Human Impact Project

ICE agents detained a woman in a white Tesla near Camarena Elementary School in Chula Vista during morning drop-off on August 6, 2025. The woman's two children, who were students at the school, were in the vehicle. According to ICE, an immigration judge had ordered the woman deported in absentia in July 2022, and the arrest was made off school property.

US Border Patrol agents conducted a raid outside a Home Depot in Los Angeles's Westlake neighborhood using an unmarked yellow Penske rental truck, with masked officers jumping out and arresting 16 people from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The operation, called 'Operation Trojan Horse,' occurred despite a federal court order prohibiting indiscriminate raids in the region due to evidence of racial profiling and targeting based on appearance, language, and location. Penske said it was not informed its truck would be used in the operation and did not authorize it, citing a policy against transporting people in vehicle cargo areas. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass's office said it is gathering information and considering legal options, calling the use of rental trucks in raids 'un-American.'

A former corrections officer at a detention facility in Florida described conditions including hundreds of detainees held in cages with no sunlight, backed-up toilets, and minimal shower access. The officer, who worked at the facility for about a week in July 2025, stated that detainees had no clocks, limited access to showers, and endured water leaks and mosquito infestations. She was subsequently fired after catching COVID and claims she was never paid for her work.

A Trump-appointed federal judge ordered Florida officials to produce legal agreements justifying their authority to detain approximately 1,000 migrants at the detention camp in the Everglades by Thursday. Civil rights groups allege detainees are being held without formal charges, denied access to legal counsel, and stripped of bond hearings, with some held beyond the legal 14-day limit. The state and federal governments lack clarity on jurisdiction and legal custody over the facility.

Luis Manuel Rivas Velásquez collapsed at Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz" detention center and was hospitalized. Detainees reported inadequate medical response and chaos at the facility. He is now being held in El Paso Enhanced Hardened Facility with reportedly deteriorating health conditions.

Sheikh Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir, a 46-year-old green card holder and Imam from Eritrea, died at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center on December 14, 2025, after spending 215 days in ICE custody. The Council on American Islamic Relations stated his death was related to detention system issues regarding medical care, transparency, and conditions.

Patricia Balbuena Soto, a mother of three who had lived in New Jersey for approximately 30 years since age 19, was arrested on July 24, 2025, by Atlantic City Police on charges including criminal mischief and property damage. She was transferred to ICE custody on July 25, 2025, and deported to Mexico on August 5, 2025. According to DHS, Balbuena Soto had been previously removed from the country four times and illegally reentered a fifth time, which constituted a felony. Her 17-year-old daughter told Newsweek she felt alone after the separation and was forced to navigate daily life without her parent.

Basilia López, Christina Flores Prado, and Cristina López Flores were detained by ICE agents in Arizona on the morning of August 5 while traveling to their jobs. According to their families, all three women are employed and have no criminal records. One of the detainees is pregnant and required medical attention after experiencing severe pain while in custody. The women's families say they still have not received an explanation for the detentions and have been searching for information about their whereabouts. Their attorney, Rey Ibarra, is reviewing the case.

Allison Garcia, a 17-year-old U.S. citizen honors student, was left to manage her family's mortgage and finances alone after her mother Patricia Balbuena Soto was arrested by local police on a domestic dispute warrant in July 2025 and subsequently deported to Mexico by ICE in August. Garcia missed 21 school days, dropped two AP classes, and saw her 4.8 GPA decline to 3.5 while working extra shifts to cover household expenses. Her $10,000 college fund was depleted by her mother's legal defense costs.

Two individuals were detained by ICE officers in front of Southwest Elementary School in the Roosevelt School District on August 5, 2025, the second day of the school year. One agent was observed escorting a student to the school's entry gate. Some parents subsequently kept children home or considered doing so.

Paola Clouatre, a Mexican-born woman and wife of a Marine Corps veteran, was detained by ICE on May 27, 2025, while breastfeeding her three-month-old baby during an adjustment of status interview. She spent two months in ICE's detention center in Monroe, Louisiana before being released after her husband and Senator John Kennedy's office advocated for her case. An immigration judge granted her motion to reopen her case and she was released while her legal process continues.

Recently obtained 911 calls from Alligator Alcatraz, an undocumented migrant detention facility in the Florida Everglades, include approximately 70 calls. These calls included requests for emergency medical services for medical incidents with injuries and health concerns, with approximately 30 being accidental calls from staff. The facility has faced lawsuits over conditions. Reports indicate detainees staged a hunger strike to protest conditions, which DHS denied.

Hamed Alsaidi, 31, an immigrant from Jordan living in Oak Forest, Illinois, was arrested by Mokena police on Aug. 1 after officers found eight glass bottles filled with an ignitable liquid in his backpack along with a map of Orland Park labeled with the word "mosque." A Will County judge granted him pretrial release with electronic monitoring on Aug. 2, and the sheriff's office said it was barred under the Illinois TRUST Act from honoring an ICE detainer lodged against him that day. ICE took Alsaidi into custody on Aug. 4 and charged him in federal court with felony unlawful possession of a weapon and obstructing identification. As of August 2026, he remains in ICE custody in Indiana, awaiting the outcome of his immigration hearing.

Pedro Mariano Salgado, a 36-year-old Nicaraguan national, was arrested by ICE on August 4, 2025, at approximately 7:30 a.m. in Austin, Texas, as he left his home for work. According to his wife, two ICE vehicles followed him from his residence. Salgado has lived in the United States for over three years and works remodeling apartments. His wife states that the family has an open asylum case and an immigration court hearing scheduled for 2027. The couple has four children, including a newborn who is two months old. Salgado is currently detained at a detention facility in Pearsall. His wife, who says he is the family's primary breadwinner, is requesting assistance to pay for legal representation and cover her children's basic needs while seeking his release.

Dale Heath, a British-born permanent resident who has lived in the U.S. since age 8, was detained by CBP at Denver International Airport on August 4 while renewing his temporary green card. He was arrested due to marijuana possession convictions from 2001 when he was a teenager in Texas. Heath has been held in ICE detention for weeks, separated from his wife and two children, while awaiting his immigration hearing.

Jose Angel Rodriguez Loa was detained by ICE on August 4, 2025, after a traffic stop on I-10 and Culebra in San Antonio. He was placed in an unmarked black SUV and transferred to an immigration detention facility. His family hired an immigration attorney and is fundraising to cover legal fees, with hopes he may be allowed to stay.

Gonzalo Salas, a painter with 25+ years in the U.S., three American children, a home, and a business, was detained by ICE on August 4, 2025, after taking his seven-year-old son to a dentist appointment. He remains in custody at an ICE facility in Virginia pending a bond hearing on August 28, 2025. His family is raising funds for legal representation to fight his deportation to Mexico.

Federal immigration authorities attempted to quickly deport Mirta Amarilis Co Tupul, a 38-year-old Guatemalan woman who has lived in the U.S. for nearly 30 years, through expedited removal proceedings that bypass immigration court hearings. A federal court granted an emergency request to temporarily pause her deportation while the case proceeds. Her lawyers argue the Trump administration is stretching immigration law to fast-track deportations.

The US Department of Homeland Security announced on August 14 the deportation of five noncitizens with criminal convictions, including an Indian man deported on August 3. DHS alleged he had a criminal history involving sexually motivated coercion using force, burglary, and theft. The other four deportees were nationals of Guatemala, Mexico, and Chile, removed between August 4 and 6 following convictions for offenses including homicide, negligent manslaughter, driving under the influence, illegal re-entry, firearms violations, and residential burglary. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the removals were part of the administration's broader enforcement effort targeting people it considers dangerous.

Maycon Souto Dos Reis, 54, a Brazilian national, was arrested by ICE during a targeted operation at Westborough District Court in Westborough, Massachusetts, on Aug. 3, 2025. He had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in June 2024 and was released into the country, later coming to ICE's attention after a May 2025 arrest for unlicensed driving in Southborough. ICE said he was convicted in Brazil on Sept. 14, 2024, and sentenced to over 14 years in prison, with an arrest warrant issued after he fled to the United States. His arrest came two days before Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed the state's PROTECT Act, which restricts ICE operations at courthouses, schools, child-care centers and health care facilities; he remains in ICE custody pending deportation proceedings.