Human Impact Project

Gilbert Joubert Adrien, a 41-year-old Haitian pastor described as "beloved" by his Springfield, Ohio community, was detained by ICE agents on the morning of August 20 at a Sunoco gas station on South Limestone Street. Victor Yonel, another Haitian man, was detained alongside him after ICE released Yonel's wife, who had been in the car with them. Fellow pastor Carl Ruby said Adrien left Haiti because his life was in danger and had faithfully served Christ and his congregation, calling the arrest an example of ICE's willingness to "incite panic among people who came here peacefully" and urging his immediate release. Vilés Dorsainvil, executive director of the Haitian Support Center, said he speaks with Adrien regularly and that the two work together distributing items to people in Springfield as pastors and community leaders, warning that if Adrien is deported his congregation "will be here terrified and without their leader." Advocates with Springfield G92 called the detention "a profound wound" to the Haitian community, with member Marjory Wentworth adding it left people "deeply saddened" and "feeling even more vulnerable." A second pastor from the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield was also detained while traveling in Northwest Ohio; Ruby said he may already have been deported. Adrien's detention came amid a broader ICE crackdown that has detained more than 40 Haitian residents following the July 27 end of Temporary Protected Status, with community members also being required to wear ankle monitors and report to ICE offices.

A father was briefly detained by ICE agents on August 19, 2025, after dropping off his child at a Garden Grove elementary school. Masked individuals in unmarked cars surrounded and handcuffed the man near campus around 7:50 a.m. He was held in an ICE vehicle in a nearby parking lot and released within an hour after providing documentation and confirming his identity.

An ICE enforcement action in Escondido resulted in the detention of a father while his children witnessed the incident. According to an Instagram post, children can be heard speaking in Spanish expressing distress about the situation.

Charlotte, a U.S. citizen from California, says her husband, who is from Afghanistan and arrived in the U.S. in 2016 on a valid student visa, has been detained at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania for over a year and a half. In early 2025, while visiting family in Maryland, he was pulled over by a sheriff in West Virginia and arrested without a stated reason, then transferred to ICE detention. He had a REAL ID driver's license and a work permit valid until 2029, and he and Charlotte have a young son, JJ, who was diagnosed with ADHD and autism and was very close to his father. Charlotte sold her belongings and moved to Maryland to be closer to him, and says ICE has not allowed him to sign voluntary departure paperwork to self-deport.

Mario, a father of three who had worked non-stop for 33 years since immigrating from Mexico, was arrested during ICE raids at the carwash in Santa Ana where he worked on August 19, 2025. He spent six nights sleeping on the floor of a holding cell he called the "ice box" and two months at Adelanto detention center, where he contracted a contagion, possibly flu or COVID. He was released on October 24 after his lawyers filed a habeas corpus petition, but remains unable to work while awaiting a final deportation hearing, and his wife Alejandra said he came home severely traumatized, refusing to leave the house and barely eating. This summer, Mario spoke publicly at a news conference at Inglewood's Crenshaw Imperial Car Wash—since closed after a federal raid—describing being held for a week without a blanket, a toothbrush, or basic medical care for an injured man detained beside him; advocacy group CLEAN Carwash Worker Center says at least 373 car wash workers have been detained in more than 100 raids across Southern California since the crackdown began.

In August 2025, ICE confirmed the arrests of 24 construction workers in Centre County, Pennsylvania, who were on their way to a construction site at Mount Nittany Medical Center's patient tower project. On August 19, around 7 a.m., ICE agents pulled over a van of workers on Interstate 99 near Bellefonte; other workers from the same site were stopped near the Milesburg exit on Highway 220 about an hour later. Advocates said the 24 to 26 men detained were from Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras, and described them as fathers, sons and brothers whose arrests disrupted their families and the local workforce. A foreman driving several workers said he was pulled over by two unmarked vehicles and that many detained had valid identification and work permits. The men were reportedly taken to Pike County Correctional Facility, Clinton County Correctional Facility, and Moshannon Valley Processing Center, with advocates and a state lawmaker saying they struggled to obtain information about detainees' whereabouts and alleging some may have been misled or coerced into signing self-deportation orders. The raid preceded a similar operation near Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, and advocates described both as part of a pattern of immigration enforcement near hospitals in central Pennsylvania.

Daniel Fuentes Espinal, a 54-year-old volunteer pastor and construction worker from Honduras, was detained by ICE on July 21, 2025, while driving to a construction job in Easton, Maryland, after purchasing supplies at Lowe's and picking up breakfast at McDonald's. He arrived legally in 2001 on a six-month visitor visa and had been living in the country on an expired visa ever since. For the past 24 years, Fuentes Espinal has been a cornerstone of his Easton community, working steadily in construction to support his wife and three adult children, and serving as a volunteer pastor at Iglesia del Nazareno Jesus Te Ama for over a decade, where he has built the congregation to 70 families. His daughter Clarissa had begun sponsoring him for permanent residence through legal channels. According to court records and his family, he has no criminal history. During his detention, he was transferred through facilities in Salisbury and Baltimore before being moved to Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana, where he reported deplorable conditions including sleeping on concrete or cold benches, lack of adequate food and sanitation, and denial of access to his heart and stomach medications. His community, congregation, and Maryland congressional representatives—including U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, Representative Sarah Elfreth, and Representative Glenn Ivey—rallied to support him. A GoFundMe campaign raised over $50,000 for his legal expenses. He was released from ICE detention and returned home to his family in Easton nearly a month after his arrest.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents opened fire on a vehicle during an immigration enforcement operation after the driver allegedly struck two officers with his car. The three occupants, including an unauthorized immigrant, were not hit. The driver was briefly detained but released due to California's sanctuary policies, as agents lacked a warrant.

Marlon Gerardo Sáenz Cruz, 65, known as 'Chino Enoc,' was detained by ICE agents in Los Angeles on August 17, 2025, when he arrived for what he believed was a second interview related to his pending asylum application. He was among 222 political prisoners stripped of their Nicaraguan citizenship and exiled to the United States in February 2023 after breaking with the Ortega-Murillo government, having previously served in the Sandinista guerrilla and State Security before admitting to participating as a paramilitary during the 2018 crackdown. He says he was imprisoned and tortured in Nicaragua for opposing the government. Sáenz suffers from a leg ulcer, glaucoma, and worsening complications from childhood polio that now require him to use a wheelchair, and he is being held at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center. His attorneys are seeking asylum or protection under the Convention Against Torture, though advocates warn he could still be removed to a third country where he has no ties.

A U.S. citizen born in Yakima, Washington, was pulled over and temporarily detained by ICE agents on the morning of August 17 while driving to work near the Sundome area. Agents surrounded his vehicle, asked for identification without explaining the stop, and told him there was a warrant for his arrest for "being here illegally." He was handcuffed and placed in a squad car until agents verified his citizenship, after which he was released. He said agents refused to provide their badge numbers or names before leaving, and he photographed their vehicles and license plates.

Federal agents detained a food delivery driver in Northwest Washington on Saturday morning, tackling him to the ground and apparently using a stun gun before placing him in an unmarked vehicle. The incident was witnessed and recorded by multiple people including a Washington Post reporter. The man was later identified as a Venezuelan national.

ICE agents confronted Francisco Longoria and passengers in San Bernardino on August 16, 2025. Masked agents in an unmarked vehicle surrounded the car and fired at least three shots. According to the family, the agents did not identify themselves before smashing the driver's window and opening fire, with bullets striking near where Longoria's teenage son was seated. ICE claimed Longoria drove toward officers. The family and their attorneys dispute this account and are requesting a criminal investigation. Francisco Longoria was stopped by ICE and CBP agents without a warrant on August 16, 2026. When agents smashed his truck window and drew guns, Longoria drove away and agents fired three shots, hitting the vehicle. He was subsequently charged with weaponizing his vehicle against officers and detained for months before charges were dropped. Longoria's family has filed a lawsuit alleging the shooting violated use of force policy and a court order against racial profiling.

On August 16, 2025, ICE conducted enforcement operations at a Home Depot and car wash in Anaheim, detaining at least five people despite a federal court order barring sweeps based on race, language or employment type. At the Euclid Car Wash, agents deployed tear gas against a crowd of bystanders and detained Isaac Dominguez, a Black bystander and U.S. citizen who was there to wash his car, in what city officials say was the third such incident at that location since July 3. Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken has criticized the continued raids as targeting workers based on job, skin color or language, and officials report federal agents have also returned to the same Home Depot on Brookhurst Street at least six times since early June, with enforcement spreading to day laborers in Garden Grove and car wash workers in Santa Ana.

ICE officers arrested a Mayan-language speaking woman from Guatemala in San Francisco immigration court on August 15, 2025. The DHS attorney did not move to dismiss her case and agreed to reschedule her hearing for October. The woman, who spoke only Mam and had difficulty communicating through interpreters, was arrested in the courthouse hallway immediately after her hearing concluded.

Edwin Calva-Guaman, a 27-year-old from Ecuador, was arrested by ICE agents at Danbury Superior Courthouse on August 15, 2025, after his public defender told him to appear for a court date his sister says did not exist. His sister, Monica Apolinario, spoke at a community rally in Danbury alongside Calva-Guaman's 3-year-old nephew, Axel, saying Calva-Guaman supports his sister, nephews and mother, who remains in Ecuador. His girlfriend, Jossie Gutierrez, has said she fears he will be deported and killed, pointing to the death of his nephew after a prior deportation. Calva-Guaman had pleaded not guilty to pending domestic violence and related charges, including two felony counts of violating a protective order.

Tatiana Martinez, a 24-year-old TikTok influencer with more than 47,000 followers, was arrested by federal agents while parked in her car outside her apartment building in downtown Los Angeles. Her attorney says she was targeted for using her platform to film and report on ICE operations, while officials have cited her immigration status and a prior DUI conviction as reasons for the arrest. Martinez, a Colombian national, was taken to a detention center in Calexico and reportedly suffered bruising during the arrest.

Ribvar Karimi, an Iranian national, has been in ICE custody for over 50 days in Alabama. He missed the birth of his child while detained.

Johan Blanco, a 44-year-old yoga instructor from Venezuela who teaches at Mimi Yoga's Wynwood location, was detained by ICE agents during a vehicle stop in Miami-Dade County on August 15, just minutes before he was set to teach a sold-out Power Vinyasa class. His students arrived to an empty studio that morning, and it remained unclear where he was being held. An ICE spokesperson said Blanco had entered the country lawfully but remained in the U.S. for 10 years after failing to depart as required. A GoFundMe organized on his behalf describes him as a 'community pillar' and has raised more than $40,700 for legal fees and family support. Blanco moved to Miami in 2015 after previously teaching Hatha yoga at embassies in Venezuela.

Cpl. Jose Manuel Vilchis-Valle, 23, a U.S. Marine, enlisted in the military after recruiters promised that military service would help protect his family members from immigration enforcement, telling him "if you serve, and if you served honorably, you can help your parents." His mother, Maria Ursula Valle, 54, a Mexican immigrant who had suffered a stroke in 2021 and required ongoing medication, was detained by ICE on August 8, 2025, while attending a scheduled immigration appointment where she expected to secure parole in place. She was deported to Mexico within a week. Vilchis-Valle, who had served four years in the military and was honorably discharged shortly after his mother's deportation, expressed devastation over the outcome: "I gave four years of my life to this country... but knowing that this country doesn't want my mother makes me feel terrible." His sister Mia, who is studying nursing, described their mother as "a very kind lady." The family had believed the appointment would advance Valle's immigration case. An AP investigation found that more than 50 parents and spouses of active-duty service members have been detained since Trump took office for a second term, with at least six deported and one self-deported, despite eligibility for military parole-in-place and other immigration benefits.

Juliana Soares, an advocate with Greater Danbury United for Immigrants, was physically assaulted by ICE agents while protesting at Danbury Superior Courthouse on August 14, 2025. Soares stated that an ICE agent walked into her, shoved her into a group of armed agents, and another agent pushed her so forcefully she nearly fell. She was also screamed at loudly by another agent, causing her ear to ring. Soares was threatened with pepper spray and arrest during the incident.