Human Impact Project

A judge dismissed the deportation case of Narciso Barranco, an Orange County landscaper and father of three U.S. Marines, who was detained by Border Patrol agents in June 2025. Video showed agents pinning him to the ground and punching him during the detention in Santa Ana. The judge ruled Barranco is eligible for lawful status due to his three sons serving in the military, and his attorney is now working to secure permanent residency and a work permit.

Maria Antonia Guerra Montoya, a 9-year-old Colombian girl, was detained at Miami International Airport on October 2 while traveling alone to reunite with her mother for a planned Disney World Halloween vacation. She and her mother were held for 42 hours at the airport before being transferred to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas, where they spent nearly four months in detention despite the mother applying for a green card and the child having a valid tourist visa.

Ofelia Torres, a 16-year-old U.S. citizen from Chicago, died from metastatic alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma on February 13, 2026. Her father, Ruben Torres-Maldonado, an undocumented immigrant, was detained by ICE agents during the Trump administration's 'Operation Midway Blitz' immigration enforcement initiative. In October 2025, Ofelia posted social media videos calling for her father's release from custody. Three days before her death, an immigration judge ruled that Torres-Maldonado was entitled to cancellation of removal based on the hardship his deportation would cause his U.S. citizen children.

The Department of Homeland Security expanded its use of undercover techniques to infiltrate social media, introducing a new program called "masked engagement" that allows over 6,500 federal agents to assume false identities and interact with users in private groups. The policy permits officers to friend users, join closed groups, and access private postings without the rigorous legal oversight required for formal undercover operations.

Three U.S. citizens—George Retes from California, Aliya Rahman from Minnesota, and Gina Christ from Minnesota—report being detained by ICE and CBP agents during immigration enforcement operations. The incidents involved physical force, pepper spray, flashbangs, and prolonged detention without proper legal procedures, with charges ultimately not filed against any of them.

Terez Metry, a 28-year-old dental assistant with no criminal record, was detained by ICE in Alabama immediately after receiving I-130 approval during a routine immigration interview at a Department of Homeland Security office in Nashville. Metry, who had fled Egypt as a teenager at age 13 and received a removal order at that time, was separated from her U.S. citizen husband Dominique Flemister during the interview. Metry had been living and working in Nashville since 2018 and the couple believed they were following proper legal procedures for her immigration case.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel ordered ICE to dramatically revamp conditions at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, where detainees had been denied attorney access, rapidly transferred out of state without notice, and pressured to sign self-deportation papers without legal counsel. The court found ICE likely violated detainees's constitutional rights and ordered: detainees must receive their A-number within one hour of arrival, must have confidential phone access, cannot be transferred for the first 72 hours, and attorneys must have in-person access seven days per week. One detainee had access to only two flip phones shared among 72 people in a single holding cell. ICE agents arrested Jesus Emmanuel Flores-Aguilar after disguising themselves as women with car trouble to lure him from his Minnesota home. The family claims the agents used deception to trick Flores into coming outside, where he was surrounded by additional ICE vehicles and arrested. DHS stated Flores was a previously deported individual with gang affiliations, while his family emphasized he is a hardworking father supporting six U.S. citizen children.

Despite border czar Tom Homan's announcement that Operation Metro Surge would end on February 12, Minnesota residents and officials report ICE continues operations in Twin Cities suburbs. Agents are using disguised vehicles, smaller groups, plain clothes, and deceptive practices including posing as environmental canvassers. Community observers document ICE presence at hotels, bus stops, apartment complexes, and interactions with those documenting enforcement activities.

Leonel Eduardo Lopez Ramos, who entered the United States in July 2017 and worked in the pipeline industry for five years, was detained by ICE on February 12, 2026. The petitioner is the father of a U.S. citizen residing in Florida and had previously been in removal proceedings that were closed in January 2024. The federal court granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release, finding that his detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(1) was improper since he had been continuously present in the U.S. for more than two years.

An immigration enforcement raid in Idaho resulted in the use of zip ties on detainees, according to NBC News. An ACLU lawsuit has been filed against ICE in relation to the incident.

Two ICE agents have been suspended and are facing a criminal investigation for allegedly lying to a jury about the shooting of Venezuelan immigrant Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis during a traffic stop on January 14. The officers claimed Sosa-Celis and his cousin attacked them with a snow shovel and broom, but video evidence contradicts this. A federal judge dismissed felony assault charges against the cousins after the U.S. attorney acknowledged the officers made false statements under oath.

Mauro Yosueth Henriquez, 18, an HISD senior soccer team captain, was detained by ICE on December 16, 2025, during a routine check-in with his father. He was held at Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe and later transferred to a federal detention facility on February 12, 2026. His detention prompted Houston students to march in protest, calling for his release so he could graduate with his class. Elected officials also responded to the case. Henriquez was subsequently deported to Honduras.

ICE agents rammed a parked car containing a Minneapolis resident and her husband. The husband, a Hispanic U.S. citizen, was intensely questioned by ICE agents and asked to provide citizenship paperwork. After the incident, a police report was filed and authorities discovered that one of the ICE vehicles' license plates could not be located in police systems.

At least 32 children entered foster care over the past year after their parents were detained or deported by ICE, officials in seven states told NOTUS — including four toddlers in Vermont, ten children in Kansas, and nine in Maryland. Advocates note this may be an undercount since no federal dataset tracks family separations caused by immigration enforcement, and some states worry that collecting the data could expose families to further risk. More than 71,000 people are in ICE detention.

Two Colombian girls, including 9-year-old María Antonia Guerra Montoya, were detained for over 113 days at an ICE family detention center in Dilley, Texas. María Antonia had traveled from Colombia to visit her mother in the United States. Letters written by detained children reveal harsh conditions and homesickness. Both the girl and her mother were eventually released and returned to Colombia.

A POLITICO review of hundreds of cases reveals ICE's pattern of noncompliance with court orders to release detainees, causing frustration among federal judges nationwide. Judges report that even when ICE complies with release orders, it frequently delays compliance for days or weeks, sometimes releases detainees without their belongings or documents, and in some cases has deported people in violation of court orders. Federal judges from multiple states have issued pointed rulings criticizing ICE's conduct as illegal and unconstitutional.

An ICE officer fired a weapon during a targeted enforcement operation in Roxbury when the arrest subject, Jesus Fabian Lopez-Banegas, rammed a law enforcement vehicle and attempted to run over an officer. The officer shot out the vehicle's tires to stop the threat. No injuries were reported and the subject was taken into custody. The state attorney general's office is investigating the incident.

Body camera footage and text messages released by the U.S. attorney's office reveal details of a shooting incident in which Border Patrol agent Charles Exum shot Marimar Martinez five times in Chicago. Martinez was accused of using her car to assault federal law enforcement, but the case against her was dismissed in November. Evidence shows Exum was not wearing his body camera during the incident, though footage from another agent captures the moments leading up to and following the shooting. Border Patrol agents have carried out more arrests than ICE in the Chicago area under the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign. Since September 16, CBP recorded roughly 1,500 arrests compared to over 1,400 by ICE in the region. The Trump administration has expanded Border Patrol's traditional border enforcement role to conduct interior immigration enforcement operations in major cities across the country, led by Border Patrol sector chief Gregory Bovino. Border Patrol agents shot a woman in Chicago during an encounter with immigration personnel. The incident occurred as protesters confronted immigration enforcement officers at the scene. Details about the circumstances of the shooting and the woman's condition were not provided in the available text.

U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney ordered ICE to provide constitutionally adequate healthcare, legal representation access, temperature-appropriate clothing, and daily outdoor recreation at the California City Detention Facility, the largest immigration jail in California. The ruling came in response to a class-action lawsuit filed by detainees in November alleging medical neglect and unsanitary living conditions, with specific cases including a man with a heart condition denied cardiology care and another with suspected prostate cancer whose biopsy was missed. Judge Chesney appointed an external monitor to oversee compliance through medical record reviews and on-site inspections.

A 9-year-old Colombian girl named Maria Antonia was detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Centre in Texas for 113 days, far exceeding the 20-day legal limit for minors under the Flores Settlement Agreement. She wrote letters describing being used as 'bait' to detain her mother, fainting twice in custody, and missing school. Her case is part of a larger pattern documented by ProPublica showing dozens of children at Dilley held well beyond legal limits, with reports of inadequate medical care and disease outbreaks. Gael, a 5-year-old nonverbal boy from Colombia with significant developmental delays, was detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas along with his parents, who were asylum-seekers. The family was arrested during an immigration check-in on March 3 in El Paso. During his three weeks in custody, Gael's physical and emotional health deteriorated, manifesting in gagging on food, gastrointestinal issues including constipation lasting over a week, and self-harm behaviors. His attorney requested his release on medical grounds, and he was subsequently released from custody following a video call with children's entertainer Ms. Rachel.

On February 9, 2026, ICE agents conducted a raid at a home in Lower Providence Township, Pennsylvania, targeting a man later identified as Jose Lopez (also referenced as Jose Cordova-Lopez), 26, a Mexican national with an expired visa. Agents arrived in unmarked vehicles and civilian clothes, forced entry by breaking down the door, and injured a woman during the operation. The woman, identified as Lupe Lopez, reported being hit in the head by an officer. Children in the home were left shaken by the incident. State Rep. Joe Webster described the operation as chaotic and stated agents did not initially have a warrant. Lopez was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and ramming an ICE vehicle. Following the raid, neighbors provided assistance with door repairs and supplies, and family members called for an independent investigation into the use of force.

Jimmy Paz, a Georgia man with a valid work permit and no criminal record, was detained by ICE agents during a traffic stop in January despite presenting valid identification documents. Paz, who has lived in the U.S. for 21 years and was approved for temporary protected status in 2022, is being held at the ICE Processing Center in Folkston. His family expresses concern about his health, as he had a heart transplant four years ago, and hopes he will be released to continue his asylum process outside of custody.

A teenage girl who entered the United States as a refugee was arrested and detained overnight by ICE agents in a hotel room. According to her allegations, immigration authorities separated her from her family and forced her to share a room with federal agents during the detention.

An Instagram post from mnhousedfl claims that ICE is detaining Minnesotans without cause and subjecting them to inhumane conditions at a detention facility in the Whipple Building. The post calls for the closure of the detention camp and for ICE to leave.

Becky Ringstrom, a 42-year-old mother of seven, was arrested by ICE agents in suburban Minneapolis after following federal immigration officers in her vehicle. She was charged under federal law for impeding law enforcement and her information was added to a government database. The Trump administration has prosecuted at least 533 people under this charge across the U.S. since city-focused immigration enforcement began last summer.

Seamus Culleton, an Irish national who has lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years, was detained by ICE in 2025 despite holding a valid work permit and having a pending green card application as the spouse of an American citizen. Culleton entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2009 and overstayed; DHS confirmed his arrest on September 9, 2025. He was held at El Paso Camp East Montana in Texas and reported poor detention conditions including inadequate food, lack of outdoor time, and unsanitary facilities. After five months in custody, he was unable to attend a critical green card interview. Culleton has no criminal record and claims to have been pursuing legal permanent residency.

Douglas Dixon, a 61-year-old Canadian green card holder who had lived in Florida for over 20 years, was arrested by ICE on February 10, 2026, while checking in with his probation officer. He had pleaded no contest to tax evasion in 2022 and still owed approximately $12,000 in unpaid taxes from his closed smoothie shop. Dixon was detained at the facility known as "Alligator Alcatraz" and later transferred to another facility, where he was denied bond and ordered deported to Canada with a lifetime ban on re-entry.

Martin Romero was deported to Mexico while dealing with multiple serious health conditions including lupus vasculitis, hypertension, anemia, and kidney failure requiring dialysis every other day. His daughter created a fundraiser to help cover the costs of his medical treatment, medications, specialist visits, and transportation to dialysis appointments in Mexico, as the family struggles with overwhelming medical expenses.

Medina County commissioners tabled a proposed resolution that would limit law enforcement cooperation with ICE to cases involving criminal activity or judicial warrants. The measure drew heated public comment, with multiple residents opposing ICE enforcement cooperation while one speaker supported it. The sheriff indicated he has no ICE prisoners and no intention of entering a contract.

High school students in Clovis, California walked out of class on February 10, 2026 in response to Trump administration immigration enforcement. The action followed the death of an ICU nurse during an immigration raid. The Clovis Police Department announced it was investigating up to six adults, including Fresno Resistance co-founder Alfred Aldrete, for potentially violating state law by inducing student truancy, though no arrests or charges have been filed. The LAPD also issued similar warnings to adults in Los Angeles who helped organize school walkouts, but only Clovis publicly named its investigation.

On February 9-10, 2026, ICE agents conducted an enforcement operation in Lower Providence Township/Trooper area of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, to apprehend Jose Manuel Cordova Lopez, a Mexican citizen who overstayed his H-2A visa. The operation involved over 20 unmarked vehicles and masked federal agents who pursued Cordova Lopez to a residential home, broke down doors, and detained him while two minors and other family members were present. Elected officials commented on reports that an ICE agent assaulted a family member, broken doors caused distress to children and families, and the operation disrupted the neighborhood and prevented school bus pickup.

Federal Border Patrol and Homeland Security agents took Jose Cordova-Lopez into custody after a hours-long operation at a home in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Cordova-Lopez, a Mexican national with no legal status, was wanted in connection with immigration proceedings and allegedly resisting an ICE officer's attempted traffic stop. Family members reported that agents broke down the door and used force, with claims that one family member was hit in the face. Children were present during the operation.

Google provided ICE with personal and financial information about Amandla Thomas-Johnson, a British doctoral student and journalist at Cornell University, in response to an administrative subpoena that had not been approved by a judge. Thomas-Johnson's data, including addresses, phone numbers, credit card and bank account numbers, was turned over approximately 90 minutes after his student visa was revoked. Thomas-Johnson subsequently left the United States for Canada and later Switzerland.

Teenage brothers Ben and Sam Luhmann, legal observers from Chicago, documented federal immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota and Illinois for months. They witnessed ICE raids including one in Shakopee where agents arrested someone in front of his children, and say their observations contradicted DHS public statements. The brothers compared the scale and tactics of operations between the two states, noting Minnesota had significantly more agents deployed.

Owen Ramsingh, a Columbia resident, was detained by ICE in September and deported to the Netherlands in early February after a judge ordered his deportation for drug possession charges from his youth. Ramsingh had been detained for several months while his wife and daughter remained in the United States.

Sergei Izbitski, who has lived in the United States for 34 years, was detained by ICE on June 9 at the Torrance County Detention Facility in New Mexico. Unable to be deported because he is not a citizen of any country willing to accept him, Izbitski is among over 100 individuals held indefinitely in New Mexico detention facilities. His case involves legal challenges to the Trump administration's interpretation of immigration law that subjects long-term non-citizen residents to mandatory detention without bond hearings.

Owen Ramsingh, a long-time Columbia resident and green card holder, was detained by ICE in September 2025 after returning to the U.S. through Chicago's O'Hare Airport. He was held for four and a half months across multiple detention facilities, including Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas. Ramsingh was deported to the Netherlands in February 2026 due to a drug possession charge from his teenage years, and is now separated from his wife and daughter who are applying for visas to join him.

Owen Ramsingh, a Columbia resident and lawful permanent resident (green card holder), was detained by border patrol at Chicago's O'Hare Airport in September 2025 after returning from visiting his father in the Netherlands. ICE cited a cocaine possession charge from his teenage years. After spending four and a half months detained at facilities in Chicago, Texas, and New Mexico, Ramsingh was deported to the Netherlands on February 8, 2026, and banned from the United States for 8-10 years.

Following an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis that resulted in multiple detentions and two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by federal agents in January, families remain in hiding. An 11-year-old girl's mother from Ecuador was detained and transferred to a Texas facility before being returned to Minneapolis. Schools report 100 students learning remotely. Community activists and legal observers are organizing to monitor and document federal enforcement actions, with over 400 people attending training sessions.

Children detained at the Dilley family detention center in South Texas have been held in poor conditions including inadequate medical care, contaminated food, overcrowded spaces, and limited legal access. The facility, which reopened for family detentions under the Trump administration, has held over 3,500 detainees since reopening, with more than 1,700 children. Approximately 300 children have been detained beyond the legal 20-day limit. Individual cases documented by immigration attorneys include 5-year-old twins held for 8 months and a young girl who attempted suicide after immigration judges denied bond requests. Advocacy groups, journalists, and ProPublica have documented conditions through interviews, letters, and detention drawings created by children at the facility.

Owen Ramsingh, a Netherlands native who held a U.S. green card for over 40 years, was deported after being detained by ICE since September 2025 based on decades-old drug convictions from 1997 and 2011. He was released on February 7, 2026, and received a lifetime ban from the United States, preventing him from visiting his daughter's gravesite. His wife and daughter relocated to the Netherlands to join him as he begins starting over in his birth country.

A U.S. citizen and Latina woman named Maria was stopped by ICE agents on a Salem street, during which officers broke her car window and pulled her from the vehicle. After discovering her passport, agents left. Maria sustained a concussion, torn rotator cuff, and bruised ribs from the incident.

A group of more than 30 Hispanic Texans filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of Texas challenging ICE practices that detain U.S. citizens and require proof of citizenship for release. The lawsuit alleges that immigration authorities violate constitutional protections against unreasonable arrests and due process rights. The complaint references a January 9 ICE raid in Donna, Texas, where agents allegedly detained U.S. citizens at gunpoint without a judicial warrant.

ICE agents detained a father outside Mayra's Spanish Preschool and Daycare in Boise on Friday, February 6, 2026, after he dropped off his child. Multiple ICE agents using unmarked vehicles and wearing masks conducted the detention without providing a warrant and prevented the man from leaving. According to court records, the man had a misdemeanor theft charge from 2024 but no active cases or warrants at the time of his detention.

Three men from Greenport—Alexandro Rivera Magaña, Martir Zambrano Diaz, and Hugo Leonel Ardon Osorio—were detained by ICE agents on February 3-4, 2026. All three had lived in the community for approximately 20 years with no criminal backgrounds. Rivera Magaña and Zambrano Diaz worked at Pindar Vineyards, while Ardon Osorio was employed by Marcello Masonry. Two of the men were primary breadwinners with dependent children. ICE stated the operation targeted a convicted felon but did not identify which individual. A habeas corpus petition filed for Zambrano Diaz challenged ICE's account of his immigration history and criminal record. Community members and advocacy groups organized fundraising and a protest to support the affected families.

An 18-month-old girl named Amalia was hospitalized with respiratory failure and multiple infections including pneumonia, COVID-19, and RSV while detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas. After 10 days of intensive care treatment, she was returned to detention where medical staff allegedly denied her prescribed medications and breathing treatments, forcing her parents to wait in daily lines to request care. The child remained in custody for nine additional days until her attorneys filed an emergency habeas corpus petition in federal court, resulting in the family's release.

A 7-year-old girl and her parents from Venezuela were detained by immigration agents outside a Portland hospital emergency department on January 16 while seeking emergency medical care for the child's prolonged nosebleed. U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter secured their release after the family's arrest.

According to an immigration coalition post, ICE denied asthma inhalers to a 12-year-old child for 9 days while claiming it was pending medical review. The child experienced an asthma attack during lights-out and was found unresponsive on the floor by guards at 6 AM.

Detainees at Otay Mesa Detention Center threw notes in bottles over facility fences to communicate allegations of poor conditions, including inadequate food, constant sickness, and indefinite detention without court hearings. Organizers collected the bottles containing written messages along with items like lotion bottles, deodorant bottles, and batteries. Rep. Juan Vargas attempted to inspect the facility to investigate the allegations but was denied entry by officials who cited ICE authority. Detainees' written messages referenced conditions including alleged use of small cages for discipline and inadequate medical care at the detention center.

Javier Ubreu, a legal immigrant and kidney transplant recipient, was arrested by federal agents in Rochester, Minnesota and taken to the Whipple Building. When DFL State Rep. Kim Hicks attempted to deliver his transplant medication, federal authorities denied it. Ubreu was reportedly transferred to a facility in Texas without his required medications. Four days after his arrest, his wife reported he still had not received the immunosuppressant drugs necessary to prevent his body from rejecting the transplanted kidney.