Human Impact Project

Federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations conducted a predawn search of Rep. Ilhan Omar's Washington, D.C.-area home, with a neighbor reporting being awakened by loud banging around 4:30 a.m. Agents seized Omar's cellphone and other items as evidence, and investigators issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas to her family members, including her sister. The probe, involving HSI, the U.S. attorney in Minneapolis, and the Justice Department, examines whether Omar's family misstated her age when she arrived as a 12-year-old Somali refugee in 1995 before she was naturalized as a citizen through paperwork filed by her late father; investigators have also looked into unsubstantiated claims she married a man accused of being her brother for citizenship purposes. Omar said 'I'm ok' and her office called the search an 'outrageous abuse of power' and evidence of the 'weaponisation of federal law enforcement to target political enemies.' Democratic leaders including Hakeem Jeffries and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz condemned the raid as politically motivated, while President Trump denied involvement but publicly disparaged her Somali origins at a rally. The investigation comes amid a broader Trump administration denaturalization campaign that has filed at least 164 cases, which the ACLU has criticized as targeting 'Black and Brown citizens.' No charges have been filed.

On Thursday, Oct. 15, immigration agents were present at probation hearings in Teton County, Idaho, and took into custody people who were reporting for randomized drug testing or routine check-ins. County Administrator Billie Siddoway said Teton County probation officers did not detain or arrest anyone as part of the federal operation, noting the county has no formal enforcement agreement with the Department of Homeland Security but cannot obstruct federal agents carrying out their duties.

Monica Ryadi, a 30-year-old registered nurse at Riddle Hospital with Main Line Health in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, was detained by plainclothes ICE agents at Los Angeles International Airport on September 15, 2026, while traveling with her husband and 3-year-old son, both U.S. citizens, for a Disneyland vacation, with her son witnessing her being handcuffed. Ryadi fled religious persecution in Indonesia with her family at age 9 and came to the U.S. legally, later receiving a 2010 immigration judge's order granting her withholding of removal that her attorney says protects her from deportation, despite DHS's claim she is subject to a final removal order. She was held for about two weeks at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, where she was told she could be sent to a third country, before a federal magistrate judge ordered her release on September 29 under GPS ankle monitoring. She completed her first ICE check-in in Philadelphia surrounded by about 20 supporters, including friends, family, clergy, and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, saying, 'This is my home. I built a life here.' Ryadi is now seeking to have her ankle monitor removed, citing the burden it places on her nursing work, and says she fears being separated from her husband and son again.

Alfredo Rueda, a U.S.-born Latino man, was detained by ICE while walking as his autistic son watched. A video of the encounter went viral online. Rueda said he remains traumatized by the experience.

Luis Baltazar-Martinez, a truck driver and father of six who was brought to the U.S. from Mexico at age 2, has been held for more than a month at the Butler County Jail on an ICE hold after being pulled over while driving in Ohio. His wife, Ali Baltazar-Martinez, says he holds a work permit valid until 2029 and that the couple has been pursuing his green card through an I-130 petition since marrying in 2018. The family, who live in Monroeville, Indiana, make a weekly two-and-a-half-hour drive to visit him for 30 minutes, and Ali says their four young children struggle with his absence and fear he could be deported to a country where he has no remaining ties.

German Machado Guillen, a Venezuelan IT technician at SUNY Brockport, was detained by ICE agents outside his family's home in Batavia, New York as he left for work. His wife, journalist Maria Velázquez, said the couple fled Venezuela in 2016 after she was threatened and assaulted for her reporting, and that they applied for asylum that year, with a decision still pending and Machado listed as a dependent. The couple said they own a home, work, and pay taxes, and that Machado holds a valid Employment Authorization Document valid until 2029. ICE and DHS said he overstayed a 2016 visitor visa and lacked legal immigration status, noting that work authorization alone does not confer legal status. He is being held at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility pending removal proceedings, and his union, United University Professions, demanded his release and planned a rally in his support at SUNY Brockport.

A mother identified as Patricia was detained by ICE agents during a vehicle stop in North Austin, Texas, after dropping off her child near a school bus stop. A witness livestreaming the arrest said the woman was crying and worried no one would be able to pick up her children, and was able to reach her husband, who watched the arrest unfold on the broadcast. Video shared by the child's father, Leonardo Pelaez, showed the boy crying nearby as vehicles with flashing lights idled, though he said the mother stayed with the child until the bus arrived. Austin Mayor Pro Tem Jose "Chito" Vela publicized the footage, calling the arrest "evil" and saying a school bus stop was an inappropriate location for enforcement. ICE said it released the woman about 10 minutes after learning she was the sole caregiver of minor children, though it disputed that any children were present during the stop or linked to the crying child; Vela's office later confirmed the child was safe with family. The family reportedly had a missed immigration appointment months earlier, though no official confirmation was given that this caused the arrest, and no details on the woman's immigration status were provided.

ICE agents raided multiple housing construction sites in Santa Fe, arresting at least seven workers, with video showing agents taking men into custody. Agents reportedly staged at nearby Romero Park before conducting raids at three or four sites, which were captured on video by a local activist along Agua Fria Road. A local builder said ICE visited multiple construction sites across the city as part of a broader immigration enforcement surge targeting the construction industry. The New Mexico Home Builders Association and community members expressed concern about the emotional and economic impact on immigrant workers and their families, noting more than 30 percent of the state's construction workforce is foreign-born. U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez said ICE has also been seen at schools and places of worship and criticized the agency for targeting construction workers. ICE separately announced it had arrested 237 people in New Mexico but did not specify locations or confirm whether the Santa Fe arrests were part of that total.

Harrison, New Jersey officials are demanding answers after ICE arrested Jhon Maykel Correa Sangucho, a migrant from Honduras, in front of his children. A video of the arrest has sparked outrage on social media.

Pilar, a Peruvian woman, told immigration attorney Migladys Bermudez that she had tried to escape an abusive boyfriend and had used makeup to cover marks he left on her face, but he accused her of being the abuser, leading to her arrest. She was detained at the North Lake Processing Center in west Michigan, where charges against her were dropped or never filed. While detained, she connected with other immigrant domestic violence victims, passing around a tablet so others could seek legal help.

Noelia Bautista and Cipriano Lopez, who had lived in Fresno for more than two decades working as a landscaper and house cleaner, were detained by ICE agents while on their way to work Monday morning amid an enforcement surge across California's Central Valley. Their son Gary Lopez said he and his oldest sister rushed from Oakland to Fresno after their father called telling them to come back, and the two older siblings are now caring for their two younger siblings. Gary described the shift from being a student to becoming the sole provider for his younger siblings as difficult. The family set up a GoFundMe to cover legal fees and visitation costs and contends their parents were racially profiled. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the couple had 'illegally entered the U.S. at unknown times and places,' would receive due process before immigration judges, and called the racial profiling allegations 'disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE.'

Leya, a recent immigrant from Cuba with a pending immigration case, said her boyfriend repeatedly abused her, including punching her in the face and isolating her from friends and family. In April, after police responded to an argument at their apartment complex in Wyoming, Michigan, officers arrested Leya rather than her boyfriend on suspicion of domestic assault and interfering with a 911 call. She was later detained at North Lake Processing Center and separated from her nursing daughter, who she said stopped calling her 'Mamá' during video visits.

Prudencio Rivera Rios, 31, a farmworker who entered the U.S. in 2023 through the CBP One asylum process, was followed by an unmarked truck with Texas plates while driving home from a night shift at a poultry farm near Kerman. After he pulled over, agents told him he had a deportation order and that his work permit did not authorize him to live in the U.S.; when he refused to unlock his doors, they smashed his rear window, pulled him out, forced him to the ground, and handcuffed him. Rivera livestreamed part of the encounter on Facebook, showing agents his work authorization card and telling them in Spanish that his papers were in order. He was taken to the ICE office in Fresno, where agents later confirmed his documents were valid and he had no criminal record, and released without apology. His wife, Marisol Montiel, said she learned of the stop through his livestream and feared raising their two children alone if he were deported. Rivera, who checks in with ICE monthly and has an asylum appointment scheduled for next year, said the experience left him afraid to return to work.

Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican construction worker and father, was shot in the neck by a plainclothes ICE agent in the Marble Hill section of the Bronx on October 8, 2026, while attempting to flee an arrest with his 5-year-old son in the backseat after picking the boy up from school. Surveillance footage showed masked agents in construction vests approaching with guns drawn; ICE claims Belgal's vehicle struck agents and government vehicles, which he disputes. A bystander, Iris Rosa, ran to help him and said he told her he thought he was dying; his son was unharmed. Belgal was hospitalized and later transferred to a private ICE facility in New Jersey before being booked into solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where a bullet remains lodged in his neck and his attorneys say he has received inadequate medical care. His lawyers filed a federal habeas corpus petition, later amended to allege ICE lacked a valid arrest warrant, after which a judge barred his deportation or transfer. Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the shooting an 'outrage' and said he negotiated with President Trump and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin for Belgal's release, while Gov. Kathy Hochul demanded an accounting and Rep. Adriano Espaillat said he was blocked from visiting Belgal in the hospital. Protests occurred outside the hospital and in the neighborhood, with some clashes between police and demonstrators.

Federal immigration agents, at least one wearing a vest reading 'POLICE ICE', pursued a man's car into a parking lot near Woodland Park and KapKa Cooperative Elementary School during morning drop-off. Masked agents in unmarked, unplated vehicles pounded on the man's windows demanding identification, then smashed the driver-side window and forcibly removed and handcuffed him before driving him away. School staff diverted families to an alternate entrance and blocked agents from the school gates; officials said the man had no connection to the school or church whose parking lot was used, and the reason for his detention was unclear.

Sukhdev Singh, a commercial truck driver, critically injured a pedestrian in a March crash in Indianapolis. ICE publicized his arrest as part of its broader crackdown on immigrant truckers and sent him to the Hopkins County jail in Kentucky. His case was among several crashes cited by Indiana's Republican-led legislature as justification for tightening licensing restrictions on immigrant commercial truck drivers.

A Haitian truck driver said he was pulled over by police in Indiana in June while heading to Ohio for a delivery, after an officer cited a missing trailer reflector that he said he actually had. He said he produced all the documents the officer requested but was still arrested and taken to an immigration detention facility without explanation. His case was among dozens reviewed by reporters in which commercial truckers were stopped by police and then handed over to ICE.

In June, video footage showed an ICE agent dragging a U.S. citizen by her arms along the floor of the San Luis Obispo County Jail lobby to move her out of his way, according to rapid responder Jennifer Guernsey, who described agents at the jail as frequently 'get[ting] real aggressive.'

Prisciliano Trejo, 29, died from acute leukemia days after Jesus Manuel Arenas Silva's death in ICE custody. His family said detention officials delayed urgent medical treatment despite his repeated complaints of severe symptoms.

Jose Chajon-Raxon, a man detained at Delaney Hall, experienced a seizure and was transported to the hospital around the time of a July congressional hearing on conditions at the facility. ICE granted him a temporary medical release before he died, and because he was technically no longer in detention, his death was not counted as a death in ICE custody.