Human Impact Project

Tim, a Nigerian man, was transferred to the Batavia ICE detention facility in April 2025 after suffering a major concussion from a fall while finishing a federal prison sentence. He was discharged from a Massachusetts hospital with nine prescribed medications and orders for inpatient physical therapy. At Batavia, he went at least a month without medication and received only one physical therapy session before being deported in summer 2025. He now requires a walker and reports severe mental health issues and insomnia.

Antonio Vizcaino González, a dual Venezuelan-Spanish citizen, was stopped by Texas Department of Public Safety for ignoring a stop sign while driving near an Airbnb in an Austin suburb on April 1. ICE agents arrived and found narcotics in his inner waistband, leading to a ketamine possession charge. He bonded out into ICE custody but was deported to Spain in May. The drug charge was later dropped by prosecutors due to lack of cooperation from federal law enforcement.

One person was killed and another injured after falling from a 30-foot wall along the U.S.-Mexico border near San Diego. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents discovered the two people around 11 p.m. Monday. One person was found unresponsive and died shortly after agents arrived, while the other was hospitalized with unspecified injuries.

Cliona Ward, a 54-year-old Irish national who has legally resided in the United States for approximately 40 years, was detained by ICE after returning from a trip to Ireland where she visited her ill father. Ward, a green card holder, was questioned about criminal convictions from 2003-2008 related to drug possession charges. She claims these convictions were expunged. Ward is being held in an ICE facility in Tacoma, Washington, and is scheduled to appear before an immigration judge in Seattle to argue her case.

A Nicaraguan asylum seeker is a citizen and national of Nicaragua who has lived in the United States since September 2021. He is married and living with his wife in California. He fled Nicaragua after police beat him for participating in anti-government protests, fracturing his arm. He was detained by DHS upon arrival in the US but released in October 2021 on reporting requirements to ICE, which he never missed. On September 14, 2023, he applied for asylum and received work authorization. In April 2025, he reported for a routine ICE appointment and was detained without notice or hearing despite full compliance with check-in requirements. He was transferred between multiple detention facilities where he suffered inhumane conditions, including excessive heat in transport vehicles, contaminated food and water, and injury from handcuffs. An immigration judge released him on a $5,000 bond in June 2025, and he was placed in ICE's Intensive Supervision Appearance Program. On July 13, 2026, the immigration judge denied his asylum application and ordered removal to Nicaragua. He timely appealed. The federal court granted his preliminary injunction, prohibiting ICE from re-detaining him without a pre-detention hearing where the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that he is a flight risk or danger.

An Argentine woman, the wife of an active-duty Coast Guardsman, was arrested by ICE in April after her immigration status was flagged during a routine security screening as the couple moved into Navy base housing in South Florida. The incident illustrates the vulnerability of military family members despite their spouses' active service.

Alicia arrived for a routine ICE check-in in Louisiana in April 2025 and was detained without warning at Basile detention center. She soon discovered she was pregnant. In detention, she received inadequate food and in May began experiencing severe abdominal pain, cramping, and bleeding. At an emergency room, medical staff performed an invasive uterine test without her consent and informed her she had miscarried. ICE returned her to Basile that same night, where she remained detained for two more months despite continued heavy bleeding, swelling, fever, and severe uterine pain. Repeated sick call requests went unanswered. ICE deported her in July 2025, separating her from her children, and she later required hospital care for a severe infection acquired in custody.

Immigration Judge Jem Sponzo issued 25 deportation orders for minors in a single morning in April 2025 in a downtown New York immigration courtroom, with some hearings lasting only minutes. Among those ordered deported were an 8-year-old girl from Ecuador seeking asylum and SIJS whose mother had already won asylum; a Guatemalan child whose attorney requested more time to prepare evidence for an asylum petition citing an abusive father in the home country; and a high school senior from Guatemala seeking SIJS and asylum. Attorneys reported feeling blindsided by the judge's rapid-fire denials. Sponzo was subsequently fired, becoming one of over 100 immigration judges terminated since Trump returned to office.

Tuan Van Bui, a 55-year-old Vietnamese man who had suffered a stroke, collapsed on April 1 at Miami Correctional Facility (the "Speedway Slammer") in Indiana where he was being detained. Fellow detainees screamed for help, and it took approximately 15 minutes for a guard to respond and 10 more minutes for medical staff to arrive. An Iraqi detainee performed CPR while waiting for medical help. The local coroner attributed his death to natural causes related to cardiovascular disease. This case is among 50 deaths in ICE detention since Trump took office in January 2025, a rate that has more than doubled compared to the 2009-2024 average.

Marco Antonio Herrera, a Guatemalan citizen, was arrested by ICE officers in Williamsport on April 1, 2025, and subsequently indicted on charges of assaulting a federal officer and unlawful entry. According to prosecutors, Herrera resisted officers and struck one with his elbow during the enforcement operation. If convicted, he could face up to eight years in federal prison, along with supervised release and possible fines.

Gary Patrick McGuiness, a 39-year-old Irish citizen, was arrested by ICE in Los Angeles on April 1. McGuiness is registered as a sex offender and had previously been convicted of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, serving a two-year prison sentence. He remains in ICE custody while his deportation proceeding is underway.

José de Jesús Jiménez Delgado, a 51-year-old Venezuelan, was detained by ICE on May 4 while driving to work in Tampa. He arrived in the U.S. in 2018 with a clean record and had a pending asylum case, TPS status, a valid work permit, and a valid driver's license. His family reported he has serious health conditions including a herniated disc, anxiety, and chronic headaches. Ángel Rafael Alvarado, a Venezuelan citizen, was detained by ICE on March 31 at 7:30 a.m. in Florida. According to his family, Alvarado was legally residing in the U.S. under a humanitarian parole program, had entered through proper channels, was in the process of applying for asylum, held a valid work permit, and had no criminal record or traffic violations. His family initiated a fundraising campaign to cover legal expenses.

Martin Majin-Leon, a 58-year-old barber shop owner in Pomona, was detained by ICE agents on March 31, 2025, while arriving at his business. He was held in federal custody for over 30 hours before being released on April 2, 2025. The detention was related to an immigration issue from more than 20 years prior. His family discovered his detention through surveillance footage showing him being taken at gunpoint.

Armando Gonzalez, a father and sole household provider, was detained by ICE in Big Bear, California on March 31st. His wife is terminally ill with only days or weeks to live. A community organization is raising funds to help him secure legal representation.

Vicente Garcia Jr., 18, of Roma, Texas, was arrested after allegedly driving a vehicle involved in human smuggling operations in McAllen on March 28. According to federal prosecutors, Garcia was transporting a smuggled person to another smuggler, Jose Alexis Baeza-Combaluzier, who was driving a vehicle with four additional smuggled passengers. When law enforcement observed the suspected smuggling operation and attempted to approach, Baeza-Combaluzier drove through a flooded road and crashed his vehicle into a canal, resulting in the deaths of a woman and a 14-year-old child. Garcia faces up to life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.

Maria's father, an undocumented immigrant from Durango, Mexico, is currently in ICE custody facing deportation. He came to the United States with Maria's mother decades ago but was unable to obtain legal residency. After Maria's mother passed away in 2018, he attempted to legalize his status based on a new law but was ultimately denied and ordered to return to Mexico for 1–10 years. Maria and her grandmother, who are dependent on him, face financial hardship and loss of transportation as a result of his detention.

On March 28, 2025, Border Patrol agents observed a Ford Explorer suspected of human smuggling in McAllen, Texas. When agents activated emergency equipment and approached the vehicle, it fled and drove into a canal approximately one-half mile away, becoming submerged. Five occupants were rescued from the canal, but two individuals remained unaccounted for. A female was recovered deceased on March 28, and a juvenile male was found deceased in the vehicle on March 29. Autopsies determined both deaths were caused by drowning.

Jose Alexis Baeza-Combaluzier, a 26-year-old Mexican national, was driving a Ford Explorer involved in alleged human smuggling when U.S. Border Patrol agents approached the vehicle during severe flooding in McAllen, Texas. Baeza-Combaluzier fled and drove into a canal; agents rescued him and four migrants, but a woman and 13-year-old boy drowned in the incident. He has been charged in connection with the smuggling deaths and faces up to life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.

Maiker Alejandro Espinoza Escalona, a plaintiff in the case Escalona v. Noem challenging ICE transfers to Guantánamo Bay, was held at the U.S. detention facility there from March 28 to 29, 2025 before being flown to El Salvador. His family later identified him in a photo posted to social media by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. According to ACLU attorneys, he is now potentially permanently separated from his partner, who remains in ICE custody, and their two-year-old daughter.

Felipe Zapata Velázquez, 27, a third-year undergraduate at the University of Florida majoring in food and resource economics, was stopped by police in Gainesville on March 28 for traffic violations including an illegal license plate and driving with a suspended license. Despite holding a valid F-1 student visa, he was arrested and taken to Krome Detention Center in Miami-Dade County, where he was given the choice to wait for immigration court proceedings or sign deportation papers. He chose to sign the deportation papers and was deported to Colombia. His mother, Claudia Velázquez, stated that Felipe is undergoing physical and emotional recovery in Colombia. A protest demanding restoration of his immigration status was scheduled at the university, and Rep. Maxwell Frost characterized the case as part of a Trump administration crackdown on foreign students.