Human Impact Project

Victor Acurio Suárez, a 52-year-old Ecuadorian man with developmental disabilities from Seaford, Delaware, remains in ICE detention after his September arrest in a Lowe's parking lot and is scheduled for an Immigration Court hearing on Jan. 16. Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer wrote to the presiding judge calling his potential deportation "cruel" and "egregious," noting Acurio Suárez has no criminal history and cannot safely care for himself or represent himself in legal proceedings without family support. A medical assessment submitted for his asylum application diagnosed him with autism and aphasia, a disorder affecting speech. His younger brother, Lenin Suárez, has served as his primary caregiver.

Young children were left unattended on the side of the road after ICE agents detained their parents and an older sibling during an enforcement action in Cicero, Illinois.

Marwan Marouf, a community leader in North Texas who has served the Muslim community for 30 years, was arrested by ICE on September 22, 2025, the same day his green card application was denied. He was transferred to Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Anson. His green card application denial relied on allegations from over a decade ago. The Muslim Legal Fund of America is challenging the denial in immigration and federal court.

Harjit Kaur, a 73-year-old Sikh woman who had lived legally in the United States for 33-34 years with no criminal record, was detained by ICE on September 8, 2025, following a routine check-in. During her 15-day detention at facilities in Bakersfield and Georgia, Kaur reported being denied basic hygiene supplies, vegetarian meals consistent with her Sikh faith, and water to take with her medication, and was forced to sleep on detention cell floors. She had filed multiple unsuccessful asylum applications and appeals, including to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. On September 22, Kaur was deported to India without advance notice to her family and without being allowed to return home or say goodbye, despite her attorney's requests for release with monitoring or commercial flight accompaniment given her age and medical conditions.

The Department of Homeland Security subpoenaed activist Sherman Austin and social media accounts associated with Stop ICE, a crowdsourced alert network documenting immigration enforcement activities, after they posted a video of a Border Patrol agent in February 2025. DHS alleged the post constituted doxing and violated officer safety protocols. Austin and civil liberties lawyers representing him argue the information was publicly available and that the post is protected speech under the First Amendment.

A 26-year-old San Jose woman learned of her pregnancy and miscarriage in a Central California immigrant detention facility.

A San Diego family's parents were ordered removed to Mexico on September 22, 2025, after an eight-year legal battle that began with their detention in May 2017. The parents worked as a paletero and had lived in the community for nearly thirty years. Their adult children have organized a fundraiser to support their parents' transition to Mexico.

Mi nombre es Ernesto y estoy recaudando fondos para ayudar a mi papá, Julio Ernesto Chavez Linares, quien fue detenido por inmigración mientras trabajaba el dia 11 de septiembre en un car wash que se llama 100 % hand Wash en Los Angeles California . Él es salvadoreño, nació el 13 de enero de 1983, y siempre ha sido el pilar de nuestra familia, especialmente para mi hermana menor de 12 años. La ausencia de mi papá ha sido muy difícil para nosotros, ya que él se encargaba de la vida diaria de mi hermana, su educación y el bienestar del hogar.

A 26-year-old San Jose asylum-seeker miscarried while detained at Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield after being denied immediate medical care for severe bleeding and cramping; she was shackled during hospital transport and required a blood transfusion. According to migrant rights advocates, her case may reflect a broader pattern, with evidence suggesting ICE is not following required protocols for pregnant and postpartum detainees, who are being held in unprecedented numbers without adequate medical care and food.

Congressional candidates Mayor Daniel Biss, Kat Abughazaleh, and Bushra Amiwala were teargassed by ICE agents during a protest at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois. Abughazaleh reported being thrown to the ground, and multiple protesters were struck with pepper balls and teargassed. ICE agents allegedly attempted to run over a peaceful protester with a van and detained at least one protester at the facility.

Paramjit Singh, a green card holder who has lived in the U.S. for more than 30 years and operates a business in Fort Wayne, was detained by ICE and DHS on July 30 at O'Hare. He was held incommunicado for five days before being hospitalized. His family learned of his location when a hospital bill arrived. He remains held at Boone County Jail in Kentucky. According to records, Singh is being detained for a 25-year-old infraction related to a payphone.

Federal immigration agents conducted an operation on Chicago's Southeast Side near 105th Street and Avenue N, pursuing and deliberately ramming a vehicle that resulted in a crash. Two occupants were arrested on allegations of being in the U.S. without legal status, and when neighbors gathered to protest, agents deployed tear gas, pepper balls and smoke grenades, affecting residents, children and at least 13 Chicago police officers, with at least four protesters detained. In the following days, Southeast Side residents organized community defense efforts, including filming and reporting immigration activity, with local groups such as the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and Centro de Trabajadores Unidos holding a press conference to rally support for rapid-response and deportation-defense work. Residents described the incident as part of the broader federal immigration crackdown known as Operation Midway Blitz, which began in the city the previous month.

Thousands of protesters gathered outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Broadview on Friday to demonstrate against the Trump administration's deportation operations in the Chicago area. Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh was shoved to the ground by ICE agents in camouflage gear; she reported being thrown twice and lifted by her chest before being thrown onto asphalt. Federal agents deployed tear gas and pepper balls against crowds of demonstrators in two separate protests that began at 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. and lasted for hours, resulting in multiple arrests.

Federal ICE and Border Patrol agents used tear gas and pepper balls to disperse protesters outside a Chicago-area ICE detention facility during demonstrations against immigration enforcement operations. Protesters have included a pastor and two Democratic congressional candidates, with at least three arrests and clashes between agents and demonstrators. Video reviewed by NBC 5 Investigates shows a protester struck in the back of the head and face by a pepper ball during a September 26 demonstration, and another protester's back was covered in bruises from apparent pepper ball strikes. The incidents have raised questions about whether agents violated Border Patrol's own use-of-force policy, which restricts targeting the head, neck, spine or groin with compressed air launchers, as well as a judge's standing order limiting use of chemical agents.

Federal immigration agents intimidated two women who were documenting their activity on the west side this morning near Grand and Kostner. In a video posted to social media, they say agents boxed their car in a parking lot and surrounded it—but the women themselves never exited their vehicle. Agents threatened the women with arrest, and shined a flashlight into their vehicle.

Gustavo, a detainee at California City ICE Detention Facility speaking from inside the facility, reported inadequate medical attention and expressed concern that CoreCivic staff are not providing proper care because they assume all detainees will be deported. He stated that medical staff appear unwilling to spend money on medication, assuming detainees will "just gonna get sent to Mexico."

Karam, a detainee with a chronic stomach ulcer, was transferred from Mesa Verde ICE facility to the California City ICE Detention Facility in late August 2025. Despite informing intake staff of his ulcer, prescribed liquid diet, and daily medications, he received no medication during his first 24 hours and subsequently received wrong pills infrequently. As his health declined, he began a hunger strike on September 18th. By September 22nd he was vomiting blood; he fainted the next day, triggering a medical emergency. Staff conditioned his medication on ending the strike. After ending the strike, he was told to "go back" to his country for medical care and has not received proper treatment. Three months later, his condition has worsened with mouth ulcers, continued blood vomiting, and blood in stool. He has gone on three additional hunger strikes since September.

NYC Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested during a civil disobedience protest inside 26 Federal Plaza in September 2025, where ICE maintains holding cells for recently detained immigrants. Lander and 10 state lawmakers were taken into custody while demanding access to detention cells to draw attention to conditions at the facility. Federal prosecutors offered to drop obstruction charges if Lander avoided arrest in federal buildings for six months, but he rejected the plea deal while the lawmakers accepted. Lander proceeded to a bench trial, stating he took the case to trial to insist that the rule of law apply to all people facing removal proceedings. He was found not guilty of obstructing elevators and the elevator lobby at 26 Federal Plaza.

Carmen Aracely Pablo Sequen, an asylum-seeker, was detained at the ICE field office at 630 Sansome Street in San Francisco and held in harsh conditions including small, cold rooms with no beds, limited hygiene supplies, and restricted access to counsel. The ACLU filed a class-action lawsuit on September 18, 2025, challenging ICE's detention practices and courthouse arrest policies. On November 25, 2025, U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts provisionally certified the class action and issued a preliminary injunction, finding the facility's conditions likely unconstitutional and noting people are routinely held over 12 hours, with some exceeding 72 hours. The court ordered ICE to immediately provide beds and bedding, medical screenings and care, dimmed lighting and comfortable temperatures overnight, hygiene supplies, daily cleaning, and information about detainees' rights in their primary language.

Wesley Powers, a U.S. Navy veteran and U.S. citizen, was shot with chemical agent by ICE agents while protesting at Minnesota's Whipple Detention Center in January 2026. He was detained for 9 hours in an overcrowded cell, had his lawyer calls monitored, and was photographed by agents using personal phones before being released without charges. Powers reports subsequent incidents including vehicles at his home and lost work income.