Human Impact Project

The Office of Refugee Resettlement, tasked with protecting immigrant children, has assisted in immigration enforcement operations under the Trump administration. Federal agents have conducted dozens of visits across the country targeting unaccompanied minors and their sponsors, using welfare checks as a pretext. Current and former staffers report the agency is assisting in enforcement operations.

According to ICE data from February, nearly 70% of people held in California's ICE detention centers have no criminal conviction. The figure is consistent with national trends, where 74% of detainees nationwide have no criminal convictions. More than 6,400 people are currently detained in California's facilities. The data shows enforcement has expanded under the Trump administration.

Green card holders have been detained by ICE since 2025, including lawful permanent residents with decades of U.S. residence being detained at airports, courthouses, and during community operations. Cases involve old criminal convictions that previously had no immigration consequences. The National Immigration Law Center stated the current administration is targeting green card holders with past criminal records and political activity.

A report from the International Refugee Assistance Project and Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center examines how climate change contributes to displacement and migration dangers at the U.S.-Mexico border. Based on 26 interviews with displaced individuals from 12 countries conducted in January 2025, the report documents how environmental disasters and extreme weather conditions drive migration decisions and intensify hazards during migration journeys.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection recovered remains of 10,784 migrants from 1988 through 2024 along the U.S.-Mexico border. President Trump's 2025 border policies closed asylum application access at ports of entry. The article examines three main risks migrants face when attempting to cross into the U.S.

The Trump administration is expanding border wall construction, with new segments planned in Arizona, California, and Texas. The expansion will further fragment wildlife habitat and migration pathways for approximately 1,077 native animal species, including 83 threatened and endangered species such as jaguars, ocelots, and Mexican gray wolves. Wildlife advocates warn that the barriers, which can reach 30 feet high with minimal gaps, will isolate animal populations and potentially lead to species extirpation in the region.

Conservationists at the UA Wild Cat Research and Conservation Center identified a new jaguar named Cinco roaming mountains near the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona. The Trump administration intensified border wall construction and waived environmental laws including the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act. Construction projects aimed to close gaps in the border wall across the El Paso, Tucson, and Yuma sectors.

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.

The DEA conducted a multi-agency raid at an underground nightclub in Colorado Springs on Sunday, resulting in the arrest of 114 undocumented immigrants who were placed on buses for processing and deportation. The operation also resulted in the seizure of drugs and weapons. More than 200 people were in the club when arrests began around 3:45 a.m.

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 immigrants detained as material witnesses and other procedural matters.