Human Impact Project

Democrats in Congress are investigating the detention and deportation of U.S. citizen children by immigration agents during Trump administration enforcement operations. ProPublica's reporting documented over 170 U.S. citizens detained by ICE, including more than 20 children who were handcuffed, held at gunpoint, exposed to chemical agents, and in some cases deported. Specific cases include a toddler and preschooler deported to Mexico despite having citizen status, and a 16-year-old citizen who was tackled and placed in a chokehold by agents.

An NPR analysis found that ICE enforcement surges in multiple U.S. cities resulted in substantial costs to local governments and police departments. Los Angeles police overtime spending climbed to $41 million in June 2025 during immigration raids and subsequent protests, while Minneapolis police spent $6.4 million on overtime in a single month during Operation Metro Surge. Portland police documented nearly 38,000 overtime hours in 2025 responding to ICE facility security and protests, and the cumulative economic impact in Minneapolis was estimated at over $203 million in one month.

San Diego County Sheriff's officials failed to investigate at least seven reported sexual assaults and four attempted sexual assaults at the privately run Otay Mesa immigration detention center in 2025. A 2020 memorandum of understanding between the sheriff's department and CoreCivic gives detention center Warden Christopher LaRose authority to decide whether to investigate rape allegations at the facility, which houses approximately 1,500 federal immigration detainees awaiting hearings. CoreCivic conducts only administrative investigations and refers potentially criminal matters to law enforcement, but no criminal investigations were pursued despite the allegations.

Jose Alfredo Rivas, a Honduran national who had been living in the U.S. for over a decade with protection under the Convention Against Torture, was detained by ICE during a routine check-in on March 23, 2026. He had been living free under an Order of Supervision for 14 years without any violations. The court granted his temporary restraining order and ordered his immediate release, finding that ICE violated his due process rights by detaining him without proper notice or hearing.

The Trump administration is significantly expanding ICE detention infrastructure as part of its mass deportation campaign. The federal government is spending billions—including $85 billion in new funding with $45 billion specifically allocated for detention expansion over four years—to purchase buildings and convert warehouses into detention centers. ICE is also expanding contracts with local jails and private prison facilities. The number of immigrants in ICE custody has increased over 80% to approximately 70,000 detainees. Lawmakers, advocacy groups, and some local officials have raised concerns about detention conditions in facilities not originally designed for human habitation, with communities across the political spectrum opposing the expansion.

Maria Loya Medina, a Mexican national who has lived in the United States for 21 years, was detained by ICE agents on January 10, 2026, in a parking lot in Albany, Oregon. A federal court subsequently ruled her initial detention unlawful and ordered a bond hearing. On February 4, an immigration judge denied her bond request at a hearing lasting 15 minutes. Her attorneys at Innovation Law Lab filed a second petition challenging the detention, alleging violations of her due process rights and claiming the brief hearing was insufficient to properly determine flight risk. The petition noted procedural concerns including lack of transcript and media exclusion. DHS was required to respond by March 23, 2026.

Senator Cory Booker held a press conference at Newark Airport to protest the Trump administration's deployment of ICE agents to airports across the country amid TSA funding disputes. Booker and ACLU representatives criticized the use of ICE agents at airports as reckless and a political tool, arguing the agency has a history of civil rights violations and should not be deployed in this capacity.

Following President Trump's mass deportation campaign, federal agents have conducted large-scale immigration enforcement crackdowns across multiple U.S. cities, resulting in hundreds of thousands of arrests and deportations. Companion animals including dogs, cats, bunnies, and chickens have been left behind by deported families, overwhelming pet rescue organizations and animal control agencies. Rolling River Rescue in New Orleans and other nonprofits are scrambling to find foster and adoptive homes for displaced pets, with some cities reporting significant increases in stray and abandoned animals.

A federal judge blocked a Trump administration policy that would have significantly expanded refugee detention in Texas. The court's decision paused a plan that would have affected tens of thousands of immigrants in the state.

Analysis of ICE enforcement data reveals that the Trump administration has detained parents of U.S. citizen children at elevated rates compared to the Biden administration, with mothers deported at significantly higher frequencies. Cases documented include Doris Flores and Egdulio Velasquez from Honduras, arrested in January 2025 and separated from their U.S. citizen infant and stepdaughter, and Olga Perez, a Guatemalan resident of 30 years detained in November 2025 and separated from her U.S.-born children. Data show over half of migrants deported in the past year had no criminal convictions, including individuals like Armando, deported in October 2025 after arriving as a child in 2003. Many detainees had established U.S. ties, paid taxes, and had no criminal records. Juan Chavez Velasco, a 35-year-old DACA recipient who has held the status since 2012, was detained by ICE agents outside his home in Weslaco while delivering breastmilk to his 6-week-old daughter in the NICU. Chavez Velasco has work authorization through DACA and no criminal history. DHS cited a 2005 removal order and stated that DACA does not confer legal status. His family was separated as a result of the detention.

On March 22 at San Francisco International Airport Terminal 3, ICE agents detained a woman, Angelina Lopez Jimenez, and her daughter who had removal orders issued in 2019. Multiple airport employees and passengers called 911, unaware of the immigration enforcement action, leading to confusion and concern. San Francisco police responded but did not assist in the detention based on a lieutenant's order. Lopez Jimenez and her daughter were subsequently deported to Guatemala.

Jose Leal, a Venezuelan-born artist living in Three Rivers, Texas, was detained by ICE following a traffic stop despite having an active asylum case, a valid work permit, and no criminal record. Leal had been compliant with all immigration requirements, including monthly check-ins in Houston. His wife, Francis Campos, expressed concern about his detention and said he came to the U.S. fleeing violence.

Between January 2025 and February 2026, ICE deported 363 pregnant, postpartum, or nursing women, according to Department of Homeland Security data released in response to congressional inquiry. As of February 16, 2026, ICE held 121 pregnant, postpartum, or nursing detainees, with 9 in their final trimester. The data documented 16 miscarriages in detention centers through September 2025. Reports from medical organizations and the ACLU documented inadequate prenatal care, delayed medical attention, and violations of ICE's own policies against detaining pregnant women. Federal policy discourages detention of pregnant individuals except in limited circumstances.

An activist Instagram post calls for the release of Ender Cardenas Chacon and other people granted asylum from Karnes ICE detention center. The post urges followers to contact the Department of Homeland Security and Congress to demand their release.

At least 500 people were ordered removed in absentia when they failed to appear for hearings at the San Francisco immigration court during a week when an unusually high number of cases were scheduled. Former immigration judges and attorneys stated that the mass scheduling of hearings, combined with potential notice problems, may have affected the removal orders against people who did not receive notice or could not attend.

The Trump administration has implemented aggressive policies targeting both undocumented immigrants and those legally in the US, including suspending the refugee program, revoking temporary protected status for approximately 1 million people, restricting asylum access, pausing humanitarian parole programs affecting over 1.5 million people, and targeting DACA recipients and visa holders. The policies render many legally-present immigrants vulnerable to detention and deportation by stripping them of their status.

A Guardian investigation documented 42 known deaths in ICE custody as of March 2026 under the Trump administration. Specific cases included Victor Manuel Diaz and Geraldo Lunas Campos, who died at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas. The investigation identified issues including inadequate medical care, poor emergency response protocols, disease transmission risks, jurisdictional confusion between federal and local authorities over autopsies and investigations, and opaque investigative processes that prevented families from obtaining answers about their relatives' deaths.

ICE has activated the Detention Reengineering Initiative (DRI), a centralized detention and deportation model implemented through new federal megacenters. These facilities consolidate arrest, legal proceedings, and deportation processing in single locations, with capacities of 7,000-10,000 detainees each and an average detention period of 60 days. The first confirmed megacenter is located in Social Circle, Georgia, with additional facilities anticipated in border states and the Southeast. The initiative operates alongside expedited deportation procedures capable of removing undocumented immigrants within 48 hours, representing a shift toward more rapid enforcement operations.

Estefany Rodriguez, a reporter with Nashville Noticias, was detained by ICE on March 4 after missing immigration appointments. She was held in federal immigration custody for 16 days, including time at a detention facility in Louisiana, which she described as having inhumane conditions. Rodriguez maintained she had legal status and was following proper immigration procedures, and attributed her detention to confusion over missed appointments. She was released on bond and is pursuing multiple legal remedies, including an asylum case and a potential green card through marriage to a U.S. citizen.

Estefany Rodriguez, a reporter with Nashville Noticias, was detained by ICE on March 4 in South Nashville. Rodriguez maintained legal status throughout her detention and believes missed immigration appointments may have contributed to her arrest. She was held for 16 days and transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana, where she reported difficult conditions and limited access to legal assistance. Rodriguez was released on bond and is pursuing multiple legal paths forward, including an asylum case and a potential green card application.

Estefany Rodríguez Flórez, a Spanish-language reporter for Nashville Noticias and Colombian citizen, was arrested by ICE agents on March 4, 2026, during a traffic stop. She had entered the U.S. on a tourist visa five years prior and had a pending asylum application and green card application through marriage to a U.S. citizen. Rodríguez was detained for over two weeks, transferred between facilities in Alabama and Louisiana, and held in isolation with reported abusive treatment including forced chemical washing. An immigration judge granted her release on bond on March 16, 2026, and she was released on March 20 after the $10,000 bond was paid. Her legal team filed federal court petitions challenging the arrest as warrantless and alleging violations of her First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment rights, including allegations of retaliation for her critical reporting on ICE enforcement activities. The government maintained it had discretionary authority to initiate removal proceedings.

Luis Jose Valencia filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan on March 20, 2026, challenging his detention. The petition includes motions for temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, and immediate release, with supporting documentation including passport, employment letter, rental lease, and clean police record.

An Irving police officer conducted a traffic stop of a white Nissan pickup truck on March 20, 2026, after observing an obscured license plate and evasive driving. A K-9 unit alerted to narcotics, leading to a probable cause search that discovered cocaine, marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms, and a THC vape pen. Two individuals, Mitchell Kvaal and Karen Sarahi Duran-Quintero, were arrested and transported to Irving Jail.

Paolo Zampolli, a Trump associate and presidential special envoy, requested that ICE detain his Brazilian ex-girlfriend Amanda Ungaro who was in a Miami jail on fraud charges. ICE official David Venturella promptly arranged for Ungaro to be placed in ICE custody, and she was ultimately deported. The incident reflects allegations that federal government resources are being used to settle personal scores during the second Trump administration.

Pastor Yeison Cortes Vasquez was detained by ICE on March 20 and is being held at Delaney Hall in Newark. DHS says he overstayed his visa in 2016, though church members and supporters say he was seeking asylum from Colombia and following legal processes. Members of Congress visited the facility and reported poor conditions, including inadequate ventilation and health concerns among detainees.

The U.S. government is opening large detention megacenters under the Detention Reengineering Initiative (DRI) to centralize processing of immigrants. The new facilities will consolidate intake, background checks, immigration hearings, and deportation preparation in single locations. According to official documents, immigrants may remain detained for approximately 60 days while their legal status is determined or deportation logistics are arranged.

Yeison Cortes Vasquez, a 46-year-old evangelical pastor at The Gathering Place Church in New Jersey, was detained by ICE on March 20 at Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark. Church leaders reported he was denied access to a Bible for at least a week before funds were provided to purchase one through the facility's system. Vasquez, a Colombian national with an active asylum case and no criminal record, was stopped while on a delivery route. DHS stated that detainees are permitted religious items upon request and denied allegations of Bible denial.

A federal judge ordered the immediate release of Daysi Camila Patin Patin, 20, who had been detained since an ICE raid on March 11. She was one of three people taken into custody during the operation; all three have now been released following court hearings. None of the three detained were the person named in the warrant that authorized the raid.

Jiaye You, a fourth-year Chinese-American student at University at Buffalo, was arrested by ICE after attending a routine immigration hearing in New York City and is currently held at Jackson Parish Correctional Center in Louisiana. The reason for his detention remains unclear. His professor has launched a GoFundMe campaign that has raised over $24,000 for legal fees, and the university has expressed support for his case.

Royer Perez-Jimenez, a 19-year-old indigenous Tzotzil Mayan from Chiapas, Mexico, died on March 16, 2026, at Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Florida, while in ICE custody. He was found unresponsive at approximately 2:34 a.m. and pronounced deceased at 2:51 a.m. ICE stated the death was a presumed suicide, though the official cause of death remained under investigation. Perez-Jimenez had been arrested on January 21 for a traffic violation, convicted of misdemeanors on February 19, transferred to ICE custody on February 21, and moved to the detention facility on February 26. His death marked the 13th acknowledged death in ICE detention in 2026.

During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, US Marine Corps Gen. Francis Donovan stated the military will establish a detention camp at Guantánamo Bay to house Cuban migrants. The administration has already signed an executive order to expand the Migrant Operations Center at Guantánamo Bay to over 30,000 beds.

ICE arrests averaged over 1,000 people per day in early 2026, nearly double the rate from the previous year. Roughly half of these arrests were custodial arrests of people already in law enforcement custody. Despite high-profile enforcement surges in Democratic-led areas, arrest data shows higher numbers in states like Texas and Florida.

Jose Valera Vera, a medical assistant at a Memphis clinic, was detained by ICE after traveling to Nashville for an immigration hearing. Vera, a former doctor from Venezuela seeking political asylum, was taken into custody at the hearing despite having a pending petition filed by his wife, who is a permanent resident. He has since been transferred to a facility in Mason, Tennessee.

ICE detained multiple families with children at the South Texas Family Residential Center (also called Dilley Immigration Processing Center) in Texas, holding them beyond the 20-day limit mandated by the Flores Settlement Agreement. Specific cases included Hayam El Gamal and her five children (detained over nine months), Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano and her mother (seized near a school in Minnesota), Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias and his 5-year-old son Liam (who entered legally in 2023 with an active asylum case), and a family with a 12-year-old girl with hearing disability. Children reported psychological effects including regression, self-harm, and nightmares, along with limited access to medical care, therapy, and education. Some families experienced illness and malnutrition. The facility was reopened by the Trump administration. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro worked to release individuals from the facility, and the population decreased from 1,100 to 450 people following his involvement since January.

ICE agents detained Raúl Tapia on Wednesday after surrounding his van near his home in Georgetown, Delaware as he and his son drove to work. Agents broke the van's windows and removed Tapia without presenting a warrant or arrest warrant. Tapia came to the United States from Mexico approximately 25 years ago and lacks legal immigration status. He is currently held in a detention center in Philadelphia.

Alvaro Velasquez, a high school senior at Roosevelt Schools in Nassau County, New York, was detained by ICE in May 2025 weeks before graduation. He was held at a detention center in Texas for several months before self-deporting to Guatemala. Superintendent Dr. Shawn Wightman traveled to Guatemala at his own expense to deliver Velasquez's cap, gown, and diploma in person after being denied access to him at the detention facility.

Adrian Conejo Arias and his 5-year-old son Liam Conejo Ramos were detained together during an immigration enforcement operation in a Minneapolis suburb in January 2026 and held for 10 days in a Texas detention center. The Department of Homeland Security subsequently requested expedited deportation proceedings against the family. An immigration judge denied their asylum claim on March 19, 2026, ordering them deported to Ecuador. The family's immigration lawyers have been fighting the deportation and are appealing the ruling.

Two individuals were detained by ICE and subsequently released on bond following legal proceedings. Estefany María Rodríguez Flores, a Colombian journalist for Nashville Noticias, was detained during a traffic stop on March 4, 2026, and released on March 19 after an immigration judge granted bond. Leqaa Kordia, a 33-year-old Palestinian woman, was detained in March 2025 after meeting with immigration authorities and held for over a year at Prairieland Detention Facility in Texas before being released on March 16, 2026, following a judge's bond order that the Department of Homeland Security declined to appeal.

Juan Chavez Velasco, a DACA recipient since 2012 and medical lab specialist, was detained by ICE agents outside his Weslaco home while traveling to deliver breastmilk to his 6-week-old daughter in the neonatal intensive care unit. Despite holding DACA protections and having no criminal history, DHS cited a 2005 removal order issued before his DACA approval, arguing that DACA does not confer legal status. His attorney contends he is being targeted amid shifting political priorities regarding DACA's scope.

Juan Chavez Velasco, a DACA recipient since 2012 and medical lab specialist, was detained by ICE agents outside his Weslaco home while en route to deliver breastmilk to his 6-week-old daughter in the NICU. Chavez Velasco is married to a U.S. citizen and has four U.S. citizen children. His attorney argues he is being targeted amid shifting political priorities regarding DACA protections, as he has no criminal history. JeanCarlos Fiallos Manzanares, a 32-year-old DACA recipient from Miami, was detained by ICE in May 2025 after officers appeared at his mother's home while he was dropping off his children. He has remained in an ICE detention center in New Mexico for ten months despite receiving approval for his DACA renewal. He filed a lawsuit challenging his detention, and a U.S. District judge found the government should respond to his petition, but no public filings have occurred since January.

Aliya Rahman, a U.S. citizen from Minneapolis with autism and traumatic brain injury, was arrested by Capitol Police while attending the State of the Union as a guest of Rep. Ilhan Omar. The federal government announced it will not file charges against her. Rahman claims she was arrested for standing silently in the gallery; Capitol Police say she refused to obey lawful orders.

The Department of Defense is continuing to recruit civilian employees to volunteer for support roles with the Department of Homeland Security in border security missions. According to a Pentagon email, 1,000 civilians have been added to assist DHS, with 200 already deployed and 900 applications submitted. Detailees will support Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection with logistics, operations development, and informant tiplines.

Cristian Humberto Jerez Andrade, a 31-year-old Honduran national, was detained during an ICE raid on March 11, 2026, at a South Burlington residence. He was held for a week at Northwest State Correctional Facility before an immigration judge granted him a $10,000 bond on March 19. Jerez Andrade was not named on the search warrant and has not been charged with a crime, though deportation proceedings have been initiated against him.

Elvira Benitez-Suarez, a 51-year-old mother of four U.S. citizen children who has lived in the United States for 35 years, was detained by ICE on March 10, 2026, during a routine check-in appointment in Milwaukee. An immigration judge had previously ruled that her deportation order should be thrown out and approved her green card application, finding that deportation would cause exceptional hardship to her U.S. citizen children. She was transferred to Campbell County Detention Center in Kentucky. The Department of Homeland Security appealed the judge's decision, and her family and attorney called for her release, arguing there is no legal or public safety basis for her continued detention while the appeal is pending.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox endorsed a new ICE detention center purchased for $145.4 million in Salt Lake City, which could hold up to 7,500 detainees. Cox expressed concerns that state leaders and local officials were not notified of the facility's purchase. The warehouse purchase is part of a broader federal effort to establish regional detention "mega-facilities" across the country.

Chih-Ming 'Petey' Feng, a line cook in Dallas's restaurant industry, was deported to Taiwan on March 19, 2026, after spending more than 130 days in ICE custody. Feng was detained on November 6, 2025, when he attended a follow-up ICE appointment; he had overstayed his visa since 2010 and had been arrested for a misdemeanor DUI in 2023. During his detention at the South Texas Processing Center and La Salle County Detention Center, he missed a scheduled hearing and was denied voluntary departure. He was deported to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, where his parents live.

Federal prosecutors in San Diego charged 22 individuals with assaulting federal officers in the first year of Trump's second term, but dismissed 10 cases (45%) and had 5 pending. Multiple cases involved body camera footage and evidence that contradicted agents' allegations, including a woman Tasered at a checkpoint and a man wrongly identified in an immigration enforcement operation. Dismissal rates were higher than in the prior year. A federal judge ruled that at least 32 arrests made during Operation Midway Blitz violated a 2022 consent decree governing warrantless apprehensions by immigration agents. The judge ordered the federal government to release detainees affected by the ruling by noon Thursday. Of the 32 people improperly arrested, 11 are believed to still be in detention, 11 have left the country, and 10 have been released under various conditions.

Approximately 400-500 people protested in Salt Lake City against a Department of Homeland Security warehouse purchase intended for conversion into an ICE detention facility. During the protest on March 19, 2026, a smaller group vandalized the building by spray-painting and throwing rocks at windows, causing approximately $3,000 in damage. Three people were arrested: Chase Taylor Fredrickson, age 18, and two minors. They faced charges including rioting, property damage, and unlawful assembly, with some charges at the third-degree felony level. The majority of protesters remained peaceful.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed an amicus brief in a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and ICE regarding conditions at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, which holds approximately 1,800 people. The brief documented inadequate medical care, unsafe conditions, insufficient staffing, contaminated water, spoiled food, lack of clean clothing, and reports of pepper spray use on detainees. Three men died at the facility between September 2025 and February 2026. Detainees also reported limited access to phones for legal calls and failure to accommodate people with disabilities. ICE denied the allegations, stating detainees receive proper meals, water, and medical treatment.

Shani Edijou, an Iranian native who entered the U.S. as a child in 1993 and was granted withholding of removal in 1999, was detained by ICE at Los Angeles International Airport on March 18, 2026 while attempting to fly to Chicago for his father-in-law's funeral. Edijou had been on supervised release for over 12 years and is married to a U.S. citizen with two U.S. citizen children. The court granted his temporary restraining order and ordered his immediate release, finding that ICE failed to follow proper procedures for revoking his supervised release.