Human Impact Project

ProPublica found more than 170 cases where ICE agents held U.S. citizens against their will during immigration raids and other enforcement operations without warrant or proper cause. In some cases, citizens were initially accused of assaulting or impeding officers, but charges were rarely brought. Examples include an unnamed woman handcuffed during a chaotic street vendor raid who was released without charges after two days, and a U.S. marshal who was accidentally detained in Tucson.

A Guardian investigation found that ICE has been holding people in small, secretive rooms inside field offices and federal buildings for days or weeks. After ICE issued a June memo allowing up to three-day holds, data showed average detention times increased by nearly 600% at some locations, with cases of people held for months. Legal groups are challenging these practices, citing lack of oversight, denial of legal counsel access, and poor conditions.

The Trump administration implemented a zero-tolerance policy in spring and summer 2018 that separated approximately 3,000 children from their parents at the southern border. Children were sent to shelters thousands of miles away with no contact with parents, and the government lacked a centralized database to facilitate reunifications. Years later, some children remained unreunited with their parents due to chaotic record-keeping and implementation failures.

A federal judge ordered Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino to appear in court daily to report use-of-force incidents by his agents during immigration enforcement operations in Chicago. Allegations have been made that agents deployed tear gas in neighborhoods and used force against residents and reporters, including an incident involving tear gas near children preparing for a Halloween parade.

At least 3,000 jailed immigrants have not been located in federal records during Operation Midway Blitz, a seven-week immigration crackdown in Chicago, according to human rights attorneys and organizations. Immigration agents and border patrol officers have detained more than 3,000 allegedly undocumented immigrants. Attorneys have stated that some may have been deported or accepted voluntary departure.

After being denied access twice in October, members of Congress including Reps. Juan Vargas, Scott Peters, and Sara Jacobs, along with Sen. Alex Padilla, were granted permission to tour an ICE detention facility in the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building in November following the end of the federal shutdown. The delegation had raised concerns about detainees held in basement facilities without adequate access to attorneys, medical care, or nutrition, and cited ICE's unlawful requirement of seven days' notice instead of the legally required 48 hours.

ProPublica documented over 170 cases in the first nine months of 2025 in which U.S. citizens were detained by immigration agents during enforcement operations. Among those detained were nearly 20 children, including two with cancer, and at least three pregnant women. More than 20 citizens reported being held for over a day without ability to contact lawyers or loved ones. About 130 Americans, including a dozen elected officials, were arrested on allegations of interfering with or assaulting officers, with nearly 50 of those cases dismissed or never charged. Citizens detained included those questioned about their citizenship status—almost all Latino—as well as those allegedly interfering with enforcement operations. Multiple detainees reported being subjected to force including being dragged, tackled, beaten, tased, shot, or having their necks kneeled on.

The Department of Homeland Security has sent $5,000 fines to unaccompanied immigrant teenagers ages 14-17 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for unauthorized entry into the United States. Roughly 10 teenagers in New York and at least one in Michigan have received the fines while in federal custody. The fines carry consequences including collection litigation and impacts on immigration cases.

The Trump administration is deploying National Guard troops to cities in response to immigration enforcement operations. Federal agents have been conducting immigration raids and enforcement operations in San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, and Portland. Courts in Illinois and Oregon have issued orders blocking or restricting National Guard deployments, while the administration warns state officials against interfering with federal immigration enforcement.

The Texas Civil Rights Project is challenging the detention of two Iranian nationals, Shahrokh Rahimi (53) and Argam Nazarian (27), who were arrested in June following U.S. military strikes against Iran. Rahimi was arrested at his home in San Antonio where he had lived for over two decades; Nazarian was arrested in Los Angeles and transferred to El Paso. Both had previously been released on bond or parole and had pending asylum cases based on fear of Christian persecution. The organization claims they are being illegally detained without bond under a new Trump administration policy.

LULAC and advocates documented accounts from pregnant women in ICE custody, including reports of shackling during transport, solitary confinement, denial of prenatal vitamins, inadequate food, delayed medical care, and lack of interpretation services. The advocates sent a letter to Congress regarding these detention conditions.

Immigrants detained at the Aurora detention facility in Colorado have been requesting deportation for months, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement has kept them detained with no clear timeline for release. The cases highlight how a new ICE policy has made many immigrants ineligible for release while their cases proceed, contradicting the Trump administration's stated mass deportation goals.

Democrats in Congress announced a joint investigation into immigration agents' detention of U.S. citizens following a ProPublica investigation that found over 170 Americans have been held by immigration officials this year. The investigation will examine how citizens, particularly Latinos, have been detained based on citizenship questions and will include a hearing in Los Angeles. The detentions have included cases where citizens were dragged, beaten, and held without access to phones or lawyers.

A Washington Post analysis found that ICE detention centers experience an average of 29 days of dangerous heat per year, compared to 18 days in federal, state, and county prisons. The analysis, based on internal ICE planning documents, shows that planned expansions of detention capacity will increase this figure to 35 dangerous heat days annually. Many detainees report malfunctioning air conditioning and inadequate cooling systems.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser held a community meeting where residents and protesters pressed her on the D.C. police department's involvement with federal immigration authorities. Bowser pledged to work on separating D.C. police from working alongside ICE and other federal immigration enforcement agencies.

The Trump administration has reduced funding for legal services, mental health care, and other support required under a court settlement meant to reunite families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border during the first Trump presidency, according to the ACLU. At least four families have been deported, and the DOJ has challenged court orders related to the settlement. The settlement required support for separated families.

An Instagram post from the House Oversight Committee states that Andrea is one of over 170 U.S. citizens who have been detained by ICE. The post indicates these detentions should not have occurred and calls for accountability from Kristi Noem and the Trump Administration.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers use a full-body restraint device called the WRAP during deportations.

ICE is operating deportation flights out of Mesa Gateway Airport to African countries, with a 16-seater jet making multiple trips. The flights are part of third-country deportation efforts where migrants—including those not from Africa—are being deported to African nations. Individual flights cost up to $10,000, with charter companies receiving contracts worth tens to hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Trump administration is resuming use of Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia to detain immigrants. A 2022 Senate investigation found that female detainees experienced excessive, invasive, and often unnecessary gynecological procedures without proper informed consent. The Biden administration had halted immigrant detentions at the facility in 2021.

The Trump administration has stopped publishing semiannual reports on pregnant, postpartum, and lactating women in ICE detention. Multiple experts and advocates report increases in pregnant detainees held in ICE facilities with inadequate medical care, nutrition, and hygiene. Cases documented include pregnant women denied prenatal visits, adequate meals, and proper medical treatment while detained at ICE facilities.

Law enforcement officers clashed with protesters outside an ICE detention facility in suburban Chicago on October 10. State police used batons and arrested three anti-ICE protesters who were demonstrating outside the facility. The incident occurred as protesters chanted slogans while officers confronted them with force.

A report by Harvard University researchers and Physicians for Human Rights found that nearly 14,000 immigrants were placed in solitary confinement in detention centers nationwide between April 2024 and August 2025, with some held for 15 days or longer—periods the United Nations considers psychological torture. Vulnerable detainees, including those with mental health issues, were isolated for an average of 38 days in early 2025, compared to 14 days in 2021.

The Trump administration laid off hundreds of civil rights oversight staff at the Department of Homeland Security, including employees from the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman and Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. The staff cuts coincide with a major expansion of ICE detention capacity. Former workers stated that this results in insufficient oversight of detention conditions.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported 21 immigrant deaths in its detention centers during fiscal year 2025. Only fiscal year 2004 with 28 deaths was higher. The deaths occurred during President Trump's expanded mass deportation campaign and increased detention efforts. Detention facility expansion and recruitment standards for agents have been factors in system operations.

The Trump administration is offering $2,500 to unaccompanied migrant children age 14 and older if they voluntarily return to their home countries. The Department of Homeland Security characterized the program as "strictly voluntary" and aimed at helping children reunite with families. Immigrant advocates characterized the program as "cash bribes for kids."

On October 3, 2025, the Department of Veterans Affairs abruptly terminated its agreement with ICE to process medical reimbursement claims for detainees, leaving thousands without access to vital medications and treatments including dialysis, prenatal care, and chemotherapy. Despite ICE signing replacement no-bid contracts on October 25, the new systems are not yet functioning, leaving detainees without clear access to necessary medical care. Class action lawsuits filed in California and Illinois describe detainees being denied insulin, heart medications, cancer treatment, and other critical medical care since the termination.

A CNN review found two dozen incidents of people posing as ICE officers in 2025. These incidents have included kidnapping, robbery, and sexual assault. Experts noted that ICE agents' use of masks and plain clothes during operations may be a factor. Only one case has resulted in federal charges, compared to roughly half of such cases in previous administrations.

Henderson Detention Center, the only municipal ICE detention center in Clark County, earned $3.5 million in revenue from its ICE agreement in fiscal year 2025. Henderson police have a policy to proactively alert ICE about undocumented immigrants in their jail.

Governor Jim Pillen partnered with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to convert the state's Work Ethic Camp, a minimum-security prison, into a federal immigration detention center with 280 beds. Under a two-year contract, ICE pays Nebraska at least $2.5 million monthly. The Nebraska National Guard provides logistical support.

According to a CNN investigation, two dozen incidents in 2025 involved people impersonating ICE officers. These incidents include political intimidation of immigrants and criminal acts including kidnapping, robbery, assault, and rape.

Immigrant mothers in the U.S., particularly in Minneapolis where ICE enforcement operations have been active, are avoiding leaving their homes due to fear of immigration enforcement. This isolation extends into the postpartum period, preventing new mothers from accessing medical care and receiving essential support from family and friends. The fear is also keeping partners away from their newborns and contributing to serious mental and physical health consequences.