Human Impact Project

Maria Greeley, a 44-year-old U.S. citizen and Chicago resident born at Illinois Masonic Hospital, was detained by three masked federal agents outside the Beach Bar on Ohio Street after finishing a double shift in early October 2025. The agents restrained her with zip ties and questioned her for approximately one hour, challenging the authenticity of her passport and telling her she "doesn't look like" her last name Greeley, despite her carrying documentation proving her citizenship. After about an hour, the agents released her. Following the incident, Greeley reported experiencing psychological distress and said she felt compelled to "lay low."

Warren King, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen born and raised in Chicago, was tackled and arrested by federal immigration agents at a Walgreens store on the East Side during an operation targeting undocumented immigrants. King was shopping with friends and family when agents swarmed the store; he was arrested despite repeatedly telling agents he was a U.S. citizen and legally in the country. He was held for hours before being released without charges, left with physical and mental injuries from the takedown.

Victor Cruz-Gamez, a 55-year-old Hillsboro business owner, was arrested by ICE on October 14 after agents pulled him over in downtown Hillsboro, apparently searching for another person named Victor Cruz. Cruz-Gamez had recently received work authorization and visa eligibility from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and has no Oregon criminal history except a dismissed 2008 traffic ticket. Despite these factors, he has remained in ICE custody at the Northwest Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington since his arrest, facing deportation because he unlawfully crossed the border as a teenager.

Border Patrol agents pursued a vehicle for 18 minutes through Chicago's East Side neighborhood on October 14, 2025, ignoring supervisor orders to stop the chase. The vehicle crashed after agents blew a tire, not from an authorized immobilization technique as DHS claimed. Following the crash, an agent pointed his weapon at bystanders in a nearby Walgreens, claiming they charged at him despite video evidence contradicting this account.

Ali Faqirzada, 31, fled Afghanistan in 2021 and has been waiting for his asylum case to be decided since 2022. On October 14, ICE detained Ali after an Asylum Officer found he had a viable claim for asylum. Ali fled Afghanistan after he and his family received death threats from Taliban members. Every member of Ali's family, including his parents and siblings, have been granted asylum. Ali was the last family member waiting for a decision on his immigration case. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) terminated the application and instead placed Ali in expedited removal proceedings. Ali passed an initial screening by an Asylum Officer. ICE subsequently arrested and jailed him. ICE has the authority to immediately release Ali to continue his immigration case.

ICE and Border Patrol agents threatened to arrest a Chicago cyclist who was following and recording them. The incident was captured on video and shared by a Chicago Tribune journalist. Community members intervened with whistles, which appeared to cause the agents to back away from the cyclist.

Five people were detained during a raid on September 13, 2025 at 9:55 AM in Long Beach at 577 E Wardlow Rd. The detained individuals included migrants, citizens, and legal residents. Carwash owners and construction site operators were advised to install protective fencing around their work sites and properties.

Leo Cruz Silva, a 34-year-old Mexican national, died by suicide on October 4, 2025, in Ste. Genevieve County Jail while in ICE custody. Arrested on September 30 for public intoxication in Festus, Missouri, Silva was transferred to ICE custody on October 1 for reinstatement of a prior removal order. During his first days in custody, he experienced acute mental distress, including auditory and visual hallucinations, paranoia, and attempts to leave his cell. On October 3, jail staff observed him hiding under his bed, and a medical provider ordered antipsychotic medications, though treatment was not immediately scheduled. On October 4 at approximately 3:20 p.m., jail employees found him with a sheet tied around his neck. Staff removed the ligature and began CPR; he was pronounced dead at 3:47 p.m. Silva had entered the U.S. without documents and had been deported twice between 2010 and 2025 before re-entering. His death was the second reported suicide in ICE custody in Missouri in 2025. On October 13, about 50 community members gathered for a vigil organized by Abide in Love Ste. Genevieve. The DHS Office of Inspector General and ICE Office of Professional Responsibility are reviewing the case, examining intake screenings, wellness checks, medical response timing, and compliance with detention protocols.

Fidel Rivera, an undocumented immigrant who worked in construction in North Carolina for over 20 years, self-deported to Mexico on October 13, 2025, to avoid potential immigration detention. His family, including his U.S. citizen wife and two daughters, are spending the holidays separated as Rivera must remain in Mexico for at least 10 years before he can reapply for legal status.

A 13-year-old Brazilian boy with a pending asylum case was arrested by ICE in Everett after an interaction with local police and transferred to a juvenile detention facility in Winchester, Virginia. His mother was told she could pick him up from the Everett Police Department but was informed ICE had taken him instead. A federal judge ordered the government to justify the arrest by October 14 or provide a bond hearing by October 17.

A car fleeing from U.S. Border Patrol agents crashed on West Paisano Drive in El Paso, killing two migrants from Guatemala and Mexico. The 2011 Infiniti G37 lost control on a curve, hit a curb and flipped after the driver attempted to flee following a border crossing. Four other passengers were injured in the rollover crash.

An 18-year-old girl in Hoffman Estates was forcibly removed from a vehicle and thrown to the ground by what appeared to be a federal agent during a weekend enforcement operation. She and two friends were detained for hours before being released. Her parents are demanding accountability and taking legal action, while there is confusion about which agency was responsible for the arrest.

A 15-year-old boy with autism and special needs, Emmanuel González Garcia, went missing on October 4, 2025, after wandering away from his mother Maria García's fruit stand in Houston. Houston Police Department located him the next day but did not connect him with the existing missing person report due to a name discrepancy (Manuel vs. Emmanuel). HPD contacted ICE and transferred the boy to federal immigration custody. García was without knowledge of her son's whereabouts for nearly a week until an immigration attorney intervened. The teen is now in Office of Refugee Resettlement custody and is facing emergency appendix surgery. An investigation into the Houston Police Department's procedures was initiated following the incident.

Rev. ELaura James Reid, a 49-year-old pastor of Coleman Chapel CME Church and lifelong Memphian, was pulled over on October 10, 2025, by a man in camouflage fatigues driving an unmarked SUV with a matte army green finish as she left a church unity summit at an East Memphis hotel. The officer claimed she looked lost or was "driving unsure," though she had properly stopped at a stop sign and signaled her turn. When Reid questioned whether it was normal for National Guard members to ask for licenses, the officer told her to have a nice day and let her go. She was not arrested or ticketed.

Drumgoon Dairy, a 6,500-cow operation owned by Rodney and Dorothy Elliott, experienced a federal Department of Homeland Security audit that resulted in the immediate termination of 38 employees in spring 2025. The audit found several workers had inaccurate, outdated, or incomplete documentation regarding citizenship status or work permits. The farm was left with 16 workers after the operation, losing years of accumulated experience and team knowledge built over a decade.

A federal judge in Illinois issued a temporary restraining order blocking federal agents from using tear gas, pepper balls, and excessive force against protesters demonstrating outside an ICE detention facility near Chicago. The order was prompted by video of Reverend David Black, a Presbyterian pastor in clerical garb, being repeatedly struck with pepper balls and chemical spray while peacefully praying during a protest at the Broadview facility.

ICE arrested a U.S. citizen in Oregon. An attorney stated the arrest was illegal and characterized it as an abduction. Limited details about the arrested individual's identity and circumstances are available in the report.

Chicago TV producer for WGN-TV, Debbie Brockman, was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on Friday in a residential area during immigration enforcement operations. A federal judge had issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting DHS agents from arresting journalists without probable cause. Brockman was released from federal custody the same day with no charges filed against her.

Two women were arrested by ICE agents in front of an elementary school near the University of Illinois at Chicago campus on the West Side. DHS accused the women of stalking an ICE vehicle and attempting to impede a targeted operation. Officers forcibly removed one woman from her car, and the incident was recorded on video.

On October 10, 2025, Tontitown police pulled over a work van and, after issuing only a traffic warning to the driver, called ICE to the scene; officers fingerprinted and detained the van's occupants roadside for about an hour awaiting ICE's arrival. Five of the six passengers, including 18-year-old Guatemalan woman Vicky Ramirez, were booked into Washington County Detention Center and transferred to federal custody; Ramirez was later sent to a detention facility in Louisiana and deported to Guatemala. Bodycam footage showed the officer opening the van's sliding door and asking for identification from all passengers, actions an attorney with the National Lawyers Guild said raised constitutional concerns about unlawful search and prolonged detention. The stop was one of at least 13 identified traffic stops that led to the federal detention of 20 people in Washington County before Tontitown Police Department formally signed a 287(g) agreement with ICE in June 2026.