Human Impact Project

L. Vural Elibol, a chief cameraman and videographer for Turkey's Anadolu Agency, was seriously injured when an ICE agent shoved him to the floor in a hallway outside immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan while he was documenting enforcement activity. Elibol hit his head on the floor near an elevator bank and remained unconscious for 35 to 40 minutes. Paramedics placed a neck brace on him and transported him by stretcher to a hospital, where he was treated for a possible concussion and kept for observation. Two other journalists—Dean Moses, a police bureau chief for amNewYork, and freelance photographer Olga Fedorova—were also grabbed and shoved by agents during the same incident but were not seriously injured. Eyewitnesses reported that ICE agents had been pursuing an immigrant into an elevator when Elibol was attacked while attempting to film the confrontation.

On September 30, 2025, at least three journalists were physically assaulted by masked ICE agents at 26 Federal Plaza while documenting an apparent arrest on the 12th floor. Dean Moses, police bureau chief for amNewYork, entered a public elevator to photograph ICE agents apprehending a woman when the agents grabbed him by his arms and shoved him out of the elevator. During the same incident, freelance journalist Olga Fedorova of the Associated Press was shoved to the floor by another ICE agent, and L. Vural Elibol of the Anadolu Agency was knocked down hard, striking his head and sustaining serious injuries that required hospitalization and a neck brace. Moses suffered minor pain in his underarms and shoulder but said he remains determined to continue covering proceedings at the courthouse.

Miguel Ángel García Hernández, 31, a Mexican national who immigrated to the U.S. at age 13, died on September 30, 2025, from injuries sustained during a shooting at a Dallas ICE facility on September 24, 2025. He was shot approximately eight times in the shoulder, stomach, tailbone, neck, and urethra while detained. According to witness accounts and his wife's account, García shielded another young detainee with his body when gunfire began, telling the person to get under him for protection. García was married to Stephany Gauffeny, a U.S. citizen, in 2016 and was the sole breadwinner and father of four children with a fifth on the way; the family had recently purchased their first home together. He worked as a painter and contractor and had been pursuing permanent legal status through an I-130 visa petition sponsored by his wife, following legal immigration procedures. His wife said: "My husband Miguel was a good man, a loving father, and the provider for our family. He worked hard every single day to make sure our children had what they needed." García had been detained on August 8, 2025, on a DUI charge; evading arrest charges were later dropped. He was one of three detainees shot; a second detainee from El Salvador also died from his injuries.

On September 30, 2025, ICE and FBI agents conducted an operation at an apartment building at 7500 S. South Shore Drive in Chicago as part of Operation Midway Blitz, detaining approximately 37 people including Venezuelan migrants and at least one U.S. citizen. The operation involved helicopters, snipers, flash-bangs, and agents breaking down doors and zip-tying residents. The federal government has provided no public accounting of how many remain in custody, what happened to children present in the building, or whether any criminal charges were filed related to the raid.

ICE agents, along with CBP, FBI, and ATF personnel, conducted an overnight raid on a South Shore apartment building on September 30, 2025, targeting individuals allegedly associated with Tren de Aragua and involved in drug trafficking, weapons crimes, and immigration violations. The operation resulted in 37 arrests and drew criticism from residents and advocates over tactics that included use of flash bangs, property destruction, and separation of parents from children.

Miguel Ángel García, 31, died after being removed from life support following a shooting attack at an ICE field office in Dallas. García was among detainees in an ICE transport van when a gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop in an attack federal investigators said was intended to target immigration officers.

Santos Edilberto Banegas Reyes, a 42-year-old Honduran construction worker and father from Hempstead, New York, died on September 18, 2025, less than 18 hours after being taken into ICE custody. He was arrested by ICE Long Island Fugitive Operations on September 17 and processed at Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow, where a nurse noted alcohol withdrawal symptoms during intake and a doctor later prescribed related medications. He was found unresponsive in his cell around 6:25 a.m. the next day and pronounced dead shortly after. DHS initially cited liver failure related to alcoholism, later revised by ICE to acute alcohol withdrawal, but his family disputes this account, with his sister stating he had no underlying health conditions and that officials never contacted them. The family's attorney alleged a cover-up after ICE missed the federal deadline to release a death report and has requested an independent autopsy and jail video footage. His death prompted a September 29, 2025 protest in Mineola, New York, where advocates called for ICE to leave Long Island and for the 287(g) program to be abolished.

West Africans deported from the United States to Ghana under a deportation agreement were subsequently transferred to Togo without proper documentation or identification papers. Between six and ten individuals, including nationals from Nigeria, Liberia, Gambia, and Togo, arrived in Ghana via U.S. military plane in shackles after being detained in U.S. facilities. Despite some having legal protections against deportation, they were transferred across the border to Togo and left on the street. Their lawyers pursued legal cases arguing rights violations, though some legal challenges against Ghana's government were withdrawn.

Paramjit Singh, a lawful permanent resident who has lived in the U.S. for more than 30 years and runs a business in Fort Wayne, was detained by ICE and DHS at Chicago's O'Hare Airport on July 30, 2025. He was held incommunicado for five days before being hospitalized, and his family only learned of his whereabouts when a hospital bill arrived. DHS has cited a 25-year-old infraction related to a payphone and an alleged 2008 forgery conviction that reportedly does not exist as grounds for his detention and removal. An immigration judge ordered his release on a $10,000 bond in August, but DHS filed an automatic stay to keep him detained. Singh, who suffers from a progressive brain tumor causing vision loss, remains held at the Boone County Jail in Kentucky, with removal proceedings scheduled for September 29.

Newly released internal ICE emails show the agency coordinated closely with Iranian officials, who requested last-minute additions and changes to deportation lists, as the U.S. sent more than 100 Iranian nationals back to Iran on three charter flights in September and December 2025 and January 2026. Deportees included political activists and religious minorities who feared persecution, and one man reportedly attempted suicide before ICE agents physically forced him onto the plane. The emails, obtained by the National Iranian American Council, show the flights proceeded even as ICE officials acknowledged Iranians were fleeing the country after its 12-day war with the U.S. and Israel, marking a reversal of longstanding U.S. policy that had generally allowed Iranians to remain due to persecution risks.

Miguel García-Hernández, an undocumented immigrant awaiting intake at an ICE facility in Dallas, was shot on September 24, 2025, when a gunman opened fire outside the facility. He died from his injuries on September 29, leaving behind his wife Stephany Gauffeny and three children. García-Hernández had been in ICE custody following a DUI arrest and was working toward legal status through a Biden administration initiative when the shooting occurred.

Jaime Ramirez was detained by ICE agents in Millennium Park on September 28 along with his wife and two children during a family outing. He was taken to the Broadview processing facility before being flown to a Texas immigration facility. While his wife and children were released on October 2 after a federal judge ordered their protection from deportation, Ramirez remains detained in Texas. The family, originally from Guatemala, has an asylum appointment scheduled for October 2027.

Watchdog groups alleged in a court filing that children and families held at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas face prolonged detention beyond legal limits, along with shortages of clean drinking water, chronic sleep deprivation, inadequate medical care, and lack of hygiene products. Legal experts filed accounts describing the facility environment and conditions for detainees.

Noemi Chavez and her two children, ages 8 and 3, were detained by ICE agents in Millennium Park on September 28 while on a family outing. Video showed the 8-year-old clinging to a doll and crying as heavily armed federal agents in camouflage detained the family. The mother reported agents targeted them based on appearance. Chavez and the children were released on October 2 after a federal judge ordered they be protected from deportation while a habeas corpus petition is reviewed. The family, originally from Guatemala, has an asylum appointment scheduled for October 2027.

A Guatemalan mother and her two children, ages 8 and 3, were released from ICE custody on October 1, days after being detained without a warrant by federal agents at a Chicago park on September 28, 2025. A federal judge ordered that the family be protected from deportation while the government responds to a habeas corpus petition filed by the National Immigrant Justice Center. The children's father remains in a Texas detention facility after being transferred from Illinois; attorneys have asked for his release or a bond hearing, arguing he poses no danger or flight risk. The family, who came from Guatemala in 2023 seeking asylum, has a hearing scheduled for October 2027.

Esteban Rios, a Mexican national who immigrated to the U.S. over 30 years ago, was detained by ICE agents on September 28, 2025, at Camp Pendleton while attempting to visit his pregnant daughter with his wife Luisa Rodriguez. Initially released with an ankle monitor, he was detained again when he checked in with ICE days later and was deported on Friday, October 10, 2025. The family has pending green card applications sponsored by his son, U.S. Marine Steve Rios, and says they have no criminal history.

Ian Roberts, superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools and a native of Guyana, was arrested by ICE on September 26, 2025, on a fugitive warrant after living in the U.S. illegally following a federal immigration judge's removal order. Roberts entered the country on an F-1 student visa in 1999, and his work authorization expired in 2020; he had falsely claimed U.S. citizenship when hired by the district in 2023. During the arrest, authorities found him in possession of a loaded handgun, a hunting knife, and $3,000 in cash, and he reportedly fled in a school-provided vehicle before being apprehended with state patrol assistance. He has prior weapons charges on his record and is expected to plead guilty to federal charges of making false statements on employment verification forms. Roberts is no longer serving as superintendent of the district.

Three women—Cynthia Raygoza, Sandra Carmona Samane, and Ashleigh Brown—have been federally indicted for allegedly following an ICE agent home and publicly disclosing his personal information on social media. On August 28, 2025, the women livestreamed their pursuit of the agent from Downtown Los Angeles to his residence on Instagram, then shouted to neighbors about his identity and posted his address online. Each faces federal charges of conspiracy and disclosing a federal agent's personal information, with sentences of up to five years in prison per count. Raygoza remains at large while her codefendants have been arrested.

Freelance photojournalist Dave Decker, on assignment for Zuma Press, was shot multiple times with pepper balls by federal officers and had his camera lens damaged while covering protests outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois, on September 27, 2025. Officers appeared to target Decker specifically, pointing him out before firing; he said he was also shot with pepper balls the previous day while covering protests at the same site. Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson had sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security objecting to the use of chemical agents against residents and first responders, and the village said ICE agents warned of a more aggressive response in apparent retaliation before the September 27 protest.

A 42-year-old Honduran national died while held by ICE in Nassau County, New York in the week prior to September 26, 2025. The death was among at least 16 ICE detainee deaths recorded since January 2025, contributing to concerns about deteriorating detention conditions.