Human Impact Project

Maria Santay, a U.S. citizen and community observer, livestreamed her detainment by federal immigration agents at an El Monte gas station on February 1, 2026. Agents surrounded her vehicle and broke her car window with a hammer while she recorded on Instagram. She was detained and released Friday evening with charges including resisting arrest.

Anti-ICE protesters held demonstrations across Southern California on January 30-31, 2026, including marches through Los Angeles, rallies at City Hall, and actions outside the Metropolitan Detention Center. Clashes erupted when protesters blocked access points and threw objects at federal agents. Authorities deployed chemical irritants and issued dispersal orders. Eight people were arrested Friday and dozens more on Saturday on charges including assault on officers, vandalism, and failure to disperse. The protests were part of a nationwide action following fatal shootings by federal officers in Minneapolis.

A three-year-old girl named Lily was separated from her family at the border and detained in an immigrant children's shelter in South Texas for over five months. Her father, a legal permanent resident, attempted to reunify with her during her detention. After her attorney at ProBAR filed a habeas petition in federal district court on February 18, she was released two days later and reunified with her father on February 21.

CNN correspondent Veronica Miracle was struck with pepper spray while reporting live on a protest at an ICE facility in Los Angeles. Protesters overtook the property and pushed Department of Homeland Security officers back inside the building. Miracle choked and coughed on camera due to the chemical irritant but continued reporting on the incident.

Thousands of protesters marched to an ICE facility in South Portland on Saturday as part of a "Labor Against ICE" rally organized by local unions. Federal agents deployed tear gas, pepper balls, rubber bullets, and flash-bang grenades after some protesters approached the building's security gate. The protest coincided with a march honoring Alex Pretti, an intensive-care nurse fatally shot by Border Patrol officers in Minneapolis.

A woman named Olga has a deportation hearing scheduled for Thursday. If the hearing results in a deportation order, she will be deported and separated from her children in Florida.

ICE agents conducted enforcement operations in Washington state that resulted in family separations and deportations. In one incident near Shoreline, agents detained Ivan Guzman during a traffic stop while he was driving his 2-year-old son to daycare, leaving the toddler alone in the vehicle before deporting Guzman to Mexico. In a separate case in Tacoma, ICE detained a husband and coerced him to sign self-deportation papers while threatening to apprehend his wife and children within four days, prompting the entire family to voluntarily return to Venezuela.

Detainees held at the Whipple Federal Building reported experiencing poor conditions with lack of basic humanitarian treatment. The article documents firsthand accounts from individuals in immigration detention describing their experiences.

ICE agents left customized ace of spades playing cards in vehicles after conducting traffic stops in Eagle County, Colorado that immigrant rights groups characterized as targeting Latino workers. The cards bear the ICE Denver Field Office address and phone number. Voices Unidas and other immigrant rights organizations stated the action referenced a Vietnam War-era practice. Federal officials noted the cards may reference the ace of spades as the trump card in the card game Spades.

Yoandry Rafael Garcia Gali was re-detained on January 30, 2026, after previously being released on bond or conditional parole. The court found that the government violated due process by failing to provide a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter when re-detaining someone who had been previously released. The court ordered Garcia Gali's immediate release with the same conditions he had prior to detention.

Jose Flores, 47, was arrested during an ICE operation in Oakmont. The arrest occurred while Flores was preparing for work with his wife Harriett and their 8-year-old daughter Lily. The operation disrupted the family's morning routine.

The police chief of St. Peter intervened with federal agents to prevent the detention of a local resident who was observing ICE enforcement actions. This intervention by local police in Minnesota occurred during ICE and border patrol operations in the state.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents broke through the glass door of a locked auto body shop in West Valley City to detain two employees, including Wilmer Menjivar who had no criminal record. Agents claimed they did not need a warrant to enter the private business.

Health care providers in Minnesota report that pregnant immigrants are avoiding prenatal care visits due to fear of ICE enforcement actions, leading to increased no-show rates. Providers have observed preterm premature rupture of membranes, depression, gestational diabetes, and high blood pressure among patients who do not seek care or attend routine appointments. Some patients are requesting home births without informing providers and missing critical monitoring appointments.

A nationwide protest called "National Shutdown" took place on January 30, 2026, with participants staying home from work and school to protest ICE immigration enforcement activities. The protest was organized in response to deaths resulting from immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, including an ICU nurse and a mother of three. Students at the University of Minnesota coordinated the effort with hundreds of organizations across 46 states.

Bradford County commissioners voted 3-2 to move forward with a proposal to convert the Douglas Warehouse in Starke into a 3,000-bed ICE detention center. The decision allows Sabot Consulting to present design plans to ICE for approval. A protest challenging the proposed facility is scheduled for Saturday at 209 S. Temple Ave. in Starke.

Bob Peck, a U.S. citizen, filed a notice of claim seeking $7.5 million in damages against ICE after agents threatened to arrest him for observing and filming their enforcement activities. The filing documents an incident on January 22 where masked agents confronted Peck while he was following their vehicle and told him he would be arrested if he continued. The case is among multiple reports of ICE agents intimidating observers, including threats to add them to watchlists and agents driving to observers' homes.

An ICE shooting incident occurred in Minneapolis involving agents detaining a man when one agent fired his weapon. The video is commentary and analysis of the incident rather than a news report, discussing ICE presence in Minnesota, protest tactics, and broader implications of the shooting.

Pío Figueroa, an Alabama shopkeeper operating a money transfer service, was detained by ICE agents on January 30 while transporting $21,000 in cash belonging to community members to a local bank. The funds have remained unaccounted for since his arrest nearly two months ago. Figueroa was transferred to Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana and faces potential deportation, while his family and legal representatives report ICE agents do not use body cameras, making it impossible to track the missing money.

Two Azerbaijani men, Fazal and Alikhan, who immigrated legally to the U.S. and were married in Charlotte, were detained by ICE after a routine immigration appointment in January. Alikhan was moved to Stewart Detention Center in Georgia where he became ill and received inadequate medical care until a U.S. Senator intervened. Unable to face prolonged detention, Alikhan announced in February he would self-deport rather than continue fighting his case, with Fazal planning to follow.

Students at more than 10 schools across Bexar County in San Antonio held walkouts on January 30, 2026 to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions. The protests followed recent deaths of two U.S. citizens, Alex Pretti and Renée Good, who were protesting ICE operations in Minneapolis. Students marched through their communities while residents and business owners showed support.

Approximately 50 Cuban nationals detained by ICE accepted deportation believing they would return to Havana. Their plane landed at Guantánamo Naval Base instead. The men have been at the U.S. military facility since before Christmas. Due to Cuba's restrictions on flights from the base to the island's interior, U.S. authorities must transfer them back to U.S. territory before handing them over to Cuban authorities, extending their detention for weeks.

Sithy Yi, a Cambodian Genocide survivor who arrived in the U.S. in 1981, was released from ICE detention following a federal judge's order. Yi was detained at a routine immigration check-in in Santa Ana on January 8 and held at the Adelanto Detention Facility for almost two months.

A 39-year-old Ukrainian father who legally entered the U.S. under the Uniting 4 Ukraine program was detained by ICE agents in a Walmart parking lot in Maple Grove, Minnesota on January 1st. He had been working as a delivery driver and roofer to support his family, which includes his wife and 5-year-old daughter who fled Russia's war in Ukraine.

A mother was detained by ICE after going outside to warm her car. She was able to contact someone to inform them that her children would be left alone as a result of her detention.

Maher Tarabishi was detained by ICE in October 2024 during a routine check-in at the Dallas Field Office. His son Wael, 30, who has Pompe disease and requires round-the-clock care, was hospitalized twice following his father's arrest. Wael died on January 23, 2026. Despite ICE detention standards allowing for emergency-supervised release to attend funerals and the family's humanitarian requests citing Maher's 14 years of compliance with supervised release requirements, immigration officials denied his request to attend his son's burial.

Carlos Chavez, a taco vendor, was chased and detained by ICE agents on the property of North Hills United Methodist Church. According to his wife, when Chavez requested medical treatment for bronchitis while in detention, he was instead given a self-deportation order to sign. DHS stated Chavez was previously deported in 2016 and ran from agents during the operation. Chavez was subsequently deported to Mexico.

ICE agents with guns approached a Korean bakery in Minneapolis, pointing weapons through the glass door at employees. A manager hid Korean immigrant coworkers in freezers during the encounter. Agents allegedly stated they did not need or care about a warrant. After an employee called 911, local police arrived and the ICE agents left the scene.

A Salem woman who is a U.S. citizen was pulled from her vehicle by federal law enforcement officers on January 29, 2026. After being boxed in by unmarked vehicles, agents broke her car window and pulled her to the ground. She suffered a concussion, torn rotator cuff, and bruised ribs.

San Antonio Democrats toured the Dilley immigration detention facility housing 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, who were detained after claiming asylum at a U.S. port of entry from Ecuador. The lawmakers reported that the facility holds primarily families and children with pending legal cases rather than criminals, and described poor conditions including lack of schooling and prolonged detention times averaging over two months despite official reports of 28 days.

NPR reporter Adrian Florido witnessed federal immigration agents arrest Jesús González, an undocumented fruit vendor he had been buying from for seven years in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. González was apprehended at his fruit cart stand and subsequently deported to Tijuana, Mexico after agreeing to be removed rather than face detention.

Multiple incidents of abuse and neglect have been reported at the South Texas Family Residential Center (Dilley facility) in Texas. Mireya Lopez-Sanchez and her two-month-old son Juan Nicolas were deported to Mexico after the infant developed bronchitis while in ICE custody, with medical treatment reportedly denied and the family losing contact with relatives afterward. A 15-year-old girl with intellectual disability, Cariexis Quintero, reported that guards forcibly searched her room and destroyed her personal belongings. Families detained at the facility reported poor conditions including sick children without adequate medical care, inadequate hygiene facilities, and lack of disease separation. Some families were held for weeks to months, with some detained beyond the 20-day legal limit, before being released to a nonprofit shelter.

Federal immigration agents detained Thao Xiong, a community organizer and volunteer food shelf delivery driver, in the parking lot of the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center in St. Paul on city-owned property. The detainment occurred despite objections from community center staff and legal observers, and Xiong's U.S. citizenship or immigration status remained unclear. The incident occurred during Operation Metro Surge, which brought approximately 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota for immigration enforcement.

ICE agents detained multiple parents near a school bus drop-off spot in Ypsilanti while students were arriving or departing for school. Local school officials and the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office confirmed the detentions occurred near bus stops, though not on school property itself. The superintendent stated the school district does not voluntarily cooperate with ICE and described the circumstances as distressing.

Wilson Andres Hernandez De Leon was re-detained on January 28, 2026, after previously being released on bond or conditional parole under immigration law. The court found that his re-detention violated due process because the government failed to provide a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral arbiter. The court ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he had prior to detention and required future pre-deprivation hearings if the government seeks to re-detain him.

Multiple protesters were detained and injured during an anti-ICE demonstration at the Eugene Federal Building on January 27, 2026. Federal officers deployed tear gas, pepper balls, and flash-bangs, detaining at least nine demonstrators. Several protesters reported injuries including bruises, hyperextended limbs, and eye injuries sustained during the law enforcement response.

ICE officers conducted an immigration enforcement operation in the Eastside neighborhood of Santa Barbara on January 28, 2026. A masked ICE officer pepper-sprayed a community member who was documenting the activity, an incident captured on video. One person was detained by ICE, though the detention was reportedly unrelated to the pepper-spray incident.

Jean Wilson Brutus, a 41-year-old Haitian man, died at Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey after suffering a medical emergency less than a day after being detained. An ambulance transporting him to University Hospital was delayed by 5 minutes as officials prioritized allowing a van of new detainees into the facility. Brutus was one of 23 people to die in ICE custody during the year.

A video shared on Instagram shows a man in New Prague, Minnesota arguing with suspected federal agents who questioned him about his citizenship status. The post's caption characterizes the interaction as racial profiling and harassment.

A viral video shows dozens of detainees held in overcrowded conditions at ICE's Baltimore Field Office, with individuals standing, sitting, and lying in close quarters without beds, bathrooms, or hygiene products. Detainees report being held for up to 10 days in a facility designed for short-term processing, with allegations of beatings and inadequate food and medical care. The footage has reignited concerns about detention conditions amid an ongoing federal lawsuit alleging poor treatment and constitutional violations.

The National Coalition to End Family and Child Detention organized nationwide "Free Families" vigils on January 28, 2026, calling for an end to family detention and ICE funding. The action was prompted by the detention of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father by ICE in Minneapolis, who were subsequently sent to the South Texas Family Detention Center in Dilley. The coalition demands an end to family detention, citing documented abuse and neglect in detention centers. Children's Defense Fund–Texas and local advocates organized a vigil at Austin City Hall to protest family detention at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, following ICE's transfer of five-year-old Liam Ramos and his father from Minneapolis to the facility. The vigil is part of a national call to end family detention, with U.S. Representatives conducting an oversight visit of the facility and advocates citing conditions including medical neglect, hunger, and inadequate access to clean water. Approximately 40 women detained at Karnes County Residential Center in Texas participated in a five-day hunger strike to protest detention conditions, low wages ($3/day), and lack of bond opportunities. The women, many of whom fled to the U.S. due to safety concerns, ended the strike and gave ICE 10 days to release them. Participants and their children were placed in solitary confinement in the medical wing as retaliation for the strike. Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos from Ecuador and his father Adrian Conejo Arias were detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley after their arrest in Minneapolis. U.S. Representatives Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett visited the facility and called for their release, noting the child's deteriorating mental health. During protests on January 28, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers deployed pepper spray and pepper ball projectiles against demonstrators, resulting in two arrests. Dozens of migrant families held a protest at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, demanding freedom and opposing federal immigration enforcement tactics. The demonstration was sparked by attention to 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, who were detained by ICE in Minnesota and transferred to Dilley. A federal judge blocked their deportation, and on Wednesday, lawmakers and community leaders planned to call for their release and urge more humane enforcement practices. Scripps News interviewed parents detained at an ICE family detention center in Dilley, Texas, including Aury Cadena, who spent 50 days there with her three children despite a 20-day legal limit for children in detention. Detainees filed hundreds of complaints about inadequate medical care, including long wait times for medical attention and concerns about emergency response capabilities. Cadena, who arrived seeking asylum from Venezuela in 2023 and was arrested at a scheduled check-in appointment in December, was eventually released with ankle monitoring as her deportation case continues.

Border Patrol agents Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez fatally shot 37-year-old Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen and intensive care nurse, on January 24, 2026, in Minneapolis. The shooting occurred during Operation Metro Surge, an immigration enforcement operation. Bystander videos and witness testimony showed Pretti holding only a phone before officers tackled and shot him. Officers failed to provide immediate first aid; a pediatrician attempting to assist was initially prevented from helping. The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is investigating. This was the second fatal shooting by immigration agents in Minneapolis within a month.

Federal prosecutors charged 14 people with crimes related to alleged assaults on immigration agents during Trump's immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota. The charges include spitting, throwing objects, blocking vehicles, and resisting arrest during confrontations at Roosevelt High School, the Whipple Federal Building, and other locations. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi posted defendants' names and photos on social media before charges were unsealed, prompting concern from a federal judge who noted defendants are presumed innocent.

Anderson Tumin-Rivas, a 24-year-old Guatemalan national living in southern Arkansas, was detained by ICE after showing up for a scheduled immigration check-in appointment in Little Rock on January 22, 2026. He is now held in Winn Parish, Louisiana, awaiting deportation to Guatemala. Tumin-Rivas had been living in the U.S. under the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program and was married with a young son.

A 40-year-old man was arrested by federal agents in the lobby of the Bolingbrook Police Department on January 28, 2026, after being approached by agents conducting an immigration enforcement action at his home. The man fled the scene, allegedly ramming an agent's vehicle, and then drove to the police station to report the encounter before being arrested by federal agents in the lobby.

On January 28, 2026, ICE agents conducted an early morning enforcement operation at the intersection of Salinas and Carpinteria Streets in Santa Barbara's Eastside neighborhood, near Franklin Elementary School. During the operation, ICE agents pepper-sprayed and physically pushed multiple residents who had gathered to document the activity. Community members, including Beth Goodman who was distributing ICE resource information, witnessed and recorded the incident. At least one woman was sprayed while documenting the operation, and a man in a yellow sweatshirt escaped arrest. Santa Barbara Police Department and firefighters responded to provide medical assistance and help de-escalate the confrontation. An unknown number of individuals were detained by ICE, and no arrests were made by local police.

Two former detainees at a Florida immigration detention center testified that they faced punishment for seeking legal advice. The detainees provided accounts that they faced retaliation for attempting to access legal representation while in custody.

Hagop Chirinian, a non-citizen surfer, was released after being detained for four months following an accidental trespass onto Camp Pendleton beach. A federal judge ordered ICE to release him, ruling the agency violated its own protocols by detaining him despite knowing he could not be deported, as Lebanon refused to accept him. Chirinian had been living under an order of supervision with a work permit for nearly 30 years without additional convictions.

Rosa Barrera, an 18-year-old, began caring for her three younger siblings after ICE detained her parents at their workplace. She is fundraising for legal representation to help reunite with her parents, while also managing household bills and caring for her sister who has autism and requires medical support.

ICE agents approached and questioned a woman in a Walmart parking lot, asking if she was born in the United States, in an incident captured on video that circulated online. A Native American legal rights group alleged that the individual involved, identified as Jose Roberto Ramirez, was being retaliated against by ICE.