Human Impact Project

Luis Baltazar-Martinez, a truck driver and father of six who was brought to the U.S. from Mexico at age 2, has been held for more than a month at the Butler County Jail on an ICE hold after being pulled over while driving in Ohio. His wife, Ali Baltazar-Martinez, says he holds a work permit valid until 2029 and that the couple has been pursuing his green card through an I-130 petition since marrying in 2018. The family, who live in Monroeville, Indiana, make a weekly two-and-a-half-hour drive to visit him for 30 minutes, and Ali says their four young children struggle with his absence and fear he could be deported to a country where he has no remaining ties.

Harrison, New Jersey officials are demanding answers after ICE arrested Jhon Maykel Correa Sangucho, a migrant from Honduras, in front of his children. A video of the arrest has sparked outrage on social media.

Pilar, a Peruvian woman, told immigration attorney Migladys Bermudez that she had tried to escape an abusive boyfriend and had used makeup to cover marks he left on her face, but he accused her of being the abuser, leading to her arrest. She was detained at the North Lake Processing Center in west Michigan, where charges against her were dropped or never filed. While detained, she connected with other immigrant domestic violence victims, passing around a tablet so others could seek legal help.

Noelia Bautista and Cipriano Lopez were detained by ICE agents in Fresno amid a reported surge in immigration enforcement across California's Central Valley. Their children launched a GoFundMe to support the family and contend their parents were racially profiled. An unidentified Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the couple had 'illegally entered the U.S. at unknown times and places' and would receive due process before immigration judges, calling the racial profiling allegations 'disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE.'

Leya, a recent immigrant from Cuba with a pending immigration case, said her boyfriend repeatedly abused her, including punching her in the face and isolating her from friends and family. In April, after police responded to an argument at their apartment complex in Wyoming, Michigan, officers arrested Leya rather than her boyfriend on suspicion of domestic assault and interfering with a 911 call. She was later detained at North Lake Processing Center and separated from her nursing daughter, who she said stopped calling her 'Mamá' during video visits.

German Machado, a SUNY Brockport IT technician, was taken into custody by ICE agents outside his home in Batavia, New York as he prepared to leave for work. His wife, Maria Velázquez, a journalist, said the couple fled the Maduro regime in Venezuela in 2016 and have been seeking asylum since then, with their case still pending. Velázquez said Machado holds a valid Employment Authorization Document allowing him to legally work in the U.S. until 2029, and that the couple own a home, work, and pay taxes. He is being held at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility, and his union, United University Professions, has demanded his release and planned a campus visibility event in his support.

Sukhdev Singh, a commercial truck driver, critically injured a pedestrian in a March crash in Indianapolis. ICE publicized his arrest as part of its broader crackdown on immigrant truckers and sent him to the Hopkins County jail in Kentucky. His case was among several crashes cited by Indiana's Republican-led legislature as justification for tightening licensing restrictions on immigrant commercial truck drivers.

A Haitian truck driver said he was pulled over by police in Indiana in June while heading to Ohio for a delivery, after an officer cited a missing trailer reflector that he said he actually had. He said he produced all the documents the officer requested but was still arrested and taken to an immigration detention facility without explanation. His case was among dozens reviewed by reporters in which commercial truckers were stopped by police and then handed over to ICE.

In June, video footage showed an ICE agent dragging a U.S. citizen by her arms along the floor of the San Luis Obispo County Jail lobby to move her out of his way, according to rapid responder Jennifer Guernsey, who described agents at the jail as frequently 'get[ting] real aggressive.'

Prisciliano Trejo, 29, died from acute leukemia days after Jesus Manuel Arenas Silva's death in ICE custody. His family said detention officials delayed urgent medical treatment despite his repeated complaints of severe symptoms.

Jose Chajon-Raxon, a man detained at Delaney Hall, experienced a seizure and was transported to the hospital around the time of a July congressional hearing on conditions at the facility. ICE granted him a temporary medical release before he died, and because he was technically no longer in detention, his death was not counted as a death in ICE custody.

Seven plaintiffs who were detained in ICE custody for civil immigration purposes filed suit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after the agency failed to return their seized property, including Employment Authorization Documents, cell phones, and car keys, more than four months after their release. The lawsuit, brought on behalf of the named plaintiffs and a class of similarly situated individuals, alleges the losses cost them work opportunities and left them afraid to go out in public without identification for fear of being detained again. The case argues ICE has adopted a de facto policy of failing to return property once its legitimate governmental interest in the items has expired, violating the Fourth Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act.

A San Diego-based transgender organizer who advocates for immigrant and transgender rights was pulled from their home at gunpoint in their underwear by Homeland Security Investigations agents during a predawn raid in mid-August. Agents handcuffed the activist and their partner, held them outside for about an hour and a half, and ransacked their home and car, confiscating a phone, journal, shoes, a dashcam and other belongings. The warrant the activist was eventually given had no case number, cited the activist's dead name and an alias they had never used, and gave no explanation for the search; the activist, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons, has been unable to find legal representation because they were never charged with a crime.

Gurpreet Singh, a commercial truck driver, was driving north on Interstate 69 near Muncie, Indiana when a tire blew out and he was taken to a hospital for stitches. After treatment, Indiana State Police arrested him at the hospital for immigration violations and turned him over to ICE, which transferred him to the Daviess County jail in western Kentucky. Through an interpreter, Singh said he felt afraid and disoriented after the crash and didn't know what would happen to him. A federal judge ordered his release in July, but he said he could not immediately return to work because authorities had kept his backpack containing his immigration papers.

Federal immigration agents conducted a weeklong operation from Oct. 5 to Oct. 11 across San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, taking 114 people into custody according to data from 805 UndocuFund, a nonprofit that supports undocumented immigrants. Agents targeted workplaces, neighborhoods, busy streets and even people visiting ICE field offices to update their paperwork, arresting five people in San Luis Obispo, 75 in Santa Barbara County (mostly Santa Maria and Lompoc) and 34 in Ventura County. DHS described the activity as part of a 'nationwide public safety surge in sanctuary cities,' while Gov. Gavin Newsom and local officials condemned the tactics as instilling fear in communities.

Alfredo, a U.S. citizen in Victorville, California, was confronted by ICE agents while preparing to take his son, who has autism, to school. According to his wife, April Vélez, at least three agents grabbed and struck him and tried to remove him from his property after telling him he resembled someone they were looking for. The agents released him and left without explanation after neighbors and witnesses began filming the encounter. The family said the incident left their son deeply frightened and that Alfredo required medical attention.

Pedro Eduardo Hernández Gudino, an 18-year-old Venezuelan who arrived in the U.S. with his family at age 9, was detained by ICE in New Mexico and remains in a migrant detention center awaiting resolution of his case. He had recently earned an Associate Degree and was studying engineering at the University of Texas Permian Basin, with aspirations to develop prosthetics for veterans and people with disabilities. He had received a scholarship from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a Presidential Scholarship offer from the University of New Haven but could not accept them due to financial hardship. During the summer he worked at a shoe store and a fast-food restaurant to pay for his studies and help support his mother, who raised him alone.

Uriel Pérez López, 24, was detained by ICE agents after dropping his daughter off at school. According to a witness, agents used a Taser on him during the arrest, and he was later seen receiving medical attention while restrained in a transport device.

Federal immigration agents conducted a week-long surge of warrantless detentions across California's Central Valley, targeting gas stations, Mexican bakeries, and residential areas as farmworkers started their day, according to local advocates and officials. Fresno city councilmember Miguel Arias said one constituent with no criminal record and legal status was detained while cutting his own lawn, and Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer condemned a video showing agents arresting a man in front of his screaming children. A nonprofit manager said the operation, which she called the largest in years, is targeting anyone who 'looks Hispanic,' leaving families afraid to send their children to school. The raids came amid a contested congressional race in California's 22nd District, with local Democrats alleging the enforcement surge is intended to suppress Latino voter turnout.

Maria Gonzalez Itzep was detained by ICE agents while on her way to work on Palm Beach Boulevard, along with her 4-month-old and 3-year-old children, according to protesters who gathered outside the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Center in Lee County demanding their release. Protesters said Gonzalez Itzep was nursing her infant at the time and noted her two children were born in the U.S. Friends described the family as hard-working and close-knit, with one acquaintance saying, "These are good people. These are not criminals." ICE did not respond to a request for comment on the family's status.