Human Impact Project

On June 27, 2025, a Border Patrol agent initiated a vehicle stop on a white Chevy Tahoe near the Rio Grande. The driver failed to yield and drove the vehicle into the Rio Grande River. The driver was observed struggling in the water but subsequently lost sight. A body was recovered from the river approximately seven miles downstream later that morning and identified as the vehicle driver.

ICE agents conducting street sweeps in downtown Los Angeles arrested Luis Hipolito, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen, after he interfered with their detention of street vendors. Video footage shows agents pepper-spraying Hipolito, then tackling and restraining him for over two minutes as he struggled to breathe. After being restrained, Hipolito convulsed and his legs buckled. He was charged with assault on a federal officer and released on $10,000 bond. A second U.S. citizen, Andrea Guadalupe Velez, was also arrested during the same operation.

ICE agents detained Selena Vanessa Hernández Ramírez, a 25-year-old taco vendor from El Salvador, while she was working in front of a Home Depot in Ladera Heights, Los Angeles. According to witnesses, the agents had covered faces and did not display visible identification or arrest warrants. The woman attempted to resist by holding onto a tree before being forcibly taken to an unmarked van, and agents used tear gas to disperse witnesses who intervened.

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell issued a new directive requiring LAPD officers responding to potential ICE immigration enforcement actions to request a supervisor, verify federal agent credentials, and document verification on bodycam footage. The policy was issued in response to ICE operations that were mischaracterized as kidnappings and includes instructions for officers to take enforcement action if they determine individuals are not legitimate federal officers.

Hayam El Gamal and her five children, Egyptian citizens who lawfully entered the U.S. with B-1 visitor visas in 2022, have been detained at Dilley Immigration Processing Center since June 4, 2025. An immigration judge granted them bond on September 19, 2025, but DHS filed a notice of intent to appeal, which automatically stayed their release. They filed a habeas corpus petition challenging their continued confinement as a violation of due process rights.

ICE issued a new arrest warrant and expedited removal order on June 26, 2025 against Miguel Silvestre, a U.S. citizen born in Stockton, California with a valid birth certificate. Silvestre had previously been wrongfully deported in the early 2000s, with a removal order terminated in 2004 by an immigration judge who confirmed his U.S. citizenship. The new expedited removal order would allow his deportation to Mexico without an immigration hearing upon any law enforcement encounter.

Miguel Silvestre, a U.S. citizen born in Stockton, California, was issued a new expedited removal order by ICE on June 26, 2025, despite having a 2004 immigration court order terminating his deportation and confirming his U.S. citizenship. Silvestre was previously deported in 1999 by INS agents despite clear evidence of his birth in the United States, and now faces the risk of immediate removal to Mexico without a hearing if encountered by any law enforcement.

Vilma Palacios, a 22-year-old LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing graduate, was detained by ICE agents on June 26, 2025, while attempting to get a vehicle inspection sticker. Despite having a previously granted work permit and no criminal convictions, she was arrested and sent to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center where she remained detained for six months. Palacios, who fled Honduras as a child and had applied for asylum, is facing deportation and may self-deport before January 14, 2026.

A mother named Marisol and her 11-year-old daughter hid in their Minnesota home for two months to avoid ICE raids, surviving on donated food. When provisions ran out, the mother ventured out to purchase food for her daughter and was detained by ICE agents. The daughter, now being cared for by an activist, has a pending asylum case and is advocating for her mother's release.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested two women outside the Los Angeles Airport Courthouse on Tuesday after they appeared for a hearing in a local criminal case involving organized retail theft charges. The agents waited in the courtroom and detained the defendants without advance notice to the court, defense attorneys, or prosecutors.

Jin Hao Zhang, a 56-year-old restaurateur who operated the China Moon restaurant on Main Street in Camden for nearly 20 years, was detained by ICE agents on June 25, 2025. According to reports, Zhang entered the U.S. on a fraudulent visa in 1990 and was ordered to leave by an immigration court judge in 2000 but remained in the country for the past 25 years. The raid closed the restaurant.

The Los Angeles Police Department instructed officers to verify the identities of ICE agents making arrests following reports of "attempted kidnappings" by unidentified individuals claiming to be federal officers. The incident involved Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon, who reported being detained by uniformed men in unmarked vehicles and taken directly to the border for self-deportation. DHS denied ICE involvement.

Emerson Colindres, a 19-year-old high school graduate and soccer player, was detained by ICE on June 4, 2025, during a routine check-in at an Intensive Supervision Appearance Program facility in Blue Ash, Ohio. Colindres had arrived in the U.S. from Honduras at age 8 with his family seeking asylum from violence. His asylum case and subsequent appeal were denied, with a final removal order issued in 2023. He was deported to Honduras approximately two weeks after detention. His detention sparked community protests and support from his soccer coach, teammates, and teachers. His mother, Ada Bell Baquedano Amador, who had been ordered to wear an ankle monitor since April and given 30 days to leave, subsequently obtained passports and plane tickets. By June 24, she and Colindres' sister self-deported to Honduras to reunite with him.

ICE uses unmarked vehicles, plain clothes, and masks to conduct immigration enforcement operations. Multiple incidents have been documented in which individuals posed as ICE officers and committed kidnappings, robberies, and home invasions against immigrants and communities. Law enforcement gear and vehicles are available for purchase online.

Andrea Velez, a U.S. citizen and production coordinator, was detained by ICE agents in downtown Los Angeles on June 24 while being dropped off at work. She was charged with assaulting a federal officer after agents claimed she interfered with an arrest by stepping into an officer's path. The Justice Department later dismissed her case without prejudice. Velez reported being denied water for 24 hours while held at a detention center and said she has been traumatized by the incident.

A man was detained by ICE on 10/14/25 in Harbor Gateway (228th & Western) while riding his bike home from the store. He did not have an active deportation order. A family member stated he does not pose a threat to national security. Legal assistance is being sought for his case.

Since El Paso joined Texas' Operation Lone Star in late 2022, migrant deaths in the region increased. From January 2023 to August 2024, 299 human remains were reported in the El Paso Border Patrol sector compared to 122 remains found in the prior 20 months, making it the deadliest sector along the U.S.-Mexico border. Volunteer search and rescue groups, including Battalion Search and Rescue, discovered numerous bodies in the New Mexico desert, often locating remains months after initial reports. Families of missing migrants awaited identification, with some waiting months or years for results. Advocates and experts attributed the increase to enforcement policies that redirected migrants toward more dangerous routes.

Johnny Noviello, a 49-year-old Canadian citizen and long-time U.S. green card holder, died in ICE custody at the Federal Detention Centre in Miami on June 23, 2025. He was found unresponsive around 12:54 p.m., and despite CPR and defibrillator use by medical personnel, was pronounced dead at 1:36 p.m. Noviello had been detained by ICE following a 2023 drug conviction and was awaiting deportation proceedings. The cause of death remains under investigation.

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran spoke out after witnessing video of his father, Narciso Barranco, being beaten by masked Border Patrol officers during an immigration arrest in Santa Ana. Barranco, a landscaper who came from Mexico in the 1990s without legal status, was arrested outside an IHOP restaurant. While DHS claimed Barranco swung his weed trimmer at agents, witnesses posted videos showing officers punching him repeatedly as he lay on the ground.

Adrian Martinez, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen and Walmart employee, was detained by federal agents on June 19, 2025, during an immigration enforcement operation at a Pico Rivera Walmart parking lot. Martinez intervened when he saw agents detaining a maintenance worker, blocking the agents' vehicle with the worker's cart in an attempt to help. He spent three nights in jail following his arrest. Martinez now faces federal charges for conspiracy to impede a federal officer, though initial claims that he punched a Border Patrol agent were not substantiated with assault charges.

ICE agents detained a gardener working outside Polly's Pies restaurant on Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach. According to a local official's account, the agents chased the worker inside the restaurant and tackled him before removing him. The incident occurred in front of restaurant patrons and employees.

A video circulating online allegedly shows ICE agents in Harlingen, Texas following a family in an unmarked vehicle, making contact with their car, pulling the father out, and striking him while his children were present. The incident was posted on Instagram with hashtags related to ICE and immigration enforcement.

An Iranian national and his U.S. citizen wife pleaded guilty following a June 21, 2025 confrontation with ICE agents at their Tempe home. Mehrzad Asadi Eidivand pleaded guilty to being an immigrants in possession of firearms and ammunition, while his wife Linet Vartanniavartanians pleaded guilty to threats against federal law enforcement officers. ICE had arrived to administratively arrest Eidivand for failing to comply with a 2013 removal order, but the wife refused to open the door and threatened to shoot the officers. A search warrant executed the following day found two loaded firearms in the home. Both face potential prison sentences at their November sentencing hearing.

Narciso Barranco, an undocumented gardener, was detained by ICE and CBP agents in Tustin, California on June 21, 2025, while working outside an IHOP restaurant. A video showing agents punching Barranco during arrest was circulated publicly. DHS stated Barranco swung a weed whacker at an agent and refused to comply with commands.

Narciso Barranco, a Mexican national and father of three U.S. Marines, was arrested by ICE agents during a workplace raid in Santa Ana, California on June 21, 2025. Video of the incident showed federal agents repeatedly punching Barranco in the head and neck while he was pinned to the floor. A federal immigration judge terminated Barranco's deportation case in February 2026, citing his eligibility for the Parole in Place program and allowing him to pursue permanent residency without deportation threat. Barranco's son Alejandro, a Marine veteran, spoke publicly about the arrest. DHS claimed Barranco swung a weed whacker at agents and refused to comply during the incident.

Since El Paso joined Texas Governor Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star border enforcement mission in late 2022, migrant deaths in the El Paso sector have increased dramatically. From January 2023 to August 2024, 299 human remains were reported in the El Paso sector—the deadliest of any border sector and more than double the 122 remains found in the 20 months before the operation began. Volunteer search groups continue to discover bodies in the New Mexico desert west of El Paso, with many remains unidentified for months.

Pedro Vasquez Perdomo, Isaac Villegas Molina, and Osorto Carlos filed a federal habeas corpus petition against Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi, and ICE officials challenging their detention. The petition was later amended to include additional plaintiffs and defendants on July 2, 2025, with support from immigrant rights organizations.

Federal agents conducted an immigration raid at Jack's Car Wash in Bell, detaining at least three people. Protesters gathered at the scene, and confrontations ensued between the crowd and federal agents, including property damage to federal vehicles and use of tear gas and flash bang grenades by agents.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained several men on the grounds of two Catholic churches in San Bernardino County on June 20. At Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Montclair, a longtime parishioner was taken into custody while doing landscaping work. In a separate incident at St. Adelaide parish in Highland, agents chased men onto the church parking lot and detained them.

A pregnant U.S. citizen was detained by Border Patrol agents approximately two weeks prior to this report. The individual stated they did not believe they had done anything wrong. The article documents this immigration enforcement incident involving a U.S. citizen.

Senator Alex Padilla was handcuffed by federal agents after interrupting a news conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles. Padilla attempted to question Noem's characterization of federal military deployment in response to protests over immigration enforcement actions targeting undocumented immigrants. The senator was physically removed, placed on the ground, and restrained in handcuffs after identifying himself and asserting his role.

During an immigration sweep on June 19 outside a Lowe's store in Pacoima, Border Patrol agents arrested a 54-year-old woman selling tamales. She suffered a heart attack during the detention after agents bear-hugged her to the point she struggled to breathe. A U.S. citizen recording the incident was also arrested and detained. A federal judge later ruled the sweeps violated the 4th Amendment due to racial profiling.

Nicolle Orozco Forero, her husband Juan Sebastian Moreno Acosta, and their two sons were detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas in June 2025 after arriving for a routine ICE check-in. The family, who had been living in Seattle for two years and were originally from Colombia, were separated by gender and held for three weeks before being deported. Their son Juan David had a serious kidney condition requiring medical treatment, and doctors had recommended a biopsy, but ICE officials denied adequate medical care during detention.

Nicolle Orozco Forero, her husband Juan Sebastian Moreno Acosta, and their two sons were detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas in June 2025 after arriving for a routine ICE check-in appointment. The Colombian family, who had been living in Seattle for two years, were eventually deported despite legal efforts and community mobilization to stop the deportation, including support from U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro. During their three-week detention, the family was separated by gender, and their son with a serious kidney condition was denied adequate medical care including a recommended biopsy.

Job Garcia, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and PhD student, was arrested and detained for over 24 hours on June 19, 2025, while filming an ICE immigration raid at a Home Depot in Hollywood, Los Angeles. CBP agents tackled Garcia without warning, smashed his phone, and restrained him as he attempted to document the arrest of day laborers and inform them of their rights. Garcia was released without arraignment or court date notification. MALDEF and Garcia are seeking $1 million in damages from the Department of Homeland Security through a Federal Tort Claims Act notice, citing wrongful arrest, detention based on race, assault, battery, false imprisonment, and interference with his right to document government actions.

Two individuals were arrested in Fontana on June 20, 2025, at approximately 9:24 AM. Fontana Police Department officers were misidentified as ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents during the arrest.

Pedro Luis Salazar-Cuervo, a 28-year-old Venezuelan migrant with no criminal record, was accused by Texas DPS of being a Tren de Aragua gang member based on a photo showing him with a tattooed man. He was deported to a maximum security prison in El Salvador in March 2025. A Texas judge ordered the state to request his return to face trespassing charges in August.

On May 31, 2025, ICE agents arrested Alonzo Tomas Mendez, a 34-year-old Guatemalan immigrant, while he was shopping at a Kroger store in East Price Hill, Cincinnati. Mendez was taken into custody and left his partner and four children in a parked car. He has been held in Butler County Jail with an ICE hold pending immigration proceedings. Faith leaders, community advocates, and church members have called for his release on bond, citing his three years of residence in the U.S., active participation in his evangelical church, and lack of criminal record. His immigration hearings have been postponed.

Juan Ramirez Diaz, a U.S. citizen from Oxnard, was detained by ICE agents on June 17, 2025, while filming video of federal immigration agents arresting his father during an ICE operation. According to his family and attorney, Ramirez Diaz was tased, maced, punched, and beaten before being transported to a hospital and then the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles. He was released on June 18 before 3 p.m. and returned to his family.

Migrant families with young children, including toddlers, were held for days and sometimes weeks in US Customs and Border Protection facilities with jail-like conditions, according to interviews conducted by attorneys and submitted to federal court. The filings reveal details of families detained in 2025 in border facilities not designed for that purpose, including cases where children were held for over 40 days in crowded rooms without windows. Attorneys argue CBP detention violates the 1997 Flores settlement agreement, which requires children be released without unnecessary delay and dictates conditions of custody.

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking ICE from detaining a severely disabled man with an IQ of 47 upon his return to the United States after he was deported to Mexico. The man was taken by ICE agents in an unmarked vehicle on June 17, 2025, and removed to Mexico on June 24 under voluntary departure, despite appearing unable to meaningfully consent to removal due to his cognitive impairments and lack of understanding of English-language documents.

ICE allegedly fabricated its authority for over a year to arrest individuals attending legally mandated immigration court hearings at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan. A federal court filing by the U.S. Attorney's Office and New York Civil Liberties Union revealed that ICE lied to prosecutors and courts about its jurisdiction, which only applied to criminal courthouses, not immigration courts. The agency conducted mass arrests and separated families during this period under false legal pretenses.

A Spanish-language journalist known for documenting immigration raids was detained by ICE after being arrested by police during a weekend protest outside Atlanta. The journalist faces charges of obstructing officers and unlawful assembly while covering the protest and could face deportation proceedings.

ICE agents conducted raids across southern California communities, including at a swap meet in Santa Fe Springs and in Montebello, detaining multiple people including US citizens. Video evidence showed agents appearing to target individuals based on appearance, with witnesses describing racial profiling. At least two US citizens were detained, with one remaining in federal custody. The mayor of Montebello stated that the actions lacked due process.

Despite a 90% drop in migrant apprehensions since Trump took office, thousands continue attempting to cross the southern border through increasingly dangerous routes. Smugglers are adopting new tactics including remote coordination via cellphones and sending migrants alone through treacherous terrain like Otay Mountain and the Sonoran Desert, resulting in numerous deaths from exposure and accidents.

The Trump administration has dismissed immigration cases for at least 24 people detained at El Salvador's CECOT prison, denying them legal proceedings in U.S. courts. These individuals, mostly Venezuelan nationals, were sent to CECOT without final deportation orders and had their cases dismissed in their absence, effectively erasing their legal status in the U.S. immigration system. Lawyers argue the detainees remain in U.S. custody and are entitled to due process and hearings.

Deaths of migrants in the New Mexico desert have surged since El Paso joined Texas' Operation Lone Star in late 2022. The El Paso sector became the deadliest place for migrants to cross the U.S.-Mexico border by 2024, with 299 human remains reported from January 2023 to August 2024—more than double the previous 20-month period. Volunteer search groups like Battalion Search and Rescue have discovered numerous migrant bodies in the region.

A 41-year-old man from Guatemala drowned in the American Canal near El Paso after crossing the border fence without authorization with two other individuals in June 2025. Border Patrol agents and Department of Defense personnel observed the three individuals enter the canal and rescued two of them. The third man was found unresponsive approximately two-tenths of a mile away. Despite CPR efforts by Border Patrol and fire department personnel, he was pronounced dead at University Medical Center.

Border Patrol agents conducted roving patrols in Southern California, detaining U.S. citizens and immigrants in raids at Home Depot lots, car washes, and work sites. U.S. citizen Brian Gavidia was questioned about his birthplace during an operation in Montebello, while his friend Javier Ramirez was arrested and charged with assaulting a federal officer.

A man was arrested by ICE on June 15, 2025, in Anaheim, California, while entering a store. He has been detained for over 7 months despite being in the process of obtaining residency through USCIS and having no criminal record. He has suffered serious health complications including hospitalization for oxygen deprivation, legal injustices including attorney abandonment, and needs funds for legal representation before his final asylum hearing in June.