Human Impact Project

Two former detainees at a Florida immigration detention center testified that they faced punishment for seeking legal advice. The detainees provided accounts that they faced retaliation for attempting to access legal representation while in custody.

Hagop Chirinian, a non-citizen surfer, was released after being detained for four months following an accidental trespass onto Camp Pendleton beach. A federal judge ordered ICE to release him, ruling the agency violated its own protocols by detaining him despite knowing he could not be deported, as Lebanon refused to accept him. Chirinian had been living under an order of supervision with a work permit for nearly 30 years without additional convictions.

Rosa Barrera, an 18-year-old, began caring for her three younger siblings after ICE detained her parents at their workplace. She is fundraising for legal representation to help reunite with her parents, while also managing household bills and caring for her sister who has autism and requires medical support.

ICE agents approached and questioned a woman in a Walmart parking lot, asking if she was born in the United States, in an incident captured on video that circulated online. A Native American legal rights group alleged that the individual involved, identified as Jose Roberto Ramirez, was being retaliated against by ICE.

Armenian Interior Ministry spokesperson Narek Sargsyan confirmed that some Armenians who were deported from the United States were transported back to Armenia. According to Armenian journalist David Galstyan, the deportees were flown via charter jet from Texas to the east coast, then to Bucharest, and finally to Yerevan. The exact number of deportees was not specified.

Lorenzo Agustin Ramos, who entered the United States around 2010, was detained by ICE on January 27, 2026, without any warning, paperwork, or legitimate reason according to his petition. He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his immigration detention. The federal court granted his petition and ordered his immediate release, also restraining authorities from re-detaining him without proper notice and a pre-detention hearing.

U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff's investigation has uncovered over 1,000 credible reports of human rights abuses in immigration detention facilities. The investigation revealed abuse of pregnant women and children, medical neglect, and denial of adequate food or water for ICE detainees. Sen. Ossoff released a new report documenting patterns of these abuses as part of an ongoing probe into conditions in U.S. immigration detention.

Federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations raided multiple Zipps Sports Grill locations across Phoenix on January 27, 2026. As agents departed the 32nd Street and Shea Boulevard location, an agent pepper-sprayed approximately 50 protesters who were standing on the sidewalk and not impeding the vehicles. The protesters, including at least one person who fell to the ground in pain, had not been blocking the agents' departure.

The Department of Homeland Security filed court documents claiming that critical surveillance footage from ICE's Broadview detention center was never recorded, rather than lost as previously stated. The footage from October 20-31, 2025 was sought as evidence in a class action lawsuit by detainees alleging subhuman conditions including insufficient food and water, extreme temperatures, poor sanitation, and abusive officers. DHS also argues the footage would be irrelevant because conditions have since improved.

An ICE agent was recorded spraying pepper spray down a residential street. The agent was shouting while deploying the chemical in multiple directions. No identifiable threat or crowd was present at the time.

Fong Khang, a Cambodian immigrant, was pardoned by the Minnesota Board of Pardons on January 20 for convictions from nearly 20 years ago. Less than 24 hours later, ICE detained him, threatening his ability to remain in the United States. The article also describes the case of Sithy Yi, a Cambodian genocide survivor and refugee, who was detained by ICE after 10 years of compliance with immigration instructions.

A Chula Vista family of four was reunited after both parents, Reinaldo Chirino from Venezuela and Kris Estefany Pineda-Torregosa from Colombia, were released from ICE custody following more than two weeks of detention in late January. The parents were detained after dropping their children at school, leaving their two young sons in the care of a family friend. One parent was released after a judge granted bond, and the couple is now fighting their removal case while being monitored with ankle bracelets.

Jose Cruz Santos was unlawfully detained by ICE despite having no prior encounters with immigration authorities. A federal court ordered his release under the same conditions that existed prior to detention (no conditions), but ICE released him with monitoring and reporting requirements. The court voided the ICE order and prohibited any conditions on his release, criticizing the agency for knowingly disregarding the judicial order.

U.S. Army Captain Josie Guilbeau, a 17-year veteran and decorated Intelligence Officer, was arrested for peacefully protesting ICE outside Greg Bovino's hotel. The arrest occurred while she was protesting alongside community members using non-violent methods such as banging pots, blowing whistles, and honking horns.

Immigration agents attempted to detain landscapers in Downey, California, leading to a physical altercation that was captured on video. The landscapers resisted the detention, wrestling with the agents during the incident.

A 25-year-old US resident was detained by ICE agents during a traffic stop on the west side of San Antonio, just a block from his home. The agents initially claimed he was in the country illegally, but after running his fingerprints in custody, they determined he was a legal resident and released him. He suffered injuries including a head injury and pepper spray burns, and his three cousins were deported to Mexico the following day.

EWS | Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided a Foggy Bottom restaurant in a GW-owned building Wednesday afternoon, detaining and questioning several people, the University confirmed Friday. Officials said in a Federal Updates email Friday that agents detained “a number of individuals” from Circa, located across the street from the Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro stop, but did not specify how many and said they have no information suggesting any are affiliated with GW. Friday’s announcement followed a Thursday post by the Immigrant Liberation Coalition at GW, which alleged that ICE pulled between six and 15 people from the restaurant during the raid, detaining some and checking immigration papers of others. York Van Nixon IV, Circa at Foggy Bottom’s senior general manager, declined to comment on the raid or answer questions about the incident and the number of employees ICE detained. A spokesperson from Circa Bistros, which operates Circa at Foggy Bottom, did not immediately return a request for comment on the raid. A University spokesperson declined to comment on when the University learned of the raid, why officials did not issue a GW Alert and whether ICE contacted GW — which owns the building Circa operates in — ahead of the raid.

A group of detainees at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center filed a federal lawsuit alleging cruel and inhumane conditions, including denial of medical care, adequate nutrition, outdoor access, and excessive solitary confinement. Four named plaintiffs remain detained at the facility, and the lawsuit was filed by Public Counsel, CHIRLA, Immigrant Defenders Law Center, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.

A congresswoman faced criminal charges for visiting ICE detainees at a detention facility. The incident involved Congress members demanding the release of detainees, including Newark mayor Ras Baraka. The article examines the criminalization of congressional oversight of immigration detention practices.

ICE agents detained Mayra Vaca Latacunga, 25, a single mother from Ecuador, after stopping her car while she was getting groceries in Biddeford, Maine on Friday, January 24, 2026. The detention left her five-year-old daughter Keyli Camila Espin Vaca without a caretaker. Vaca Latacunga, who entered the U.S. two years ago fleeing domestic violence and works in Maine's seafood industry, has no criminal record. She was transferred to Massachusetts and held for several days before being released on Tuesday with an ankle monitor and reunited with her daughter.

A 22-year-old man's father was detained by Border Patrol on January 26th. The son is fundraising to cover his father's legal costs and living expenses.

Heidy Sánchez was separated from her one-year-old daughter during an immigration appointment when ICE agents took the child away while she was breastfeeding. Sánchez was subsequently deported to Cuba and remains separated from her daughter and American husband eight months later.

A Democratic state representative is demanding a public hearing regarding the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez by a federal ICE agent in South Padre Island, Texas. Authorities claim Martinez intentionally ran over an agent before being shot. There was an 11-month delay in revealing federal involvement. Rep. Ray Lopez invoked a House rule to demand transparency about the incident.

The Howard County Police Department confirmed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers removed a person from a vehicle near Route 175 and Tamar Drive in Columbia on Saturday morning. Police responded after receiving a 911 call and spoke with witnesses, but stated they had no additional information about the driver or the reason for the detention.

Federal immigration agents conducted a raid at a Home Depot in Downey, California on a Saturday, with video showing agents leaving as people ran through the area. Local authorities did not specify whether anyone was detained or why the store was targeted.

Mirian, a legally present resident of the United States who recently graduated from college, was followed by ICE from Westbrook to Scarborough, Maine. She was ordered to pull over during a traffic stop and was subsequently detained by ICE. Her family is seeking community support for her release.

ICE agents detained a father driving his two-year-old son to daycare in Shoreline, Washington. The child was left alone in the vehicle surrounded by armed agents for approximately 30 minutes while waiting for a family member to pick him up. Community volunteers arrived at the scene and documented the incident while supporting the child until a family friend arrived to take him to the father's workplace.

An Instagram post by california4vanessaguillen highlights the case of Deiver, a child in detention at the Dilley Center in Texas. The post calls for community members to contact their representatives and Congress to advocate for his release so he can return to school and participate in a spelling bee.

ICE conducted multiple enforcement operations in Tucson on Friday, January 23, 2026, arresting three Venezuelan asylum seekers in front of an elementary school and detaining employees at a restaurant. The operations also included briefly questioning a city worker. Officials expressed concern about the escalation.

A protester was arrested outside an Orlando ICE facility during a rally against mass deportation after placing their hand on a vehicle at the facility's entrance. Witnesses reported law enforcement tackled and arrested the protester. The demonstration was related to concerns over ICE's authority to enter homes without judicial warrants.

Francoise Makuiza, a 32-year-old asylum seeker, was arrested by ICE on Friday morning while leaving for work at an assisted living facility in Portland. According to her attorney, Makuiza has no criminal history in Maine, has lived there for over 12 years, is the mother of a U.S. citizen, and was previously granted refugee status by Colombia after fleeing genocide in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her detention is part of an ICE enforcement surge that has resulted in more than 200 arrests in Maine, including asylum seekers complying with immigration officials and immigrants married to U.S. citizens.

Texas Monthly taco editor José R. Ralat was pulled over three times while on assignment in West Texas, including once by ICE agents near Presidio. Ralat noted that he and his driver are both Hispanic and that all the officers who stopped them were also Hispanic.

Anthony Paredes, an 18-year-old deaf high school senior at Ramon Cortines School for Visual and Performing Arts, was detained by Department of Homeland Security immigration officers on January 24, 2026, during a protest outside a federal building in downtown Los Angeles. Officers chased and tackled Paredes after he did not respond to verbal commands; bystanders informed officers he was deaf, but he was taken into custody without a sign language interpreter provided. Paredes was held for several hours before being released and ordered to appear in court on April 1st. He alleged the officers used excessive force and took advantage of his disability.

A former ICE detention officer named David Courvelle pleaded guilty in federal court to sexually abusing a woman while she was in federal custody at an ICE facility in Louisiana over several months. Courvelle faces up to 15 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.

A protest broke out at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley when detainees, many of them children, chanted "Libertad" after guards ordered attorneys to leave. The demonstration was triggered by concerns over the treatment of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, who was taken into custody with his father in Minnesota and transferred to the facility. An immigration attorney present described the facility as operating with harsh conditions, including contaminated drinking water and meals containing debris.

On January 24, 2026, detainees at the South Texas Family Residential Centre in Dilley, Texas staged a coordinated protest, with women and children in color-coded jackets chanting "Let us go" and "Libertad." The facility, operated by ICE, holds approximately 1,200 people, roughly one-third of them children. The protest was reportedly triggered by the arrival of a five-year-old who was allegedly used as bait during a federal arrest in Minnesota.

A protest occurred Saturday at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley when detainees, including many children, demonstrated in solidarity with 5-year-old Liam Ramos who was taken into custody in Minnesota. Attorneys were ordered to leave the facility as approximately 80 percent of detainees poured into open areas chanting "Libertad" (Freedom). Detainees expressed concerns over the child's treatment and the circumstances of his apprehension from a car in his family's driveway.

ICE agents have been leaving cards on the vehicles of undocumented immigrants as an intimidation tactic, often containing messages implying threats of imminent deportation. These cards create severe anxiety and distress within immigrant communities, potentially violating legal protections. The article discusses the psychological impact, legal implications, and recommendations for those receiving such cards.

Two brothers, ages 17 and 16, from West Chicago traveled to Minneapolis to document U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. The brothers have been recording Border Patrol activities, including the use of tear gas and pepper spray, and uploading footage to a public Google Drive folder. They witnessed the aftermath of Alex Pretti's death on January 24, when Border Patrol agents shot and killed the VA nurse while he was recording them. The brothers also witnessed the death of Renee Macklin Good at the hands of federal agents. They describe the enforcement actions in Minneapolis compared to what they had previously witnessed in Chicago.

Maher Tarabishi was detained by ICE on October 28, 2024, while serving as the primary caregiver for his disabled son Wael, a 30-year-old with Pompe disease. Following his father's detention, Wael's condition deteriorated rapidly. Wael died in January 2026 after being hospitalized twice since his father's arrest. The family attributed Wael's death to the loss of his father's specialized care, which Maher had provided for 30 years. The family requested Maher's release to attend his son's funeral; ICE stated it had not received a formal request.

On January 24, 2026, ICE agents fired paintball-like projectiles at vehicles driven by citizen observers monitoring immigration enforcement activity in a Home Depot parking lot in South Portland, Maine. At least two to three vehicles were struck with sticky orange paint on windshields, bumpers, and car doors. The observers were filming the agents as they conducted enforcement operations. ICE agents warned the observers that they were impeding federal law enforcement and could face arrest. The incident occurred during a broader surge in ICE enforcement operations in Maine that began the week of January 20, 2026.

Hassan Hamka, a lawful permanent resident, has been held in ICE detention for over six months while his legal case proceeds. His daughter created a petition seeking community support and character testimonials to present to the judge at his trial.

Federal immigration enforcement agencies conducted multiple operations in Minnesota in January 2026 that resulted in the detention of at least four minors. ICE detained a 2-year-old girl and her father in Minneapolis on January 23, subsequently transferring them to Texas despite a court order for the child's release, and also detained a 5-year-old student from Columbia Heights School District and transferred him to a federal facility in Texas. CBP officers separately detained two teenagers in south Minneapolis in what witnesses described as a vehicle incident that resulted in the deployment of tear gas and pepper spray, with at least two bystanders arrested.

Cong Yin, a Chinese citizen who entered the U.S. without inspection in July 2023, was re-detained by ICE on January 23, 2026, when he appeared for a routine check-in. He had been living freely in Los Angeles under an Order of Release on Recognizance since 2023 and filed an asylum application based on fear of political persecution in China. The court ordered his immediate release, finding his re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated his due process rights.

Victor Manuel Diaz, a 34-year-old from Nicaragua, died at Camp East Montana detention center in El Paso, Texas, eight days after being detained by ICE in Minneapolis in January. ICE initially classified his death as a presumed suicide, though the official cause remains under investigation. His death is the third at the facility since it opened in August. Multiple Minnesota detainees have reported poor treatment, inadequate medical care, and overcrowding at the camp.

ICE agents detained Marcos Da Silva, a 32-year-old Brazilian contractor, during a traffic stop in Maine on Tuesday. Da Silva has a pending green card petition filed by his U.S. citizen wife Alex in 2024 and entered the country as an asylum seeker. He is currently being held at Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania with a court date scheduled for early February.

A 2-year-old girl and her father, both Ecuadorian nationals, were arrested by ICE in south Minneapolis and flown to Texas within hours, despite a federal judge's order to release the child. The judge issued an order at 8:11 p.m. Thursday to release the child by 9:30 p.m., but ICE placed them on a commercial flight to Texas at 8:30 p.m. The child was later returned to Minnesota and reunited with her mother on Friday.

Carlos Garcia Odón, a former mayor of Mérida, Venezuela who was removed from office in 2017 for opposing the Maduro government, was arrested by ICE on January 23 while living in Cincinnati since 2022. Odón has filed for asylum and his next immigration court date is scheduled for February 10.

A video from January 21, 2026 shows residents near Harbor and Orangethorpe in Fullerton confronting ICE agents and Fullerton Police during an immigration enforcement operation. The article also reports that ICE killed nurse Alex Pretti in Minnesota on January 23, 2026, with the family stating he was protecting a woman when attacked by ICE agents.

Federal immigration agents shot at people in their vehicles at least 15 times since July 2025 during Trump administration enforcement operations. In one case, Francisco Longoria's truck was shot at by agents in San Bernardino. Video evidence contradicted the government's claims of self-defense. Charges against Longoria were dropped after prosecutors stated no lawful basis for the stop existed and no evidence of injured officers was found. The shootings occurred in various jurisdictions, including Democratic-led sanctuary jurisdictions.