Human Impact Project

A federal judge in Illinois issued a temporary restraining order blocking federal agents from using tear gas, pepper balls, and excessive force against protesters demonstrating outside an ICE detention facility near Chicago. The order was prompted by video of Reverend David Black, a Presbyterian pastor in clerical garb, being repeatedly struck with pepper balls and chemical spray while peacefully praying during a protest at the Broadview facility.

An 84-year-old couple, including a Vietnam veteran, were violently pushed to the ground by federal officers during a peaceful protest at an ICE facility in Portland. The woman sustained a concussion from the assault. The couple had spontaneously joined the neighborhood protest after seeing the rally from their home.

Documents Allege a Federal Agent at Portland ICE Threatened to Shoot an Ambulance Driver

Marimar Martinez, a 30-year-old U.S. citizen, was shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in Brighton Park on Saturday morning during an incident where she and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz allegedly followed federal agents in their vehicles. Body camera footage, according to Martinez's attorney, appears to show an agent telling her to "do something" before shooting her. Both Martinez and Ruiz were released pending trial despite being charged with felony assault of a federal officer.

Five asylum seekers from Colombia, Guatemala, China, and Nicaragua were arrested by DHS agents immediately after exiting immigration court hearings at the San Francisco Immigration Court on October 2, 2025. All had pending asylum applications and were previously released under supervision with no criminal history. The federal court granted a temporary restraining order requiring their immediate release and prohibiting re-detention without a hearing.

Mario Guevara, a Spanish-language reporter and Salvadoran national, was arrested by local police while covering an anti-Trump protest in June 2025. ICE picked him up from DeKalb County Jail and detained him for over 100 days, much of it in solitary confinement at a South Georgia detention center, before deporting him in October 2025.

Leonardo Garcia Venegas, a U.S.-born citizen, was detained by ICE agents on two separate occasions at construction sites in recent months. His attorney disputes the government's claim that he interfered with agents, stating he was violently tackled and detained despite showing his Real ID both times. The lawsuit alleges ICE violated Fourth Amendment protections and that officers targeted Latino workers based on racial assumptions.

On September 24, 2025, a gunman identified as Joshua Jahn opened fire on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas, shooting at a transport van containing detainees at the controlled entrance. The attack killed at least one detainee immediately, with a second detainee, 32-year-old Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez, dying from injuries on September 30. Two other detainees were critically wounded in the shooting. Ammunition recovered at the scene bore anti-ICE messaging, prompting the FBI to investigate the incident as targeted violence. The gunman died by suicide after the attack, and no ICE agents were injured.

The National Immigrant Justice Center and ACLU of Illinois filed a federal court notice on behalf of 27 people arrested without warrants or probable cause by Department of Homeland Security officers since May 2025, with at least 20 arrested in September. The filing challenges violations of a consent decree that prohibits racial profiling and warrantless arrests, documenting incidents where people were arrested while walking in neighborhoods, at parking lots, during traffic stops, and at their homes.

ICE agents pointed guns at and smashed the window of a car carrying a couple and their 1-month-old baby in Alamosa on September 24, 2025. The agents arrested Jose Aguilera, 33, from Mexico, who was returning from a court hearing with his partner and infant son. The arrest violated a 2020 Colorado law prohibiting ICE arrests of people going to or coming from courthouses.

Amadou Dia, a Senegalese national who entered the US in 2006 and applied for asylum in 2007, was detained without bond on September 17, 2025 for removal after an immigration judge denied his asylum claim in 2012. ICE initially planned to remove him to Gabon, but when that country refused travel documents, they arranged for his removal to Ghana without allowing him to assert fear-based claims about that country. The court granted a temporary restraining order preventing his removal until he receives a fair hearing.

ICE agents detained at least two Venezuelan men in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood on Monday, including one pulled from his car at 24th and Albany despite claims of legal status. Witnesses say agents hit the car before the man exited, then left his wife and two small children crying in the intersection without providing a warrant or information about his location. The Little Village Community Council, which had distributed whistles during Sunday's Mexican Independence Day parade to alert neighbors of ICE presence, is now working to secure legal representation as detentions increase and fear spreads through the community.

Miguel Alvarado-Lopez, a worker at Moonshot Tavern in Portland, was apprehended by immigration enforcement agents on January 24 while sitting in his car at a gas station in Northeast Portland. He was transferred to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, then to Arizona, and as of the report was awaiting deportation to Guatemala where his wife and son reside.

Mamadou Mouctar Diallo, a 20-year-old asylum-seeker from Guinea and Brooklyn Frontiers High School student, was detained by ICE on August 4, 2025, following a routine immigration court hearing at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan. Diallo arrived in the United States in January 2024 seeking asylum after crossing the southern border and was pursuing Special Immigrant Juvenile status through proper legal channels. He was transferred to Pike County Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania and held pending removal proceedings. On August 14, elected officials and advocates gathered at Tweed Courthouse demanding his release from custody.

A federal judge dismissed charges against Jonathon Redondo-Rosales, a 36-year-old TikTok creator and U.S. citizen arrested at an August 2 protest against immigration enforcement, after finding the government acted in bad faith. Redondo-Rosales had spent six months in jail awaiting trial for allegedly assaulting a Federal Protective Service officer with a cloth hat. The judge noted discrepancies in the officer's statements, that video evidence contradicted the assault claim, and that prosecutors sought dismissal to avoid disclosing problematic officer records rather than address legitimate legal issues.

Pablo Sequen filed a habeas corpus petition challenging unlawful detention by immigration authorities. The case involves a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction proceedings. A judge granted a preliminary injunction on September 16, 2025, halting the petitioner's deportation.

Zhiyu Yang, a Chinese national, was scheduled for detention at an ICE appointment on July 31, 2025 in San Francisco. The federal court granted a temporary restraining order to prevent his arrest and detention, then converted it to a preliminary injunction. The court ruled that Yang cannot be detained without a pre-detention hearing before a neutral decisionmaker, citing Fifth Amendment due process protections.

ICE agents arrested Carmen Aracely Pablo Sequen as she was leaving the San Francisco immigration court on July 31, 2025 and detained her at ICE's San Francisco field office. The arrest was pursuant to ICE and EOIR policies permitting the arrest of non-citizens at immigration courthouses. The court granted preliminary injunctive relief ordering her release and prohibiting re-detention without due process protections.

Lamphone Phongsavanh, a Laotian refugee who entered the U.S. in 1981, was detained by ICE in July 2025 after 25 years of supervised release following a removal order. The court found the government failed to demonstrate changed circumstances or significant likelihood of removal, violating immigration law. Chief Judge Stephanie Rose ordered his immediate release and restoration to supervised release status.

Jorge Willy Valera Chuquillanqui, a Peruvian asylum seeker with no criminal history, was arrested by DHS agents minutes after completing routine immigration court proceedings on July 25, 2025. He had been living in the U.S. since December 2022 after being released on bond. The federal court granted a preliminary injunction ordering his release and prohibiting re-detention without a hearing before a neutral decisionmaker. The court found that ICE violated his due process rights by detaining him without proper procedural safeguards.

On June 11, a former president of the Spokane City Council sent out an alert over social media. Two men, in the county legally and seeking asylum, had reported for an appearance in immigration court there. They were then detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE, at a Department of Homeland Security office in Spokane. The former council member, Ben Stuckart, urged followers to disrupt that enforcement. Among those responding to the call that day was Bajun Mavalwalla II, a Petaluma native and military veteran who had relocated to Washington. The resulting demonstration became confrontational. Protesters blocked an ICE bus as the agency attempted to transport the two detainees to Tacoma for immigration hearings, deflating the vehicle’s tires. Several people were arrested. Mavalwalla was not one of them. But a month later, on July 15, he got a knock at the door of his Spokane home at 6 a.m. Ten FBI agents were on hand to take him into custody.

Hamza Mohamed Al-Kashif, a stateless Palestinian born in Kuwait, was re-detained by ICE on July 7, 2025 during a routine check-in after being on supervised release since 2008. Al-Kashif had a final removal order from 2007 but ICE had not secured travel documents for his removal to Kuwait or Egypt. The court ordered his immediate release, finding his continued detention unlawful due to no significant likelihood of removal in the foreseeable future.

Edilberto Suarez Vergara, a Cuban citizen who had been under ICE supervision since 2006, was detained by ICE in July 2025. He was held at Camp 57 in Angola, Louisiana, then transferred to Arizona where he was scheduled for deportation to Mexico. The court granted a temporary restraining order blocking his removal, finding he was denied proper notice and hearing before being deported to a third-party country where he has no connections.

Pedro Vasquez Perdomo, Isaac Villegas Molina, and Osorto Carlos filed a federal habeas corpus petition against Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi, and ICE officials challenging their detention. The petition was later amended to include additional plaintiffs and defendants on July 2, 2025, with support from immigrant rights organizations.

Nicolle Orozco Forero, her husband Juan Sebastian Moreno Acosta, and their two sons were detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas in June 2025 after arriving for a routine ICE check-in appointment. The Colombian family, who had been living in Seattle for two years, were eventually deported despite legal efforts and community mobilization to stop the deportation, including support from U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro. During their three-week detention, the family was separated by gender, and their son with a serious kidney condition was denied adequate medical care including a recommended biopsy.

Gregory Sanabria Tarazona, a Venezuelan seeking asylum, was detained by ICE during a routine check-in in Houston. He was taken to an ICE processing center weeks before his preliminary hearing.

Dzhakhar Aslambekov, a 27-year-old Russian citizen, entered the US in February 2024 and was initially released on parole in March 2024. In June 2025, ICE re-arrested him through a targeted enforcement operation after he had been working as a delivery driver and complying with immigration proceedings. The court ordered his immediate release, finding his re-detention without a hearing violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights.

ICE agents surrounded a family's vehicle on Mother's Day, smashed the passenger window, and detained Daniel Flores-Martinez in front of his wife and three children as they drove to church. The agents used unmarked vehicles, some wore vests labeled "police" while others were unmarked, and did not provide a warrant or explain why Flores-Martinez was being arrested. The family filed a complaint seeking $1 million in damages, alleging violations of Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights and that the agents deliberately chose to arrest Flores-Martinez while he was with his family. ICE agents conducted a vehicle stop in Chelsea on Friday morning to detain Jose Ramírez-Perez, who was in the country illegally and facing felony charges. During the stop, agents forcefully detained multiple family members including Hilda Ramírez, a legal permanent resident and mother of a 13-year-old U.S. citizen with autism. Video footage shows agents pressing and dragging Ramírez to the ground, breaking car windows, and temporarily detaining her son, resulting in hospitalization for both mother and child.

Adrian Gil Rojas, a Venezuelan national with valid Temporary Protected Status, filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention by immigration authorities. The court ruled that Rojas was wrongfully detained under 8 U.S.C. 1254a(a)(l)(A) and ordered his release on his own recognizance, with authorities required to return him to New York where he was arrested.

On March 30, over 10 ICE agents surrounded and detained Salah Sarsour, a lawful permanent resident who has lived in the United States for over 30 years. Within 24 hours, the Muslim Legal Fund of America filed in federal court seeking immediate relief before ICE filed charges. The organization states the charges are an attempt to suppress voices supporting Palestine.

ICE transferred 20-year-old Cristofer Ortega from New Jersey to a detention center in Louisiana despite having an approved legal pathway to citizenship through Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. Ortega, who arrived in the U.S. at age 9 and has no criminal record, was detained after an encounter while completing his HVAC certification. ICE is planning to deport him to Honduras before he can apply for his green card.

Jeanette Vizguerra-Ramirez filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court challenging her detention at the Aurora ICE Processing Center. On March 21, 2025, Judge Nina Y. Wang issued an order prohibiting her removal from Colorado or the United States pending resolution of the case. The plaintiff subsequently filed an amended petition on April 8, 2025.

Neiyerver Adrian Leon Rengel, a 27-year-old Venezuelan national, was detained by ICE on March 13, 2025, in Irving, Texas, based on suspected gang affiliation determined by his tattoos. His case record disappeared from ICE's online tracking system two days later. Authorities told his girlfriend he was deported, but he has not been located in Venezuela or on any public list of deportees sent to El Salvador.

Former ICE Acting Chief of Staff Deborah Fleischaker testified before Congress about operational challenges in immigration enforcement and the limitations of technology. She noted that actual removal and arrest numbers have declined compared to Fiscal Year 2024 averages, despite increased enforcement efforts and resources under the Trump Administration.

Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez, who had resided in the United States for 35 years, were arrested and deported to Colombia in February 2025 after being detained by ICE during a routine immigration court check-in in Santa Ana, California. The couple entered without authorization in 1989 and had a 2000 deportation order. They maintained clean criminal records and had complied with regular check-ins throughout their time in the country. They had three U.S. citizen daughters and were involved in church work and volunteering. They were held for three weeks before deportation.

Juan Carlos Barreto, a Venezuelan college professor, was arrested by ICE at his Shakopee apartment in January while claiming to have followed all legal asylum procedures. He has been released but is monitored with an ankle monitor.

Marvin Hernandez Lopez, who entered the U.S. in 2013 and has been living here with family and a business, was detained by ICE while traveling to work last month. He argues ICE is wrongfully holding him under a statute requiring mandatory detention instead of one allowing bond hearings. The court granted a temporary restraining order preventing his transfer outside Florida's Middle District while his habeas petition is pending, but denied his request for immediate release or bond hearing.

Alexander Jesus Vidaurreta Nieves, a foreign national residing in the U.S. for 25 months, was placed in removal proceedings in February 2024 for entering without inspection. He was initially released from ICE custody on an Order of Recognizance but was subsequently re-detained at Desert View Annex in Adelanto. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring his immediate release, finding his re-detention violated due process.

ICE detained approximately 100 Cambodian nationals in October 2017 raids, most of whom had been living in the U.S. for decades after fleeing the Khmer Rouge as children. The detainees had old removal orders but were previously released because Cambodia wouldn't accept them back. A federal court granted a preliminary injunction halting their deportations, finding they were denied due process and adequate opportunity to challenge their removal orders through motions to reopen.

A U.S. District Judge in West Virginia issued a final notice to the federal government regarding continued unlawful detention of immigrants without individualized custody determinations. Judge Joseph R. Goodwin ruled that the government has repeatedly violated the Fifth Amendment by detaining immigrants without proper legal procedures. The judge warned of legal consequences for state and federal officials if the unlawful detention practices continue.

This is a procedural document outlining local court rules for the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, effective April 26, 2012. The document contains sections on civil rules, criminal rules, and attorney admission procedures. It includes specific provisions for handling cases involving undocumented aliens detained as material witnesses and other procedural matters.