Human Impact Project

Noemi Chavez and her two children, ages 8 and 3, were detained by ICE agents in Millennium Park on September 28 while on a family outing. Video showed the 8-year-old clinging to a doll and crying as heavily armed federal agents in camouflage detained the family. The mother reported agents targeted them based on appearance. Chavez and the children were released on October 2 after a federal judge ordered they be protected from deportation while a habeas corpus petition is reviewed. The family, originally from Guatemala, has an asylum appointment scheduled for October 2027.

Noemi Chavez, her husband Jaime Ramirez, and their two children (ages 8 and 3) were detained by federal agents at Millennium Park on September 28, 2025, without a warrant while the children played at the Crown Fountain. When Chavez asked to see a warrant, agents ignored her request. The family originally came from Guatemala in 2023 seeking protection and have an asylum hearing scheduled for October 2027. Chavez and the children were released after detention, but Jaime Ramirez was transferred to detention facilities in Texas and Indiana. A federal judge characterized the stop as "unconstitutional" based on the family's appearance, and attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition alleging the family was stopped because of their skin color. The case is part of broader litigation challenging ICE's warrantless arrest practices in violation of a 2022 consent decree.

Esteban Rios, a Mexican national who immigrated to the U.S. over 30 years ago, was detained by ICE agents on September 28, 2025, at Camp Pendleton while attempting to visit his pregnant daughter with his wife Luisa Rodriguez. Initially released with an ankle monitor, he was detained again when he checked in with ICE days later and was deported on Friday, October 10, 2025. The family has pending green card applications sponsored by his son, U.S. Marine Steve Rios, and says they have no criminal history.

An ICE officer was reinstated to duty days after being temporarily removed following a video showing him pushing an Ecuadoran woman to the ground outside an immigration court in New York City during her husband's detention. The reinstatement occurred despite the Department of Homeland Security condemning the conduct as unacceptable and despite political calls for felony charges. The officer has a history of aggressive behavior at the same location, according to reports.

Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez was shot and killed by an ICE officer in Chicago in September 2025 after an unmarked vehicle pulled in front of his car. The Department of Homeland Security claimed the officer was "seriously injured" when Villegas-Gonzalez hit and dragged him with his vehicle. Video evidence obtained afterward showed the officer sustained injuries he characterized as "nothing major," contradicting the DHS account of the severity of his injuries.

ICE agents detained multiple immigrant families during weekend operations in Chicago, including three families apprehended at Millennium Park, a shopping center, and a Walmart. The detainees, from Guatemala, Ecuador, and Venezuela, were held at O'Hare International Airport awaiting transfer to Texas detention centers before deportation. Families alleged they were targeted based on their appearance and that agents ignored demands to see warrants.

Ian Andre Roberts, superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, was arrested by ICE on a fugitive warrant for living in the U.S. illegally despite a federal immigration judge's prior removal order. Roberts, a Guyana citizen who entered on an F-1 student visa in 1999, remained in the country after his work authorization expired in 2020. During his arrest, he was found in possession of a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash, and a hunting knife, and fled in a school-provided vehicle before being apprehended with state patrol assistance. Roberts has a criminal record with prior weapons charges.

Three women—Cynthia Raygoza, Sandra Carmona Samane, and Ashleigh Brown—have been federally indicted for allegedly following an ICE agent home and publicly disclosing his personal information on social media. On August 28, 2025, the women livestreamed their pursuit of the agent from Downtown Los Angeles to his residence on Instagram, then shouted to neighbors about his identity and posted his address online. Each faces federal charges of conspiracy and disclosing a federal agent's personal information, with sentences of up to five years in prison per count. Raygoza remains at large while her codefendants have been arrested.

Freelance photojournalist Dave Decker was shot multiple times with pepper balls by federal officers and had his camera lens damaged while covering protests outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois on September 27, 2025. Officers appeared to target Decker specifically, pointing him out before firing. The incident occurred during protests at an ICE detention and processing facility.

Six detainees at the California City Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility, which reopened in late August as the state's largest ICE detention center, described poor conditions including filthy cells, lack of medical care, insufficient food and hygiene supplies, and aggressive staff behavior. The facility, operated by CoreCivic on the grounds of a former state prison, has faced criticism for allegedly operating without proper permits. Detainees characterized conditions as inhumane, while CoreCivic disputed the allegations.

Ian Roberts, superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on September 26, 2025, after authorities discovered he lacked valid work authorization. Roberts, a native of Guyana, falsely claimed U.S. citizenship when hired in 2023 and is expected to plead guilty to making false statements on employment verification forms. He was also found in possession of illegal firearms at the time of his arrest. Roberts is no longer serving as superintendent of the district.

A 42-year-old Honduran national died while held by ICE in Nassau County, New York in the week prior to September 26, 2025. The death was among at least 16 ICE detainee deaths recorded since January 2025, contributing to concerns about deteriorating detention conditions.

Governor Joe Lombardo signed a nine-page memorandum of understanding with the DOJ committing Nevada to full federal immigration enforcement cooperation, making it the first state removed from the Trump administration's sanctuary list. The agreement allocated FEMA funds for sheriffs facilitating ICE operations, committed the Nevada National Guard to administrative immigration enforcement support, and pledged state opposition to Democratic officials' immigration policies. The DOJ made no commitments to Nevada in return.

Maikol Carreno, a 24-year-old Venezuelan barber in Yuma, Arizona, was detained by ICE agents while giving a haircut at Stay Faded Barbershop. Carreno, who is seeking asylum, was transferred to Eloy Detention Center. His U.S. citizen wife, who is three weeks away from giving birth, is pleading for his release with community support.

Federal immigration agents used baton rounds, tear gas, and chemical agents against protesters outside the ICE detention facility in Broadview on September 26, 2025. This was the third consecutive Friday of confrontations between protesters and federal agents at the facility. At least two people were arrested as agents attempted to clear the street and protesters refused to disperse.

An ICE officer was placed on administrative leave after video footage showed him shoving a woman to the ground in a courthouse hallway in New York. The incident occurred after federal agents attempted to detain the woman's husband during an immigration enforcement action. DHS stated the officer's conduct was unacceptable and initiated a full investigation into the incident.

A 25-year-old paraprofessional at a special education school in Inver Grove Heights was taken into custody early Monday after an apparent collision with a federal vehicle in the parking lot of Concord Education Center. She was held at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility at Fort Snelling for nearly 12 hours before being released pending an investigation. Her mother reported a lack of communication during the detention. U.S. Rep. Angie Craig's office commented on the detention.

On September 26, 2025, federal agents used chemical agents including pepper balls and tear gas against over 100 protesters gathered outside an ICE detention facility in Broadview, Illinois. The protest was organized to demonstrate against detention conditions and show support for detainees. Following the confrontation, 11 people were taken into custody, with five subsequently facing federal charges including assault on federal officers. Broadview Mayor Katrina R. Thompson sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security requesting intervention, citing dangers to residents and public safety personnel from chemical agents that can travel hundreds of feet, and noting that a gate constructed by the agency across Beech Street is blocking emergency access.

On September 26, 2025, federal immigration agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection forcibly removed a U.S. citizen from her white Toyota in Key Largo, Florida, while she stated her citizenship status. The woman, wearing medical scrubs, was handcuffed and placed in an agent's vehicle before being released after approximately 10 minutes when agents confirmed her U.S. citizenship through her driver's license found in the car. According to CBP, the woman had refused to provide identification or roll down her window during the stop. Legal experts subsequently noted that individuals generally retain the right to refuse identification during immigration stops and that agents require individualized reasonable suspicion to conduct such stops.

Nicolas W., a 43-year-old father of four from Guatemala who owned a tow truck company, had a valid work permit, and had lived in the United States for 10 years, was arrested by ICE on September 26, 2025. He was walking to his truck after buying tools at Home Depot when a masked agent grabbed him by the arm, refused to let go, and told him to shut up. Agents searched him and told him he did not have the right to speak. He was taken to a station in Burlington, Massachusetts, and later transferred to Camp East Montana.

Paramjit Singh, a lawful permanent resident who arrived in the U.S. 30 years ago, was detained at Chicago O'Hare Airport on July 30, 2025, based on a 25-year-old theft conviction. DHS subsequently filed for his removal citing an alleged 2008 forgery conviction that appears not to exist; an immigration judge ordered his release on a $10,000 bond in August, but DHS filed an automatic stay to keep him detained. Singh, who is suffering from a progressive brain tumor causing vision loss, remains in a Kentucky county jail awaiting removal proceedings scheduled for September 29.

The National Immigrant Justice Center and ACLU of Illinois filed a federal court notice on behalf of 27 people arrested without warrants or probable cause by Department of Homeland Security officers since May 2025, with at least 20 arrested in September. The filing challenges violations of a consent decree that prohibits racial profiling and warrantless arrests, documenting incidents where people were arrested while walking in neighborhoods, at parking lots, during traffic stops, and at their homes.

Independent journalist Leigh Kunkel was shot in the face and back of the head with pepper balls by federal officers while reporting on protests outside an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois on September 26, 2025. Kunkel was documenting demonstrations at the facility when ICE agents emerged from the gates and began firing crowd-control munitions at journalists and protesters gathered nearby.

ICE is transferring detained immigrants faster and more frequently than in 2024, with 12% of detainees transferred at least four times compared to 6% in the same period last year. These transfers move people far from family, attorneys, and legal resources, with some individuals transferred up to 15 times across multiple states before deportation.

Xiomara Suarez-Marin, a 29-year-old Peruvian national seeking asylum, was detained by ICE during a scheduled USCIS appointment in Los Angeles on September 26, despite having a pending green card application through her wife. She had entered the U.S. in 2022 under humanitarian parole and had complied with all previous ICE check-ins. She remains in federal custody at Adelanto Detention Center with an immigration court hearing scheduled for January 28.

Ayman Soliman, an Egyptian-born imam and hospital chaplain at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, was detained by ICE on July 9, 2025, during a routine immigration check-in appointment after USCIS terminated his asylum status. Authorities alleged he provided material support to terrorists through involvement with an Egyptian charity organization. During approximately 10 weeks in custody at Butler County Jail, Soliman was held in freezing conditions, placed in isolation, and denied access to his attorney. The Department of Homeland Security subsequently withdrew its deportation case after court filings documented errors and inconsistencies in the government's evidence. Soliman was released in mid-to-late September 2025, his asylum status was reinstated, and his green card application was revived.

ICE enforcement actions in major U.S. cities on September 25-26, 2025 resulted in several incidents including an officer shoving a woman in a New York courthouse, tear gas used against protesters outside a Chicago detention center, and a woman injured during an arrest in the Boston area. A Guatemalan permanent resident named Hilda was forcibly detained in Chelsea, Massachusetts, sustaining injuries requiring hospitalization.

Four D.C. residents and the Maryland-based immigrant rights organization CASA filed a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration alleging that ICE violated immigration law by systematically arresting people in the District whom they perceived to be Latino without warrants or probable cause. A DHS spokeswoman called the allegations categorically false.

Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez, 32, died from injuries sustained in a sniper-style shooting at a Dallas ICE facility on September 24. He was shot at least eight times and had been in critical condition at Parkland Hospital before being removed from life support. Garcia-Hernandez was the second victim to die from the attack, leaving behind his wife and four children.

Norlan Guzman-Fuentes, a 37-year-old El Salvadoran national, was shot and killed on September 24, 2025, when a gunman opened fire at a Dallas ICE facility's controlled entrance. Guzman-Fuentes was in ICE custody at the time. He was the financial provider for his mother in El Salvador, who depended on his support.

A federal judge ordered the immediate release of Paulo Cesar Gamez Lira, a 27-year-old DACA recipient and father of four U.S. citizen children who was detained by ICE for 42 days. Gamez Lira was detained on August 13 when federal agents surrounded his vehicle in Horizon City, Texas, with two of his young children present. He was held at the Otero County Processing Center in Chaparral, New Mexico, separated from his family including a three-month-old infant with serious medical conditions. The federal government declined to oppose his release.

ICE agents pointed guns at and smashed the window of a car carrying a couple and their 1-month-old baby in Alamosa on September 24, 2025. The agents arrested Jose Aguilera, 33, from Mexico, who was returning from a court hearing with his partner and infant son. The arrest violated a 2020 Colorado law prohibiting ICE arrests of people going to or coming from courthouses.

A shooting occurred at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Dallas on Wednesday morning. The shooter, 29-year-old Joshua Jahn, fired from a rooftop across the street, killing one detainee and wounding two others before dying by self-inflicted gunshot wound. Evidence suggests the attack was anti-ICE in nature, with shell casings engraved with anti-ICE messages. A third detainee was critically wounded on September 24, 2025, when a gunman identified as Joshua Jahn opened fire at a Dallas ICE facility's controlled entrance, targeting a transport van containing detainees. The shooter, positioned on a nearby roof, fired indiscriminately at the facility. Jahn died by suicide shortly after the attack. Handwritten notes found at the scene indicated the shooter intended to instill fear in ICE agents, though the attack instead killed two detainees and critically wounded a third.

On September 24, 2025, a shooter identified as Joshua Jahn fired from a rooftop into an ICE facility near Interstate 35E in Dallas, killing three people detained by ICE and injuring one other before shooting himself. Two of the three victims were taken to hospitals in critical condition, with one dying six days later. Authorities found anti-ICE markings and notes in Jahn's personal effects, concluding the attack was a premeditated terrorist act targeting ICE agents.

Marcos Antonio De Oliveira Barros, 57, has been held at Broward Transitional Center in Florida for nearly six months since his September 2025 ICE detention for overstaying his tourist visa. His daughter Daianne, an American citizen, filed an I-130 petition to initiate his green card process and launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover legal costs, citing financial hardship as the detention has impacted her family's income from their construction business.

The ACLU of Massachusetts and partner organizations filed a class-action lawsuit challenging the widespread denial of bond hearings to people detained by ICE. The complaint alleges that the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice have systematically reclassified arrested individuals from statutory authority that allows bond requests to provisions that deny bond, violating constitutional and statutory rights and affecting thousands of people.

Jose Hernandez Alvarez, a man from El Salvador, was pulled over by Florida Highway Patrol Trooper John Petrofsky in Lake Worth Beach for driving with dark window tint. After the trooper contacted federal immigration authorities, Petrofsky arrested Alvarez, whom he said lacked legal status, and jailed him for driving with an expired license. Petrofsky identified Alvarez as "white" on official forms. WLRN reviewed 107 traffic cases involving Petrofsky in Palm Beach County and found he did not identify a single "Hispanic" driver during an 11-month period, raising questions about accurate race and ethnicity reporting that could hinder independent monitoring of alleged racial profiling.

CNN identified more than 100 US citizen children, ranging from newborns to teenagers, who have been separated from their parents due to ICE enforcement actions since President Trump took office in January 2025. The children have been placed in the care of relatives, neighbors, friends, coworkers, and strangers after their parents were detained during workplace raids, at ICE check-ins, or while dropping children at school. The Trump administration removed "humane enforcement" language from ICE's detention policy and is pursuing aggressive enforcement operations that result in parents being deported within days or weeks, often without adequate time to arrange childcare or make arrangements for their children to accompany them.

Victor Acurio Suárez, a 52-year-old Ecuadorian man with developmental disabilities living in Seaford, Delaware, has been detained at an ICE facility in Pennsylvania for three months following his arrest in a Lowe's parking lot. Governor Matt Meyer called for his immediate release and asylum. Suárez has no criminal history and has a credible fear of gang violence if deported to Ecuador.

Young children were left unattended on the side of the road after ICE agents detained their parents and an older sibling during an enforcement action in Cicero, Illinois.

Ismael Ayala-Uribe, a 39-year-old Mexican national and former DACA recipient, died on September 22, 2025, at Victor Valley Global Medical Center while in ICE custody. Ayala-Uribe was arrested by ICE/Border Patrol agents on August 17, 2025, during an enforcement operation at a car wash in Fountain Valley and transferred to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center five days later. During his approximately five-week detention, he reported severe pain from an infected abscess along with other symptoms including cough, fever, and shaking. On September 18, medical staff at the facility responded to his complaints with only Tylenol. On September 21, after developing complications, he was transferred to Victor Valley Global Medical Center. He was found unresponsive at 1:48 a.m. on September 22 and declared dead at 2:32 a.m. from cardiac arrest arising from septic shock. His family was not notified of his hospitalization until after his death. He is the 14th person to die in ICE custody since the start of 2025.

Marwan Marouf, a community leader in North Texas who has served the Muslim community for 30 years, was arrested by ICE on September 22, 2025, the same day his green card application was denied. He was transferred to Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Anson. His green card application denial relied on allegations from over a decade ago. The Muslim Legal Fund of America is challenging the denial in immigration and federal court.

Harjit Kaur, a 73-year-old Sikh woman who had lived legally in the United States for 33-34 years with no criminal record, was detained by ICE on September 8, 2025, following a routine check-in. During her 15-day detention at facilities in Bakersfield and Georgia, Kaur reported being denied basic hygiene supplies, vegetarian meals consistent with her Sikh faith, and water to take with her medication, and was forced to sleep on detention cell floors. She had filed multiple unsuccessful asylum applications and appeals, including to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. On September 22, Kaur was deported to India without advance notice to her family and without being allowed to return home or say goodbye, despite her attorney's requests for release with monitoring or commercial flight accompaniment given her age and medical conditions.

The Department of Homeland Security subpoenaed activist Sherman Austin and social media accounts associated with Stop ICE, a crowdsourced alert network documenting immigration enforcement activities, after they posted a video of a Border Patrol agent in February 2025. DHS alleged the post constituted doxing and violated officer safety protocols. Austin and civil liberties lawyers representing him argue the information was publicly available and that the post is protected speech under the First Amendment.

A 26-year-old San Jose woman learned of her pregnancy and miscarriage in a Central California immigrant detention facility.

A San Diego family's parents were ordered removed to Mexico on September 22, 2025, after an eight-year legal battle that began with their detention in May 2017. The parents worked as a paletero and had lived in the community for nearly thirty years. Their adult children have organized a fundraiser to support their parents' transition to Mexico.

Ismael Ayala-Uribe, a 39-year-old Mexican national and former DACA recipient, died while held at an ICE facility in Adelanto, California on September 21, 2025. His death was the 15th officially reported by ICE since January 2025. The death occurred amid a broader spike in ICE detainee mortality under the Trump administration, with at least 16 deaths recorded in nine months compared to 26 deaths over the entire four-year Biden administration.

Mi nombre es Ernesto y estoy recaudando fondos para ayudar a mi papá, Julio Ernesto Chavez Linares, quien fue detenido por inmigración mientras trabajaba el dia 11 de septiembre en un car wash que se llama 100 % hand Wash en Los Angeles California . Él es salvadoreño, nació el 13 de enero de 1983, y siempre ha sido el pilar de nuestra familia, especialmente para mi hermana menor de 12 años. La ausencia de mi papá ha sido muy difícil para nosotros, ya que él se encargaba de la vida diaria de mi hermana, su educación y el bienestar del hogar.

A 26-year-old San Jose asylum-seeker miscarried while detained at Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield after being denied immediate medical care for severe bleeding and cramping; she was shackled during hospital transport and required a blood transfusion. According to migrant rights advocates, her case may reflect a broader pattern, with evidence suggesting ICE is not following required protocols for pregnant and postpartum detainees, who are being held in unprecedented numbers without adequate medical care and food.

Congressional candidates Mayor Daniel Biss, Kat Abughazaleh, and Bushra Amiwala were teargassed by ICE agents during a protest at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois. Abughazaleh reported being thrown to the ground, and multiple protesters were struck with pepper balls and teargassed. ICE agents allegedly attempted to run over a peaceful protester with a van and detained at least one protester at the facility.