Human Impact Project

A mother named Lucía spent three months at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center without seeing her 14-month-old and 3-year-old children before being deported. She said it was excruciating not being able to explain to the children why she was gone: "They're babies. They don't understand." She said most of the women detained around her were in similar situations — "In this room where I am, there are 56 of us, and the majority are moms" — with some children staying with a spouse and others with extended relatives or acquaintances.

A Honduran father who worked in construction in the Dallas suburbs was detained without explanation in January 2026 when his family attended a routine ICE check-in. The family had requested asylum at the border in 2022 after gang members, wrongly believing his wife had testified against a killer, murdered a young woman they likely mistook for her. Transferred from Texas to a Mississippi detention center, he learned from ICE's online portal that he was being deported for allegedly skipping a court appointment he had not been given the chance to attend, and he was removed to Honduras, where the gang patrols his village. His wife, who cleans buildings at night, skipped her next ICE check-in and moved apartments without telling the government to avoid being separated from their 12-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son; the father now watches the children by video call from Honduras while she works. The son asks visitors when his father is coming home and waits at the window each afternoon for his truck.

Magdalena Callejas had full custody of her 4- and 6-year-old children and a pending visa application when she was arrested at a Border Patrol checkpoint in Texas in March 2024. She says ICE officials told her the agency "did not do that" when she asked to be reunited with her children, so she agreed to leave the country voluntarily, hoping to recover them once she reached El Salvador. Her undocumented ex-partner — who had multiple DUIs and against whom she held a restraining order for abusing her and her son — took the children and filed for custody while she was detained. After a months-long trial, a judge ordered the children returned to her in El Salvador following a 30-day stay and renewed her five-year restraining order, but when the children's neutral caregiver quit, the judge ordered the father to care for them until a pro bono lawyer with Public Counsel could arrange volunteers to transport them.

Ubaldo Marquez Calderon, 67, was a longtime De Soto, Kansas resident known for biking around town collecting aluminum cans and feeding stray cats at a trailer park every morning. ICE detained him on September 13 at a Casey's gas station near the local high school and held him at the CoreCivic-run Midwest Regional Reception Center in Leavenworth. His attorney, Chad Sublet, said Calderon signed a voluntary departure document he did not understand, and while detained he developed a urinary tract infection after being denied water. After more than 20 years living in the U.S. with no criminal record, Calderon was removed to Mexico, arriving around September 28. De Soto community members paid for his flight to Jalisco, and neighbors described him as a 'staple in the community,' saying the town feels 'pretty broken' without him.

Angel, a 13-year-old unaccompanied migrant boy from Honduras, appeared without an attorney at a deportation hearing in immigration court in Harlingen, Texas. He told the judge that his mother and most of his family live in the United States and that returning to Honduras would be dangerous, but the judge ruled he did not qualify for asylum. Crying, Angel said he had "no one" and "nothing," and the judge gave him until the end of the month to appeal his deportation order. Dozens of other migrant children, some as young as 2, appeared in the same court without legal representation. Advocates say his case reflects a broader pattern of unaccompanied children nationwide facing an accelerated, confusing immigration process after the Trump administration ended funding for legal service programs for migrant children.

ICE agents arrested Emilio Osorio-Osorio, a Guatemalan national, in Baltimore. The agency described him as having a criminal history including homicide and assault. Osorio-Osorio will remain in ICE custody while removal proceedings move forward.

A Venezuelan man identified only as Y was stopped by immigration officers at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport, who he said would not tell him why he was being arrested or accept his proof of a judicial order expressly prohibiting his deportation to Venezuela. Four days later he was placed on a deportation flight to Venezuela, but was deboarded just before takeoff after ICE officers admitted they may have made a mistake.

ICE's Dallas field office conducted a summer-long enforcement operation around Lake Lewisville, Texas, running from June 27 through Labor Day weekend, resulting in 121 arrests. The operation was carried out with state and local partners, including the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, U.S. Marshals Service and Lewisville Police Department, allowing local agencies to focus on boating safety enforcement while also supporting investigations into an alleged illegal livery operation on the lake. Officials said those arrested were unlawfully present foreign nationals, many with prior criminal records including assault, theft, burglary, DWI, evading arrest, family violence, criminal mischief and sexual assault of a child, and that two were alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang. During one arrest, officers said they found a 13-year-old girl in a vehicle with Diego Gomez Hernandez, 22, a Mexican national; her legal guardian was contacted and Lewisville police opened a follow-up investigation under Texas law.

Three undocumented brothers from Honduras, who shared an apartment in New Bedford and worked in construction and as laborers, were detained by ICE agents while doing their family's weekly grocery run at a Market Basket. Their sister-in-law Maria said federal vehicles surrounded the men as they arrived, and agents were 'pretty aggressive' toward the brother who was driving, twisting his arm behind his back. The family says none of the three have criminal records, and one had lived in the U.S. for 14 years. Maria described the brothers as 'hardworking and very kind' men who doted on their baby niece, and said their elderly mother has been especially distressed by the detentions. The brothers are being held at Plymouth's ICE detention center.

Deng Dhieu Kuach Deng, a 19-year-old freshman basketball player at Southern Connecticut State University from Aweil, South Sudan, was detained by ICE agents on September 4, 2026 while attempting to board a domestic flight at Tweed New Haven Airport to visit his girlfriend in North Carolina. A witness described the arresting officers as 'very aggressive.' Deng had a pending asylum application with a valid Employment Authorization Document and no criminal history; attorneys Glenn Formica and Steven Strom filed a habeas corpus petition alleging an officer falsely claimed he had violated Temporary Protected Status he never held, and that his Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights were violated. He was held at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Rhode Island, which Formica described as involving 'hyper stress' conditions including sleeping on cement floors with foil blankets and broken toilets. Following advocacy from attorneys, university community members, and New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, Deng was released on September 16. Sen. Richard Blumenthal called the detention unnecessary and illegal and sought an investigation into the regional ICE field office; SCSU said it remained in contact with him and was assisting where appropriate.

Carol Black (also referred to as Carol Williams Black), a Jamaican-born lawful permanent resident who had lived in New York since 1983, was detained by ICE in 2019 for roughly seven months without receiving a bond hearing. The detention stemmed from a 2000 sex abuse conviction for which he had already completed probation. Unable to secure a bond hearing while deportation proceedings continued, Black filed a federal habeas petition arguing the prolonged detention violated his constitutional due process rights. While his case was pending, he sold his home and business and voluntarily left the United States after 40 years of residency. His case reached the Supreme Court, which was set to decide whether ICE can detain lawful permanent residents indefinitely without bond hearings, but the case became moot after he received a final removal order and left the country, prompting the Court to shift its review to a different detainee's case.

The father of a student at a Seattle-area school was detained by ICE earlier this week while on his way to work and is now being held at the Northwest Detention Center. His partner, who is pregnant, is caring for their children, including a toddler, while facing the sudden loss of the family's income. A fellow parent at the school organized a fundraiser to help cover the family's rent, groceries, utilities, and other essentials, as well as the father's commissary account and potential legal costs.

D.C., a 62-year-old Dominican citizen who entered the U.S. without authorization, has been held by ICE since September 2025 after completing a state prison sentence tied to a 1998 drug conviction, along with earlier convictions for possessing a forged instrument, a domestic assault, and criminal contempt. A district court ordered that he receive a bond hearing under Second Circuit precedent requiring hearings when mandatory detention becomes 'unreasonably prolonged,' but denied his request for immediate release. The Supreme Court has now agreed to hear the Trump administration's appeal in the case, Genalo v. D.C., to decide whether the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a flight risk or danger to remain in custody; the case is part of a broader dispute over a July 2025 policy mandating detention for immigrants in deportation proceedings.

Antonio Frometa Ascón, a 63-year-old Cuban immigrant who came to the U.S. in 1994 after being paroled through Guantánamo, has been in ICE custody since Aug. 14, 2025, when Florida Highway Patrol stopped him on his way to work under the state's Operation Tidal Wave crackdown. He was first held at the South Florida Detention Facility, where he alleges a guard's blow left him partially deaf, then transferred to Camp East Montana in El Paso, where he witnessed a detainee's death, and later moved to the ICE El Paso Service Processing Center. Cuba has refused to accept his deportation, and he has refused removal to Mexico as a third country, citing fears of cartel violence and extortion. His first granddaughter was born while he has been detained, and he says he has not been able to meet or hold her. He has filed pro se and attorney-assisted habeas corpus petitions arguing his prolonged detention violates the Supreme Court's Zadvydas v. Davis limits on indefinite confinement, and a federal judge has yet to rule as his health and mental state decline and his family says he has grown depressed awaiting word from his lawyer.

Teresa de Jesus Ochoa Briseño, 31, a cook at Carmelita's Restaurant in Alamo, Texas, was arrested by ICE agents outside her workplace around 5 a.m. on September 21, 2026, and deported to Reynosa, Mexico, later that day. Her 17-year-old son, Luis Ochoa, a U.S. citizen, had witnessed an ICE apprehension near a Marine Corps recruiting office days earlier and was himself detained after speaking out publicly; he said agents offered him money to stay quiet and threatened to detain his undocumented relatives. Luis believes his mother was targeted because of the attention her public criticism of ICE generated in local media. ICE said Teresa had a prior removal order from a July 2025 arrest for alleged illegal reentry and denied the deportation was retaliatory, describing it as part of a 'targeted operation.' Advocacy groups We the People RGV and Carnalismo Brown Berets are calling for a congressional hearing and independent investigation into the family's case.

Luis Ochoa, a 17-year-old U.S. citizen, and his friend JC were detained by ICE agents in Alamo, Texas, after stopping to film an immigration enforcement action near Santos Livas Elementary School. The teens said they were on their way to meet with a Marine Corps recruiter when agents pulled Ochoa from his vehicle, breaking his wrist, pepper-sprayed both boys, and struck JC in the face despite their stating they were U.S. citizens. Video of the encounter showed the strikes to JC's face before Ochoa was taken into custody; Ochoa said an agent told him 'don't resist' though he was not resisting, and another reportedly said, 'I don't give a damn... Your parents can't help you now.' Ochoa's mother, Teresa Ochoa, said she went about eight hours without information about her son, calling it one of the most frightening moments of her life, and said the ordeal made both teens reconsider plans to enlist. DHS disputed the account, describing the teens as 'anti-ICE agitators' who became combative and said two officers suffered minor injuries. The Alamo Police Department forwarded the teens' complaint to the DHS Office of Inspector General, and Teresa Ochoa was deported days after speaking publicly about the incident.

Jose Manuel Rivera-Rivera, 52, a longtime Juneau resident, was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection during an operation near Thunder Mountain Middle School and held at Lemon Creek Correctional Center before being transferred to Anchorage Correctional Complex on a federal hold. Juneau Police Chief Derek Bos said local police were not involved in the CBP operation itself but assisted afterward, with an officer helping de-escalate the situation. Friends described him as a family man who works, pays taxes, attends church weekly, and was pursuing legal citizenship, with longtime friend Kathleen Pollard saying he has no criminal background. Court records show no criminal charges against him in Alaska or federally. He was discharged from Alaska Department of Corrections custody on Aug. 4 under the federal hold, and is the sixth person held in Juneau under such a hold since October, following the detentions of Ernesto Alanzo Haro, Alfredo Gomez-Guzman, Carlos Jara Medina, Peter Verkin, and Darwin Mendez-Cando.

Edgar Chacon-Miranda, 45, a father with U visa protections and full legal custody of his children under a New Mexico family court order, was detained by ICE agents in the parking lot of La Familia Health/Medical Center in Santa Fe while driving his daughter to a medical appointment. Clinic staff, including chief information officer Jasmin Milz, said agents appeared to have followed him from home and blocked his vehicle, taking him into custody without entering the building; his daughter was later picked up by a family member with help from community advocates. DHS described him as a 'criminal illegal alien' with an 'extensive criminal history,' citing 2018 battery, criminal sexual penetration, and child abuse charges, but court records show those charges were dismissed after the alleged victim declined to cooperate. His attorney, Allegra Love, said he received the U visa in 2022 for cooperating with law enforcement and that it expired in May while his residency application remains pending. Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies criticized federal officials for citing the dismissed case without noting its outcome, and U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández called leaving the child in the parking lot 'cruelty,' noting ICE reported eight detentions in Santa Fe that day. Chacon-Miranda was later jailed and alleges immigration agents fabricated reports to secure his deportation despite his legal status.

At least 21 people, mostly agricultural workers at cannabis farms, were detained by ICE during raids conducted September 23-24 across Jackson and Josephine counties, Oregon, as part of a two-year investigation into a drug-trafficking organization. Raids occurred at farms in Medford, Ruch, Central Point, Eagle Point, Rogue River, Jacksonville, and Cave Junction, with the September 23 operations in Ruch and West Medford involving DEA, Customs and Border Protection, Medford Police, and Jackson County Sheriff's Office, resulting in 13 detentions. A separate September 24 raid in Cave Junction, involving the FBI, Josephine Marijuana Enforcement Team, Josephine County Sheriff, Oregon State Police, and ICE, resulted in at least 8 detentions. Witnesses documented GEO Group detention vehicles, operator of the Northwest Detention Center, at multiple sites, and one detained person was treated by emergency responders while in handcuffs. Jackson County Sheriff's Office said it did not coordinate with ICE on immigration enforcement and was not told immigration detentions were planned, citing Oregon's sanctuary law; Medford police said their role was limited to the criminal investigation. Rogue Valley Migra Watch said the raids, along with a July 2025 raid that detained 17 farmworkers, represent the largest documented ICE operations in Southern Oregon, and advocates have questioned whether local and state law enforcement participation violated the sanctuary law. ICE and the FBI have not publicly identified those detained or confirmed the total count.

Twenty undocumented immigrants were arrested during a three-day joint enforcement operation conducted Sept. 24-26 across Plaquemines, Jefferson and Terrebonne parishes in Louisiana. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries coordinated with U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard, Air and Marine Operations, and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations during what was described as a commercial and recreational fisheries enforcement operation. Four individuals were apprehended during maritime patrols and 16 were apprehended during a land-based operation, all facing pending deportation proceedings for violations of federal immigration law.