Human Impact Project

Jose Alvaro, an undocumented immigrant from Central America applying for a green card, was detained by ICE after a Lubbock police officer pulled him over for a license plate issue and called federal immigration authorities. The traffic stop has left his U.S. citizen wife Ashley and their three U.S.-born children facing deportation proceedings. Advocates have noted that routine police interactions can lead to deportations.

An Ethiopian national died in ICE custody at a Phoenix-area hospital on February 7, 2025. The death occurred during the first 100 days of the Trump administration, one of seven migrant deaths in ICE custody reported during that period. An ACLU investigation found that most ICE custody deaths in recent years could have been prevented with proper treatment.

Jesus Romero-Hernandez, 27, a Mexican citizen, pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally entering the United States after a previous removal. He faces a maximum two-year prison sentence, a $250,000 fine, and potential deportation. Romero-Hernandez is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17, 2025 in Utica, New York. He was arrested by federal agents on January 30 after being released from Tompkins County Sheriff's custody the previous day.

A 45-year-old Ethiopian man died on January 29, 2025, from complications of untreated HIV while in ICE custody at Eloy Detention Center in Arizona. He had been detained for nearly four months after entering the country illegally and was not screened for HIV despite developing severe symptoms. Medical experts stated routine blood tests at initial intake or upon symptom development could have identified HIV through early diagnosis and antiretroviral treatment.

Andrei Barrientos, 36, was deported from El Paso to Bogota on January 28, 2025, as part of the group of approximately 200 Colombian migrants whose deportation sparked a diplomatic dispute between Presidents Trump and Petro. This was Barrientos's second deportation from the United States. He was initially placed on a military flight on Sunday that was turned around when Colombian authorities blocked its landing, then spent a night in El Paso before being repatriated on a civilian aircraft organized by the Colombian government.

Wilson Rogelio Velasquez Cruz, a Honduran asylum seeker, was detained by ICE agents in the parking lot of Iglesia Fuente de Vida church while attending Sunday service with his wife, Kenia Colindres, and their three children. Velasquez Cruz had fled gang violence in Honduras with his family in 2022, held a valid five-year work permit, and worked six days a week at a tire shop while awaiting a future asylum court date. He had been wearing a GPS ankle monitor since filing for asylum, which began buzzing as ICE agents called his phone before they apprehended him and placed him in a vehicle in front of his wife. His wife expressed concern about the family's future, saying he would be transferred to Stewart Detention Center and faced deportation without the ability to appeal to a judge.

U.S. citizens, including Native Americans and a military veteran, have been detained and questioned during Trump administration immigration raids. Witnesses report that those caught in ICE operations are being targeted based on race or skin color, with Navajo Nation citizens experiencing particularly problematic encounters. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said he has received accounts of "negative and sometimes traumatizing" encounters and advised tribal members to carry identification and their Certificate of Indian Blood. The seafood wholesaler owner in Newark reported that ICE targeted certain types of people while ignoring white and Portuguese workers, and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka denounced the raid, saying the detained veteran "suffered the indignity" of the encounter.

The Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network received a stop-work order from the Trump administration after its federal funding was paused, affecting programs that provide legal orientation and rights information to migrants in immigration proceedings. The Colorado-based nonprofit, which receives approximately 25% of its funding from the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security, argues the federally-funded programs benefit taxpayers by helping people navigate the immigration court system more efficiently. RMIAN has received federal support for about 20 years under multiple administrations and contends that investment in legal orientation reduces costs associated with detention and prolonged court proceedings.

Angela Mata Mendoza, a 10-year employee at an Escondido supermarket married to a U.S. citizen with four U.S. citizen children, was arrested by ICE on January 27, 2025, during her early morning shift and detained at Otay Mesa Detention Center. She was under a court order of supervision (similar to bond) and had never missed a mandatory ICE check-in. Her lawyer, Kerry Yianilos, used habeas corpus protections to challenge her unlawful detention and secure her release, highlighting the importance of these constitutional protections amid the Trump administration's consideration of eliminating them for undocumented immigrants.

Pavlo Mykolayovych Zinkevych, a 37-year-old Ukrainian man with lawful status under the Uniting for Ukraine program, was arrested by Frisco Police on January 26, 2025, for a minor traffic violation and suspected DWI. Despite holding valid legal status, a valid I-94, and a pending Temporary Protected Status application, ICE detained him for over three months and threatened deportation to war-torn Ukraine. An immigration judge stated she believed Zinkevych should not be detained, but lacks jurisdiction to order his release, while DHS maintains authority over his case and has remained unresponsive to legal requests.

A 37-year-old Raleigh man was arrested after allegedly kidnapping and raping a woman at a Motel 6 while impersonating an ICE agent and threatening to deport her if she did not have sex with him. The suspect, Carl Thomas Bennett, showed a fake business card with a badge and is facing charges including kidnapping, second-degree rape, and impersonating a law enforcement officer.

Brazil's government responded after 88 of its nationals arrived in the country handcuffed following their deportation from the United States. The Brazilian government called the treatment degrading and a flagrant disregard for fundamental rights and demanded an explanation from Washington. Colombia announced it would not allow US deportation flights to land in the country, turning away military aircraft carrying deported migrants.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers pulled over a father traveling with his children in Douglasville, Georgia. Officers instructed the father to contact his wife, and the family initially believed he was the target of enforcement action. However, when the wife arrived at the scene, authorities detained her instead.

Brazilian migrants deported from the United States arrived at Belo Horizonte International Airport on January 25, 2025, reporting abuse, threats, and degrading treatment by U.S. immigration agents during their deportation flight. The deportees reported they were handcuffed for 50 hours without air conditioning, subjected to poor conditions, and opened an emergency door to alert Brazilian authorities. The Brazilian government requested explanations from the Trump administration regarding the treatment of the passengers.

Minneapolis rapper Nur-D was arrested by federal agents on January 24 while participating in protests. The arrest occurred following the shooting death of Alex Pretti by U.S. Border Patrol agents. Nur-D says he was hit by a projectile, thrown to the ground, and arrested for allegedly assaulting a federal officer. He is pursuing legal action against the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, and U.S. Border Patrol.

ICE agents raided Ocean Seafood Depot at Adams and Delancey streets in Newark, New Jersey, on January 23, 2025, detaining both undocumented workers and U.S. citizens. The business owner said about a dozen agents entered without a warrant or court order around 11 a.m., demanded employee identification, and took three people into custody. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said one detainee was a U.S. military veteran whose military documentation was questioned by agents, and he denounced the raid as a violation of Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure. Rep. LaMonica McIver called for answers from the Department of Homeland Security about how the agency detained citizens and a veteran without a warrant. ICE confirmed the operation occurred and acknowledged U.S. citizens may have been detained during the enforcement action.

On January 23, 2025, ICE agents detained Giovanni Duran, 42, during a traffic stop in Echo Park, Los Angeles, while his wife Loreal and their children were present. Duran came to California from El Salvador at age 2, brought by his family, and had lived in the U.S. for nearly four decades, working as a busser in a Los Angeles sushi restaurant. He has prior convictions from 2012 and 2014 and a 2014 deportation order, and is now held at the Adelanto detention facility awaiting deportation. His 7-year-old son has required counseling after witnessing the arrest.

Luis Fernando Chulca Chiluisa, Maria Velasco Hurtado, and their two children were detained by ICE agents on January 22, 2025. Velasco was detained on her way to work; Chiluisa and the children were detained at their home afterward. All four had active asylum applications and no known criminal records. A habeas petition was filed the same morning, and a judge ordered the government to show cause for detention by January 26. Despite a court order keeping the family in Minnesota, they were initially sent to Texas. Following a contempt motion filed by their attorneys, the family was returned to Minnesota.

Marlon Parris, 45, an Iraq War veteran who came to the U.S. from Trinidad and Tobago in 1997 as a child brought by his father, a naturalized U.S. citizen, has been held at Florence Correctional Center since his January 22 ICE detention, two days after President Trump's inauguration. He had held a green card for nearly 30 years, renewed in 2007 and 2017, and received a no-interest letter from ICE in 2016 stating he would not be deported after serving time for a drug-related conviction; in 2023, U.S. Customs revoked his green card upon his return from a vacation abroad with his wife, Tanisha Hartwell-Parris. On May 9, Judge Frank Travieso of Florence Immigration Court said he was sympathetic to Parris's case but ruled the government had presented sufficient evidence to proceed with deportation; his attorney, Douglas Kouffie, has filed motions challenging that evidence and raised an equitable estoppel argument.

Daniel Oquendo, 33, crossed the U.S.-Mexico border on January 20, 2025, and was apprehended in San Diego. He was placed on a U.S. military C-130 flight with handcuffs as part of a planned deportation to Colombia, but Colombian President Gustavo Petro blocked the landing of two military flights carrying about 200 deportees in early January, objecting to their treatment and the use of military aircraft. After being turned around mid-flight and spending a night in El Paso, Oquendo was finally repatriated to Colombia on a civilian aircraft sent by the Colombian government on January 28.