Human Impact Project

Antonio Velez-Lopez, a 69-year-old Colombian citizen and former priest, was sentenced to one year in prison for passport fraud and stripped of his U.S. citizenship. He had been convicted of sexually abusing a child from 2003 to 2009 while serving as the child's priest, and had falsified information on his permanent residency, citizenship, and passport applications to conceal his crimes. He was ordered to be deported to Colombia after completing his prison sentence.

Lewelyn Dixon, a 64-year-old green card holder and University of Washington lab technician, was detained by ICE on February 28, 2025, after returning from the Philippines, following discovery of a 2000 embezzlement conviction by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Dixon had lived legally in the United States for over 50 years and completed restitution on her conviction in 2019. She is currently held at the Northwest ICE Detention Facility and is not bond eligible, with her first hearing scheduled for July 17. Her family and supporters have called for her release.

ICE agents detained Francisco Andrade-Berrera, a 37-year-old Mexican citizen, outside Soto High School in Chicago's Gage Park neighborhood on Wednesday morning while he was dropping off children. Two students were in the vehicle at the time; school staff escorted them into the building. Andrade-Berrera had prior convictions and had been deported twice previously.

Nicolas Rodriguez was taken into ICE custody on May 15 and is being held at Otay Mesa Detention Center. The landscaping business owner, who has lived in the US for over 35 years and has three American citizen children, is facing deportation after ICE reopened his immigration case. He will be ordered this week to either request voluntary departure to Mexico or accept a deportation order.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Emine and Celal Emanet, owners of Jersey Kebab restaurant in Haddon Township, New Jersey on February 25, 2025. The couple, who came from Turkey nearly two decades ago on visas, had fallen out of legal status and were being detained by ICE. Celal Emanet was released with an ankle monitor, while his wife remains in ICE custody awaiting a bond hearing scheduled for mid-March.

Activists in Southern California distributed flyers revealing the names, photos, and personal information of ICE and HSI agents, with the flyers written in Spanish and posted in Los Angeles neighborhoods. Federal authorities, including the DHS and FBI, condemned the action and launched an investigation, warning that those responsible could face legal consequences for obstructing law enforcement operations.

Genry Ruiz Guillén, a 29-year-old Honduran man with schizoaffective disorder, was transferred to ICE custody in October 2024 and held at Krome North Service Processing Center in Florida. While detained, he suffered seizures, dizziness, fainting spells, confusion, and loss of consciousness. In December 2024, during a phone call, he told his mother three times that he was about to faint and did not feel well; she was unable to reach him afterward. He was hospitalized for acute psychosis and later transferred between three Larkin Health System hospitals for psychiatric care and treatment of rhabdomyolysis, a life-threatening muscle breakdown condition. He died in custody; his mother traveled to the detention center seeking information and was notified of his death weeks later, and his body was repatriated to Honduras. The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner ruled his cause of death as 'complications of schizoaffective disorder,' but medical experts, including a former New York City chief medical examiner, questioned this finding, citing concerns about multiple medications in his system and the unresolved rhabdomyolysis. He was one of seven migrants who died in ICE custody during the first three months of the Trump administration.

Juan Alexis Tineo-Martinez, a 44-year-old Dominican man, died on February 23, 2025, after three days in ICE custody in Puerto Rico. He was taken into ICE custody following a maritime interdiction and was treated at Centro Medico Hospital. His suspected cause of death was hemorrhagic stroke. He was one of seven migrants who died in ICE custody during the first three months of Trump's presidency.

A 33-year-old Guatemalan man was returned to the United States in June 2025 after a federal judge ordered his reinstatement following an unlawful deportation. Despite an immigration judge's February 2025 order barring his removal, ICE deported him to Mexico two days later, violating due process protections. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy criticized the action as "blatant lawlessness" and ordered his return, after the Justice Department acknowledged its claim that the man had expressed no fear of being sent to Mexico was based on erroneous information. He was granted withholding of removal after demonstrating he would face serious harm in Guatemala, and his arrival back in the U.S. marked the first such return among several similar court-ordered cases.

Federal agents pepper-sprayed and tackled 80-year-old defense attorney Doug Hayes during a confrontation in Santa Barbara on February 21st. Hayes had approached agents who were detaining a man in his 20s, concerned for the detainee's safety, and was sprayed when he tried to help. Hayes was not arrested or charged and has expressed interest in pursuing legal action against the agents.

Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez, who had resided in the United States for 35 years, were arrested and deported to Colombia in February 2025 after being detained by ICE during a routine immigration court check-in in Santa Ana, California. The couple entered without authorization in 1989 and had a 2000 deportation order. They maintained clean criminal records and had complied with regular check-ins throughout their time in the country. They had three U.S. citizen daughters and were involved in church work and volunteering. They were held for three weeks before deportation.

Maksym Chernyak, a 44-year-old Ukrainian man who fled Russia's invasion and entered the U.S. legally under a humanitarian parole program in August 2024, was arrested in January 2025 on a domestic battery/assault charge and transferred to ICE custody at the Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami-Dade County. In the days before his death, he reported fever, chest pain, an irregular heartbeat, and blood in his stool, but went several days without seeing a doctor and his elevated blood pressure went untreated. On February 18, while held in an overcrowded room with about 30 other detainees, he suffered a stroke with multiple seizures and became unresponsive; staff reportedly took 15 to 40 minutes to call 911 and initially accused him of drug use, though toxicology later showed no intoxication. He was hospitalized at HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, where doctors confirmed a hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage, declared him brain dead, and he died two days later. His wife said he had been in good health before detention and was pressured to sign documents without a translator. Medical experts reviewing his case for Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights concluded that delays in emergency response and higher-level care likely contributed to his death, and his case was examined as part of a broader look at rising ICE detention deaths.

Mayfreed Durán Arapé, a Venezuelan barber, was detained in July 2023 on his third border crossing attempt and convicted in August 2023 of assaulting a federal officer during a riot at an El Paso immigration detention center. On February 8, 2025, he was transferred without explanation to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base along with more than 170 other Venezuelan men. During his two-week detention at Guantanamo, Durán Arapé alleges he was beaten by guards, denied access to attorneys and family calls, provided inadequate food and water, and stripped of bedding as punishment. He attempted suicide twice and provided photos of bruising and self-harm scars. On February 20, 2025, he was deported to Venezuela. The Trump administration claimed the detainees were members of Tren de Aragua, though court documents show nearly 30% had no criminal records and the government provided no evidence against Durán Arapé.

Jose Daniel Simancas, a 30-year-old Venezuelan construction worker, crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in May 2024 with his wife and cousin and was detained in El Paso while awaiting deportation. On February 4, 2025, he was transferred to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base along with nine other migrants, despite having no criminal history except unauthorized entry. The Department of Homeland Security identified him as a member of Tren de Aragua based on his birthplace and tattoos, which he denied. During his 15 days at Guantanamo, Simancas reported inhumane conditions including minimal food, isolation, and only two showers. He was deported to Honduras on February 20, 2025, along with 176 other Venezuelan nationals. His family was denied information about his whereabouts throughout his nine-month detention.

As a result of the Trump administration's zero tolerance family separation policy announced in May, numerous infants and toddlers as young as 1 year old are being placed in immigration court deportation proceedings without access to court-appointed lawyers. Children are expected to navigate complex legal processes despite their age and developmental inability to understand proceedings. Non-profit organizations and pro bono lawyers attempt to fill the representation gap, but minors are not entitled to government-funded counsel. The administration has refused to disclose the exact number of children separated from their parents since June 26, when an initial estimate of 2,047 separated children was provided.

Sering Ceesay, a Gambian man with serious heart conditions, was detained by ICE on February 19, 2025, after showing up for a routine immigration appointment in New York City. He was shackled and transferred to the Batavia facility, where he went two weeks without his heart medications. He subsequently suffered a stroke-like syndrome. A physician noted that without strict adherence to his medications, he faced risk of recurrent heart attacks, worsening peripheral artery disease, and strokes. A U.S. District Judge later ordered his release.

The Battalion Search and Rescue Organization, based in Ajo, Arizona, conducts regular expeditions into the southern Arizona desert to locate and identify the remains of migrants who died during border crossings. According to the Pima County Medical Examiner, over 150 migrants died in southern Arizona in the previous year. During recent trips in February, the group found 10 and 8 death sites respectively, recovering bone fragments and other remains which are documented and reported to county authorities.

A 21-year-old Venezuelan man, Mayfreed Durán-Arape, was sent to Guantánamo Bay as part of a Trump administration policy to relocate detained migrants to the military base. DHS claimed he was a gang member. A review found he had no criminal record beyond unauthorized entry. His mother disputes the administration's characterization of a detention center altercation that led to his conviction.

Johan, a 1-year-old boy from Honduras, was separated from his father after arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border and placed in immigration court deportation proceedings in Phoenix. The immigration judge expressed discomfort questioning the toddler about his understanding of the case. Johan's father was deported to Honduras after being told he would be reunited with his son if he signed a removal order—a promise that was not kept. Johan was granted a voluntary departure order and the government arranged to fly him to Honduras, where both his parents are located.

Dora Reynosa, an undocumented immigrant and former DACA recipient who goes by the artist name ByZeneth, self-deported to Mexico in January 2026 to live with family. The muralist, who has over 8,000 Instagram followers and has been commissioned by the Texas Rangers and the Adolphus Hotel, faced verbal and physical assault while painting in South Dallas in February 2025, which she cited alongside rising ICE enforcement as factors in her decision. Her recent work includes large protest banners reading "No estan solos," "Solidarity" and "Resist" that have been used at Dallas demonstrations against ICE. Reynosa plans to continue creating art addressing immigrant issues from Mexico, saying she will have greater freedom to speak out without fear of detention or deportation.