Human Impact Project

Michael "Sandy" Sims, 42, a Philadelphia man born in Ireland and raised in London, was deported to the United Kingdom after being arrested by ICE outside the San Jose airport while returning from a business trip in September. He was held at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield, California, and was removed days before an Oct. 8 bond hearing he and his wife had hoped would secure his release. His wife, Jennifer Sims, a U.S. citizen, said the couple had believed they were awaiting approval of a green card after filing a family petition following their 2017 marriage; DHS said Sims faced a domestic battery charge in Nevada, but neither Sims' wife nor his immigration lawyer could find any record of such a case, and a search of Nevada court records found none either. Friends and family started a GoFundMe campaign that had raised nearly $21,000 toward legal expenses as of Thursday.

Yasmany Moreno de Armas, a 31-year-old Cuban migrant who arrived in Florida by raft in September 2016 under the 'Wet Foot, Dry Foot' policy, ran a small trucking business hauling freight between Miami and Tampa and helped support his parents near Orlando. His later bid for a green card under the Cuban Adjustment Act was denied because it was filed after his parole had expired, and immigration officials arrested him in May 2025, holding him in ICE custody for about a year. He was deported to the Central African Republic in late July 2026 on a shackled, 21-hour flight, not learning his destination until nearly five hours in, and said, "We cannot leave, we don't have documents and we're suffering and missing our families." He manages asthma and diabetes and said the flight left him ill for days afterward. He was later kidnapped on a street in Bangui by armed men he believed were police officers, paying about $100 with another detainee to secure release. A month later he remained in Bangui without a passport, staying at a hotel he may be forced to leave within 90 days, alongside deportees from Ecuador, Honduras, Nepal, Russia and Vietnam, and said he fears returning to Cuba, where he was previously imprisoned for trying to flee the island. He said he would rather spend months in a U.S. detention center than remain stranded, and his lawyer told him U.S. officials may negotiate his return while his case continues.

Kwadwo, a 57-year-old respiratory therapist who has lived in Daly City for eight years, was arrested by a plainclothes ICE agent at his gate at San Francisco International Airport while waiting to board a domestic flight to visit his cousin in Dallas, who was recovering from a stroke. After clearing security, he was surrounded by officers who chained his feet, waist, and hands in the arrivals area near baggage claim in front of other travelers, before he was taken to a federal immigration building downtown and then transported through Stockton to the Golden State Annex detention center outside Bakersfield, where he has been held for more than two months. Kwadwo fled religious persecution as a Christian in Ghana at age 28, was granted asylum in South Africa, later earned a master's degree in respiratory care in the U.S., and was earning more than $166,000 a year supporting his family, including his son's graduate studies. His detention stems from an expired student visa; his green card application was rejected in June 2024, his first appeal was denied, and a second appeal filed in May 2025 remains pending. He filed a habeas corpus petition on his own behalf, but a judge denied his bond citing flight risk, and he is appealing while continuing to challenge his detention in immigration court. His son said the arrest has been a major financial and emotional stressor for the family, noting, "It feels like they're just trying to find people to fill up prisons."

Augusto Lopes Vemba, a 40-year-old asylum-seeker from Angola, was stopped by masked ICE agents in camouflage gear at the intersection of Acushnet Avenue and Sawyer Street in New Bedford on September 22, 2026. Witnesses and video footage showed him provide his information and attempt to leave before four agents chased him down, tackled him to the ground, and tased him at the neck for about 15 seconds while restraining his hands. Alicia Lopez Gonzalez, co-director of advocacy group Mujeres Victoriosas, witnessed the arrest and said the tactics appeared intended to traumatize the community, while nearby business owners described the scene as aggressive, with one saying she locked her shop door out of fear. Vemba was among roughly 40 people detained during a week of ICE operations in the city. On September 30, federal Judge Angel Kelley ordered the government to grant him a bond hearing within 10 days, a decision the U.S. Attorney's Office did not contest.

Aminata Seck, a 26-year-old graduate student and women's basketball player from Dakar, Senegal, at Kentucky State University, was detained by federal officers at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport on Aug. 7, 2026, as she prepared to travel with her team to a tournament. Her attorneys said she entered on a student visa in 2019 and never received notice of a September 2025 hearing that led to an in absentia removal order. Seck was moved among at least four detention facilities, suffered seizures requiring hospitalization, and needs surgery for an ACL injury and torn Achilles, with attorneys describing inconsistent medical care. By late September she was found hospitalized and appeared sedated, prompting her attorneys to file a motion to reopen her case and a habeas corpus petition in federal court. A Memphis immigration judge later reopened her case after finding she never received notice of the removal order, though she remained in custody, held in solitary confinement at Grayson County Detention Center. Kentucky State coach Amani Williams and Rep. Morgan McGarvey publicly supported her, with McGarvey saying, 'The Trump administration's cruelty knows no bounds but we will never let this become normal and we won't stop fighting for her.'

Lianyong Wei, a 51-year-old Chinese national who had lived in Saipan since entering the U.S. in 2019 on a two-week parole authorization, died in ICE custody at the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Corrections. Local police had arrested Wei on August 21, 2026, on criminal charges including an alleged attack on a family and assault with a dangerous weapon, and he was transferred to ICE custody the next day to face removal proceedings. He was found dead with a bedsheet tied to his bunk and around his neck, with reports differing on whether he was discovered unresponsive during a routine morning check less than a day after entering custody or two days later; resuscitation efforts at a hospital failed. It remains unclear whether he received a required medical intake screening. Corrections Commissioner Anthony Torres extended condolences to Wei's family and said the department is reviewing its procedures. His cause of death remains under investigation, and the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles has demanded a thorough inquiry, noting he is at least the fifth Chinese national to die in ICE or Border Patrol custody since March 2025. His death has been recorded among dozens of detainee deaths reported by ICE since 2025.

Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban migrant and father of four who suffered from asthma, bipolar disorder and anxiety, died on January 3, 2026, at Camp East Montana, an ICE detention facility at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, following a physical altercation with guards. Fellow detainee Antonio Frometa Ascón, who knew Campos from their time together at Guantánamo, said he watched guards beat and handcuff Campos as he begged for his inhaler before he was taken away and never returned; other witnesses heard him scream 'I can't breathe!' and 'You're suffocating me,' with his last words reportedly being 'I cannot breathe, may God bless me.' The El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide from asphyxia due to neck and torso compression, citing hemorrhages and abrasions on his chest and knees. DHS maintains Campos was attempting to harm himself and that guards were trying to save his life, while ICE's account of the incident changed multiple times. A federal GAO report found the facility's contractor failed to provide required use-of-force and death reports and that evidence was missing or destroyed. No one has been charged, and an ICE internal investigation is on hold pending an FBI criminal investigation. His death was among 37 detainee deaths in ICE custody reported since last fall, the deadliest year on record for the agency.

Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center and a U.S. citizen, was fatally shot by federal agents on January 24, 2026, while peacefully observing and filming a protest against Operation Metro Surge immigration enforcement in Minneapolis. Witnesses and bystander video showed agents shoving him, spraying him with a chemical agent, and beating him with a metal canister before an agent removed a gun from his hip holster and shot him ten times; footage contradicted federal authorities' initial claims of self-defense. Although Pretti was a legal firearm owner with a carry permit, he did not brandish a weapon or attack agents. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and other officials rejected the federal government's characterization of the shooting. Pretti's death, along with that of fellow protester Renee Good weeks earlier, was among at least 14 shooting incidents during the enforcement surge and led to the removal of ICE commander Gregory Bovino, the resignation of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, deployment of 'border czar' Tom Homan to Minnesota, and congressional scrutiny of use-of-force policies.

Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, mother of three, poet, and legal observer, was shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on January 7, 2026, while monitoring an immigration enforcement operation on Portland Avenue in south Minneapolis. Good had blocked the street with her Honda Pilot to warn neighbors of ICE's presence when Ross fired three shots as her car turned away from officers. Her wife, Becca, said they were simply warning neighbors. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and President Trump called her actions 'domestic terrorism,' but video evidence, a New York Times analysis, Human Rights Watch, and an independent autopsy found she posed no imminent threat. Protesters gathered at the ICE Field Office in St. Paul the following day, where agents responded with pepper balls, mace, and tear gas. Good's death, alongside that of fellow protester Alex Pretti, contributed to a shift in the administration's public enforcement approach; the administration blocked a federal criminal investigation, Noem was later fired, hundreds of federal agents were withdrawn from Minnesota, and Good's family filed a federal tort claim with her case presented at an Inter-American Commission on Human Rights hearing.

Musa Sheriff, a Liberian citizen who was admitted to the U.S. as a refugee in 1999, has been held since ICE arrested him on March 2, 2025 at a scheduled check-in, after facing deportation over a criminal threatening charge filed five years after his arrival. He is detained in the ICE section of the Federal Correctional Institution at Lewisburg, and in August filed a habeas petition arguing his prolonged 19-month detention violated his due process rights. U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew W. Brann ruled in his favor, finding his confinement conditions were indistinguishable from criminal punishment, and ordered the government to release him on his own recognizance or provide an individualized bond hearing by October 9.

Julian Curo-Churata, a 47-year-old man from Peru, died in ICE custody on September 29, 2026, at Ochsner LSU Health Monroe Medical Center in Monroe, Louisiana. He was arrested by ERO Baltimore during a targeted enforcement operation on June 27, 2026, and later transferred to ERO New Orleans custody, where he was held at Richwood Correctional Center. After being found in medical distress on September 28, he was taken to the hospital but was pronounced dead the following morning; the cause of death has not yet been determined. An immigration judge had denied his applications for relief and voluntary departure on September 18, 2026, and ICE notified his spouse, attorney, and the Consulate General of Peru following his death.

Mark Louis Santiago Mabasa, son of slain Filipino radio broadcaster Percy Lapid, was detained by US immigration authorities in Los Angeles, California. He is currently being held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, according to the ICE Online Detainee Locator System. His uncle, Roy Mabasa, confirmed the arrest but said the family has not yet received details about the reason for it. The family had been in the process of seeking political asylum in the United States after Lapid was ambushed and killed in the Philippines in October 2022.

ICE conducted a three-day operation called 'Operation Safe Community - Kansas' from September 22-24, 2026, arresting 104 people across Dodge City, Garden City, Liberal, Hutchinson, Larned, and other southwest Kansas communities without advance notice to local officials. Liberal Vice Mayor Janeth Vazquez witnessed agents detain a mother with a baby in her car, prompting a community volunteer to arrange for a family member to retrieve the child. Immigrant rights advocates said families of some detainees reported no criminal records, while the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Kansas named five arrestees with convictions including homicide, kidnapping, and sexual assault, and rejected claims the operation amounted to discriminatory 'sweeps.' Residents also reported dangerous driving by agents and racial profiling of U.S. citizens. The operation caused widespread fear, with 120 students absent from one elementary school, businesses closing for the week, and workers missing shifts at meat plants including National Beef and Cargill. Officials did not release a full roster of those arrested or disclose their detention locations.

An Iranian woman in her early 30s who fled Iran after converting to Christianity was detained by ICE and ultimately deported to the Central African Republic, a country she had never visited and that the U.S. government warns citizens to avoid due to violent crime and civil war. She entered the U.S. without authorization at the southern border in 2024 and had settled in Atlanta before being held at Stewart Detention Center in South Georgia. Speaking to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after learning of the planned deportation, she said, "I just started shaking. I was just so scared. I don't have anyone (over) there. I don't know the language, or anything." She was deported only three days after her arrest, one of the few Iranian nationals removed since fighting between the U.S. and Iran began, as deportations of Iranians have otherwise nearly halted because Iran and other countries have been unwilling to issue travel documents.

Elder Chavez Carranza, an 18-year-old junior at Asbury High School in Albertville, Alabama, was detained by ICE on December 30, 2025, after a state trooper stopped him for speeding and driving without a license and contacted immigration officials. Chavez Carranza, originally from Copan, Honduras, fled violence and poverty and entered the U.S. at age 14, later being granted Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, though a separate deferred-action and green card application remains unresolved. He is held at Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana, where he says he has lacked adequate food and dental care, works as a painter earning $1 per day, and shares a room with 54 other men. His sister and legal guardian, Maryuri Chavez Carranza, a former teacher, said he calls her daily and misses his teachers, friends, senior year activities, and the birth of his nephew. By September 2026 he had spent more than 200 days in detention, as advocates including Angela Del Valle organized vigils across three states and raised concerns about conditions at Winn, where two detainees had died in less than two months.

Salah Sarsour, 53, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee and a lawful permanent resident for over 32 years, was detained by ICE on March 30, 2026, after armed plainclothes agents pulled him over in unmarked vehicles near Milwaukee. He is married to a U.S. citizen, has six U.S. citizen children, and has no U.S. criminal record. DHS alleged he lied on his 1998 green card application by omitting convictions from an Israeli military court when he was a minor, which Sarsour says were coerced under torture, and also alleged he was suspected of funding terror organizations. He was held 80 days at Clay County Jail in Indiana, where his unmonitored diabetes worsened, he faced religious liberty restrictions and inadequate medical care, and lost over 30 pounds. His attorneys, including the Muslim Legal Fund of America, argued he was targeted for his Palestinian background and advocacy, noting authorities had known of his prior convictions for 25 years. On June 18, 2026, U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon ordered his release, finding ICE likely detained him in retaliation for his Palestinian rights advocacy. Despite this, an immigration judge later ruled in September that Sarsour can be deported under a cold-war era law, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio citing his activism as grounds for removal; his attorneys plan to continue fighting the case.

Ubaldo Marquez Calderon, 67, a longtime De Soto resident known for biking around town collecting aluminum cans and feeding stray cats, was detained by ICE on September 13 at a Casey's gas station near the local high school. He was held for nearly two weeks at the Midwest Regional Reception Center in Leavenworth, where his lawyer says he unknowingly signed a voluntary departure document and developed a urinary tract infection after being denied water. Calderon, who had lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years and had no criminal record, arrived in Mexico on Monday, with De Soto residents paying for his flight to Jalisco. Neighbors described him as a "staple in the community," with one resident's young daughter devastated by his absence.

ICE agents arrested Emilio Osorio-Osorio, a Guatemalan national, in Baltimore. The agency described him as having a criminal history including homicide and assault. Osorio-Osorio will remain in ICE custody while removal proceedings move forward.

A Venezuelan man identified only as Y was stopped by immigration officers at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport, who he said would not tell him why he was being arrested or accept his proof of a judicial order expressly prohibiting his deportation to Venezuela. Four days later he was placed on a deportation flight to Venezuela, but was deboarded just before takeoff after ICE officers admitted they may have made a mistake.

ICE's Dallas field office conducted a summer-long enforcement operation around Lake Lewisville, Texas, running from June 27 through Labor Day weekend, resulting in 121 arrests. The operation was carried out with state and local partners, including the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, U.S. Marshals Service and Lewisville Police Department, allowing local agencies to focus on boating safety enforcement while also supporting investigations into an alleged illegal livery operation on the lake. Officials said those arrested were unlawfully present foreign nationals, many with prior criminal records including assault, theft, burglary, DWI, evading arrest, family violence, criminal mischief and sexual assault of a child, and that two were alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang. During one arrest, officers said they found a 13-year-old girl in a vehicle with Diego Gomez Hernandez, 22, a Mexican national; her legal guardian was contacted and Lewisville police opened a follow-up investigation under Texas law.