Human Impact Project

Yeonsoo Go, age 21, a South Korean student with an R-2 religious worker visa, was arrested by ICE outside a federal courthouse in New York on July 31 after reporting for a routine visa hearing. She was initially held without access to legal counsel at a Manhattan facility, then transferred to an ICE detention center in Louisiana, and released after five days on August 5. ICE claimed her R-2 visa expired more than two years ago, though her visa attorney states it is not set to expire until December 2025 and Go was in the process of converting to a student visa. The visa hearing on July 31 reportedly went well and the judge had granted her a hearing date for late August.

Zhiyu Yang, a Chinese national, was scheduled for detention at an ICE appointment on July 31, 2025 in San Francisco. The federal court granted a temporary restraining order to prevent his arrest and detention, then converted it to a preliminary injunction. The court ruled that Yang cannot be detained without a pre-detention hearing before a neutral decisionmaker, citing Fifth Amendment due process protections.

Carmen Aracely Pablo Sequen was arrested by ICE agents as she was leaving San Francisco immigration court on July 31, 2025, and detained at ICE's San Francisco field office. She filed a habeas corpus petition the next day seeking her immediate release and a permanent injunction prohibiting ICE from re-detaining her without prior notice and a hearing before a neutral arbiter. After the court granted preliminary injunctive relief, she amended her petition to add three additional plaintiffs—Ligia Garcia, Yulisa Alvarado Ambrocio, and Martin Hernandez Torres—who also sought individual habeas relief. The amended complaint added seven class action claims seeking to vacate certain ICE and EOIR policies under the Administrative Procedure Act and to enjoin allegedly unconstitutional conditions of confinement at ICE's San Francisco field office. The government moved to sever the individual habeas claims from each other and from the class claims. The court granted the motion to sever but denied the government's request to randomly reassign the severed cases to other judges.

The Washington Post interviewed 16 former detainees of El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) to document conditions inside the megaprison where the U.S. has deported migrants. Detainees reported beatings, isolation, sexual assault, and other forms of mistreatment within the facility.

Yeonsoo Go, a 21-year-old Scarsdale High School graduate attending Purdue University, was arrested by ICE on July 31, 2025, outside a federal courthouse in New York following a routine visa hearing. ICE claimed her R-2 religious worker visa had expired over two years prior, but Go was released on August 5 after her attorney confirmed the visa remained valid through December 2025. Go's mother is an Episcopal church pastor in Scarsdale, and Go had been in the process of converting to a student visa at the time of her detention.

Guillermo Medina Reyes, a 31-year-old San Jose tattoo artist and Mexican national, was arrested in Berkeley on July 27 following an alleged vehicle theft crime spree. Reyes had been fighting ICE deportation efforts, with a judge barring his detention two weeks prior to the arrest. He was charged with multiple felonies including carjacking, vehicle theft, and grand theft. Reyes faces criminal prosecution and potential imprisonment, followed by deportation proceedings.

Pierre Reginald Boulos, a Haitian businessman and former presidential aspirant, was arrested by ICE on July 17 on immigration violation charges and remains detained at Krome North Service Processing Center. An immigration judge ruled he must remain in mandatory detention after determining he is subject to a detention regulation. Boulos, a lawful permanent resident born in New York who renounced his U.S. citizenship, is accused of failing to disclose involvement in a Haitian political party during his permanent residency application and collaborating with armed gangs.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducted an unannounced raid at a home in North Charleston, South Carolina on July 30, arresting Franklin Arce. Ring camera footage shows an ICE agent pulling a gun on Arce's partner Celeste Hernandez and shoving her back into the house while Arce was being arrested. Arce's family claims the officers never showed a warrant or provided their names and badge numbers, and Hernandez stated Arce was working toward legal citizenship with a court hearing scheduled.

Gloria Barazone, a 46-year-old Colombian national married to a U.S. citizen, was arrested by ICE at Newark Liberty International Airport while traveling from New Jersey to Miami. She had a pending green card application, work authorization request, and Social Security number application after nearly three years navigating the immigration process with her husband. She was held in New Jersey before being transferred to Louisiana and then the South Texas ICE Processing Center, and her husband said the transfers disrupted legal efforts and increased the family's legal costs.

Fernando Alves Rocha, a 45-year-old Brazilian theater manager at Juanita High School in Kirkland, was arrested by ICE on July 18 after overstaying a tourist visa he entered in August 2018. He filed an asylum application in February 2019, one day before his visa expired, and has maintained a valid work permit since then. Director Rose Cano described him as well-loved at the high school and a good mentor to students. According to witness accounts, ICE agents pulled Rocha from his vehicle and threw him to the ground during the arrest. ICE alleged he is wanted by Brazilian law enforcement for theft, but his attorney stated they were not shown evidence of any crimes. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 15 raised $36,405 through GoFundMe to support his legal fight and help secure his $10,000 bond. On July 29, Immigration Court Judge Tammy Fitting granted the bond, citing his strong community ties, pending asylum claim, and lack of danger to the community or flight risk. Rocha was released from Northwest Detention Center on July 30.

Carlos Martín Gonzalez, 26, and his older brother Óscar Alejandro Gonzalez, 30, were detained on July 7 after Carlos was pulled over by Florida Highway Patrol in Orlando for a traffic violation (tinted windows and invalid registration). Óscar Alejandro, who was visiting on a valid tourist visa and married to a U.S. citizen, was also detained under unclear circumstances when he arrived to help his brother. Carlos had legally entered on a tourist visa following their mother's death in October. After three days in county jail, both brothers were transferred to the Everglades immigration detention center, known as "Alligator Alcatraz." Their father, Martín Gonzalez, reported that the facility's conditions were inhumane—constant artificial lighting made it impossible to distinguish day from night—and that the brothers were held without case numbers or legal representation, unable to access their lawyer or consulate staff. Mexican consular officials warned of potential civil rights violations. After approximately 20 days in detention, both brothers were released without being charged with any crime and returned to Mexico through diplomatic intervention by Mexican consulates in Orlando and Miami, working with immigration attorneys and the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Pang Nhia Hang-Bailey, a Hmong refugee who arrived in the United States in 1978, was detained by ICE on July 30, 2025, during a routine annual check-in visit and is currently held at South Louisiana ICE Processing Center. Her green card expired in 1995 and was revoked in 2007 following a guilty plea to bank fraud charges in 2000. She faces deportation to Laos despite having lived in the U.S. for 47 years and having four adult children born in the country.

A Korean-born researcher and longtime U.S. legal permanent resident was detained by immigration officials at San Francisco International Airport for a week without explanation. According to his lawyer, he was denied access to an attorney during his detention.

Miguel Angel Ponce Jr., a U.S. citizen from Texas, was detained by ICE agents who mistakenly identified him as a wanted violent offender. He was handcuffed and held for approximately 90 minutes to two hours before agents compared his tattoos to a photograph and realized their error. After his release, agents allegedly suggested he shave his beard to avoid future confusion, a request Ponce found disrespectful and said he would never comply with. Miguel Angel Torres, a 14-year resident of Austin who worked as a cook, was detained by ICE on February 12, 2017, after dropping off their three daughters at school in Pflugerville. His wife, Irma Perez, says ICE officers in an unmarked van mistakenly sought to arrest her brother, Jose Manuel Perez, but detained Torres instead when he said he was not her brother. The family, including Torres's undocumented wife and three U.S. citizen daughters, abandoned their home and dreams of opening a food truck after the detention.

Lamphone Phongsavanh, a Laotian refugee who entered the U.S. in 1981, was detained by ICE in July 2025 after 25 years of supervised release following a removal order. The court found the government failed to demonstrate changed circumstances or significant likelihood of removal, violating immigration law. Chief Judge Stephanie Rose ordered his immediate release and restoration to supervised release status.

Nehemia Noel Fuentes-Banegas, a 26-year-old Honduran national living in Annandale, Virginia, was shot in the shoulder by a Fairfax County police officer after allegedly grabbing for the officer's handgun during a search of a wooded area. Police had responded to a domestic dispute call after Fuentes-Banegas armed himself with two knives, stabbed himself, and fled the home; he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and charged with attempted disarming of a law enforcement officer. Court records show he had faced an earlier felony strangulation charge from an April domestic violence case, which was dismissed after the alleged victim asked prosecutors not to proceed. Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid said her office does not block ICE from acting on detainer requests and that ICE is notified whenever an undocumented person is booked into the county jail. DHS said Fuentes-Banegas entered the U.S. without authorization through Texas in 2022 and was released pending immigration proceedings under the Biden administration; ICE has since lodged a detainer asking Fairfax County not to release him. The officer involved in the shooting was placed on restricted duty pending investigation.

A video posted online shows federal ICE agents detaining people near a Home Depot in Encinitas. A woman driving through the area recorded the encounter and spoke with NBC 7 about witnessing what appeared to be two men in custody with ICE agents present.

LA County Department of Animal Care and Control has taken in 28 animals from deported or detained families since June 2025, with pet surrenders nearly doubling after a series of summer raids. Children have come to the Carson Animal Care Center for painful goodbyes with family pets including Coco, a pug-beagle mix, and Bruce, a Labrador mix, after their families were ordered to leave the country.

Jorge Willy Valera Chuquillanqui, a Peruvian asylum seeker with no criminal history, was arrested by DHS agents minutes after completing routine immigration court proceedings on July 25, 2025. He had been living in the U.S. since December 2022 after being released on bond. The federal court granted a preliminary injunction ordering his release and prohibiting re-detention without a hearing before a neutral decisionmaker. The court found that ICE violated his due process rights by detaining him without proper procedural safeguards.

Patricia Balbuena Soto, a mother of three who had lived in New Jersey for approximately 30 years since age 19, was arrested on July 24, 2025, by Atlantic City Police on charges including criminal mischief and property damage. She was transferred to ICE custody on July 25, 2025, and deported to Mexico on August 5, 2025. According to DHS, Balbuena Soto had been previously removed from the country four times and illegally reentered a fifth time, which constituted a felony. Her 17-year-old daughter told Newsweek she felt alone after the separation and was forced to navigate daily life without her parent.

A human smuggler guided a group of undocumented migrants through the Arizona desert in extreme heat and allegedly instructed them to abandon one member who became dizzy and fell into a ravine, resulting in death. U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended the smuggler, Miguel Salomon-Lugo, on June 21.

Wilmer Chavarria, a U.S. citizen school superintendent, was detained for 4-5 hours at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport by customs agents upon returning from Nicaragua. Agents questioned his marriage and professional status, and repeatedly demanded passwords to his personal phone and district-issued laptop containing student information. After his devices were searched, Chavarria was released but subsequently had his Global Entry program membership revoked.

Rutilio Zelaya Franco, a fencing industry worker who had lived in the country for 14 years without prior police trouble, was driving a delivery truck when he was pursued by ICE agents. During the chase, his truck crashed into a home; he fled on foot and turned himself in at the Loudoun County Courthouse two days later on July 24. After a judge released him on bail, Loudoun County Sheriff's Office deputies presented him with an ICE warrant, handcuffed him, and escorted him to waiting ICE agents. He is married with two children. Zelaya Franco is being held at a detention center in Cibola County, New Mexico, pending removal proceedings.

Animal shelters across Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade counties are seeing a rise in pets surrendered due to immigration enforcement. Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control has received at least 19 pets as a result of immigration detention in 2025. Rescue organizations report finding animals like Mud, a terrier mix suffering from starvation in a locked backyard weeks after a family was deported.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand woman living in Washington State, and her 6-year-old son Isaac were detained by US immigration at the Canada-US border on July 24 after attempting to return home from dropping off her other children in Vancouver. Shaw held a temporary immigration document allowing her to travel and re-enter the US. Officials identified an administrative error with her paperwork. The pair were transferred to the Dilley Immigration Processing Centre in Texas, where they are being held. They do not have access to their personal belongings.

Janeth Jazmin Jaldin Loza, an Alpine resident, was arrested by ICE agents on July 23. Reporters were unable to find any record of past convictions or pending charges against her in Wyoming court records.

Juan Barranco Castro, a 56-year-old resident of Jackson for 26 years, was arrested by ICE agents in the parking lot of Community Bible Church as he drove to work. According to friends, ICE was targeting someone else with a similar vehicle and arrested Castro by mistake. He was handcuffed, placed in leg irons and belly chains, and transported to Sweetwater County Detention Center. Court documents show no criminal convictions or pending charges against Castro.

K.N., a minor U.S. citizen, was arrested along with his sisters while approaching a construction site raid. Federal agents drove K.N. to his mother's home and held him outside the fence while asking him if his mother was "illegal," then threatened to take him into federal custody while demanding his mother produce identification. According to MALDEF's Federal Tort Claims Act claim, agents used K.N. as "bait" in an attempt to lure his mother, a lawful permanent resident, into the street to investigate her immigration status. MALDEF seeks $2.5 million in damages for personal injury and emotional distress.

Sorayda Noyola, 31, and her siblings Claudia, 19, and a third sibling were arrested by ICE and Homeland Security Investigations agents during a construction site raid near their mother's home in Texas. Sorayda was documenting the raid when an agent grabbed her arm and attempted to seize her cell phone; when she objected, agents tackled all three siblings to the ground, handcuffed them, and arrested them. Sorayda and Claudia were detained for hours at the ICE Field Office in Harlingen, and agents confiscated both of their phones without returning them. MALDEF filed a Federal Tort Claims Act administrative claim seeking $2.5 million in damages for personal injury and $2,000 for the lost phone for each sibling, alleging unlawful assault, arrest, and detention in violation of their constitutional rights.

Z.G., a citizen of Ethiopia, was arrested by immigration authorities on July 22, 2025, and held in immigration detention for nine months without a bond hearing pending removal proceedings. The petitioner filed a habeas corpus petition claiming his prolonged detention violated due process. The federal court granted the petition and ordered immigration authorities to provide a bond hearing within 14 days.

A federal judge placed U.S. Army veteran Ian Davis Austin on probation with restricted travel to Pennsylvania and Minnesota, mandatory mental health assessment, and suspended firearm access following a disorderly conduct charge stemming from anti-ICE protests. Austin was arrested twice during clashes between state police and protesters outside a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey on Memorial Day weekend. He is one of 39 defendants charged under the Face Act following a January 18 protest at Cities Church in Saint Paul during Trump administration immigration enforcement actions.

Alberto Banicescu, a 27-year-old Romanian national, was taken into custody outside his Jackson apartment on July 21. ICE agents detained him based on assumptions about international travel patterns between Mexico City and Romania. He had a misdemeanor DUI citation from January and was on probation. He was placed in belly chains and leg irons before transport to Sweetwater County Detention Center.

Tae Heung "Will" Kim, a 40-year-old Korean American legal permanent resident and Ph.D. candidate at Texas A&M University studying infectious disease, was detained by CBP at San Francisco Airport upon returning from his brother's wedding in South Korea. He was held at the airport for more than a week without access to legal counsel, sleeping on a chair with lights on 24 hours, and denied contact with the outside world. Kim was subsequently transferred to ICE detention facilities in Arizona and Texas. His attorney states the cited reason for arrest was a 2011 marijuana possession conviction, though Kim had completed community service and had the record sealed; the government used it anyway. He faces a September 4 deportation hearing.

A Human Rights Watch report released on July 21, 2025, documents severe conditions at three Florida immigration detention facilities—Krome North Service Processing Center, Broward Transitional Center, and Federal Detention Center Miami—between January and June 2025. The report profiles 11 detained immigrants and includes interviews with family members and lawyers. Detainees experienced overcrowding (Krome reached 249% capacity by March), denial of critical medications including insulin and inhalers, forced sleep on cold concrete floors, degrading treatment including forced eating without hands, and excessive force including stun grenade deployment during protests. Substandard medical care is alleged to have been linked to two deaths. The detention population surge followed Trump administration executive orders establishing prolonged detention policies, with overall U.S. immigration detention reaching 56,000 people daily by June 2025, the highest level in U.S. history.

A 5-year-old girl identified as a U.S. citizen was taken into ICE custody along with her mother after Austin police responded to a disturbance call and identified the mother with an ICE administrative warrant. The family has been unable to locate the child in government databases and is seeking custody arrangements so she can stay with relatives while her mother remains detained.

On July 21, 2025, Dan Mathers of Key West was arrested by a Customs and Border Protection agent while filming the agent detaining a Haitian immigrant on Eaton Street. Mathers was accused of threatening the agent and held for 8 hours at a facility in Marathon before being released. The Haitian immigrant was also later released. Mathers was unable to contact his family until approximately 9:15pm.

An 82-year-old man from Pennsylvania was deported to Guatemala after being apprehended during a visit to an ICE office to replace his lost green card. He had lived in the U.S. for nearly 40 years and was granted political asylum in 1987. His family initially could not locate him and later learned he was in a hospital in Guatemala. Guatemala has an agreement with the Trump administration to receive deported immigrants of other nationalities.

Hector González, a 38-year-old construction worker, was crushed to death by falling building materials on July 21, 2025, during construction of Camp East Montana at Fort Bliss. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration later found three subcontractors responsible for the death. One of the subcontractors was owned by Nathan Albers, a Trump campaign donor, whose companies had prior infractions including employing undocumented workers and violating minimum-wage and overtime laws.

Gaetano Cateno Mirabella Costa, 45, an Italian national from Sicily, was arrested by ICE officials in early 2025 upon his release from jail after serving a six-month sentence for domestic violence and drug possession. He is being held at the ICE detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz" in the Florida Everglades, where he is housed with 32 other detainees in cramped conditions with open bathrooms. According to his account to Italian state broadcaster RAI, he has been denied access to a lawyer or judge. His mother, Rosanna Mirabella Costa, reported he appeared at a hearing in shackles and has not seen daylight for extended periods. DHS states Costa overstayed his B2 visa by nearly seven years. Italian diplomatic officials have sought consular access to verify his wellbeing, and Italian lawmakers have pressed for intervention over detention conditions.

Tae Heung "Will" Kim, a 40-year-old Korean American legal permanent resident and Ph.D. candidate at Texas A&M University, was detained by CBP at San Francisco Airport on July 21, 2025, upon returning from South Korea after attending his brother's wedding. He was held without access to legal counsel for more than a week and subsequently transferred to detention facilities in Arizona and Texas. The government initiated deportation proceedings based on a sealed 2011 misdemeanor marijuana conviction that Kim had completed and legally resolved. During detention, Kim was denied access to his asthma medication.

Three Cuban nationals filed a lawsuit challenging U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's use of I-220A forms to release them without proper parolee status. The plaintiffs, who were apprehended upon entry and subject to mandatory detention, allege ICE unlawfully misclassified their immigration status, which excluded them from eligibility for adjustment of status under the Cuban Adjustment Act. The case raises claims of Administrative Procedure Act violations, Fifth Amendment due process violations, and ultra vires agency action.

A family facing ICE enforcement operations decided to self-deport but were unable to bring their 6-year-old German Shepherd, Draco, on their flight due to airline size restrictions. The family surrendered the dog they had raised for over five years to the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control. Pet surrenders from families affected by recent immigration enforcement operations have occurred in Southern California.

Lewelyn Dixon, a lab technician at UW Medicine who arrived from the Philippines at age 14 and held a green card for more than 50 years, was detained by Customs and Border Protection at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Feb. 28, 2025, while returning from a family trip to the Philippines. Her attorney said the detention stemmed from a 2001 nonviolent embezzlement conviction for which she had already served her sentence and paid restitution, though it had never before affected her travel or green card renewals. She spent nearly three months at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, where she described conditions as 'horrific' and 'super crowded' and spent time helping other detainees and forming friendships, including with an Afghan woman who gave her a beaded bracelet. Immigration Judge Tammy Fitting ruled on May 29, 2025 that Dixon should not be deported, citing her decades as a lawful permanent resident, community ties, and arrival as a child. Family, coworkers, and union supporters from SEIU Local 925 rallied outside the detention center and celebrated her release. About a month later, Dixon applied for U.S. citizenship, passed her interview in October, and took the Oath of Allegiance on July 20. Her niece, Donna Cristobal, said, 'I'm relieved now that she's documented and doesn't have to go through this again... It was a really bad time for us, the whole family.'

A few dozen people gathered at the Juanita Kidd Stout Center for Criminal Justice in Philadelphia to protest an ICE arrest that occurred outside the courthouse. ICE agents arrested a man who was leaving a court hearing on Wednesday, with witnesses reporting the agents refused to identify themselves or present a warrant and used physical force during the arrest.

Gerson Josué Santamaría Turcios, a 23-year-old Honduran immigrant and Rhinebeck High School graduate, was arrested by ICE on July 18 as he returned home from work. He owns a local lawn care, maintenance and landscaping business in Rhinebeck and has lived in the community for years, attending high school there and building long-term employment relationships with local residents. A Manhattan judge denied his request for a temporary restraining order to pause his deportation on July 23, though the order expires July 30, giving supporters an additional week to pursue legal options. Community members including his former employers, high school teachers, and classmates have rallied behind him, raising over $60,000 for his legal defense through a grassroots fundraiser organized by Jenny Friedberg, who has employed him regularly for five years.

More than 230 Venezuelan men held in U.S. immigration custody were expelled to El Salvador in March 2024 by the Trump administration and detained for four months in a maximum security terrorism prison where they alleged torture. A lawsuit filed in federal court accuses aviation companies CSI Aviation and GlobalX of violating civil rights and deliberately transporting the men despite a federal judge's order to return the flights and knowledge they would likely be tortured. The suit claims the private contractors worked in concert with the U.S. government in flagrant violation of U.S. and international law.

U.S. Border Patrol agents conducted an enforcement operation at a Home Depot parking lot in south Sacramento on July 17, detaining 11 undocumented immigrants and a U.S. citizen identified as Jose Castillo. Castillo, an immigration watch volunteer documenting the operation, was detained after agents alleged he damaged a vehicle tire during a brief chase in the parking lot; he was later released. A total of 11 people were arrested during the raid, which Border Patrol stated was a message that the federal government can enforce immigration law anywhere in California.

Jose Manuel Castillo Jr., a U.S. citizen and volunteer with immigrant advocacy group NorCal Resist, was charged with depredation of government property after allegedly puncturing a Border Patrol vehicle tire during an ICE raid at a Home Depot on July 17. According to the DOJ, Castillo was seen walking toward a Border Patrol SUV and agents heard a pop and hissing noise before finding the tire slashed; a pocketknife found on him matched the hole's width. Castillo's attorney and the advocacy group dispute the charges, claiming he was merely documenting arrests and was not obstructing operations.

Elvis Garcia, 18, a Key West High School senior and wrestler, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on December 2 while driving to school on U.S. 1 and has since been deported to Honduras. Garcia had been on Temporary Protective Status with his mother and was working to pay for an immigration attorney while pursuing legal status. His deportation occurred after TPS for Honduras ended on September 8, 2025, removing his previous protection from deportation.

Zia S., 35, an Afghan immigrant and father of five who served as a translator for U.S. troops for five years, was detained by ICE agents on Wednesday outside a USCIS office in East Hartford while submitting biometric information for his green card application. Zia, his wife, and children fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021, fearing retribution for his work with U.S. forces. The family arrived legally in the U.S. in October 2024 on humanitarian parole and "boarding foils" from the U.S. embassy in Islamabad, and all seven family members had approved Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applications granting them a pathway to permanent residency. ICE transported Zia to a detention facility in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and issued an expedited removal order claiming he did not enter the country legally—a claim his attorney, Lauren Cundick Petersen, disputes. Petersen said Zia told her he feared returning to Afghanistan, where he faced death threats for his service to U.S. forces; according to No One Left Behind nonprofit, more than 300 Afghan translators and their family members were killed between 2014 and 2021.