Human Impact Project

Spencer Gair Harrington, a Canadian citizen residing in the U.S. since 2019, was arrested on December 18, 2025 during a USCIS interview for his green card application based on marriage to a U.S. citizen. He remained detained until February 3, 2026 when an immigration judge released him on bond, finding he posed no flight risk or danger. Despite the judge's determination, ICE placed Harrington on an ankle monitor and in intensive supervision, prompting his habeas petition challenging the conditions as violating his due process rights.

Habel Russbel Hinostroza Alarcon was re-detained on December 18, 2025, after being previously released on bond or conditional parole under immigration law. The federal court found that his re-detention without a pre-deprivation bond hearing violated due process rights. The court ordered his immediate release with the same conditions he had prior to detention and required the government to provide seven days' notice and a bond hearing before any future re-detention.

Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan was convicted of obstructing federal agents from arresting an undocumented immigrant. Dugan allegedly helped an undocumented immigrant leave her courtroom in April to avoid arrest by ICE agents waiting in the hallway. She was acquitted of a misdemeanor charge.

Families of immigrants arrested in a federal ICE surge in Maine are struggling to find basic information about their detained relatives as the government rapidly transfers them to detention facilities across multiple states. Erik Orellana-Mejia was arrested at his worksite on January 20 and has since been transferred to Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Louisiana, and Missouri. ICE has been building out detention and deportation infrastructure in New England and across the country to support intensified enforcement operations.

A 20-year-old from Guatemala who received legal status in 2022 under the child separation settlement was arrested by ICE agents at a gas station in December 2025. He was detained in Florida before being transferred to Louisiana. On December 18, 2025, despite ACLU lawyers emailing Department of Justice officials to contend that an existing court order should prevent his deportation, Homeland Security placed him on a flight to Guatemala.

Babblejit Kaur, an Indian-origin woman who has lived in the United States since 1994, was detained by ICE agents while attending a biometric interview for her green card application at a USCIS office. She had no criminal record, was sponsored by her daughter who is a green card holder, and worked for decades as a restaurant businesswoman and store employee. The detention occurred amid increased scrutiny of Indian nationals under new H-1B visa vetting policies announced in 2025.

Walter Francisco Cerrato Cabrera, a 48-year-old Honduran deckhand who had worked on oyster boats for 20 years, drowned on December 18 while jumping into Bayou La Loutre to avoid U.S. Coast Guard agents who had stopped at the docks. Cerrato and a younger coworker jumped from their boat when agents approached, but Cerrato, who could not swim, drowned in the bayou. The incident occurred amid increased immigration enforcement operations in lower St. Bernard Parish.

Jose Cadena-Velasquez, a 49-year-old Mexican national living in Fargo, was arrested by Border Patrol and ICE agents during a traffic stop after a months-long investigation based on a tip that he was in the country illegally and using fraudulent documents. When agents stopped his vehicle and asked him to exit, Cadena refused and locked the doors, prompting agents to break the window and use physical restraint techniques to extract him. He was charged with possession of false immigration identification documents, use of a false Social Security number, and assaulting or resisting a federal officer.

Seven people detained by ICE at a California immigration detention center filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on November 12, describing severe medical neglect and inhumane conditions. One detainee, Fernando Viera Reyes, reports being denied medication and urgent treatment for likely prostate cancer while in custody.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 24-year-old Vanessa Parrazal on December 17 outside Pinehurst Elementary School in Salisbury, Maryland, moments after she dropped off her child. The arrest occurred in the 400 block of Pinehurst Avenue, near but not on school property. A witness reported the arrest involved physical force.

Mario Caja Ayala, who entered the US in 1989 and has four adult US citizen children, was detained by ICE on December 16, 2025. An Immigration Judge had granted him cancellation of removal in March 2023, but the Board of Immigration Appeals reversed that decision in April 2026 and ordered his removal to Mexico. The court denied his habeas petition, finding his detention lawful under federal immigration law.

Abdikadir Abdi Noor, a 43-year-old Somali-American citizen from Fridley, was pulled over and arrested by ICE on December 15 outside Karmel Mall in Minneapolis. He is a named plaintiff in an ACLU lawsuit alleging ICE violated constitutional rights of observers and protesters during the agency's ramped-up raids in Minnesota targeting the state's Somali community.

A confrontation occurred in south Minneapolis when dozens of residents gathered as ICE agents operated near Lake Street and Pillsbury Avenue. During the incident, federal agents used pepper spray and at least one Taser on observers as the crowd attempted to prevent the arrest of a woman reported to be pregnant. Local law enforcement responded to assist ICE agents in leaving the scene.

Meenu Batra, a 50-year-old Indian immigrant living in Texas since 1991, was detained by ICE agents at an airport on March 17, 2026, while traveling to Wisconsin for work as a court interpreter. She had been granted court protection against deportation in 2000 due to persecution concerns and was authorized to work legally in the US. After more than six weeks in detention, Batra was released when a court questioned the legality of her detention. She reported experiencing dehumanization during her time in custody and expressed ongoing fear of re-arrest.

Six foreign nationals were arrested between November 2025 and January 2026 and charged with being inadmissible as persons present without admission in the United States. They were detained at the Adelanto Detention Center and Desert View Annex without individualized bond hearings. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring bond hearings within 7 days or immediate release.

Hailey Lovgren, a 27-year-old veterinarian student, witnessed federal agents questioning a Somali man outside an apartment building and began filming the interaction. After the agents released the man, Lovgren drove away but said the agents' vehicles started following her without emergency lights activated, with one attempting to swerve into her vehicle. After she called 911, the agents allegedly followed her car for about 2 miles before driving away. Lovgren said the experience made her more interested in documenting agents in the future.

Laura Justine Salamanca Montero, a Colombian citizen who entered the U.S. in June 2022 to seek asylum, was redetained by ICE on December 14, 2025 at a gas station after being convicted of DUI and petty theft. She had been previously released on supervision with GPS monitoring and weekly check-ins while her asylum case was pending. The court ordered that she be provided with a bond hearing within seven days but denied her request for immediate release.

Delvin Francisco Rodriguez, a 39-year-old Nicaraguan man, died on December 14, 2025 at Merit Health Natchez after a medical emergency on December 4, 2025 at Adams County Correctional Center. Staff found Rodriguez unresponsive in his living area on December 4 at approximately 4:15 PM and transported him to the hospital, where he failed a brain death test 10 days later. ICE told family he was found hanging in a cell with a sheet, though Rodriguez had been housed in a large open unit with over 100 people and family was not told why he was in a cell. Nurses reportedly told family that Rodriguez's injuries appeared inconsistent with ICE's account. Rodriguez was one of 7 ICE custody deaths in December 2025 alone, during a year that saw 33 in-custody deaths nationally.

Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales, a Maryland resident and U.S. citizen by birth, was detained by ICE in Baltimore on December 14, 2025, after being encountered by CBP in Arizona in 2023 and claiming Mexican citizenship during that interaction. Despite providing her Maryland birth certificate and other documentation, she was mistakenly processed as a noncitizen, assigned an A-number, and placed in removal proceedings. She was detained in facilities across Louisiana, Texas, and New Jersey before being released in January 2026 with an ankle monitor. On June 17, 2026, DHS dismissed her deportation case after her legal team established she was born in Laurel, Maryland, and obtained a U.S. passport.

Dulce Consuelo Díaz Morales, a 22-year-old U.S. citizen born in Maryland, was detained by ICE near her home on December 14 and held for 25 days across five facilities. Despite her attorneys presenting a U.S. birth certificate and other documentation proving her citizenship, ICE disputed her status and asserted she was a Mexican citizen who entered unlawfully. A federal judge issued an order blocking her deportation four days after arrest, and she was subsequently released, though deportation proceedings remain open.

Dulce Consuelo Díaz Morales, a 22-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested by ICE agents in December while near her home in Baltimore and held for 25 days across multiple detention facilities despite providing proof of citizenship including hospital birth records and fingerprints. A federal judge blocked her deportation four days after her arrest, but ICE continued detaining her until her release on January 7. DHS disputed her citizenship claim, citing a 2023 border encounter where she identified as Mexican, though her attorneys assert the documentation clearly establishes her Maryland birth. Her removal proceedings were subsequently dismissed without prejudice.

Jesus Gutiérrez, a 23-year-old US citizen, was stopped by federal immigration agents in Chicago and handcuffed without identification. Agents used ICE's Mobile Fortify facial recognition app to scan his face, which verified his citizenship status. He was held for about an hour before being released. Federal authorities have acknowledged using this facial recognition technology across the country to verify citizenship and check for deportation orders.

A 20-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen was detained by ICE agents for approximately two hours in Minneapolis after being approached based on his Somali appearance. The agents apprehended him on a street near Cedar Avenue, placed him in a chokehold, and transported him to the Whipple Federal Building despite his repeated attempts to show his passport and ID. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O'Hara stated the incident constituted racial profiling and was unconstitutional, while ICE stated their actions were based on reasonable suspicion.

Susan Tincher, a 55-year-old Minneapolis resident, was detained by ICE agents while filming them arresting someone from a nearby house during Operation Metro Surge. Tincher said she was recording on her phone when agents tackled her to the ground and detained her for allegedly not moving back when ordered. She is one of six Minnesotans who sued DHS this week, alleging ICE has carried out an unprecedented attack on civil liberties. ICE officials disputed the account, stating Tincher was arrested for allegedly assaulting an agent, attempting to break through a security perimeter, ignoring lawful commands, and becoming violent.

David Cardenas, 54, a Raleigh resident who fled Nicaragua and sought asylum in 2022, was detained by ICE during a routine yearly check-in appointment with USCIS in Charlotte. He suffered a medical emergency shortly after detention and was hospitalized at Atrium Health in Pineville, where ICE and the hospital initially blocked visits from his wife and children for a week. Following advocacy efforts and a press conference by immigrant rights groups and local leaders, ICE announced it would release Cardenas due to his severe health condition, potentially using alternative detention such as an ankle monitor.

Martina Martin Garcia, a Guatemalan asylum seeker who fled to the U.S. in April 2024, was arrested on December 11, 2025, while attending a scheduled ICE check-in at 630 Sansome Street in San Francisco. Garcia had been released on her own recognizance, complied with all supervision conditions, and had no criminal history. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring her immediate release, finding her detention likely violated her constitutional due process rights.

Mohan Karki, a 30-year-old refugee born in a Nepal refugee camp whose family fled persecution in Bhutan in the 1990s, faces deportation to Bhutan by the U.S. government despite having no passport or birth certificate from that country. He has been detained for over eight months pending removal proceedings stemming from a teenage burglary conviction. His attorneys have stated that deportation could result in statelessness, as Bhutanese authorities have previously denied entry to other deportees.

Jose Gomez and his 13-year-old son were detained by ICE agents in unmarked SUVs in Eden Prairie on Thursday morning while moving their car after a snowstorm. The boy was tackled, handcuffed, and questioned about his legal status; he later required medical attention for an abnormal heartbeat triggered by the stress. Both are undocumented immigrants from Mexico; Gomez's family believes he was randomly targeted and says ICE lacked a warrant for his arrest. The boy was released to his aunt's house, but Gomez remained in ICE custody.

A man who had lived in the U.S. for 27 years and worked with a company for 17 years was deported after his wife was pulled over for a broken headlight. He had paid taxes, owned a home, and raised American-born children. The deportation occurred despite his lack of criminal conduct.

Andrei Bankevich, a Belarusian migrant granted relief from deportation, was detained by ICE in December 2025 despite having no legal authority to hold him. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger ruled in March 2026 that federal officials violated his due process rights by keeping him incarcerated in Muscatine County Jail for over a year, stating it was "untenable" that officials refused to comply with the law without a court order.

Viktoriia Bulavina, a Ukrainian woman with Temporary Protected Status, was detained for five days after being arrested during a green card interview at the USCIS San Diego Field Office on December 4, 2025. She spent three days in the downtown San Diego ICE facility where she reported harsh conditions including lack of sleep, inability to change clothes or shower, cold temperatures, expired food, and inadequate privacy. Her attorney stated she had complied with all immigration procedures and was renewing her TPS when detained; her TPS extension was approved the day she was released.

A 20-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen named Mubashir was detained by ICE agents in Minneapolis while on his lunch break. Agents forcibly removed him from a restaurant, handcuffed him, and initially refused to accept his U.S. passport and identification documents despite his attempts to present them. He was held for approximately two hours at a federal building before being released after presenting identification. Minneapolis city leaders, including Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O'Hara, characterized the detention as wrongful and unconstitutional racial profiling, while ICE stated their actions were based on reasonable suspicion.

ICE agents arrested Mubashir, a 20-year-old Somali American U.S. citizen, in Minneapolis's Cedar-Riverside neighborhood on his lunch break. Video footage documented agents slamming him against a door, placing him in a chokehold, and handcuffing him before detaining him for approximately two hours. Despite offering identification and having his citizenship verified, Mubashir alleged he was denied water and medical assistance during detention. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O'Hara stated the arrest was racially motivated, while Governor Tim Walz requested a DHS review of ICE arrests of U.S. citizens in the city.

Jose Roberto Ramirez, a U.S. citizen and Red Lake Nation descendant, was detained by ICE officers at a Robbinsdale Hy-Vee on January 8 and later released from federal custody. A family member's video of the encounter was shared on social media, prompting local lawmakers and the legislature's Native American Caucus to condemn the arrest as racial profiling and a violation of Indigenous sovereignty. Robbinsdale police stated they did not participate in the federal operation and were not notified in advance.

Nathan Griffin, a U.S. citizen and night manager of the Laugh Factory comedy club in Lakeview, was arrested by masked Border Patrol agents on October 24, 2025, outside the club at Belmont and Broadway during immigration enforcement operations on the North Side. Agents accused him of interfering with a federal officer and assaulting an agent by closing a vehicle door on the agent's leg while the agent was searching for a body-worn camera believed dropped during a prior immigration-related arrest. Video posted by the club showed multiple masked agents in full camouflage wrestling Griffin to the ground as bystanders screamed that he had done nothing wrong. Griffin's mother, Elaine Plybon, was also physically engaged with agents while attempting to stop her son's arrest. Griffin was initially charged with one count of forcibly assaulting, impeding, and interfering with a federal officer, facing up to 8 years in prison if convicted. Federal prosecutors dropped all charges on December 10, 2025, after a federal grand jury refused to indict him by returning a 'no bill.'

Santiago Zamora Perez, a 17-year-old Detroit student at Western International High School, was arrested by ICE on Sunday after Fraser police pulled him over for driving under the speed limit and called federal agents. Zamora and his mother were detained; he is a Venezuelan asylum seeker who entered the U.S. last year. At least four Detroit teens are currently held in ICE detention facilities.

A Homeland Security agent confronting a man about his visa status was briefly taken in an SUV against his will on Wednesday in Plymouth, Minnesota. Two people were charged in federal court with interfering with DHS agents: Oluwadamilola Bamigboye, 24, a Nigerian national who overstayed his student visa, and Rekeya Frazier, 26. The incident began when agents approached Bamigboye outside an apartment complex, leading him to jump into Frazier's SUV and demand she drive away, resulting in a brief pursuit that ended near a New Hope police station.

Alan Crenshaw, a 35-year-old Minneapolis resident, observed and filmed ICE arresting a U.S. citizen on December 9. As officers were leaving the scene, one agent leaned out of a car window and pepper sprayed Crenshaw. He is a named plaintiff in an ACLU lawsuit alleging ICE violated constitutional rights of observers and protesters.

Mubashir, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen of Somali descent, was arrested by ICE agents on December 9, 2025, in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of south Minneapolis. According to Mubashir and community organization CAIR-MN, ICE agents tackled him during the arrest despite his repeated statements that he was a U.S. citizen and his display of his passport. He was detained at Fort Snelling federal building after agents allegedly failed to identify themselves. DHS disputed accounts of the incident, claiming officers were investigating criminal immigration violations and that Mubashir resisted arrest. According to CAIR-MN, the arrests were part of a pattern targeting Somali neighborhoods and included multiple U.S. citizens.

Vilma Cruz, a 38-year-old Honduran national, was arrested by ICE agents in Kenner, Louisiana during an operation called "Catahoula Crunch." Her 18-year-old son, Jonathan Escalante, a U.S. citizen, is now the sole caregiver for his 9-year-old sister and worries about being detained himself despite being a citizen.

Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents used chemical irritant to disperse a crowd in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis during identification checks. The incident occurred on Tuesday. Minneapolis City Council member Jamal Osman, a Somali American, was present during the confrontation.

An ICE vehicle struck a protester in Minneapolis on December 9 as demonstrators heckled immigration enforcement agents. The incident was recorded on video. ICE agents also used pepper spray against the protesters.

Susan Tincher was arrested on December 9 while standing on a sidewalk observing an ICE raid in north Minneapolis. Officers pulled her to the ground, handcuffed her face-down in the snow, transported her to the Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling, shackled her legs, removed her wedding ring and boot laces, and held her in a cell for five hours before releasing her. She is one of six named plaintiffs in an ACLU lawsuit alleging ICE agents routinely violated constitutional rights of people protesting their actions.

Sue Tincher, a 55-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested by ICE agents on December 9, 2025, while observing an immigration enforcement operation near her home in north Minneapolis. According to Tincher, an officer ordered her to back up from the scene, but she remained to document the activity. Officers knocked her to the ground, handcuffed her, and transported her to Fort Snelling's Bishop Henry Whipple Building. She was held in custody for over five hours with shackles on her legs before being released after attorneys intervened. Tincher was read her Miranda rights and an officer stated she would be charged with obstructing a federal agent, though she disputes that her actions obstructed the operation.

Jair Celis, a 29-year-old Utah father and soccer coach, was detained by ICE during his final green card interview despite being married to a U.S. citizen. The Department of Homeland Security posted on social media claiming Celis had a history of child sexual abuse, referencing sealed juvenile court records from when he was a minor. His attorneys plan to sue DHS for libel, arguing that juvenile cases are civil proceedings that cannot be used as convictions and should not be publicly disclosed.

ICE agents raided a home in Burnsville, Minnesota on Saturday, arresting four people including a couple whose 7-year-old son was left in the care of another arrested man's pregnant wife. Ring camera footage shows agents detaining the couple as they arrived home from the grocery store. Family members inside the home alleged that ICE agents entered without presenting a warrant and pointed guns at residents, including a pregnant woman and children.

Immigrant families detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas describe prolonged stays, despondent children, limited access to potable water, and inadequate food in court declarations filed in December 2025. The families allege poor medical treatment, overcrowded conditions, and ICE agents offering financial incentives for voluntary departure. These accounts contrast sharply with ICE's assertions that the facility meets federal detention standards.

Lucy, a 3-year-old unaccompanied minor, was presented without legal representation before an immigration judge in Tucson, Arizona. According to reports, multiple unaccompanied immigrant minors are appearing in immigration court without legal representation or support due to federal budget cuts to organizations that previously provided assistance.

Kamel Maklad, a Syrian man who migrated through Venezuela, was released from Eloy Detention Center on December 9, 2025, after spending 14 months detained. He had won his immigration court case in November 2024 where he was granted withholding of removal. His release came after a federal judge granted a habeas corpus petition filed on his behalf.

Augsburg University president Paul Pribbenow stated that ICE agents illegally detained a student on campus without displaying a warrant. In response, the university plans to lock more buildings to prevent ICE agents from entering without proper legal documentation. Federal officials countered that university staff attempted to obstruct the arrest.