Human Impact Project

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.

Yessica Rivera Sanchez, who had lived in Las Vegas for over two decades, was detained by ICE agents at Honolulu airport on December 18 as she exited a plane during a family vacation. Her daughter Jessivet Sanchez, who turned 21 in September and had just filed an I-130 family petition on her behalf, was present when her mother was taken into custody without prior warning. Although Sanchez had attempted to pursue legal status through a 2003 political asylum application and had visas that did not expire until 2005, she was unaware of a removal order issued after her asylum appeal was denied in 2004. After being transferred through detention centers in California, Texas, and Louisiana, Sanchez was deported to El Salvador in late December. Her daughter has hired an immigration attorney and started a GoFundMe to cover legal fees as the family explores options to bring her back.

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.

Ernesto Cuevas Enciso, a 34-year-old Detroit construction worker, was detained by ICE on December 6, 2025, while heading to a job site in Ypsilanti. Cuevas Enciso immigrated from Mexico at age three and has lived in the United States since childhood. He is married to a U.S. citizen, father of a one-year-old daughter, and holds valid work authorization and a Michigan driver's license while his green card application is pending. A former DACA recipient, he lost that status due to nonviolent misdemeanor offenses from over a decade ago. His sister Miriam Stone confirmed he was carrying his identification when picked up. Eight Michigan Democratic lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib and State Sen. Stephanie Chang, along with faith leaders and city officials, wrote letters urging ICE to release him on bond before his December 17 immigration hearing. Cuevas Enciso is being held at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan.

A man 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.

Benny, a 30-year-old musician from Guinea who arrived in the U.S. in 2011 on an H1B visa as a dance instructor, was detained by ICE on December 15, 2025, after going to a police station in Vineland, NJ to file a harassment report. An ICE agent at the station gave him a deportation form while falsely claiming it was a harassment report; Benny, who did not understand the legal language, signed it and was taken into custody. Over the past 12 years, Benny has built a life in the U.S., working in restaurants, getting married, renovating a house in Queens, and starting a farm in New Jersey where he raises goats. He has a 1-year-old daughter and has collaborated with an audio engineer to record over 100 songs together, becoming fluent in nine languages. As of the fundraiser, Benny has been incarcerated for 225 days at Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center, has lost over 50 pounds, and his next hearing is scheduled for September 1, 2026. Despite his own food insecurity, he has shared his meals with other detainees.

A foreign national in removal proceedings was initially released by immigration authorities on October 4, 2023, and enrolled in alternatives to detention. He was re-detained by ICE on December 15, 2025, while attending a scheduled immigration appointment. After being ordered removed on June 8, 2026, he filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his re-detention. The court granted his petition, finding that his re-detention without notice and a pre-deprivation hearing violated due process, and ordered his immediate release on the conditions he was subject to prior to re-detention.

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.

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.

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.