HUMSI — Human Security Initiative

Human Impact Project

A living database documenting reported immigration enforcement incidents and their human impact.

We collect individual stories of people impacted by U.S. immigration enforcement from news reporting, court records, and community accounts into one searchable public database, updated daily and reviewed by our team. The Human Impact Project is run by the Human Security Initiative, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

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4434 incidents with known locations
⚐ Highlighted incident #12502 (not on this page in normal date order)Clear

Three Deportees Drown, One Rescued, When Boat Capsizes Off Panama

Feb 10, 2026Guna Yala, PanamaVenezuela

A boat carrying a passenger who had been bused from the U.S. to Tapachula, Mexico, alongside Venezuelan journalist Roberto Betancourt capsized on February 10, 2026, near Gaigirgordub island in Panama's Guna Yala archipelago, killing two Venezuelan women and one Colombian man. The vessel, identified as the Maryi and based in Miramar, Colón province, was carrying 16 migrants; one Venezuelan survivor was pulled from under the overturned boat by local divers and later transferred to Panama City for medical care. Many of the Venezuelans on the late-January deportation bus had been told by immigration agents that it would take them to Mexico City to board a plane to Caracas; when the bus instead continued to Tapachula, some attempted the dangerous route south through Central America and Panama to reach Colombia's northern coast. A separate boat carrying migrants capsized in the same region hours earlier, with all aboard surviving.

Michigan father arrested by ICE outside son's school, leaving family of five struggling

Mar 7, 2025Mexico

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.

Venezuelan migrant dies crossing Rio Grande, buried in Texas

Mar 7, 2025Eagle Pass, TXVenezuela

Gustavo Alfonso Garcia Olivares, a 24-year-old Venezuelan migrant who had trained as a barber since age 14, drowned in the Rio Grande near the U.S.-Mexico border and was buried at Maverick County Cemetery in Eagle Pass, Texas, in a service attended by about 10 people. His parents in Venezuela watched via livestream, having last seen him alive in a video showing him riding a train toward the border in 2023. His father recalled his son's final words of ambition to help the family, calling the funeral "sentimental, sad, but at the same time we are able to breathe a sigh of relief." The burial was the first funeral service organized by Border Vigil, a human rights organization formed in 2023 amid rising migrant deaths along the border.

Dad detained by ICE in Canyon County, hearing set for April

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Mar 6, 2025Canyon County, ID

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.

U.S. Citizen Detained by ICE in Mistaken Identity Stop

Mar 6, 2025Manassas, VA

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.

Green-Card Holder Denied Reentry to US Over Past Arrest

Mar 6, 2025New York, NYNiger

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 targets Minneapolis business, detains employee

Mar 5, 2025Minneapolis, MNMexico

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

Venezuelan deported from US after detention at Guantanamo Bay, returns to Venezuela

Mar 5, 2025Venezuela

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.

17 undocumented immigrants detained in Bigfork construction site raid

Mar 4, 2025Bigfork, MTVenezuela

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. The investigation remains ongoing.

Ecuadorian migrant arrested by ICE after New York release, facing deportation

Mar 4, 2025New York, NYEcuador

Bryan David Tasiguano Leon, an Ecuadorian citizen, was arrested by ICE on March 4, 2025, following his release from NYPD custody despite an ICE detainer request. He had been arrested by NYPD on February 14, 2026, on suspicion of assault. An immigration judge issued a final deportation order against him on February 27, 2025, and federal authorities designated him a public safety risk. He is scheduled for deportation to Ecuador.

Man searches for wife taken by ICE at Broadview facility

Mar 3, 2025Broadview, ON

A man went to the Broadview ICE facility searching for his wife of five years after she was taken to another room during a court hearing and disappeared. He tracked her phone to the facility but the signal cut off, and police offered no assistance beyond suggesting he look up her name online. ICE issued no official statement on her whereabouts or the circumstances of her detention.

Florida DACA mother considers self-deportation over immigration policy fears

Mar 3, 2025South Florida, FLMexico

Quebec Vasquez, a DACA-protected mother of three U.S. citizen children, announced plans to self-deport to Mexico due to fears about rapidly changing immigration policies under the Trump administration. Despite being protected from deportation through DACA for 10 years, she cited uncertainty and fear about her family's future as reasons for considering leaving the United States.

South Bronx community rallies behind deported counselor as judge finds ICE defied order

Mar 2, 2025Bronx, NYVenezuela

Kamal Morales, a counselor at Community Healthcare Network's South Bronx clinic, was detained on March 2 during a routine immigration appearance and deported to Venezuela after 12 years away, despite having no criminal record and consistently attending required check-ins. He had fled Venezuela in 2019, was detained for 11 months, denied asylum, and later released on parole, remaining at risk of deportation after Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans ended in October 2025. Morales married his husband, U.S. citizen Miguel Garcia, in May 2025. A federal judge ruled Morales had been re-detained without proper process and ordered the government to justify the detention by April 7, but the administration deported him before responding, according to Garcia and court documents.

Federal agent waits outside Maryland church for enforcement target, acknowledges previous policy would have prevented the operation

March 2025Maryland

In Maryland, a federal agent sitting outside a church, waiting for the target of his operation to leave his house, acknowledged to journalists that they could never have conducted such an operation before the sensitive locations policy was rescinded.

Krome detainees sleep on floors, buses, near toilets amid worst US overcrowding

March 2025Miami, FLUnited States

By March 2025, Krome North Service Processing Center held more than three times its operational capacity of about 580 people, with approximately 1,677 detained per day; cells designed for 66 held up to 155 people, with men sleeping on floor mattresses and makeshift cots. In April, staff erected a roughly 200-by-130-foot tent on the sports field, and data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse showed Krome was the most overcrowded ICE facility in the country that month, exceeding contractual capacity by more than 1,190 people. Attorneys reported clients sleeping on floors, some forced to sleep next to toilets, and detainees spending hours or overnight in shackles on buses waiting to enter the facility. By late May, broken air conditioning left 70 men sharing a single small fan, and as of June 20, over 56 percent of Krome detainees had no criminal conviction or pending charge.

Immigrant Families Jailed in Texas Under Trump Administration

Mar 1, 2025Texas, TXEl Salvador

The Trump Administration has reopened family detention centers in Texas and is detaining immigrant families, including some who have been living in the United States for years. Legal advocates report that children in these facilities are experiencing hunger, sleep deprivation, and psychological distress. The government is potentially planning to detain thousands more at military bases like Fort Bliss.

Pasco mechanic arrested, deported to Mexico after months in detention

Mar 2025Pasco, WAMexico

A Pasco mechanic and father of three was arrested by a federal immigration agent on his way to work in March 2025. He may have been targeted because of a 2020 DUI charge and minor resolved traffic violations. A federal work permit he had previously applied for was approved while he was detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. After months in detention, he was deported to central Mexico in June 2025.

Ecuadorian man detained in collateral ICE search despite torture protection order

Mar 1, 2025Milford, MAEcuador

E.F.D., an Ecuadorian immigrant and resident of Milford, Massachusetts, was granted protection from deportation to Ecuador in 2018 under the UN Convention Against Torture after fleeing threats and a robbery tied to his refusal to transport drugs for Ecuadorian police. In March 2025, ICE detained him and his coworkers during an unsuccessful search for another individual, holding him at the Plymouth, Massachusetts ICE detention facility. He was released after the D.V.D. v. DHS lawsuit challenging third-country deportations was filed, in which he is a named plaintiff.

Cuban man in Pittsfield fears third-country deportation despite pending case

Mar 1, 2025Pittsfield, MACuba

D.V.D., a Cuban immigrant living in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, has had a final deportation order designating Cuba as his only removal destination since 2017 and has checked in regularly with ICE's Burlington, Massachusetts office since 2019. In March 2025, ICE required him to appear for another check-in only weeks after a previous one, raising fears he could be detained and deported to a third country instead of Cuba. He is one of four named plaintiffs in the federal class-action lawsuit D.V.D. v. DHS challenging the Trump administration's third-country deportation policy.

Mexican father of four deported after being shuttled across five states

Mar 2025Baltimore, MDMexico

Jorge Reyes Medina, a Mexican father of four, was arrested in Baltimore in March 2025 and held at the George H. Fallon Federal Building before being transferred to Arizona and then California. After a federal judge ordered ICE to return him to Maryland for a bond hearing as part of a habeas corpus petition, he was moved through Louisiana, Pennsylvania, back to Baltimore, then Louisiana and Texas again. He was denied bond, and a judge ordered his deportation on June 23, 2025; no appeal was filed.

Louisiana mother detained 200 miles from home after routine ICE check-in

March 2025Basile, LAEl Salvador

Wendy Brito, an asylum-seeker from El Salvador and mother of three living in the New Orleans area, was detained after attending a routine check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She has been in the U.S. for 15 years and volunteers at a local elementary school. Her partner Kremly Marrero said officials told the family she was taken because of "new regulations under the new administration." Brito is now held in Basile, Louisiana, nearly 200 miles away from her home and children, and ICE has declined to comment on the specifics of her case.