Human Impact Project

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell issued a new directive requiring LAPD officers responding to potential ICE immigration enforcement actions to request a supervisor, verify federal agent credentials, and document verification on bodycam footage. The policy was issued in response to ICE operations that were mischaracterized as kidnappings and includes instructions for officers to take enforcement action if they determine individuals are not legitimate federal officers.

This document is the Congressional Justification for U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Fiscal Year 2026 budget request from the Department of Homeland Security. It includes appropriation organization structure, budget comparisons, personnel compensation information, and supplemental budget justification exhibits for CBP operations and support.

The Los Angeles Police Department instructed officers to verify the identities of ICE agents making arrests following reports of "attempted kidnappings" by unidentified individuals claiming to be federal officers. The incident involved Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon, who reported being detained by uniformed men in unmarked vehicles and taken directly to the border for self-deportation. DHS denied ICE involvement.

ICE uses unmarked vehicles, plain clothes, and masks to conduct immigration enforcement operations. Multiple incidents have been documented in which individuals posed as ICE officers and committed kidnappings, robberies, and home invasions against immigrants and communities. Law enforcement gear and vehicles are available for purchase online.

Since El Paso joined Texas' Operation Lone Star in late 2022, migrant deaths in the region increased. From January 2023 to August 2024, 299 human remains were reported in the El Paso Border Patrol sector compared to 122 remains found in the prior 20 months, making it the deadliest sector along the U.S.-Mexico border. Volunteer search and rescue groups, including Battalion Search and Rescue, discovered numerous bodies in the New Mexico desert, often locating remains months after initial reports. Families of missing migrants awaited identification, with some waiting months or years for results. Advocates and experts attributed the increase to enforcement policies that redirected migrants toward more dangerous routes.

Since El Paso joined Texas Governor Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star border enforcement mission in late 2022, migrant deaths in the El Paso sector have increased dramatically. From January 2023 to August 2024, 299 human remains were reported in the El Paso sector—the deadliest of any border sector and more than double the 122 remains found in the 20 months before the operation began. The increase is partly attributed to migrants taking more dangerous routes around urban areas in response to visible law enforcement presence. Volunteer search groups and nonprofit organizations like No Más Muertes continue to discover bodies in the New Mexico desert west of El Paso, with many remains unidentified for months.

Volunteer search and rescue groups have discovered migrant remains in the Chihuahuan desert west of El Paso since the city joined Texas' Operation Lone Star in December 2022. Battalion Search and Rescue found 27 sites with human remains since September 2023. The El Paso sector historically had among the fewest migrant deaths on the southern border.

Despite a 90% drop in migrant apprehensions since Trump took office, thousands continue attempting to cross the southern border through increasingly dangerous routes. Smugglers are adopting new tactics including remote coordination via cellphones and sending migrants alone through treacherous terrain like Otay Mountain and the Sonoran Desert, resulting in numerous deaths from exposure and accidents.

The Trump administration has dismissed immigration cases for at least 24 people detained at El Salvador's CECOT prison, denying them legal proceedings in U.S. courts. These individuals, mostly Venezuelan nationals, were sent to CECOT without final deportation orders and had their cases dismissed in their absence, effectively erasing their legal status in the U.S. immigration system. Lawyers argue the detainees remain in U.S. custody and are entitled to due process and hearings.

Deaths of migrants in the New Mexico desert have surged since El Paso joined Texas' Operation Lone Star in late 2022. The El Paso sector became the deadliest place for migrants to cross the U.S.-Mexico border by 2024, with 299 human remains reported from January 2023 to August 2024—more than double the previous 20-month period. Volunteer search groups like Battalion Search and Rescue have discovered numerous migrant bodies in the region.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and FBI agents conducted a raid near San Pedro Mart in Los Angeles on June 9, 2025, targeting a Korean American garment business hub. Approximately ten federal agents conducted field interviews and inquiries at several businesses, causing business owners to close early and send workers home amid heightened tensions. Similar enforcement activity was also reported in Huntington Park and Maywood that morning, part of a broader 30-day intensified immigration enforcement period in Southern California.

Federal immigration agents conducted mass raids across Los Angeles County beginning June 6, 2025, arresting more than 14,000 people, the majority without criminal records. Major operations targeted a Home Depot in Westlake and Ambiance Apparel warehouse in downtown LA, separating families and devastating local economies. At least one person died while fleeing enforcement, and hundreds remain detained or have been deported, leaving families without breadwinners and children separated from parents.