Human Impact Project

The Trump administration attempted to repatriate 76 Guatemalan children from U.S. government custody in overnight operations. Children were woken from their beds and reported crying and vomiting. A federal judge temporarily blocked the removals after attorneys argued the government violated U.S. law protecting unaccompanied minors from deportation without due process. The children were returned to shelters after being placed on planes. Declarations indicated many had not requested to return and stated they feared danger if sent back to Guatemala.

Two carwasheros were detained from car washes in Orange County. Their families and legal advocates fought to secure bonds, with Cuberto's bond set at $2,500 and Rodolfo's at $2,000. The post appeals for help reaching fundraising goals to release these individuals.

Leidy Tatiana Mafla-Martinez, a Colombian immigrant and TikTok influencer living in Los Angeles, was arrested by ICE agents while livestreaming from her car. Federal agents detained her and the incident was recorded by bystanders. The Department of Homeland Security stated that Mafla-Martinez had entered the country in 2022 and was convicted of driving under the influence in Los Angeles. A government vehicle was also reportedly towed during the incident.

Maribel Lopez, a Guatemalan mother of three who fled years of abuse in her home country, was detained in early September 2025 when federal agents raided the nutrition-bar factory where she worked in Central New York. Although her pending asylum appeal should have protected her from removal, she was deported to Guatemala within four days of the raid. Her 2-year-old son, Jorge, remained in the U.S. in the care of his two older siblings, who are barely adults themselves. Her case was profiled by The New York Times as part of a growing pattern of rapid deportations that bypass pending legal claims.

A 19-year-old man identified only as ELA was deported to El Salvador this week while detained at a Louisiana immigration facility awaiting a psychological evaluation for his asylum case, according to his attorneys. It was the second time this year he was removed from the U.S. in violation of court orders protecting a class of young asylum seekers who sued in 2019 for the right to have their claims heard while remaining in the country. He had previously been deported earlier this year but was returned to the Louisiana detention center after attorneys confirmed his class membership. A federal judge ordered the government to explain the removal and how it plans to rectify the error, and the Justice Department said it only learned of his removal after being alerted by class attorneys.

ICE agents detained two men during a traffic stop near Hudson Avenue and South Street in Peekskill on September 1, then moved the men and their vehicles into the parking lots of two nearby restaurants, NY Firehouse Grille and Taormina Trattoria. One man was handcuffed and the other was placed in shackles before being taken away in unmarked vehicles. Restaurant owners said they were not informed in advance and only learned the vehicles belonged to ICE after nearly having them towed. ICE did not respond to requests for comment on why the men were detained, and Peekskill police said federal agents did not share the men's names, charges, or other details with the department.

Asif Amin Cheema, 64, was detained by federal immigration agents three minutes from his home in Addison, Illinois, during the early days of Operation Midway Blitz. Despite having no criminal record, he was arrested over a removal order tied to a missed court date, which the family says their former immigration lawyer never told them about. He spent nearly three months detained at the Clay County Jail in Indiana, losing 30 pounds and experiencing health complications, before being deported to Pakistan on New Year's Day after more than 30 years living in the United States. His youngest son, 19-year-old Nooran Amin, left college responsibilities behind to run the family's Best Sub #2 sandwich shop in Humboldt Park, learning the business from an employee the family calls 'Uncle' while trying to keep his father's legacy alive.

D.A., a political activist who was violently attacked in Nigeria and is married to a U.S. citizen, was granted protection from removal to Nigeria based on likely persecution or torture. ICE nevertheless deported him without paperwork to Ghana on a military cargo plane in the middle of the night, alongside a dozen other West African men and women. In Ghana he was detained in a camp under terrible conditions for more than two weeks, with limited phone access to call his wife, before Ghanaian authorities deported him to Togo.

Laura Murillo, a 55-year-old immigrant from Mexico and mother of two, was arrested by ICE in September 2025 while operating her tamale vending stand near Home Depot on 47th Street and Western Avenue during Operation Midway Blitz. She spent six months in federal immigration detention before being released in March 2026 following a court order rather than deportation. Murillo's tamale business, which she had operated for years, allowed her to support her daughters Génesis and Daniela and provide flexible work to other women in her community. Since her release, she says she is in the process of obtaining legal status and is rebuilding her life with a focus on her family, faith, and a slower pace rather than the constant work that previously defined her.

Jessica Chodor was tackled and assaulted by a Memphis Safe Task Force officer while attempting to film a traffic stop. She was held down on the ground, threatened with a taser, and arrested on a charge of "resisting official detention," which was later dropped. The incident left her fearful of continuing to document task force operations; she now avoids filming unless other observers are present. Chodor is a plaintiff in an ACLU lawsuit challenging the task force's pattern of intimidation and retaliation against community observers.

Hunter Demster, who runs a soup kitchen in Memphis, has faced sustained intimidation and retaliation from officers with the Memphis Safe Task Force while attempting to document immigration enforcement operations. Demster has been taunted by officers, had bright lights shined at him, been followed in his car, and had an officer swerve toward him in a parking lot, missing him by inches. Agents sometimes sit in vehicles outside his house. Demster and other community observers have filed an ACLU lawsuit alleging that task force agents—including DHS officers, other law enforcement agencies, and National Guard—are engaged in a pattern of intimidation and retaliation that violates First Amendment rights to record police.

Sergio Ayala Mejia, a 36-year-old who arrived in the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor fleeing MS-13 gang pressure in Guatemala, was detained by ICE in September 2025 while dropping off his sister at work, separated from his newborn daughter Ailany and two other children. He was deported to Guatemala without a court hearing despite a pending appeal to reopen his case—the same day an immigration judge granted his motion to reopen and rescinded his 2007 deportation order. After four months in Guatemala, he was brought back to the U.S. on humanitarian parole in December 2025 but re-detained in New York for three additional months before being released on bond in March 2026. Ayala Mejia now fears driving and worries about the lasting impact on his children, including his 3-year-old son who developed anxiety during his absence.

CRB, a 16-year-old brought to the U.S. from Mexico at age seven and protected under the U.N. Convention Against Torture, was arrested by ICE at the San Antonio field office during an annual check-in appointment in September 2025. He was detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center for 141 days with his mother. During detention, he experienced depression, panic attacks, and self-harm. He reported hearing racist comments from guards and observed poor conditions including spoiled food and lights left on all night. He and his mother were released two days after his self-harm incident.

Manuel Chairez-Montes was deported from Texas after his alleged attacker was indicted for aggravated assault. With the case in limbo, the defendant Adan Yanez Porras was released on bond.

Ismael Cerro, a 39-year-old Mexican national who immigrated to the U.S. over a decade ago, was detained by immigration authorities during a traffic stop on his way to work in September 2025. He spent two months in ICE custody at Alligator Alcatraz and Krome detention centers. Cerro filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's blanket policy that classified undocumented immigrants found in the U.S. as ineligible for bond hearings. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in his favor in May 2026, determining the policy unlawful and restoring bond eligibility for detainees in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia.

Amir, who legally immigrated to the United States in 1996 and lived under supervision for 30 years, was detained by ICE in September 2025 during a regularly scheduled check-in at an immigration office. His family was told he would be held indefinitely despite having committed no crimes and having paid taxes throughout his time in the country.

A Chelsea, Massachusetts mother who is a U.S. citizen was detained by ICE in September 2025. Her 18-year-old daughter, Ana Michelle Ramirez Sanan, testified before a Senate committee about the encounter, describing finding their car with shattered windows and her mother being thrown to the ground during the incident.

Jose Manuel Allende, a 58-year-old who came legally to the U.S. from Cuba through the Freedom Flights, was detained by ICE in his driveway in September 2025 due to a decades-old criminal history and lack of citizenship. His family secured a motion to stay and a motion to reopen his case, but he remains detained at the Federal Detention Center in Miami facing deportation on April 6 if not released, creating a legal standoff where he cannot complete his pending green card application while in custody.

Karen Newton, a 65-year-old British tourist, was detained by ICE for 42 days despite holding a valid B-2 tourist visa. She and her husband were held at the Northwest ICE Processing Centre in Tacoma, Washington after attempting to cross into Canada. DHS cited her previous visa overstay of nearly four years and her husband's expired work visa as reasons for the detention, though Newton maintained she had no criminal record and was lawfully present.

Two workers assisting with wildfire firefighting in Washington state's Olympic National Forest were detained by Border Patrol agents on charges of unauthorized entry and reentry. One of the detainees had a pending U-visa application and a previous removal order. The detentions occurred while the workers were engaged in firefighting efforts on the Bear Gulch fire, an approximately 9,000-acre wildfire. Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Patty Murray and Representative Emily Randall, made statements regarding the operation. Randall was subsequently denied entry to the ICE facility where the men were being held.

Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas, a 32-year-old Mexican national, died on August 31, 2025, at Mountain Vista Medical Center near Phoenix while in ICE custody at Central Arizona Florence Correctional Complex. He was arrested by Flagstaff police on August 2 on drug paraphernalia charges, then transferred to ICE custody in Phoenix before being moved to the Florence detention facility. During detention, Vargas, who had diabetes, contracted COVID-19 and developed respiratory problems. He was found unresponsive and resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful. He was declared dead at 7:02 a.m. His family remembered him as a loving and tender person with a generous heart who brought joy to those around him. His death marked the 14th migrant death in ICE custody in 2025, the highest number in five years.

A U.S. judge blocked the government from deporting Guatemalan children who had crossed the border without their families. The children were already on the tarmac awaiting deportation when the court order was issued.

ICE, aided by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, raided the El Corralón nightclub in the Berclair neighborhood of Memphis at 1 a.m. on August 30, targeting illegal gambling operations and a Honduran national suspected of running criminal activity there. Agents shut down the music, seized slot machines, and checked immigration status of patrons on the dance floor, ultimately arresting 121 people for lacking proof of legal status, though only five had criminal histories. Defense attorneys and the ACLU of Tennessee questioned whether the gambling-related warrants provided sufficient legal basis for the immigration arrests.

Rodrigo Preciado, who had lived in the United States for 37 years and was awaiting a U Visa and green card, was detained by local police and transferred to immigration authorities. He was deported to Mexico without being given a court hearing or due process. His family, including his wife and four children, is seeking legal representation to fight for his return and financial support during his absence.

Joaquin Herrera Avila, a Mexican national, was detained in Minneapolis by ICE without bond after failing to produce legal credentials. A lower court in Minnesota had granted his habeas petition, but the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that decision, ruling that immigrants in removal proceedings are not entitled to bond hearings and can be held in mandatory detention without judicial intervention.

A man was detained at 7:20 a.m. on August 29. A community member observed the detention and noted interaction between the man and officers.

Immigration attorneys and relatives reported conditions at ICE's field office in Northern Virginia, including detainees receiving only one meal a day, 40-90 people in single rooms with no beds, and some held for up to seven days without bathing. The facility, designed as a temporary holding office, has become overcrowded due to increased immigration arrests in Washington D.C. since mid-August. Attorneys reported detainees are being denied legal representation, medical care, and basic hygiene access.

Detainees at Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' immigration detention facility reported that guards deployed teargas and beat detainees indiscriminately with batons during an alleged uprising. The incident occurred after migrants began shouting for 'freedom' upon learning of a relative's death. Florida and ICE officials denied the reports and stated detainees receive safe conditions. The facility faces a court-ordered closure within 60 days.

Seven deportees were transferred to Rwanda in early August 2025, with the Trump administration not announcing the transfer until August 28. No information has been disclosed about their identities, countries of origin, charges, or current whereabouts. Rwanda has agreed to receive up to 250 migrants from the United States. Their lawyers allege they are being held in high-security facilities in isolation, cannot communicate with anyone, do not know what crimes they are accused of, and fear torture given Rwanda's poor human rights record.

Jemmy Jimenez Rosa, a 42-year-old legal permanent resident from Peru with a valid green card for over 20 years and mother of four, was detained by CBP and ICE for 10 days after returning from a family vacation in Mexico on August 11, 2025. Her detention was based on a marijuana possession conviction from over 20 years ago that had been pardoned and her record sealed. Rosa was initially held at Boston Logan International Airport for four days without proper medication or access to basic necessities, then transferred to a detention center in Maine without being informed she had legal representation despite CBP agents promising to relay that information. She experienced an anxiety attack during detention. She was not entered into any federal detainee database for three days, making it difficult for lawyers to locate her or seek a bond hearing. Her attorney challenged the detention as unconstitutional, leading to her release on August 28, 2025.

Jean Carlos, 37, has lived in Miami for 31 years and is a father of two. He is a DACA recipient who is currently detained. Multiple DACA recipients are currently in detention. Children of detained immigrants are being separated from their parents.

Farzana, a 32-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, was deported by ICE to the Central African Republic on August 28 after years in immigration detention, including time held in Louisiana. She and her fiancé had entered the U.S. through the southern border in May 2024 seeking asylum via the CBP One app; her fiancé had applied for a Special Immigrant Visa tied to his assistance to the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. Her lawyers filed an emergency motion for a restraining order the same day she was removed, and the government denied the motion three days later. Farzana described being mistreated in detention, saying officers 'kept us like animal[s],' and she has since been diagnosed with a severe form of malaria while living alone in Bangui without identity papers, work, or family ties.

ICE told Somali asylum seekers they were being deported to Somalia, but instead flew them to the U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where several remain detained. Sakariye Abdi Mohamed, a truck driver with no criminal record, was stopped by an Alabama trooper and held nearly a year in Louisiana before being flown to Guantánamo; a colleague described him as a hardworking 'rookie truck driver' who did everything right. Adam Abdullah, a 31-year-old mechanic with a pending asylum case and work permit, was stopped in Minnesota during 'Operation Metro Surge' and moved through facilities in three states over nine months before arriving at Guantánamo, where he has limited attorney access and brief, possibly monitored phone calls. Fellow detainees Abdullahi Adam Mohamed, a mechanic and small business owner, and Hassan Abdi Abtidoon, a former rideshare driver turned back while seeking asylum in Canada, were also transferred there. Detainees describe being shackled at all times, held in frigid conditions with cameras in bathrooms, and have held hunger strikes; family members call the ordeal 'shocking and frightening.' DHS has claimed the group included 'some of the worst of the worst' with criminal histories, though this reflects the agency's allegation rather than confirmed fact.

Daniela Rincon and her parents, Clara Avellaneda and Henry Rincon, were detained by ICE agents at Sky Harbor International Airport upon arriving from Salt Lake City on Aug. 28 following a family trip. The family, originally from Colombia and living in Herriman, Utah, held work permits and were in the process of normalizing their immigration status — Henry Rincon's son had petitioned for his parents' residency, and Daniela was pursuing an asylum claim based on conditions in Colombia. All three are being held at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona; a judge denied bond for Henry and Daniela but allowed Clara's release, though the family has not raised the $12,500 needed for her bond. Julian Rincon, a naturalized U.S. citizen and the son/brother of the detainees, said none of them has faced criminal charges and described them as hardworking people caught up in enforcement quotas.

Henry Rincón, his wife Clara Rincón, and daughter Daniela Rincón, a Colombian family living in Salt Lake City, were detained by immigration authorities on Friday, August 28, as they prepared to board a flight to Arizona from Salt Lake City International Airport. The family are asylum seekers with valid work permits and no criminal record. Relatives describe them as a hardworking, honest, and close-knit family who built businesses in the U.S. and started a GoFundMe campaign to cover legal fees and possible bond costs.

In August, photos and videos showed ICE arresting a man who owns a snack shop in Laguna Heights while he and another person were painting a home. His wife had been deported earlier in the year. The arrest occurred just hours before a protest at the Port Isabel Lighthouse, one of four demonstrations against ICE activity held in the area since July.

Daryn Herzberg, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, alleges he was assaulted by Department of Homeland Security personnel outside an ICE facility in South Portland on August 13, 2025. According to video evidence and his attorney's account, federal agents tackled him to the ground, with one officer grabbing him by the hair and slamming his face into the ground multiple times. Herzberg sustained injuries including a concussion, abrasions, bruising, chest contusions, and breathing issues. On August 27, Herzberg filed a federal lawsuit against DHS alleging battery and unconstitutional use of force. Federal authorities also charged Herzberg with obstructing the facility and throwing objects; his attorney characterizes these charges as bogus and retaliatory.

On August 27, 2025, Vasquez (49) and Ramirez (40), a married couple from Mexico, were arrested by ICE during a traffic stop in Tulsa despite having pending U visa applications and federal deportation protections as crime victims who assisted law enforcement in prosecuting a serial rapist. Ramirez was held for four months at Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Texas, where she was denied access to seizure medication for her epilepsy. Vasquez was detained for over seven months at a CoreCivic facility in Cushing, Oklahoma, and attended 13 immigration court hearings before winning a habeas corpus lawsuit granting him a bond hearing. The prolonged separation and detention resulted in job loss, eviction from their home in Broken Arrow, and approximately $12,000 in accumulated legal debt. Vasquez was released in April 2026 on deferral of removal grounds, followed by Ramirez's release. Both remain without legal status and are working to recover financially while awaiting U visa hearings.

Jorge Cruz, a green card holder and street vendor from Mexico City who has lived in the U.S. since age 5, was detained by ICE on August 27 while returning home with his wife from dropping off their four children at school. Cruz, who obtained his green card in 2014 after marrying a U.S. citizen, remains held in a detention center in Adelanto about 90 miles northeast of Los Angeles. His attorney and wife report that the specific grounds for his detention remain unclear, though authorities have referenced past dismissed charges related to street vending infractions and a verbal altercation with another vendor that resulted in dropped charges.

Alejandro Theodoro Orellana, 29, a member of the Boyle Heights-based community organization Centro CSO, pleaded not guilty to handing out protective face shields to protesters during an anti-ICE demonstration in Los Angeles. He faces federal charges of conspiracy and aiding and abetting civil disorder. Trial was set for August 26 in LA federal court.

Robert Sidhe, a 43-year-old Kenyan physician working as a patient care technician at UW Medical Center, was detained by ICE agents while driving home from the gym in Lynnwood, Washington. While in custody, he suffered a medical crisis with dangerously high blood pressure and stroke-like symptoms and was hospitalized, though imaging showed no stroke had occurred. Sidhe entered the U.S. legally on multiple visas and has a pending asylum application filed in 2023. A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order for his release, citing the risk of a future stroke and noting he serves as the primary caretaker for his fiancée, a disabled U.S. citizen who uses a wheelchair. Colleagues described him as a respected leader in his union, church, and community.

David Antonio Aviles Perez, a 35-year-old Salvadoran national known as 'La Bruja,' was arrested by ICE in San Diego on March 26, 2025, and held at Otay Mesa Detention Center for nearly five months. He had been convicted in absentia in El Salvador for a 2014 gang-related killing and was previously arrested in Monterey, California in 2023 for allegedly swinging a machete at a homeless man before being released from local custody. U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta ruled on August 26, 2025 that immigration officials violated his Fifth Amendment rights by detaining him without a bond hearing or individualized assessment of danger or flight risk. Aviles Perez was released from federal custody on August 27, with the court barring ICE from re-detaining him unless an immigration judge independently determines detention is warranted. The ruling did not clear him of wrongdoing or find him non-dangerous.

Luis, a migrant from Ecuador, was arrested by ICE agents after an immigration court hearing on August 26, 2025, as his young daughters clung to him in anguish. The photograph of his arrest, capturing his daughters' faces as they tried to prevent their father from being taken away, won World Press Photo's 2026 'Photo of the Year' award. The image drew international attention for its depiction of fear, terror, and powerlessness during the enforcement action.

Luis, an Ecuadorian mechanic and father of three, was arrested by masked ICE agents on August 26 after leaving a courtroom on the 12th floor of 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan with his wife Cocha and their children, ages 7, 13, and 15. The family had attended a routine immigration hearing and believed his case had been extended for another year when agents grabbed Luis without explanation. His children leapt onto him, clutching his shirt to stay together, but an ICE agent violently yanked one of his daughters backward to pry them apart. His 7-year-old son was left weeping as a masked agent blocked the family with his arm. The family came to the U.S. from Ecuador 2.5 years ago, making the journey on foot and by car, fleeing local corruption and fearing for their children's futures. Luis works as a mechanic and is the family's sole financial support. Cocha, who stayed home to care for the children, does not know where her husband was taken or what to do without him.

A Guatemalan father of three, a native and citizen of Guatemala, has resided in Los Angeles with his family for many years and has three biological children who are United States citizens. He was arrested by immigration authorities on August 26, 2025, and has been detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center since that time. He is pending removal proceedings and is seeking Cancellation of Removal relief. An immigration judge denied bond at two hearings—one on January 12, 2026 (where he bore the burden of proof) and another on March 2, 2026 (where the government bore the burden)—based solely on his prior DUI conviction and immigration history, without adequately considering his family ties, stable residence, or lack of criminal history involving moral turpitude. The federal magistrate judge found the March 2, 2026 bond denial was an abuse of discretion because the immigration judge failed to conduct an individualized assessment, consider mitigating factors, or address alternatives to detention as required by the Rodriguez class action injunction. The court ordered his immediate release on his prior conditions of supervision and enjoined further detention without a compliant bond hearing.

Francisco Hernandez-Corona, an undocumented immigrant who had lived in the U.S. for most of his life, self-deported to Mexico. He was married to a U.S. citizen, but a permanent bar from a childhood unauthorized entry prevented him from adjusting his status while in the country, leaving him with no legal pathway to remain.

Balbino Mayora, an Arizona resident of nearly 25 years and business owner, was arrested by Phoenix police over vehicle registration issues. After his court hearing on August 27, ICE agents apprehended him outside the courthouse and he was transferred to the Eloy Detention Center. Mayora, who entered the US legally on a visa but overstayed, is now in removal proceedings while his family fights for his release.

A Guatemalan man who entered the U.S. without inspection in 2019 was arrested and detained by immigration officials at the Phoenix Police Department on August 25, 2025. He alleges that no agent produced a warrant, explained the reason for detention, or provided any documents. The court ordered respondents to answer his habeas corpus petition within 20 days and denied his motion for temporary restraining order.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stopped Maria on Thursday morning while she was on her way to pay rent and buy a cake for her grandson's birthday. Sandra Hernández, director of Latinos Unidos Siempre, stated that Maria was racially profiled. The incident resulted in extensive injuries to Maria.

Lesli Marili Samayoa, 26, was arrested after recording ICE agents during an immigration enforcement operation in Fort Myers, Florida. She told N+ Univision she began filming on her way to work to alert her community, but agents surrounded her truck and a Florida Highway Patrol vehicle blocked her path. She livestreamed a 28-second video on Facebook showing agents breaking her vehicle's window before pulling her out by the hair, throwing her to the ground, and pressing their knees against her neck. She was booked into the Lee County jail on a charge of resisting an officer, not an immigration charge, and was held for nine days until September 3, during which she says she lost about 16 pounds. "I feel like I can't trust anyone, I feel abandoned, I feel like I can't call 911. I have anxiety, I don't want to go out; I'm terrified to go outside," she said.