Human Impact Project

Julio Noriega, a 54-year-old U.S. citizen born in Chicago, was arrested by ICE agents on January 31, 2025, after buying pizza in Berwyn. Agents surrounded him, handcuffed him, and confiscated his wallet containing his ID and Social Security card before transporting him to an ICE processing center in Broadview. He was detained overnight without being questioned about his citizenship status and released only after agents examined his identification. In March 2025, attorneys from the National Immigrant Justice Center and ACLU of Illinois filed a federal court lawsuit alleging that ICE violated the Castañón Nava settlement agreement by arresting Noriega and at least 21 others without proper warrants since January 2025. The lawsuit alleges constitutional and immigration law violations including arrests without probable cause and detention orders created after people were already detained.

Yolanda Perez-Magallón, a 50-year-old undocumented immigrant and caregiver for her 21-year-old daughter with cancer, was detained by ICE agents on February 24 as a collateral arrest during an immigration sweep targeting her son Jonathan. She was held for nearly two weeks before being released on a $1,500 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on April 10.

A Venezuelan couple were arrested by federal immigration agents and charged with misdemeanor unauthorized entry more than two years after crossing the southern U.S. border in October 2022. Despite having been granted Temporary Protected Status and pending asylum claims, they were arrested while returning home from work in Washington, D.C.

Alma Lopez Diaz accompanied her sons Jose, 20, and Josue, 19, to a routine ICE check-in at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan in March 2025, where they were unexpectedly detained and subsequently deported to El Salvador. Neither brother had criminal records, and both were pursuing green cards through Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. The deportation separated them from their mother and 8-year-old nonverbal brother Mateo, a U.S. citizen with Moebius syndrome who requires constant care.

Diover Millan, 24, a construction worker, was arrested by immigration agents in the Atlanta suburbs on March 12 and transferred to Bluebonnet detention center in Texas. DHS classified him as a member of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua without providing evidence. Millan faces potential deportation to El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison under the Alien Enemies Act, though the Supreme Court temporarily blocked his deportation. He has a pending asylum case with a hearing scheduled for May 1.

Boun Morisath, a Bremerton father and longtime lawful permanent resident, was detained on March 11, 2025, during a routine check-in at the Department of Homeland Security office in Tukwila after 30 years of regular compliance with immigration officials. He remains in custody at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. His family says he poses no flight risk or danger to society and questions why ICE has suddenly detained him during a visit he had completed without issue for three decades.

Border Patrol agent Shane Millan pleaded guilty in federal court to telling multiple women to expose their breasts during virtual interviews as a condition for entering the United States. Millan admitted to sexually coercing at least four women during interviews in August 2023, falsely claiming the exposure was part of a legitimate search. He faces up to two years in prison and a $200,000 fine at his July 7 sentencing.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Elmer Flores on March 9 after he dropped off his pregnant wife and children at a Mecklenburg County health office for a nutrition program appointment. According to advocacy group Siembra NC, Flores had no criminal record and is being held at a detention facility in Georgia.

Exclusive audio was obtained from a prisoner at a detention facility operated by ICE.

M.K., a lawful permanent resident and student at Columbia University, was arrested by ICE on March 8, 2025, at his student housing with no prior notice. According to his habeas corpus petition, DHS agents initially claimed his student visa had been revoked, but M.K. presented documents proving he is a green card holder. The agents arrested him anyway, claiming his green card had been revoked without providing any basis for the revocation. M.K. is married to a U.S. citizen who is 8 months pregnant. His petition alleges the arrest and detention violate his First Amendment and Due Process rights and claims the government is using immigration enforcement to suppress student activism and political speech.

A Venezuelan immigrant detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection near the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel attempted to take his life by hanging himself in early March 2025. CBP officers intervened and transported him to a hospital for evaluation before transferring him to ICE custody on March 15. The incident is part of a larger pattern where advocates report 213 immigrants were detained in Detroit between January and March 2025, with approximately 90% having accidentally taken the wrong lane onto the Ambassador Bridge or tunnel while attempting to return to the U.S.

A family of four—two parents and children ages 1 and 2—were found huddled under a tree after spending many hours lost in woods while attempting to cross from New York into Quebec in March 2025. Unprepared for winter conditions, the parents lost their shoes and hiked barefoot in snow while their children lacked cold-weather gear. The mother called 911 after several hours in freezing conditions, and the family was rescued by local authorities at approximately 4:15 a.m. All four were treated for hypothermia at a hospital and have since requested refugee status with Canadian authorities.

Jose Guadalupe Jaimes, a 55-year-old Mexican national who had lived in the United States for 30 years, was arrested by ICE outside Arthur Middle School in Trenton, Michigan, after dropping off his eighth-grade son, who has Asperger's syndrome. Jaimes owns a painting business and has a valid work permit with no criminal record. His children, Ana and Hector (a college junior), described him as a devoted father who emphasized education and built a life in metro Detroit with his wife and five children. According to his son Hector, ICE agents approached with guns drawn during the arrest; an ICE agent reportedly told Jaimes, "I don't even know why you're here because you have no record, you didn't do anything bad." An ICE spokesman stated Jaimes had been "ordered removed by an immigration judge in 2014." He is being held in St. Clair County Jail pending immigration proceedings. His family expressed deep concern about surviving financially and emotionally without him.

Gustavo Alfonso Garcia Olivares, a 24-year-old Venezuelan migrant, drowned in the Rio Grande near the U.S.-Mexico border and was buried in Eagle Pass, Texas. His parents in Venezuela watched the funeral service via livestream. The burial was the first funeral service organized by Border Vigil, a human rights organization, for a migrant who died crossing the border.

A father was detained by ICE on March 6th and is being held in Canyon County with a hearing scheduled for April 10th. His family is seeking $5,000 in financial assistance to cover mortgage, legal fees, groceries, and other expenses while he is in custody.

Jensy Machado, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE agents on March 5, 2025, while driving to work in Manassas. The agents were searching for another man with a deportation order who had provided Machado's home address. Machado was handcuffed and questioned about his immigration status before being released after showing his driver's license.

Issa Salma Baouna, a 49-year-old green-card holder from Niger, was denied reentry to the United States at John F. Kennedy International Airport on March 6 after CBP determined he was inadmissible due to a prior removal order from 2022. Baouna had been ordered removed following an arrest for assault and visa overstay, and was paroled back into the country multiple times in 2023. After voluntarily returning to Niger, he contracted malaria that led to kidney failure. His wife left the U.S. with their two children to reunite with him.

ICE agents detained an employee at a Minneapolis business owned by Nesta Rodriguez. Rodriguez spoke to Sky News about the incident.

Jhoan Bastidas, a 25-year-old Venezuelan national, was deported from the United States and detained for 16 days at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba before being transferred to Venezuela. During his detention, he was confined to a small cell, shackled when leaving the cell, allowed sunlight only three days per week, and had minimal access to food, books, or activities. The U.S. government alleged Bastidas was a member of the Tren de Aragua gang based on his chest tattoos, a claim he denied. He has since returned to his hometown in Maracaibo and begun working at a hot dog stand.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations Kalispell, with support from Spokane Border Patrol, conducted a worksite operation at a construction site in Bigfork on March 4, 2025. Acting on a tip, agents served a notice of inspection and encountered 17 undocumented immigrants. All 17 were taken into custody and found ineligible to remain in the United States.