Human Impact Project

Paul John Bojerski, 79, a Polish-born refugee who legally immigrated to the U.S. in 1952 and lived there for over 70 years, was detained by ICE in late October 2025 based on a decades-old deportation order from 1968. Despite having no passport and no country to return to, Bojerski was taken into custody after attending a routine ICE check-in and transferred to Alligator Alcatraz detention facility. His family reports his health has deteriorated significantly during detention, and he now awaits resolution of his case.

Jackie Merlos, an undocumented immigrant mother from Honduras with a pending U-visa, was detained by CBP agents on June 28, 2025, at Peace Arch Park near the U.S.-Canada border during a family picnic. Merlos, a well-regarded local business owner who had lived in Portland, Oregon for decades, was held in a CBP facility for 12 days. An ICE agent then called Merlos' friend Mimi Lettunich, demanding she immediately pick up Merlos' four U.S. citizen children—9-year-old triplets and a 7-year-old—or they would be placed in foster care. Lettunich, who had not cared for young children in years and had a full-time job, took the children into her home. Federal authorities attempted to deport Merlos without proper documentation or due process, but a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the children's removal. As of July 2025, Merlos remained in ICE custody at a facility in Tacoma, Washington, separated from her children and facing formal removal proceedings.

Donna Brown-Hughes, an Irish woman who has lived in America for 47 years, was detained by ICE for five months after returning from a trip to Ireland. She was arrested in Chicago due to two dishonored checks from 13 and 10 years prior. She was subsequently released and reunited with her family in Missouri. During detention, she reported conditions including unsanitary facilities, pest infestations, and inadequate food and utilities.

A 15-year-old Mexican national was detained by Florida Highway Patrol in Tampa and transferred to Alligator Alcatraz, a detention facility in the Florida Everglades designed for adult detainees. The teenager initially claimed to be an adult, but was transferred to a shelter for migrant children after his age was confirmed. State and federal officials initially did not acknowledge the minor had been held at the facility before acknowledging it after media confirmation.