Human Impact Project

The Trump administration is expanding border wall construction, with new segments planned in Arizona, California, and Texas. The expansion will further fragment wildlife habitat and migration pathways for approximately 1,077 native animal species, including 83 threatened and endangered species such as jaguars, ocelots, and Mexican gray wolves. Wildlife advocates warn that the barriers, which can reach 30 feet high with minimal gaps, will isolate animal populations and potentially lead to species extirpation in the region.

Conservationists at the UA Wild Cat Research and Conservation Center identified a new jaguar named Cinco roaming mountains near the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona. The Trump administration intensified border wall construction and waived environmental laws including the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act. Construction projects aimed to close gaps in the border wall across the El Paso, Tucson, and Yuma sectors.

Volunteer search and rescue groups have discovered migrant remains in the Chihuahuan desert west of El Paso since the city joined Texas' Operation Lone Star in December 2022. Battalion Search and Rescue found 27 sites with human remains since September 2023. The El Paso sector historically had among the fewest migrant deaths on the southern border.

ICE agents apprehended several individuals outside a Phoenix immigration court on Tuesday, including at least two documented cases of people arrested immediately after court hearings. An attorney noted that individuals whose cases appeared to be dismissed were taken into custody. The arrests followed a January DHS directive reversing protections for courthouse arrests, a policy that previously restricted ICE enforcement in sensitive locations.

A plainclothes federal law enforcement officer drew a weapon on a man attempting to photograph his vehicle's license plate at a stoplight in Pasadena. The incident occurred Wednesday morning around the same time federal immigration agents conducted enforcement operations at a nearby bus stop, detaining multiple day laborers. Masked plainclothes agents arrested at least two men and several other day laborers, transporting them in an unmarked minivan.

ICE arrested a U.S. citizen in Oregon. An attorney stated the arrest was illegal. Details regarding the circumstances and identity of the arrested individual are limited in this report. Mayra Bonilla Garcia, a Dallas mother, was detained by ICE during a routine check-in in October after fleeing Honduras in 2023 due to domestic violence. Despite having a valid work permit and pending asylum case, her asylum request was denied and a removal order was issued. Her elderly mother is now caring for her two young sons. The family has plans to file an appeal.

A 19-year-old anti-ICE protester was sprayed with chemical agent by a federal officer during a protest in Portland. The protester was vocal but nonviolent and standing still when sprayed. Video evidence documents the incident.

Tear gas was deployed into a home during an ICE arrest operation Friday night in the Berclair area of Memphis involving a family, ICE agents, and the Memphis Safe Task Force. Children were exposed to tear gas during the operation, though they were sheltered in a closet.

Christina Rank, a U.S. citizen classroom assistant, was arrested by ICE agents outside Concord Education Center in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota on Monday morning. Witnesses disputed ICE's claim that she rammed an agent's vehicle, with evidence suggesting the agent rammed her car and broke her window. As of Monday afternoon, Rank remained in custody with no information on charges, and her mother questioned the purpose of ICE agents at the school and the use of force against her daughter.

An ICE enforcement action in Minneapolis resulted in tear gas being released near a family vehicle containing six children. A local couple reported the incident, including concerns about officer conduct and the presence of minors during the enforcement operation.

A U.S. District Judge in West Virginia issued a final notice to the federal government regarding continued unlawful detention of immigrants without individualized custody determinations. Judge Joseph R. Goodwin ruled that the government has repeatedly violated the Fifth Amendment by detaining immigrants without proper legal procedures. The judge warned of legal consequences for state and federal officials if the unlawful detention practices continue.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened an internal investigation into whether Gregory Bovino, a U.S. Border Patrol commander and architect of Trump's immigration enforcement policies, made disparaging comments about the Jewish faith of U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Daniel N. Rosen. The alleged remarks were made during a January 12 phone call coordinating immigration enforcement operations, where Bovino allegedly complained about Rosen's unavailability due to the Sabbath and made sarcastic comments about Orthodox Jewish people. A Minneapolis pastor was detained by ICE after joining a protest. During his release, officers made remarks about his race, telling him 'You're White' and 'Wouldn't Be Any Fun Anyway.'

The DEA conducted a multi-agency raid at an underground nightclub in Colorado Springs on Sunday, resulting in the arrest of 114 undocumented immigrants who were placed on buses for processing and deportation. The operation also resulted in the seizure of drugs and weapons. More than 200 people were in the club when arrests began around 3:45 a.m.

Heidy Sánchez was separated from her one-year-old daughter while breastfeeding during an immigration appointment with ICE agents. ICE took custody of her infant daughter during the enforcement action. She was subsequently deported to Cuba and has remained separated from her child and American husband for eight months.

This is a procedural document outlining local court rules for the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, effective April 26, 2012. The document contains sections on civil rules, criminal rules, and attorney admission procedures. It includes specific provisions for handling cases involving undocumented aliens detained as material witnesses and other procedural matters.

Joshua Orta, 25, the only passenger present when his friend Ruben Ray Martinez was fatally shot by an ICE agent on March 15, 2025, died in a separate car accident on a San Antonio highway. Orta had planned to cooperate with investigators and sign a statement contradicting the government's account of the shooting, in which he stated he and Martinez were complying with orders and did not resist when the situation escalated.

ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old queer mother of three, through her car windshield in Minneapolis on January 7. Good appeared to have four gunshot wounds according to a Minneapolis Fire Department report. Bystander and leaked cell phone footage showed Good attempting to drive away when the shots were fired, contradicting claims by government officials that she had used her vehicle as a weapon.

An undocumented Maryland mother whose teenage son died of cancer while she was in ICE custody has requested deportation to Mexico. Officials did not release Martinez-Carrada in time to see her son before his death in late January, though she was permitted to attend his funeral.