Human Impact Project

A Puerto Rican family of U.S. citizens, including a toddler, was wrongfully detained by ICE in Milwaukee after being overheard speaking Spanish while shopping. The family was transported to a detention center before officials acknowledged the error and apologized. After presenting official documents proving their citizenship, they were released but left to arrange their own transportation home.

Jose Alvaro, an undocumented immigrant from Central America applying for a green card, was detained by ICE after a Lubbock police officer pulled him over for a license plate issue and called federal immigration authorities. The traffic stop has left his U.S. citizen wife Ashley and their three U.S.-born children facing deportation proceedings. Advocates have noted that routine police interactions can lead to deportations.

Jesus Romero-Hernandez, 27, a Mexican citizen with an assault conviction, was released from Tompkins County Sheriff's custody on January 28. Federal agents arrested Romero-Hernandez the following day for illegal reentry after prior removal.

A 45-year-old Ethiopian man died on January 29, 2025, from complications of untreated HIV while in ICE custody at Eloy Detention Center in Arizona. He had been detained for nearly four months after entering the country illegally and was not screened for HIV despite developing severe symptoms. Medical experts stated routine blood tests at initial intake or upon symptom development could have identified HIV through early diagnosis and antiretroviral treatment.

Nine congressional Democrats sent a letter to President Trump urging him to direct ICE agents to stop harassing Native American citizens. The letter detailed incidents in Arizona and New Mexico where ICE agents stopped, questioned, or detained at least 15 Indigenous individuals, including a Tribal citizen questioned about U.S. citizenship at a convenience store.

ICE agents arrested Wilson Rogelio Velasquez Cruz outside Iglesia Fuente de Vida church in Tucker on Sunday while he was attending service with his family. Velasquez Cruz, who had a valid five-year work permit and was employed at a tire shop, had been wearing an immigration GPS ankle monitor since seeking asylum from Honduras two years ago. His wife expressed concern about the family's future and reported that her husband will be transferred to Stewart Detention Center and deported without the ability to appeal to a judge.

U.S. citizens, including Native Americans and a military veteran, have been detained and questioned during Trump administration immigration raids. Witnesses report that those caught in ICE operations are being targeted based on race or skin color, with Navajo Nation citizens experiencing particularly problematic encounters. The seafood wholesaler owner in Newark reported that ICE targeted certain types of people while ignoring white and Portuguese workers.

Federal ICE agents conducted an immigration operation across New York City on Tuesday with 20 teams in unmarked vehicles. The operation resulted in numerous arrests including individuals wanted for homicide and possible terrorist connections. The operation occurred in New York City, where sanctuary policies typically limit cooperation with ICE.

About 200 Colombian migrants were deported from the United States in early January 2025. President Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro disagreed over deportation procedures. Petro initially blocked the landing of two U.S. military flights carrying handcuffed deportees and eventually accepted the deportations on civilian aircraft. The dispute involved disagreements over treatment standards during the deportation process.

The U.S. Department of Justice issued a stop work order to the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network and other immigrant legal service organizations following President Trump's executive order on immigration enforcement. The Colorado nonprofit, which provides free legal representation to immigrants in the Aurora ICE detention center and Denver immigration court, has been ordered to suspend operations immediately. The action affects thousands of immigrants, with over 85% of those fighting deportation in Colorado lacking attorney representation.

ICE detained two parents, Reinaldo Chirino from Venezuela and Kris Estefany Pineda-Torregrosa from Colombia, after school drop-off on January 27, leaving their two young children (ages 12 and 4) in the care of a family friend. The couple had entered the country legally in 2022 under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans but lost their legal status when the Trump administration revoked TPS protections. They are being held at Otay Mesa Detention Center pending removal proceedings.

Abel Orozco, a Lyons man arrested by ICE two months prior, is among 22 detainees alleging that immigration agents violated federal law and a 2022 settlement by arresting them without proper warrants or proof of flight risk. Orozco's son recorded the January 26 encounter in which ICE agents allegedly rushed to make an arrest, and a motion has been filed challenging the legality of the arrests.

Pavlo Mykolayovych Zinkevych, a 37-year-old Ukrainian man with lawful status under the Uniting for Ukraine program, was arrested by Frisco Police on January 26, 2025, for a minor traffic violation and suspected DWI. Despite holding valid legal status, a valid I-94, and a pending Temporary Protected Status application, ICE detained him for over three months and threatened deportation to war-torn Ukraine. An immigration judge stated she believed Zinkevych should not be detained, but lacks jurisdiction to order his release, while DHS maintains authority over his case and has remained unresponsive to legal requests.

A 37-year-old Raleigh man was arrested after allegedly kidnapping and raping a woman at a Motel 6 while impersonating an ICE agent and threatening to deport her if she did not have sex with him. The suspect, Carl Thomas Bennett, showed a fake business card with a badge and is facing charges including kidnapping, second-degree rape, and impersonating a law enforcement officer.

Brazil's government responded after 88 of its nationals arrived in the country handcuffed following their deportation from the United States. The Brazilian government called the treatment degrading and a flagrant disregard for fundamental rights and demanded an explanation from Washington. Colombia announced it would not allow US deportation flights to land in the country, turning away military aircraft carrying deported migrants.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers pulled over a father traveling with his children in Douglasville, Georgia. Officers instructed the father to contact his wife, and the family initially believed he was the target of enforcement action. However, when the wife arrived at the scene, authorities detained her instead.

Arlit Maria Martinez-Carrada, a Mexican national, was detained by ICE on January 3 while on her way to work in Wicomico County. Her son Kevin died from cancer just days later on January 5, but an immigration judge initially denied her release, deeming her a flight risk. After a federal judge approved her release on January 26 with a $12,000 bond, Martinez-Carrada returned to Salisbury with an ankle bracelet monitor.

Brazilian migrants deported from the United States arrived at Belo Horizonte International Airport on January 25, 2025, reporting abuse, threats, and degrading treatment by U.S. immigration agents during their deportation flight. The deportees reported they were handcuffed for 50 hours without air conditioning, subjected to poor conditions, and opened an emergency door to alert Brazilian authorities. The Brazilian government requested explanations from the Trump administration regarding the treatment of the passengers.

Minneapolis rapper Nur-D was arrested by federal agents on January 24 while participating in protests. The arrest occurred following the shooting death of Alex Pretti by U.S. Border Patrol agents. Nur-D says he was hit by a projectile, thrown to the ground, and arrested for allegedly assaulting a federal officer. He is pursuing legal action against the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, and U.S. Border Patrol.

On January 23, 2025, ICE agents detained Giovanni Duran, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, during a traffic stop in Echo Park, Los Angeles, while his wife Loreal and their children were present. Duran had lived in the U.S. for nearly four decades. According to ICE, Duran entered the country illegally before 2001 and had prior convictions for sex with a minor in 2012 and DUI in 2014, with a deportation order issued in 2014. He is currently held at Adelanto detention facility awaiting deportation.

Two incidents involving federal immigration enforcement at churches on opposite sides of the country involved different applications of federal law. One incident involved Border Patrol detaining church painters.

A Hopkins family of four, including Luis Fernando Chulca Chiluisa, Maria Velasco Hurtado, and their two children, were detained by ICE agents on January 22. All four family members had active asylum applications. Following a habeas petition and court order issued on January 22 requiring the government to show cause for detention by January 26, the family was returned to Minnesota after initially being sent to Texas.

Pancho's Taqueria in Circle Pines temporarily closed after an employee was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers earlier in January. The restaurant states the employee held a valid work visa and was detained while taking out trash. The restaurant has since reopened with limited hours and restricted access.

A volunteer with the immigrant advocacy group Carpinteria Sin Fronteras was pepper-sprayed by a federal ICE agent on January 14 while observing and recording ICE vehicle stops from a public sidewalk. The volunteer was standing at a distance, did not physically approach the agent, and suffered only minor eye irritation. No arrest was made, though the agent threatened federal charges against the volunteer.

A 46-year-old woman from Mexico was found dead by humanitarian volunteers near the border wall east of Sásabe, Arizona on Monday morning. Her 15-year-old son sought help from volunteers, saying his mother had stopped breathing while in a vehicle in Mexico. The cause of death is under investigation and may take weeks to determine.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducted a multi-day enforcement operation in Kern County that resulted in 78 arrests, including farmworkers in the Central Valley. The operation, called Operation Return to Sender, resulted in widespread fear among immigrant families and workers, with many staying home from work and struggling to locate detained relatives. Border Patrol officials stated the operation targeted transnational criminal organizations. Community advocates and elected officials raised concerns about potential racial profiling and the impact on the agricultural industry.

Maria Trinidad Loya Medina, a 44-year-old Albany mother from Mexico who has lived in the U.S. for over 20 years, was detained by ICE agents on January 10 after being apprehended at a Big 5 Sporting Goods parking lot. She has been held at an immigration detention facility in Tacoma, Washington for two months. Attorneys filed a second petition seeking her release, claiming one federal judge ruled her detention violates federal law, though an immigration judge deemed her a flight risk.

Minnesota resident Nicole Cleland, who was observing ICE and CBP activity as a legal observer, was stopped by federal agents on January 10 after following their vehicle. An agent told her they used facial recognition technology to identify her. Three days later, her Global Entry and TSA PreCheck privileges were revoked, which Cleland believes was retaliation for her observation activities.

Ana Canedo Luna, co-owner of Don Chingonas food truck and Club Elite nightclub in Rock Springs, was detained by ICE on January 9 following a routine traffic stop. The stop was initiated due to a license plate registration discrepancy later confirmed as a clerical error by county staff. Luna presented employment authorization documents valid through May 2030, and her wife provided additional legal documentation disputing ICE's claims that she lacked legal status. Despite the valid work authorization documentation, ICE proceeded with Luna's detention after a records check flagged her in their system.

Pablo Nieves, a Venezuelan asylum seeker who legally entered the U.S. on a nonimmigrant visa in 2018 and had pending asylum applications, was detained by ICE outside a Home Depot in Minnesota in January 2025 and transported to a Texas detention center. He was released after two weeks following a successful legal argument by his lawyer that he posed no flight risk or danger to the public.

Federal immigration officers detained a contractor at General Mills' Chanhassen manufacturing facility in mid-January. Video of the incident circulated on social media. The detention occurred as part of increased ICE enforcement activity at Minnesota workplaces, affecting major companies.

State Rep. Hoan Huynh said federal Customs and Border Patrol agents stopped him at gunpoint on Chicago's Northwest Side while he was conducting community education about ICE rights. Six agents surrounded his vehicle near Montrose Avenue and Kimball Avenue, with one agent pulling a gun. A DHS official stated Huynh was stalking law enforcement and interfering with operations.

Juan Manuel Arellano Zepeda, a 48-year-old Mexican national and owner of El Fresco restaurant in Bloomington, was detained by ICE on January 6 and held in El Paso, Texas. Arellano Zepeda, who has lived in the U.S. for 25 years and has a pending Visa T application, was arrested during Operation Metro Surge. His family reports he has no criminal record and was not given a court hearing as of the article's publication.

Marvin Hernandez Lopez, who entered the U.S. in 2013 and has been living here with family and a business, was detained by ICE while traveling to work last month. He argues ICE is wrongfully holding him under a statute requiring mandatory detention instead of one allowing bond hearings. The court granted a temporary restraining order preventing his transfer outside Florida's Middle District while his habeas petition is pending, but denied his request for immediate release or bond hearing.

Immigration agents raided a family home in rural Donna, Texas, in January, arresting Julio Orosco and Lucero Garza, who had been living in the country without authorization. Garza was deported to Mexico while Orosco remains in custody. Their children, ages 11 through 22, have had to assume caretaking responsibilities and have become withdrawn and isolated.

Federal immigration officers made nearly 9,000 arrests in Virginia in 2025, marking a nearly 500% increase from approximately 1,500 arrests during the final year of President Biden's term. Between January and March 2025, deportation officers had already detained roughly 2,000 people in Virginia. Over 2,600 of the arrests were categorized as 'general area' arrests linked to Richmond's ICE office, and approximately 85% of those arrested had not been charged with a crime.

Abel Orozco, a 47-year-old Mexican immigrant, was detained by ICE agents outside his home in suburban Lyons without a federal warrant and remains in detention nearly six months later. Immigration and civil rights attorneys state the arrest violated constitutional rights and the 2022 Castañon Nava settlement agreement, which requires probable cause and documentation of flight risk for warrantless arrests. Orozco is named in a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and ICE involving at least 25 other people allegedly arrested during enforcement operations in January 2025.

Following Operation Metro Surge beginning in December, ICE agents have detained and deported thousands of immigrants across Minnesota. Multiple families experienced detention and deportation, including Mercedes whose husband Paco was detained for 41 days before deportation, and Brenda whose husband Osmin was deported to El Salvador. Families reported managing rent, utilities, and childcare following the detention and deportation of family members.

Rep. Delia Ramirez, a Democratic congresswoman from Illinois and first Latina elected to Congress from the state, has an undocumented husband, Boris Hernandez. As Trump's administration pursues mass deportation plans, Ramirez and other members of mixed-status households face personal stakes in immigration enforcement policies.

Luis Fernandez Escalante, a Venezuelan with a pending asylum claim, was detained in October 2024 when he accompanied his wife to an immigration check-in during Operation Midway Blitz. He has been held at North Lakes Processing Center, a for-profit ICE detention facility in Michigan, for months without bond. He and seven other detained immigrants reported being denied bond without justification, separated from family, having difficulty accessing legal representation, and facing deportation despite pending cases.

Seven people were arrested during a U.S. Border Patrol immigration enforcement operation at Bixby Knolls Car Wash in Long Beach on Saturday. The individuals arrested were from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico. About 10 unmarked cars blocked the car wash exit during the raid, which resulted in the arrest of several employees. The chief of the Glassport Borough Police Department reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement made 17 arrests in the borough over a two-week period.

ICE agents shot Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernández through a car window during a traffic stop near Patterson, California on April 7. An eyewitness with dashboard camera video now corroborates the victim's account that at least one agent opened fire unprovoked before Mendoza Hernández attempted to drive away, contradicting ICE Director Todd Lyons's statement that agents fired because Mendoza Hernández 'weaponized his vehicle' to run them over.

ICE detained a father on March 18, leaving his high school-aged son Kevin to search for him while managing the emotional impact on his family. The incident occurred in Carpinteria, and the family is seeking community support.

Adrian Sotelo Guzman, a mental health patient hospitalized at M Health Fairview Southdale in Edina, was allegedly given powerful sedatives by medical staff under ICE pressure to facilitate his removal from the hospital. Despite a federal judge's order to keep him in Minnesota, ICE agents transferred him to Texas where his attorneys claim he is not receiving adequate psychiatric care or medication. His lawyers filed a habeas corpus petition arguing the detention and forced transfer were unlawful.

Alexander Jesus Vidaurreta Nieves, a foreign national residing in the U.S. for 25 months, was placed in removal proceedings in February 2024 for entering without inspection. He was initially released from ICE custody on an Order of Recognizance but was subsequently re-detained at Desert View Annex in Adelanto. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring his immediate release, finding his re-detention violated due process.

Federal authorities arrested anti-ICE protester Isai Carrillo and nine other suspects accused of attacking law enforcement officers during immigration enforcement operations near Los Angeles over the summer. Carrillo was specifically charged with damaging a vehicle belonging to immigration agents during a pot farm raid in Camarillo, California in July. Two members of the activist group VC Defensa were also charged with conspiring to impede federal law enforcement.

Alejandra Juarez, who lived in Florida for 20 years and is married to a former Marine, was deported to Mexico after exhausting legal options to stop her removal. Her deportation was initiated following a 2013 traffic stop that exposed her legal status and was pursued under the Trump administration's enforcement policy. She left behind her 16-year-old U.S. citizen daughter Pamela and 8-year-old daughter Estela, who planned to join her later in Mexico.

ICE detained approximately 100 Cambodian nationals in October 2017 raids, most of whom had been living in the U.S. for decades after fleeing the Khmer Rouge as children. The detainees had old removal orders but were previously released because Cambodia wouldn't accept them back. A federal court granted a preliminary injunction halting their deportations, finding they were denied due process and adequate opportunity to challenge their removal orders through motions to reopen.

An article in The New Yorker's Annals of Immigration section reports that under the Trump Administration, thousands of immigrant children have been detained, with many suffering from medical neglect.

A mother and farmworker resident of Oregon was arrested by DHS agents who smashed the window of a passenger van she was riding in to work. According to the case, she was detained to fulfill a detention quota despite years of compliance with release conditions and DHS having ceased removal proceedings. She was transported to an immigration detention center in Tacoma, Washington and is now challenging her detention as unconstitutional.