HUMSI — Human Security Initiative

Human Impact Project

A living database documenting reported immigration enforcement incidents and their human impact.

We collect individual stories of people impacted by U.S. immigration enforcement from news reporting, court records, and community accounts into one searchable public database, updated daily and reviewed by our team. The Human Impact Project is run by the Human Security Initiative, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

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4281 incidents with known locations
⚐ Highlighted incident #12306 (not on this page in normal date order)Clear

Cuban man re-detained by ICE this year seeks release under Zadvydas after prior habeas duplicative filing dismissed

Jun 7, 2026Cuba

The petitioner, a Cuban citizen and native of Cuba, is subject to a final order of removal entered in 2018. At that time he was detained for approximately eight months while the government unsuccessfully attempted to effect his removal, after which he was released. He was re-detained by immigration authorities on June 7, 2026 (described as June 6, 2026 in a related filing) and has remained in immigration custody since then. A petition for writ of habeas corpus was filed on his behalf by a relative acting as 'next friend,' arguing his continued detention violates the Due Process Clause under Zadvydas v. Davis and federal immigration detention regulations, and seeking his immediate release. However, the court found that the petitioner had separately filed his own pro se habeas petition in his own name one day earlier, raising the same claims and seeking the same relief against a more complete set of respondents. Because the petitioner was shown to be capable of litigating on his own behalf, the court held the 'next friend' could not establish standing and dismissed this duplicative action, along with pending motions for a temporary restraining order and for entry of judgment. The court clarified that dismissal does not limit the petitioner's ability to pursue his claims in the separately filed prior action.

Second victim in Dallas ICE shooting dies from injuries

Sep 24, 2025Dallas, TX

Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez, 32, died from injuries sustained in a sniper-style shooting at a Dallas ICE facility on September 24. He was shot at least eight times and had been in critical condition at Parkland Hospital before being removed from life support. Garcia-Hernandez was the second victim to die from the attack, leaving behind his wife and four children.

El Salvadoran detainee shot and killed at Dallas ICE facility

Sep 24, 2025Dallas, TXEl Salvador

Norlan Guzman-Fuentes, a 37-year-old El Salvadoran national, was shot and killed on September 24, 2025, when a gunman opened fire at a Dallas ICE facility's controlled entrance. Guzman-Fuentes was in ICE custody at the time. He was the financial provider for his mother in El Salvador, who depended on his support.

Federal Court Orders Release of DACA Recipient Unlawfully Detained

Sep 24, 2025Albuquerque, New Mexico

A federal judge ordered the immediate release of Paulo Cesar Gamez Lira, a 27-year-old DACA recipient and father of four U.S. citizen children who was detained by ICE for 42 days. Gamez Lira was detained on August 13 when federal agents surrounded his vehicle in Horizon City, Texas, with two of his young children present. He was held at the Otero County Processing Center in Chaparral, New Mexico, separated from his family including a three-month-old infant with serious medical conditions. The federal government declined to oppose his release.

ICE agents stop Alamosa family at gunpoint, smash car window with infant inside

Sep 24, 2025Alamosa, COMexico

ICE agents pointed guns at and smashed the window of a car carrying a couple and their 1-month-old baby in Alamosa on September 24, 2025. The agents arrested Jose Aguilera, 33, from Mexico, who was returning from a court hearing with his partner and infant son. The arrest violated a 2020 Colorado law prohibiting ICE arrests of people going to or coming from courthouses.

Deadly shooting at Dallas ICE facility investigated as targeted attack

Sep 24, 2025Dallas, TX

A shooting occurred at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Dallas on Wednesday morning. The shooter, 29-year-old Joshua Jahn, fired from a rooftop across the street, killing one detainee and wounding two others before dying by self-inflicted gunshot wound. Evidence suggests the attack was anti-ICE in nature, with shell casings engraved with anti-ICE messages. A third detainee was critically wounded on September 24, 2025, when a gunman identified as Joshua Jahn opened fire at a Dallas ICE facility's controlled entrance, targeting a transport van containing detainees. The shooter, positioned on a nearby roof, fired indiscriminately at the facility. Jahn died by suicide shortly after the attack. Handwritten notes found at the scene indicated the shooter intended to instill fear in ICE agents, though the attack instead killed two detainees and critically wounded a third.

Shooter kills three at Dallas ICE facility before suicide

Sep 24, 2025Dallas, Texas

On September 24, 2025, a shooter identified as Joshua Jahn fired from a rooftop into an ICE facility near Interstate 35E in Dallas, killing three people detained by ICE and injuring one other before shooting himself. Two of the three victims were taken to hospitals in critical condition, with one dying six days later. Authorities found anti-ICE markings and notes in Jahn's personal effects, concluding the attack was a premeditated terrorist act targeting ICE agents.

Fifth-grade ESL teacher detained after routine immigration check-in

Sep 24, 2025San Antonio, TXCuba

Roberto López Falcón, a Cuban immigrant and fifth-grade ESL teacher at Hart Elementary School in Austin, was arrested on September 3, 2025, during a routine check-in appointment in San Antonio. He entered the U.S. without authorization in March 2022. López Falcón has been held at a federal immigration facility in Karnes County for three weeks with limited communication access. The school district replaced him with a substitute teacher and offered counseling services to students, though initially told them he was sick rather than explaining his detention.

Man pinned to street by ICE as agent's gun falls, points at bystanders

Sep 24, 2025Hyattsville, MDEl Salvador

Job Arias-Mendoza was arrested by ICE on September 24 in the middle of an intersection in Hyattsville, Maryland, in an encounter captured on a viral nine-minute video. The footage shows officers pinning him to the pavement as he yelled 'help me' and 'I am American. I love America.' During the struggle, an agent's handgun fell from his belt onto the street; after retrieving it, the agent appeared to point the weapon toward bystanders, and another officer asked members of the crowd if they wanted 'to be next.' DHS said Arias-Mendoza entered the U.S. from El Salvador without authorization and has a prior arrest record. Neighbors held a rally near the arrest site, and Arias-Mendoza remains in ICE custody at an undisclosed location.

Man detained by ICE for visa overstay remains in custody after six months

Sep 24, 2025Stewart, FLBrazil

Marcos Antonio De Oliveira Barros, 57, has been held at Broward Transitional Center in Florida for nearly six months since his September 2025 ICE detention for overstaying his tourist visa. His daughter Daianne, an American citizen, filed an I-130 petition to initiate his green card process and launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover legal costs, citing financial hardship as the detention has impacted her family's income from their construction business.

Governor Meyer demands release of disabled Ecuadorian man from ICE detention

Sep 22, 2025Seaford, DEEcuador

Victor Acurio Suárez, a 52-year-old Ecuadorian man with developmental disabilities living in Seaford, Delaware, has been detained at an ICE facility in Pennsylvania for three months following his arrest in a Lowe's parking lot. Governor Matt Meyer called for his immediate release and asylum. Suárez has no criminal history and has a credible fear of gang violence if deported to Ecuador.

Children abandoned after ICE detains parents and older sibling

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Sep 22, 2025Cicero, ILGuatemala

Young children were left unattended on the side of the road after ICE agents detained their parents and an older sibling during an enforcement action in Cicero, Illinois.

Former DACA recipient dies of septic shock after ICE ignored infection for weeks

Sep 22, 2025Adelanto, CAMexico

Ismael Ayala-Uribe, a 39-year-old Mexican national and former DACA recipient, died in ICE custody after weeks of untreated infection. He was arrested by ICE and Border Patrol agents on August 17, 2025, during an enforcement operation at a car wash in Fountain Valley, California, and transferred five days later to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. Over roughly five weeks in detention, he repeatedly sought treatment for an infected abscess, reporting severe pain, cough, fever, and shaking, but facility medical staff responded to his complaints with only Tylenol as recently as September 18. After developing complications, he was transferred to Victor Valley Global Medical Center, where he was found unresponsive early on September 22 and declared dead of cardiac arrest arising from septic shock; his family was not notified of his hospitalization until after his death. His case was among 32 ICE detainee deaths reviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle with input from 14 doctors, and came amid at least 16 recorded ICE detainee deaths in the first nine months of 2025.

ICE arrests North Texas community leader Marwan Marouf

Sep 22, 2025Dallas, TX

Marwan Marouf, a community leader in North Texas who has served the Muslim community for 30 years, was arrested by ICE on September 22, 2025, the same day his green card application was denied. He was transferred to Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Anson. His green card application denial relied on allegations from over a decade ago. The Muslim Legal Fund of America is challenging the denial in immigration and federal court.

73-year-old Sikh grandmother deported to India after ICE detention, denied basic care

Sep 22, 2025Hercules, CAIndia

Harjit Kaur, a 73-year-old Sikh woman who had lived legally in the United States for 33-34 years with no criminal record, was detained by ICE on September 8, 2025, following a routine check-in. During her 15-day detention at facilities in Bakersfield and Georgia, Kaur reported being denied basic hygiene supplies, vegetarian meals consistent with her Sikh faith, and water to take with her medication, and was forced to sleep on detention cell floors. She had filed multiple unsuccessful asylum applications and appeals, including to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. On September 22, Kaur was deported to India without advance notice to her family and without being allowed to return home or say goodbye, despite her attorney's requests for release with monitoring or commercial flight accompaniment given her age and medical conditions.

DHS Subpoenas Activist for Posting Border Patrol Agent Video on Instagram

Sep 22, 2025Long Beach, CA

The Department of Homeland Security subpoenaed activist Sherman Austin and social media accounts associated with Stop ICE, a crowdsourced alert network documenting immigration enforcement activities, after they posted a video of a Border Patrol agent in February 2025. DHS alleged the post constituted doxing and violated officer safety protocols. Austin and civil liberties lawyers representing him argue the information was publicly available and that the post is protected speech under the First Amendment.

Parents Deported to Mexico After Eight-Year Legal Battle

Sep 22, 2025San Diego, CAMexico

A San Diego family's parents were ordered removed to Mexico on September 22, 2025, after an eight-year legal battle that began with their detention in May 2017. The parents worked as a paletero and had lived in the community for nearly thirty years. Their adult children have organized a fundraiser to support their parents' transition to Mexico.

Father detained at car wash, family seeks help

Sep 20, 2025Los Angeles California

Mi nombre es Ernesto y estoy recaudando fondos para ayudar a mi papá, Julio Ernesto Chavez Linares, quien fue detenido por inmigración mientras trabajaba el dia 11 de septiembre en un car wash que se llama 100 % hand Wash en Los Angeles California . Él es salvadoreño, nació el 13 de enero de 1983, y siempre ha sido el pilar de nuestra familia, especialmente para mi hermana menor de 12 años. La ausencia de mi papá ha sido muy difícil para nosotros, ya que él se encargaba de la vida diaria de mi hermana, su educación y el bienestar del hogar.

Bay Area asylum-seeker miscarries in ICE detention; part of broader pattern

Sep 20, 2025San Jose, CA

A 26-year-old San Jose asylum-seeker miscarried while detained at Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield after being denied immediate medical care for severe bleeding and cramping; she was shackled during hospital transport and required a blood transfusion. According to migrant rights advocates, her case may reflect a broader pattern, with evidence suggesting ICE is not following required protocols for pregnant and postpartum detainees, who are being held in unprecedented numbers without adequate medical care and food.

Congressional candidates teargassed at Broadview ICE protest

Sep 19, 2025Broadview, Illinois

Congressional candidates Mayor Daniel Biss, Kat Abughazaleh, and Bushra Amiwala were teargassed by ICE agents during a protest at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois. Abughazaleh reported being thrown to the ground, and multiple protesters were struck with pepper balls and teargassed. ICE agents allegedly attempted to run over a peaceful protester with a van and detained at least one protester at the facility.