Human Impact Project

Federal agents arrested approximately 3,400 people during an immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota over the winter. According to data analyzed by APM Reports and MPR News, nearly 1,700 of those arrested—about half—have already been deported, reflecting a rapid pace of deportations by the federal government.

ICE detention deaths are occurring at a record pace, with three deaths at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas since October 2025. ICE inspectors found 49 violations at the facility in February, including inadequate medical care and failure to document suicide prevention checks. The facility, operated by Acquisition Logistics LLC, has faced complaints about poor living conditions, inadequate food, and staff misconduct. This analysis examines the scope of harm caused by ICE detention beyond official in-custody death counts. The author presents a framework identifying three groups affected by detention: those who die in custody (14 in 2026 as of the article date), those who experience near-death medical emergencies but survive, and those who die after release from detention. The article cites research showing 95% of ICE deaths between 2017-2021 were preventable and that 100% of 1,300 detainees surveyed by clinicians experienced adverse health conditions related to detention. California House members Mike Levin and Sara Jacobs conducted an oversight visit to the Otay Mesa ICE detention center in San Diego, which operates as a for-profit facility run by CoreCivic. The facility has faced allegations of overcrowding, poor conditions, sexual assaults, and medical care deficiencies. Levin stated he plans to conduct more unannounced visits following a federal court ruling that struck down a Trump administration policy requiring members of Congress to announce oversight visits seven days in advance.

Texas Republicans and Trump administration officials are attempting to deny free public education to undocumented immigrant children, reversing a 50+ year precedent established by the Supreme Court's 1982 ruling. The state previously withdrew in-state tuition access for undocumented students in 2025 after a Trump administration lawsuit settlement. White House adviser Stephen Miller has been pushing Texas lawmakers to lead on restricting educational access for undocumented residents.

Advocacy groups RAICES and Human Rights First released a joint report calling for the closure of the Dilley Immigrant Processing Center, a migrant family detention facility near San Antonio. Based on interviews with 50 families held at the site, the report documents violations of due process and inhumane conditions. Although the facility's population dropped from 1,100 to approximately 100 between January and late March, advocates warned that federal authorities show no signs of ending family detention policies and are planning to open additional family detention facilities.

An investigation by the Santa Barbara News-Press found that ICE arrested at least 99 people at Santa Barbara County jails in 2025, compared to the Sheriff's Office's official report of 12 transfers. Many arrests occurred in jail lobbies and parking lots outside official "sally port" transfer procedures, and at least 27 people arrested had no criminal convictions listed in ICE records, potentially violating California's SB 54 sanctuary law which restricts transfers to those with serious felony or misdemeanor convictions.

Federal records requests show ICE arrests in the Los Angeles area fell sharply in 2026 after surging to 14,302 arrests in 2025 during President Trump's first year in office. So far in 2026, ICE has arrested over 2,612 people in the LA area, with arrests dropping from 1,500 in January to 809 in February following pressure on ICE after deaths of protesters in Minneapolis.

Data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request reveals that ICE arrested more than 3,700 immigrants in Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge. The operation peaked in early January with over 100 arrests per day but declined significantly by late January. The data shows arrests were concentrated among people from Ecuador, Mexico, and other Latin American countries, with less than 3% of detainees being Somali despite the operation's initial stated focus. ICE made 14,458 arrests in the greater Los Angeles area in 2025, more than triple the 4,684 arrests made in 2024. According to data from the Deportation Data Project, approximately 45% of those arrested had criminal convictions, around 15% had pending criminal charges, and about 39% had no criminal charges or convictions. ICE's Seattle Field Office Fugitive Operations Team arrested and deported a man from El Salvador who had prior criminal convictions and unlawfully reentered the United States after a previous deportation. The man had a criminal history including patronizing a prostitute, resisting arrest, reckless driving, and an outstanding DUI warrant. More than 3,700 immigrants were arrested by ICE in Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge according to agency data obtained by the Deportation Data Project. The data reveals that over 60% of those arrested had no criminal records, and less than 25% had any criminal convictions. The operation peaked in early January with over 100 arrests per day, with the most common country of origin being Ecuador.

Operation Midway Blitz was a federal immigration enforcement surge in the Chicago area beginning in September 2025. The operation resulted in approximately 3,800 detentions and 2,500 deportations over several months, with 760 apprehensions in September, 2,074 in October, and 811 in November, continuing into 2026. The majority of those detained had no criminal records. A Chicago Tribune review and a federal judge's 233-page opinion documented constitutional violations and safety risks, finding that immigration agents routinely broke established urban policing protocols through improper vehicle positioning, gun handling, tear gas use, and confrontational approaches. Experts including former police leaders criticized these tactics for escalating situations unnecessarily, and body camera footage contradicted official use-of-force reports. The operation sparked protests and resulted in court orders limiting agents' unconstitutional actions.

ICE made 14,458 arrests in the greater Los Angeles area in 2025, more than triple the 4,684 arrests made in 2024. According to data from the Deportation Data Project, about 45% of those arrested had criminal convictions, 15% had pending criminal charges, and 39% had no criminal charges or convictions.

ICE arrested more than 7,030 people in Massachusetts during the first 15 months of the Trump administration, nearly five times the 1,470 arrests during the final 415 days of the Biden administration. Arrests involved people from 100 countries, with the highest numbers from Brazil and Guatemala, and took place at courthouses, police departments, and in public spaces. Nearly half of those arrested had no pending criminal charges, with 46% marked only for being in the country without legal status.

San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez transferred 83 inmates to ICE custody in 2025, nearly tripling the 30 transfers made in 2024. The increase was driven by 53 federal ICE warrants, many issued under Operation Guardian Angel, a federal initiative using judicial warrants to bypass sanctuary law limits. The transfers included individuals with both violent and nonviolent convictions, and approximately 30 violated county policy. Community members, immigrant advocates, and some supervisors urged Martinez to end ICE cooperation, but she defended the practice as safer than community-based enforcement and declined to change the policy.

A federal judge in Boston ruled that the Trump administration violated the law by terminating the immigration status of nearly 900,000 migrants who entered the U.S. through the CBP One parole program. The judge found that the administration failed to follow required legal procedures when revoking parole status via email. The ruling reinstates the immigration status of those affected, temporarily protecting them from deportation.

Rafael Concepcion, a Syracuse University professor, developed DEICER, a crowdsourced mapping app that alerts users to ICE activity and agent locations. After the app gained 30,000 users, the Department of Justice pressured Apple to remove it from the App Store in October 2025. Concepcion lost his university job and received death threats but continued developing modified versions of the tool.

A federal judge ruled that the Department of Homeland Security's mandatory detention policies for immigrants who entered without inspection violated federal law and the Administrative Procedure Act. The ruling allows hundreds of immigration detainees in Nevada to seek bond hearings before an immigration judge. The ACLU of Nevada brought the class action lawsuit challenging the policies, which advocates said could also affect thousands of future immigration detainees.

The St. Charles County Council unanimously approved a 287(g) partnership agreement between the county police department and ICE, allowing local officers to enforce limited immigration authority during routine police duties. The vote took place amid community opposition, with dozens of residents and advocacy groups present to protest the measure, though council members did not discuss the bill before passing it.

Reports and 911 call data from Camp East Montana, the country's largest ICE detention center in El Paso, Texas, reveal overcrowding, medical neglect, malnutrition, and inadequate sanitation affecting over 3,000 detainees. An ICE inspection found conditions violated roughly 60 federal detention standards, though the report was never released. At least two deaths occurred at the facility—a Cuban man's death ruled a homicide by asphyxia and a Nicaraguan man's death by suicide—with at least six additional suicide attempts reported.

According to arrest data from December 2025 to February 2026, approximately 63 percent of people arrested by ICE in Minnesota had no criminal record, with over 3,700 residents detained for civil immigration violations like overstayed visas. In Maine, roughly 80 percent of the nearly 200 people detained in January had only noncriminal immigration violations, with only 11 having criminal records. The data, obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests and analyzed by the Deportation Data Project, contradicted Trump administration claims that arrests targeted serious criminals. Most arrestees were from Latin American countries, with over one-quarter from Ecuador.

Since January 2025, law enforcement agencies referred more than 100 arrests from Portland ICE facility protests to the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office. Of 109 referrals, 75 resulted in criminal charges, 28 were rejected, and 6 remain under consideration. Of the 75 cases filed, 24 resulted in convictions, 43 remain open, and 8 resulted in dismissals or acquittals.

Operation Metro Surge, a large-scale ICE enforcement operation conducted in Minneapolis and St. Paul between December 2025 and March 2026, resulted in approximately 3,700 to 4,000 arrests of undocumented immigrants. Federal data showed that 63-75 percent of those arrested had no criminal convictions, with only about 13 percent facing pending criminal charges. The operation peaked in early January with over 100 arrests per day before declining significantly. Most arrestees were from Latin American countries such as Ecuador and Mexico, with less than 3 percent from Somalia despite initial focus on Somali communities. About 35 percent were "collateral" arrests rather than targeted enforcement actions, and the operation caused an estimated $200-203 million in economic damage.

Houston City Council members demanded accountability and policy changes after discovering that at least two police officers directly transported people to ICE agents in July and August 2025. Mayor John Whitmire stated the officers violated Houston Police Department policy. Council members called for Police Chief Noe Diaz to appear before city council to discuss coordination between local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement, citing concerns that such coordination diverted resources from local law enforcement priorities.

An ABC News analysis of ICE data found that the first 14 months of the second Trump administration represent the deadliest period for the federal immigration detention system in recent years, with 45 deaths reported as of March 29, 2026. The mortality rate has accelerated dramatically, rising from one death per 100,000 admissions in 2022 to 11 deaths per 100,000 admissions in the first ten weeks of 2026. The article examines specific cases including Emmanuel Damas, a Haitian immigrant who died after allegedly being denied dental care for a two-week toothache that developed into a fatal infection, and Victor Manuel Diaz, whose death is classified as a presumed suicide but whose family disputes the conclusion.

ICE conducted Operation Catch of the Day, a five-day enforcement operation in Maine beginning January 20, 2026, that detained nearly 200 people. Federal data released in March showed only 11 of those detained had recorded criminal records, with roughly 80% arrested solely on immigration violations. Juan Sebastián Carvajal-Muñoz, a Portland civil engineer with lawful work visa status, was stopped by ICE agents on January 22 during a traffic stop. Agents smashed his car window, detained him for over a day, and transported him across Maine and Massachusetts before releasing him over 100 miles from home in Burlington. Carvajal-Muñoz filed suit against ICE and five federal agents for wrongful detention and civil rights violations. At least a quarter of those arrested during the operation subsequently challenged their detention in federal court and many were released.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducted immigration enforcement operations at interstate weigh stations across Iowa in coordination with Iowa State Patrol troopers. State patrol officers stopped commercial truck drivers for weigh-station violations, and ICE agents stationed at the facilities then conducted immigration status checks and detained individuals. Suraj Vasal, an Indian national who had sought asylum four years earlier, was arrested on February 11, 2026, after failing to stop at a weigh station on Interstate 80. U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher ruled on March 24, 2026, that ICE and the immigration court violated Vasal's due process rights by conducting a bond hearing with only 30 minutes' notice, preventing him from obtaining legal representation. The judge ordered a new bond hearing with at least 48 hours' notice and assignment to a different judge.

On March 22, 2026, ICE agents detained Angelina Lopez-Jimenez, 41, a Guatemalan national with a final removal order issued in 2019, and her 9-year-old daughter at San Francisco International Airport after TSA alerted ICE to their presence on a passenger list. Plainclothes ICE agents placed Lopez-Jimenez in handcuffs and a wheelchair in Terminal 3 while her daughter was present. Both were transferred to Texas and deported to Guatemala within approximately 36 hours. The detention prompted Democratic lawmakers to condemn the action and community groups to protest, with some alleging San Francisco police illegally assisted ICE in violation of the city's sanctuary policies. The incident raised concerns about use of government databases to identify and detain individuals for deportation.

San Diego County's population declined by 5,300 residents in 2025, reversing prior growth, following a 65% drop in foreign arrivals attributed to the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Net international migration fell from 17,655 to 6,135. Census data shows the county's population decline reflects broader demographic shifts across California. Economists warn that continued immigration restrictions could harm labor force availability and economic growth.

A second federal appeals court sided with the Trump administration, ruling that undocumented immigrants arrested in the United States can be detained without bond hearings while deportation proceedings continue. The Eighth Circuit reversed a lower court's decision in the case of Joaquin Herrera Avila, a Mexican national arrested in Minnesota in August 2025 after living in the U.S. for over 20 years.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and immigration attorneys alleged that federal authorities have been transporting detained migrants around town before rebooking them into local jails the same day to reset a three-day detention limit. The practice has raised concerns about detention practices in Florida's immigration enforcement system, which has operated under aggressive policies under Governor Ron DeSantis.

President Trump deployed ICE agents to major U.S. airports during a Department of Homeland Security funding impasse that caused TSA staffing shortages and long security lines. The deployment was presented as assistance with security operations and crowd control. Trump ordered emergency pay increases for TSA agents to address delays. ICE agents retain their enforcement mandate and broad authority to identify and detain undocumented immigrants while at airports, and may continue working at airports beyond the initial emergency response.

ICE agents have been deployed to NYC-area airports including LaGuardia, JFK, and Newark as part of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement crackdown. Immigration attorneys are advising travelers without permanent legal status, those with pending removal orders, DACA recipients, and others at high risk to reconsider flying. The article provides guidance on constitutional rights, phone security, document preparation, and legal consultation for vulnerable travelers.

An analysis of Immigration and Customs Enforcement data found that the Trump administration detained the parents of at least 11,000 U.S. citizen children in its first seven months, roughly double the rate under the Biden administration. The administration is deporting approximately four times as many mothers of U.S. citizen children per day compared to the Biden administration. The Trump administration revised detention guidelines by removing the word 'humane' from policies governing how officers should interact with detained parents. Many of these parents face deportation, leaving American-born children without parental care.

An editorial describes increased ICE enforcement operations in Eastern Washington, particularly in Franklin and Benton counties, which have disrupted agricultural workers, communities, and families. The piece argues that ICE is conducting indiscriminate arrests of undocumented immigrants without criminal records and calls for immigration reform rather than mass enforcement.

The Supreme Court heard arguments in Noem v. Al Otro Lado, a case challenging the government's "turnback policy" that blocked asylum seekers from accessing ports of entry at the U.S.-Mexico border. Under the policy, CBP officials turned back hundreds of thousands of migrants into Mexico, sometimes falsely claiming lack of processing capacity. Plaintiffs argue the policy violated asylum seekers' rights protected under U.S. and international law.

ICE nearly doubled its use of ankle monitors on people in its Alternatives to Detention program following a June 2025 internal memo, growing from approximately 24,000 to 42,000 people by February 2026. Advocates and legal experts argue the devices impose psychological, economic, and physical harms and may be used to pressure immigrants into self-deportation. A 2021 study found ankle monitors did not improve compliance rates and may be counterproductive.

Florida's aggressive immigration enforcement campaign, which resulted in nearly 10,000 arrests by ICE in 2026, is facing criticism from Republican sheriffs and other law enforcement officials who express concern about detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants who have not committed crimes. Detention facility overcrowding, allegations of improper jail practices, and budget disputes with state lawmakers are creating operational challenges to the state's enforcement efforts.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled on March 26, 2026, that the Trump administration has authority to detain immigrants without bond hearings. The case centered on Joaquin Herrera Avila, a Mexican national detained in Minneapolis in August 2025 after entering without proper documentation. The three-judge panel found that immigrants classified as applicants for admission or aliens seeking admission are not entitled to bond hearings before immigration proceedings. The ruling reversed approximately 1,000 habeas corpus orders for release previously issued by Minnesota federal district judges and is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court.

Federal immigration agents made 614 arrests at Massachusetts courthouses in 2025, more than double the 282 arrests in 2024. Civil rights advocates and state lawmakers oppose the practice, proposing legislation to require judicial warrants for courthouse arrests. In September 2025, ICE agents detained Ana Michelle Ramirez Sanan's mother, a lawful permanent resident with valid green card status and over 20 years in the U.S., during a family encounter. Her brother with autism was present during the incident. Local police verified the family's legal status and secured their release. The teenager testified before Congress in March 2026 about the incident, describing agents throwing her mother to the ground and blocking her brother from receiving assistance. Lawyers for Civil Rights filed a Federal Tort Claims Act complaint against ICE on behalf of the family in December 2025.

The Department of Justice admitted in federal court that it misrepresented a 2025 ICE memo to justify arrests of immigrants at immigration courthouses nationwide. The DOJ conceded the memo does not actually apply to civil immigration enforcement in federal immigration courts. The error, attributed to an agency attorney, led to hundreds of arrests at immigration courts, often resulting in detentions in facilities far from immigrants' locations. Civil rights organizations filed a lawsuit challenging the arrests, and the government acknowledged the arrests continued despite the misapplication of the guidance.

Costa Rica announced it will accept 25 migrants deported from the United States per week under a third country deportation agreement. The arrangement allows the U.S. to deport individuals to Costa Rica rather than to their countries of origin.

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill signed legislation banning local law enforcement agencies from partnering with ICE, making it the 10th state to adopt such laws. The law codifies a 2018 Immigrant Trust Directive that barred participation in ICE's 287(g) program and restricted law enforcement from detaining people on ICE's behalf. Sherrill also signed two additional laws protecting immigrants: one restricting collection and sharing of immigration status information, and another requiring ICE agents to show identification before making arrests.

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Department of Homeland Security has legal authority to detain immigrants without bail before deportation. The case centered on Joaquín Herrera Ávila, a Mexican citizen detained in Minnesota in August 2025 without legal entry documentation. The appeals court reversed a lower court ruling in Ávila's favor, endorsing a broader interpretation of immigration law that extends mandatory detention without bond to undocumented immigrants already in the country.

Orange County Sheriff's Department released an annual report showing it notified ICE of 323 prisoners with immigration holds, resulting in 271 being transferred to federal custody. The report comes amid ongoing protests against ICE deportation sweeps in Southern California and disputes between sheriff's officials and immigrant advocacy groups over whether cooperation with immigration authorities should continue.

Abel Ortiz, an undocumented immigrant who lived in Los Angeles for 38 years since infancy, self-deported to Mexico City in August under pressure from Trump administration immigration enforcement policies. Though Mexican-born, Ortiz identified as American and had built a life including a hair salon business and community ties in LA. He now struggles with displacement in Mexico City, a country where he spent only nine months of his life and speaks Spanish only haltingly.

An NPR analysis found that ICE enforcement surges in multiple U.S. cities resulted in substantial costs to local governments and police departments. Los Angeles police overtime spending climbed to $41 million in June 2025 during immigration raids and subsequent protests, while Minneapolis police spent $6.4 million on overtime in a single month during Operation Metro Surge. Portland police documented nearly 38,000 overtime hours in 2025 responding to ICE facility security and protests, and the cumulative economic impact in Minneapolis was estimated at over $203 million in one month.

The Trump administration is significantly expanding ICE detention infrastructure as part of its mass deportation campaign. The federal government is spending billions—including $85 billion in new funding with $45 billion specifically allocated for detention expansion over four years—to purchase buildings and convert warehouses into detention centers. ICE is also expanding contracts with local jails and private prison facilities. The number of immigrants in ICE custody has increased over 80% to approximately 70,000 detainees. Lawmakers, advocacy groups, and some local officials have raised concerns about detention conditions in facilities not originally designed for human habitation, with communities across the political spectrum opposing the expansion.

Senator Cory Booker held a press conference at Newark Airport to protest the Trump administration's deployment of ICE agents to airports across the country amid TSA funding disputes. Booker and ACLU representatives criticized the use of ICE agents at airports as reckless and a political tool, arguing the agency has a history of civil rights violations and should not be deployed in this capacity.

Following President Trump's mass deportation campaign, federal agents have conducted large-scale immigration enforcement crackdowns across multiple U.S. cities, resulting in hundreds of thousands of arrests and deportations. Companion animals including dogs, cats, bunnies, and chickens have been left behind by deported families, overwhelming pet rescue organizations and animal control agencies. Rolling River Rescue in New Orleans and other nonprofits are scrambling to find foster and adoptive homes for displaced pets, with some cities reporting significant increases in stray and abandoned animals.

A federal judge blocked a Trump administration policy that would have significantly expanded refugee detention in Texas. The court's decision paused a plan that would have affected tens of thousands of immigrants in the state.

Analysis of ICE enforcement data reveals that the Trump administration has detained parents of U.S. citizen children at elevated rates compared to the Biden administration, with mothers deported at significantly higher frequencies. Cases documented include Doris Flores and Egdulio Velasquez from Honduras, arrested in January 2025 and separated from their U.S. citizen infant and stepdaughter, and Olga Perez, a Guatemalan resident of 30 years detained in November 2025 and separated from her U.S.-born children. Data show over half of migrants deported in the past year had no criminal convictions, including individuals like Armando, deported in October 2025 after arriving as a child in 2003. Many detainees had established U.S. ties, paid taxes, and had no criminal records. Juan Chavez Velasco, a 35-year-old DACA recipient who has held the status since 2012, was detained by ICE agents outside his home in Weslaco while delivering breastmilk to his 6-week-old daughter in the NICU. Chavez Velasco has work authorization through DACA and no criminal history. DHS cited a 2005 removal order and stated that DACA does not confer legal status. His family was separated as a result of the detention.

Between January 2025 and February 2026, ICE deported 363 pregnant, postpartum, or nursing women, according to Department of Homeland Security data released in response to congressional inquiry. As of February 16, 2026, ICE held 121 pregnant, postpartum, or nursing detainees, with 9 in their final trimester. The data documented 16 miscarriages in detention centers through September 2025. Reports from medical organizations and the ACLU documented inadequate prenatal care, delayed medical attention, and violations of ICE's own policies against detaining pregnant women. Federal policy discourages detention of pregnant individuals except in limited circumstances.

At least 500 people were ordered removed in absentia when they failed to appear for hearings at the San Francisco immigration court during a week when an unusually high number of cases were scheduled. Former immigration judges and attorneys stated that the mass scheduling of hearings, combined with potential notice problems, may have affected the removal orders against people who did not receive notice or could not attend.