Human Impact Project

A Guardian investigation found that ICE officials attempted to subject at least 10 hunger strikers in immigrant detention to involuntary medical procedures, including force-feeding, between 2025 and 2026. At least three detainees were definitely force-fed and two more probably underwent the procedure, while five others ended their strikes before it began; one Kurdish asylum seeker at Port Isabel Service Processing Center in Texas was force-fed for eight months, and another detainee there for six months. In six of the cases reviewed, the detainees had no legal representation, and judges reportedly issued the required emergency court orders quickly, before immigrants could object. DHS disputes reports of abuse and maintains detainees receive adequate care, while Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin dismissed the hunger strikes as involving only a “handful” of detainees protesting over food preferences.

Carlitos Ricardo Parias, detained at the Adelanto ICE facility near Los Angeles, revealed video footage showing a bottle of drinking water apparently contaminated with worm-like creatures or larvae. The footage emerged weeks after a federal judge ordered ICE to ensure 24-hour access to clean drinking water at the facility in response to a class-action lawsuit alleging dangerous conditions including inadequate food, contaminated water, and poor medical care. Parias preserved the contaminated water as evidence after staff distributed it to detained residents.

Ana Granados Sanchez, a 49-year-old Salvadoran national held in ICE's Eloy Detention Center, was deported while still having a nephrostomy tube (urine-collection tube) attached to her body, three months after it was surgically placed. Her urologist at Banner Desert Medical Center had advised against deportation until the tube could be removed, and Granados Sanchez requested to see her specialist in person to have it taken out before leaving the country, citing concerns about medical care availability where she was being deported. While in ICE custody, she did not receive recommended follow-up care. During her detention, she was held in a processing facility with about two dozen other people and forced to use a shared toilet with no privacy, and was not given water at the initial processing center—conditions her urologist said may have contributed to her kidney problems. Advocates' efforts to appeal to ICE to delay her deportation were unsuccessful. The Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project opposed the deportation, citing medical neglect and danger to her health.

Paul, an Indian national with an order withholding his removal based on Convention Against Torture protections, was detained by ICE officers at Dulles Airport after returning from a family trip to Hawaii. As he was being processed at an ICE field office in Virginia, Paul suffered a heart attack, was hospitalized and treated, then released back to ICE custody. He was subsequently released under a preexisting ICE supervision arrangement with his next check-in scheduled for September. His attorney, Jay S. Marks, noted that Paul has protection from removal to India but could be deported to a third country.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested multiple undocumented immigrants convicted of serious crimes including murder, sexual assault of children, kidnapping, and robbery across the United States. The arrests included individuals from El Salvador, Honduras, Burma, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Laos, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, Peru, and Costa Rica. The DHS spokesperson stated that these enforcement actions removed dangerous criminals from communities.

Ana Castro, a long-time Wyoming resident and immigrant advocate who arrived as a child, is leaving the state amid fears for her safety as red state leaders increasingly cooperate with ICE and pursue hard-line immigration policies. Castro, who worked for a nonprofit and founded the Wyoming chapter of Juntos, an immigrant advocacy group, had spent decades contributing to her rural community despite lacking legal status. Immigrants comprise nearly 30% of rural Wyoming's recent population growth and fill critical gaps in service and construction jobs, but mounting deportation concerns are causing an exodus that threatens rural economies. State leaders acknowledge immigrants' economic importance while supporting stricter enforcement policies.

A long-time member of the Grace St. Paul Episcopal Church community in Tucson was recently detained by ICE and is being held in immigration detention facing deportation. He has lived in Tucson for many decades, works full time, has no criminal record, and is the family's primary breadwinner supporting his wife and children. His sudden detention has left his family unable to cover rent, utilities, groceries, school expenses, and other essential bills, forcing his wife to take on extra work to keep the family afloat.

ICE arrested Jaime Tan Francisco, a 55-year-old man from the Philippines, and took him into custody on August 2 pending removal proceedings. He was admitted to the U.S. in Detroit in April 2000 but overstayed his authorized admission period, which expired in October of that year. Las Vegas police had previously arrested him in July on charges including domestic battery, attempted arson, drug possession, resisting an officer, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He also has prior criminal convictions for harassment and methamphetamine possession.

Pritesh Walia, a rising Indian jazz guitarist born in New Delhi, was arrested at Los Angeles Airport on August 2 for overstaying his O1B visa, which was set to expire in August 2025. Walia arrived in the U.S. in January 2019 and has studied at Musician's Institute, Berklee College of Music, and New England Conservatory, earning degrees in music. He is now being held at Adelanto ICE processing center in Southern California. According to his friend and former classmate saxophonist Joey Rosin, Walia suffers from persistent postural perceptual dizziness, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, and chronic vestibular migraines requiring aggressive physical therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and carefully balanced medication regimens. Rosin expressed concern that the detention facility's fluorescent lighting and conditions may prevent Walia from sleeping and worsen his chronic health conditions. Walia's newest album, "Journey to Nowhere," featuring a 27-piece ensemble, is being released this month.

On August 2, around 1:50 p.m., a man was detained inside the emergency room at NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, located at 83 Gold Street, by masked ICE agents. A witness said she tried to learn the man's name and photograph the scene, but agents told her he was in quarantine and threatened to charge her after she took photos. A DHS vehicle pulled into the emergency bay while protesters gathered outside and later confronted the vehicle; hospital security called police on journalists outside, though officers said they had no legal grounds to remove them. Activists said the detained man was taken out through another exit as the incident unfolded amid a broader increase in ICE operations across New York City and Long Island in late July, following statements from border security official Tom Homan about stepped-up enforcement in the region.

Dozens of Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, home to about 15,000 Haitian residents, received letters starting July 22, 2026, directing them to bring immigration documents to ICE appointments. On July 31 and August 2, roughly 50 were summoned to the Cincinnati ICE field office and offered a choice between accepting $2,600 to self-deport or wearing electronic ankle monitors; all declined the payment and were fitted with monitors, having no criminal record and previously holding legal status. Advocates say the tactic, which creates a 75-mile radius limiting travel for court appearances 188 miles away in Cleveland, has not been seen in other large Haitian communities like Boston, Chicago or Miami. The move follows the Supreme Court's June 2026 ruling allowing the administration to end TPS for up to 350,000 Haitians, with the case now before a Washington, D.C. district court examining whether the decision was motivated by racial animus.

The ACLU filed 54 legal claims against ICE across 17 states, alleging federal agents engaged in wrongful conduct including unlawful arrests, racial profiling, and excessive force. One claim involves a woman who alleges ICE agents threw her into the air and slammed her head onto the ground outside Delaney Hall in New Jersey, seeking $500,000 in damages. The claims accuse ICE of negligence and civil rights violations during immigration enforcement actions.

Josue Aldair Alfaro Herrera, a Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) petitioner, filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his prolonged civil immigration detention at Aurora Contract Detention Facility after ICE renewed his removal proceedings despite his SIJS status. The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado granted the petition, finding that his prolonged detention violated his constitutional rights and the Administrative Procedure Act. The Court ordered ICE to immediately release Petitioner from immigration detention.

Federal immigration enforcement agents conducted raids in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood and Cicero on Wednesday, resulting in at least seven detentions including U.S. citizens and staff members of a city alderman. A crash occurred near Cermak Fresh Market involving a civilian vehicle and agents, followed by a tense standoff between federal agents and community members. DHS reported three undocumented immigrants were detained and six U.S. citizens were arrested for impeding and threatening federal agents.

Country music singer Frank Ray publicly disclosed that his brother-in-law, Juan Nevarez, a Mexican national with a valid work visa, was arrested by ICE at El Paso airport on Thanksgiving Day. Nevarez was detained at an ICE facility in Otero County, New Mexico, pending a hearing to determine his immigration status. DHS cited a criminal record from a 2023 dispute, though most charges were dropped and only a misdemeanor trespassing conviction remained. Nevarez's wife and four U.S. citizen children await resolution of the case.

ICE agents in unmarked vehicles chased a red car in Chicago's Dunning neighborhood, with one SUV striking the vehicle from behind. The car subsequently crashed into a tree. ICE agents detained an older man at the scene after the collision.

A September 30 ICE raid in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood detained dozens of Venezuelan migrants, with officials claiming they were members of the Tren de Aragua gang designated as a terrorist organization. A ProPublica investigation found that many of those arrested had no criminal records and the government provided no evidence tying them to terrorism or gang membership. No criminal charges have been filed against any of the 37 individuals detained in the raid.

An off-duty ICE or Border Patrol agent named Gerardo Rodriguez was arrested on November 11 after pulling a firearm on a 17-year-old during a traffic stop in Riverside County. The teenager was detained for nearly 20 minutes on the side of the road after being stopped while driving through the neighborhood. This incident is part of a growing pattern of ICE agents confronting people and demanding identification.

The ACLU of Ohio filed a federal lawsuit alleging that ICE agents repeatedly violated federal law by making warrantless arrests without determining flight risk, detained individuals for weeks or months, and mistreated detainees. The lawsuit details cases involving people with valid visas, work permits, and U.S. citizens from Puerto Rico, suggesting possible racial profiling. The plaintiffs seek class action status and want courts to stop warrantless arrests and require compensation for those improperly detained.

Esteban Rios Sosa, a Mexican national who has lived in Oceanside, California since 1988, was detained with his wife by ICE at the gate of Camp Pendleton while visiting his pregnant daughter, who lives on base with her active-duty Marine husband. Rios Sosa's son, a former Marine Sergeant, said the family held deferred action status tied to his wife's pending U visa petition and had valid work permits that should have shielded them from enforcement. After being fitted with ankle monitors and told to report for a routine ICE check-in, Rios Sosa was instead taken to a federal building basement and deported to Mexico within 24 hours, without notice that his status had been revoked. His son has accused ICE and DHS of discrimination and false accusations of criminal activity, and the family sued the agencies for violating federal law and due process rights. A federal judge later ordered the government to immediately facilitate Rios Sosa's return to the U.S. and restore his immigration status.