Human Impact Project

Norberto Ambrosio, owner of Just Peachy market in Encinitas, was called to immigration court after his deportation case was reopened in October, more than a decade after it was administratively closed in 2013. Ambrosio, who came to the U.S. from Mexico in 1990 at age 16 and has no criminal record, has filed to fight his deportation. Community members rallied in support at his hearing on November 25, with the next court date scheduled for May 19.

Bruna Ferreira, a 34-year-old Brazilian national who arrived in the U.S. as a child and held DACA protection, was arrested by ICE on November 12, 2025, while driving to pick up her son from school. An immigration judge granted her release on a $1,500 bond on December 8 after 26 days in detention across multiple facilities. The government stipulated to arguments that she posed no danger or flight risk and did not challenge her release. She remains in removal proceedings with mandatory periodic check-ins with ICE as conditions of her release.

California revoked approximately 13,000 commercial driver's licenses for migrant drivers after the Trump administration required the state to cancel licenses whose expiration dates exceeded drivers' legal status end dates. The federal government has banned the DMV from processing new commercial license applications, though affected drivers may apply for standard Class C licenses. Civil rights groups challenged the cancellations, but the U.S. Court of Appeals rejected an emergency request to pause the revocations effective March 6, 2026.

A man was forcibly removed from a car by federal immigration officers near West 157th Street and Broadway in Washington Heights on Wednesday morning around 8:15 a.m. The officers, including some appearing to be Homeland Security Investigations agents, placed the man into an unmarked black SUV. No immediate information was available about the person's identity or the reason for the detention.

Giorgi Gvedashvili, a Georgian citizen who entered the U.S. in 2022 and filed an asylum application, was detained by ICE in November 2025 during a routine check-in. He had originally been released on his own recognizance after being apprehended by Border Patrol. The federal court ruled his detention unlawful and ordered his immediate release, finding he did not meet the criteria for mandatory detention under immigration law.

Beginning in November 2025, ICE agents have detained spouses of U.S. citizens at USCIS offices immediately following marriage-based green card interviews. The arrests have occurred at multiple field offices including San Diego, Cleveland, New York City, and Utah, affecting applicants with visa overstays. Many detainees had no criminal history and were approved for their green cards, yet remained in ICE custody facing prolonged immigration court proceedings.

The Santa Ana Police Department has deployed approximately 57 automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras from Flock Safety and Motorola to track all drivers in the city, with data shared in national databases. Simultaneously, ICE is establishing a 24/7 social media surveillance team at the Pacific Enforcement Response Center in Santa Ana to identify and target individuals for arrest. The surveillance infrastructure represents a public-private partnership between local law enforcement and immigration authorities.

As the Trump administration intensifies a mass deportation campaign, immigrant parents are rushing to make temporary guardianship arrangements for their children. Legal clinics report increased demand as parents seek to designate emergency caretakers such as friends, acquaintances, or teachers to care for their kids.

An Instagram post reports ICE agents forcibly placing a person into a van at 7:50 AM near 148th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 16th Street. The person was reportedly pleading for help in Spanish while being detained. Bystanders observed the incident but did not intervene or identify the individual.

Rafael Veraza and his 1-year-old daughter were allegedly pepper-sprayed by ICE agents in a Chicago suburb while the family was going grocery shopping. The incident occurred last week, and the family held a news conference to discuss the alleged use of force. The Department of Homeland Security has disputed the allegation.

Agenord N., a Haitian citizen who entered the U.S. in 2023 and was paroled, was arrested in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida on April 16, 2025 for battery. After conviction on November 4, 2025, he was detained by immigration agents on November 10, 2025 and transferred to Central Valley Annex in California. The court granted his habeas petition, finding he was not subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) and ordering a bond hearing within 14 days.

A high school student and mariachi musician describes two separate immigration raids on his family occurring four months apart. The article details the student's experience and documents the effects of federal immigration enforcement on young people of color across the United States.

Susan Paola Leo Huayan was detained by ICE on November 9, 2025, while in custody at Utah County Jail after her B-2 visitor visa expired in June 2022. She had entered the U.S. on December 10, 2021, with a valid visa. After six months in ICE detention without a bond hearing, the federal court found a due process violation and ordered her immediate release.

The flow of migrants crossing from Guatemala into Mexico has dramatically decreased since the Trump administration implemented stricter border policies and mass deportation campaigns. Migrants who were traveling northward toward the United States are now turning around and heading south, with daily crossings at the Guatemala-Mexico border falling from over 1,000 to 40-50 people. Shelters in Tapachula that were overcrowded with migrants nine months ago have nearly emptied, and raft pilots who once earned over $100 daily ferrying migrants across the Suchiate River now have little work.

An ICE agent pointed a gun at a female driver in Santa Ana who was allegedly recording him. A Fullerton police officer intervened at the scene and the ICE agent identified himself and provided credentials. The officer declined to assist, noting no crime had occurred, and the woman left the area.

An ICE agent brandished a firearm at Sol, an unarmed community watch member, at the intersection of Santa Ana Boulevard and Shelton Street in Santa Ana on November 9, 2025. The agent pointed his gun directly at Sol after she had been legally observing and documenting what appeared to be an ICE vehicle. A Fullerton Police officer witnessed the incident but did not intervene after the agent identified himself as ICE and claimed Sol was following him.

Alex González and Yan Vázquez, a married couple who work at Upstate Medical University, were released from Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in February 2026 after posting bond, months after their October 2025 ICE arrest. The couple were detained while awaiting a hearing to finalize their legal status and now face deportation orders to Ecuador, a country where they have no connection. Their asylum cases based on persecution claims related to their sexual orientation remain pending in court, and a third hospital coworker, Mohamed Fofana, remains in ICE custody in Texas.

The Trump administration launched Operation Midway Blitz, an immigration enforcement surge in the Chicago region beginning in September 2025, resulting in over 4,300 arrests during the two-month operation. Protests at the Broadview ICE holding facility led to criminal charges against four protesters; federal agents used flashbang grenades, tear gas, and pepper balls against protesters and journalists. In May 2026, a federal judge dismissed charges against the four protesters after revealing improper prosecutorial conduct, including inaccurate descriptions of agents' actions in court.

Jaykie Funez-Andrade, who has lived in the United States for over 20 years, was detained by ICE on Route 11 North in Harrisonburg, Virginia while driving her 16-year-old daughter to school. When an ICE agent asked her to recite her Social Security number from memory, Funez-Andrade had difficulty, and the agent lunged at her. She immediately produced proof of legal status including a work permit, Social Security card, driver's license, and car registration, but ICE arrested her anyway. Her daughter filmed the interaction and stated: "I want this video out there because I want my mother home." Funez-Andrade is being held in Rockingham County Jail with no criminal charges, reportedly as a courtesy to ICE.

Federal agents sprayed pepper spray from a moving vehicle at a line of cars exiting a Sam's Club parking lot in Cicero on Saturday morning, striking a 1-year-old child among other occupants. Video footage shows a masked federal agent firing chemical irritants through open car windows.

An Indian American employee of the Illinois Department of Transportation who is a U.S. citizen was questioned by three masked federal agents on November 7 while working at a Busse Highway resurfacing project in Park Ridge. The agents asked whether the employee had traveled to New York and if he was aware of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who is also Indian. Governor JB Pritzker's office condemned the stop as a targeted questioning of a state employee with no legitimate reason.

J.A.M.C., who arrived in the U.S. at age 3 in 1991, was detained by ICE on November 7, 2025 during a scheduled check-in at the San Francisco ICE Field Office. ICE alleged he violated his GPS monitoring terms by visiting Stinson Beach on Labor Day, though he claims he had permission from his ISAP officer. The court ordered his immediate release and prohibited re-detention without a hearing before an immigration judge.

Kara Dominguez, a U.S. citizen and activist who runs La Voz del Pueblo, a grassroots group tracking ICE activity on Facebook, alleges that ICE arrested her husband Olvin Dominguez on November 5, 2025, in retaliation for her activism. According to Kara, her husband reported that ICE officers said they had been monitoring her Facebook page. Olvin Dominguez, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras with no criminal record who has lived in the U.S. for 17 years, was transferred to Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana.

The FBI issued a warning about criminals impersonating ICE agents to commit violent crimes including robberies, kidnappings, sexual assaults, and threats. At least five incidents have occurred since early 2025 in North Carolina, New York, and Florida, with impersonators using fake credentials and ICE-labeled clothing to target vulnerable communities. The FBI attributed the effectiveness of these scams to increased ICE enforcement activity and media coverage, and provided guidance to law enforcement on identifying impersonators and verifying legitimate agent credentials.

Juliana Milena Ojeda Montoya, 24, an Ecuadorian national with a pending asylum claim and valid work authorization, was detained by ICE on November 6, 2025, during a traffic stop on Kimball Street in Fitchburg. The detention occurred while her husband, Carlos Sebastian Zapata, 24, a Fitchburg resident, appeared to suffer a seizure while holding their 1½-year-old daughter. According to Zapata's account, an ICE agent pushed him, hit his ribs, and pressed on his neck, causing him to lose consciousness. Video of the incident captured bystanders expressing concern for his safety and went viral. The Department of Homeland Security claimed Zapata was faking a medical emergency to help his wife evade arrest, though medical examination findings are disputed. A federal judge ordered Ojeda Montoya's release on November 10, finding that her detention without a hearing violated her due process rights and citing her young daughter whom she breastfeeds and her husband's acute medical episode. Ojeda Montoya had been released on bond in March 2024.

Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, was sentenced to time served for illegally reentering the United States after spending nearly seven months in jail since his arrest outside the Milwaukee County Courthouse. He pleaded guilty and agreed not to fight deportation in exchange for prosecutors recommending a time-served sentence. He is now awaiting deportation from a county jail.

ICE agents surrounded a family's car in Fitchburg on Thursday morning to arrest Juliana Milena Ojeda-Montoya, who was wanted for allegedly stabbing a coworker with scissors. Video shows her husband Carlos Zapata, 24, appearing to have a seizure while holding their toddler daughter during the arrest. Zapata said agents pushed, hit him, and pressed on his neck, causing him to lose consciousness. DHS officials disputed his account, claiming he faked the medical emergency and stating medical personnel found no legitimate emergency.

Waukegan Alderman Juan Martinez was briefly detained by U.S. immigration enforcement agents on Baldwin Avenue while stuck in traffic on November 7, 2025. Four federal agents drew guns on Martinez while he sat in his car with his hands raised, with one agent threatening to shoot him. The agents eventually left after community members identified Martinez as a city alderman, and he filed a police report with the Waukegan Police Department.

A detainee identified as K.U. in court filings alleged he was not receiving proper medical care for numerous life-threatening health conditions while detained at Batavia. An independent physician reviewed his case and expressed extreme concern that he was not receiving the standard of appropriate medical care. A judge ordered his release in August 2025. ICE officials have not yet addressed his medical claims in court.

A Honduran man detained at Batavia was not receiving a prescribed medical cream to treat a skin condition, according to advocates with Justice for Migrant Families who documented his case in July 2025. The man also suffers from chronic pain, and ibuprofen had stopped working. Advocates demanded ICE take him to a specialist and administer different pain medication, but according to the organization's executive director, this has not happened.

Petey Feng, a Taiwanese cook who worked at Dallas restaurants, was detained by ICE on November 6, 2025, after an immigration check-in for overstaying his visa since 2010 and a 2023 DWI misdemeanor. He spent 133 days in ICE detention facilities in southwest Texas. Feng was denied voluntary departure and inadvertently signed away his right to appeal. He was deported and arrived in Taiwan in March 2026, where he cared for his aging parents.

Dennis Quiñonez, a 32-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested during a DHS immigration enforcement operation at a Home Depot parking lot in Cypress Park on November 4, 2025. ICE agents took his 1-year-old daughter into custody during the arrest. The child was subsequently reunited with family members, including her grandmother. Quiñonez was released on bond on November 6, 2025, and reunited with his family. He has been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of domestic violence.

Jonathan Caravello, a philosophy lecturer at California State University Channel Islands, entered a not guilty plea in federal court to a felony charge of assaulting an immigration agent with a deadly or dangerous weapon. Caravello was arrested on July 10 during a confrontation between federal agents and activists protesting immigration raids at licensed cannabis facilities in Ventura County. The alleged weapon is a tear gas canister that agents deployed against protesters.

Sean Charles Dunn, a 37-year-old former Justice Department paralegal, was acquitted of misdemeanor assault charges for throwing a sandwich at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent on August 10 during a protest outside a club hosting Latin Night in Washington, D.C. Dunn shouted "fascists" and "racists" at the agents and threw the sandwich as what he characterized as a "harmless gesture" of political protest. The Justice Department initially sought a felony assault indictment, but a grand jury declined to sign off on the felony charge, leading prosecutors to file a misdemeanor charge instead. The two-day trial centered on whether throwing a soft object could constitute forcible assault. Dunn was dismissed from his position after the incident.

On November 5, 2025, ICE agents detained Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, a teacher at Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center in Chicago's North Center neighborhood, during morning drop-off hours. According to DHS, officers conducted a traffic stop that led to a vehicle pursuit ending at the daycare facility. Agents entered and forcibly removed Galeano in front of children and parents, searching the facility. Galeano claimed to have work authorization and a pending asylum case, while DHS identified her as undocumented from Colombia. A federal judge subsequently ruled her mandatory detention illegal and ordered a bond hearing before an immigration judge. The incident prompted a rally of hundreds of community members and local officials demanding ICE stay out of schools and daycares.

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction restricting the use of force by federal agents in Chicago, finding the Trump administration's version of recent events involving agents was not credible. The judge noted that Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino admitted to lying during proceedings related to the incident.

A ProPublica report documents ICE's detention of approximately 170 American citizens during immigration enforcement operations, revealing widespread Fourth Amendment violations. The article details multiple cases of ICE agents using excessive force against U.S. citizens, including pepper-spraying a man filming agents, tackling a 79-year-old car wash owner, and detaining a woman without outside contact for over two days, despite Department of Homeland Security claims that ICE does not arrest U.S. citizens for immigration enforcement.

Federal agents arrested a teacher at a Chicago daycare in front of parents and children; the educator had a work permit and can be heard telling authorities she had papers. In a separate incident in Los Angeles, federal immigration agents arrested a U.S. citizen during a Home Depot raid and drove away with his 1-year-old daughter still in the vehicle; the child and her grandmother are both U.S. citizens.

A federal judge issued a 14-day temporary restraining order against ICE's Broadview, Illinois facility following a class-action lawsuit by detainees over inhumane conditions including overcrowding, filthy toilets, and lack of hygiene supplies. The order requires the facility to provide clean bedding, adequate space, soap, toilet paper, medications, three meals daily, and bottled water, with holding rooms cleaned twice daily and detainees allowed to shower at least every other day. The judge also barred agents from misrepresenting documents to detainees and required authorities to provide free private phone calls to lawyers. A status report on compliance is due by Friday.

An immigrant named Javier experienced severe mobility issues while in ICE detention due to medical neglect. Advocates have called for an end to medical neglect of immigrant detainees.

Juanita Avila, a Guatemalan-born permanent resident and shop owner, was detained by ICE agents on November 5, 2025, while driving on Highway 99 in Cottage Grove despite having her valid green card in her pocket. Avila alleges she was racially profiled and that agents used excessive force, dragging her from her vehicle and pinning her to the pavement. Her case became part of a lawsuit that challenged ICE's "arrest first, justify later" tactics; in May 2026, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking ICE agents in Oregon from detaining people without warrants or probable cause, ruling their conduct "brutal and violent" and a systematic violation of constitutional rights.

Federal immigration agents arrested a U.S. citizen in Los Angeles and took control of his vehicle, which contained his one-year-old daughter inside. The agents drove away with the child in the car after detaining the father.

ICE agents arrested Juanita Avila, a 47-year-old legal permanent resident carrying her green card, during a traffic stop in November 2025 without showing a warrant or probable cause. Video evidence of the arrest captured by her daughter became part of a lawsuit challenging ICE's arrest practices. A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking ICE from continuing warrantless arrests in Oregon, citing the agency's conduct and systematic violation of constitutional rights.

ICE agents pointed rifles at bystanders and attempted to break down doors while conducting an enforcement action at Salem Walk apartments in unincorporated Northbrook on November 5, 2025. The operation, which lasted approximately 50 minutes and involved over a dozen agents and an armored vehicle, resulted in the arrest of Alan Eduardo Garcia, who had a history of violent convictions. Residents and community members confronted agents and filmed the incident.

ICE conducted arrests at multiple locations in Redmond, Washington on Monday, including at Bear Creek Village shopping center. One incident involved a man being detained outside a Panera Bread, with witnesses reporting that ICE agents broke a truck window and dragged out the occupant without showing a warrant. The Redmond Police Department confirmed it was not informed in advance of the operations and stated it does not participate in immigration enforcement.

According to an Instagram post by L.A. TACO, a Border Patrol agent hit a child in the face with a ball during a raid. The child was subsequently driven away from the scene by Border Patrol but was later reunited with their mother in the afternoon.

Seven workers detained by ICE agents at an Allston car wash in November 2025 filed a federal tort claim alleging they were unlawfully arrested, racially profiled, and mistreated in custody. The complaint states that ICE agents arrested nine workers without warrants or probable cause, singling them out because they were Latino and Spanish-speaking. Two of the arrested workers had valid work permits at the time of arrest. The workers allege they were shackled, transported to multiple detention facilities, and denied access to phones, legal counsel, and necessary medications. Seven employees of Allston Car Wash were detained by federal immigration authorities in November 2024. Boston Lawyers for Civil Rights filed a federal complaint on their behalf under the Federal Tort Claims Act, seeking $1 million in compensation per worker plus legal fees for damages from what they describe as an aggressive, militarized, and indiscriminate raid.

Marta Brizeyda Renderos Leiva, a 39-year-old from El Salvador, was arrested by ICE at Salt Lake City International Airport while arriving on a flight. She had a valid work permit approved in 2024 and was unaware of a 2020 deportation order, as the court notice had been sent to an address where she no longer lived. Her attorney states she was detained for months, transferred through multiple facilities, and deported despite having an active appeal pending, leaving behind her four U.S. citizen children.

U.S. Border Patrol agents conducted an immigration enforcement operation at a Home Depot in Cypress Park on Election Day, involving about two dozen agents in tactical gear and approximately a dozen unmarked vehicles. At least six people were detained, including a toddler who was later reunited with family. Agents also entered a nearby day laborer center operated by IDEPSCA on private property, and one site coordinator was allegedly forcibly detained and injured.

Daniel Angel Meléndez, an immigrant from El Salvador, was detained by ICE agents on November 4 during a yearly check-in in Cedar Rapids. His wife María Lozano, a U.S. citizen, and family members appealed to U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks at a town hall on November 10 to prevent his deportation. Meléndez has a U.S.-born child and has been in the country since 2017, having applied for asylum based on gang violence threats.