprising 132 unauthorized re-entry cases, 59 unauthorized entry cases, and 6 smuggling cases. The operations involved multiple federal agencies and led to the discovery of 19 undocumented migrants in a Phoenix apartment.

The Gámez-Cuéllar family—parents Luis Antonio Gámez Martínez and Emma Guadalupe Cuéllar López, and their three sons Antonio, Caleb, and Joshua—were detained by ICE on February 25, 2026, during a routine immigration check-in in Edinburg, Texas. The family had legally entered the U.S. in May 2023 through the CBP One asylum app and were in active asylum proceedings with a final hearing scheduled for September. Antonio was separated from his family and shackled during transport to an adult detention facility in Raymondville, while his younger brothers and parents were held at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley. The two younger brothers are award-winning mariachi musicians who have performed at the U.S. Capitol. After approximately 13 days in detention, bipartisan congressional pressure from lawmakers including Rep. Monica De La Cruz and Rep. Joaquin Castro, combined with a successful parole request by their attorneys, resulted in the family's release on February 28, 2026. The parents were required to wear ankle monitors and restrict travel to 75 miles from their home.

Habiba Soliman, 18, and her four younger siblings (ages 4-16) were detained at Dilley Immigration Processing Center for more than nine months following their father's arrest in connection with a firebombing attack at a Jewish event in Boulder, Colorado. DHS arrested the mother and children and investigated their alleged involvement in the attack, though they denied any connection and publicly disavowed their father's actions. An arrest warrant reported that their father stated he never discussed his plans with family. An immigration judge initially determined the family posed no danger or flight risk and granted bond, but later reversed the decision after ICE appealed. Soliman was subsequently separated from her younger siblings and moved to an adult section of the facility.

Aleksei and his wife were arrested at the U.S. border with their 5-year-old twins and detained at Dilley Immigration Processing Center for more than 120 days, six times the 20-day federal limit. When Aleksei asked an ICE officer about the violation, he was told the court settlement limiting child detention was "not applicable anymore." The twins experienced psychological deterioration including frequent meltdowns, sleep disruption, weight loss, and fear of strangers. The family was released in February after securing legal representation and filing a parole request.

A visualization of ICE detention data shows that detainees in the Pacific Northwest are being transferred more frequently between facilities and flown thousands of miles across the country. Immigration attorneys and family members report that these transfers result in detainees missing court dates, losing contact with lawyers, and experiencing health impacts. ICE arrests in Portland and surrounding areas surged 600% in the last three months of 2025.

Immigration arrests in King County increased more than 300% during 2025, with over 1,000 people arrested by ICE representing 44% of all arrests statewide. Federal records obtained by University of Washington researchers show a shift in enforcement tactics, with ICE agents using license plate data from the Department of Licensing to identify and arrest immigrants with longer residence and U.S.-born children. ICE operations occurred at business parking lots and public areas.

The Trump administration implemented a policy change to detain asylum-seekers with no criminal records across multiple states while their cases proceed. Detentions have been reported in Maine, Minnesota, New York, Virginia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Alaska, Wisconsin, California, and Texas. Attorneys and advocates report that detainees experience conditions and family separation, with some individuals choosing voluntary deportation after months in custody.

Children are being detained by ICE at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas for weeks and months, exceeding the 20-day limit established under the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement. As of January, over 900 children were held beyond the limit, with some cases exceeding 9 months. Detainees' reports include self-harm, regression, and conditions with inadequate medical care, therapy, and education.

The Trump administration expanded immigration detention through increased arrests, blocking bond releases, and converting warehouses into detention centers across the country. The number of detained immigrants reached approximately 70,000, more than double the prior year. There were 31 deaths in ICE custody in 2025 and 12 more in early 2026.

A pregnant woman reported being shot in the stomach with a rubber bullet by a federal agent while observing an anti-ICE protest in downtown Los Angeles on a Saturday night.

Celia, a single mother of five, was arrested by ICE at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport on March 12, 2026, while boarding a flight to San Diego after attending her stepson's military graduation. She had a pending U-visa application certified by the U.S. Attorney General's Office after coming forward with claims of sexual abuse by a former officer at Federal Correctional Institution Dublin in California, where she had been incarcerated. Despite informing ICE agents of her pending U-visa and assisting in the federal investigation, supervisors told agents to proceed with her deportation regardless of her pending immigration relief. She was sent to Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, and was deported to Mexico about a week later. Her attorney, Susan Beatty, characterized the action as "a slap in the face."