Human Impact Project

Homeland Security Investigations agents raided an apartment in Lynden, Washington on October 29, detaining U.S. citizen Jocelyn Peña while arresting her undocumented partner, Jesus Alejandro Lopez Ruiz, on a federal warrant alleging he assaulted an officer during a vehicle pursuit on October 15. Lopez Ruiz was booked into Whatcom County Jail and transferred to federal immigration custody. Advocates and Lopez Ruiz's partner dispute the assault allegation, characterizing the arrest as retribution and intimidation, with claims that no evidence has been provided that the alleged car door contact occurred.

Victor Rodriguez Ocampo Sr., 54, owner of La Playa Taco Shop in Mission Beach, was detained by ICE on October 31 outside his National City home and deported to Mexico after approximately two months at Otay Mesa Detention Center. His son has taken over operations at the restaurant and established a GoFundMe fundraiser that has raised over $18,500 toward legal expenses and family support. Rodriguez Jr. recently joined the U.S. Navy while working a second job to keep the family business operating.

Border Patrol agents conducted immigration enforcement raids across Chicago and nearby suburbs on Halloween, detaining multiple individuals. Incidents included pepper-spray deployment in Albany Park, an agent pointing a weapon at protesters in Evanston, and an officer punching a detainee. Three U.S. citizens were arrested for allegedly obstructing the operations, while five Mexican nationals were detained.

Armando Garcia Picazo, detained by ICE in August without legal status, was ordered released by federal judge Leonard Strand after being denied bond approved by an immigration judge. Garcia Picazo was held at Woodbury County jail for over two months before filing a habeas corpus lawsuit. He was required to post $6,000 bond and will continue his immigration case on a non-detained docket.

Two employees of SUNY Upstate Medical University were detained by ICE on Wednesday while attending immigration hearings to finalize their legal status. The workers were taken into custody before entering the courtroom and are being held at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, facing possible deportation. Union officials from CSEA and UUP issued statements regarding ICE's actions.

Rian Andrianzah, an Indonesian national, was arrested by ICE agents while attending what he believed was a routine biometrics appointment in Philadelphia. His arrest occurred while his wife waited in another room, and he was subsequently sent to a Central Pennsylvania detention center where he now faces deportation. The arrest is part of the Trump administration's strategy shift to apprehend green card applicants, asylum seekers, and others engaged in legal immigration processes.

A 16-year-old boy named Diego had both parents taken in separate ICE raids. After being released from ICE custody, Diego's mother Yolanda shared her account of the experience. The incident was originally covered in November of the previous year.

MJMA, a 45-year-old farm worker and lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit, was detained in a van stop by ICE agents who smashed the vehicle's windows without waiting for occupants to comply with commands. Body-camera footage shows MJMA asserting her right to remain silent and requesting a lawyer in Spanish, while an officer broke her phone as she called 911. Agents used facial recognition software to scan her face multiple times, obtaining inaccurate matches—one incorrectly identifying her as "Maria"—and falsely claiming she entered the country unlawfully when she had actually arrived with a valid temporary visa. A federal judge ruled the arrests unlawful and unjustified, finding officers engaged in misconduct, made inaccurate statements in reports, and improperly used facial recognition technology without warrants. MJMA has an ongoing asylum case.

A Mexican mother of a 10-month-old was arrested by ICE agents while driving her taxi near O'Hare International Airport and detained at the Broadview facility. She lacked access to a lactation room to pump breast milk for her daughter. A federal judge ordered her release on October 31, the day after her habeas case was filed.

A 45-year-old Mexican citizen who entered legally in January 2025 and overstayed her visa was arrested on her way to work. At the Portland ICE facility, an officer forced her to sign a rights waiver form in Spanish without allowing her to consult a lawyer, telling her that refusing voluntary removal would take a very long time. The form waived her right to an immigration court hearing despite her intention to seek asylum. Within hours, ICE shackled her and transferred her to Tacoma, Washington, before her attorneys could properly advise her.

M-J-M-A, a 45-year-old Mexican citizen who entered the U.S. legally in January 2025 and overstayed her visa, was arrested on October 30, 2025 on her way to work. An ICE officer pressured her to sign a document she did not understand, in Spanish, that waived her right to an immigration court hearing and requested voluntary removal. The officer told her that refusing would delay her departure. When her attorney met with her approximately three hours later, they had only about 10 minutes before the meeting was ended. She was then transferred to Tacoma, Washington and shackled on a bus, with no attorneys able to meet with her for approximately two days afterward.

Five plainclothes federal agents arrested a 26-year-old barber from Venezuela at Rockstar Fadez barbershop in Brighton Park. One agent had posed as a construction worker and customer earlier that morning without identifying himself as law enforcement. The agents threw the barber to the ground and carried him away in a pickup truck while threatening to detain anyone who intervened, and no warrant was presented before the arrest.

Ruperto Vicens Marquez, a 38-year-old restaurant owner and father of three from Mexico, was detained by ICE after being pulled over on a Sunday morning despite having valid work authorization that does not expire until 2029. Marquez has lived in the U.S. for 18 years and co-owns Emilio's Kitchen in Atlantic Highlands. His community, including the town mayor, rallied to support his release, and his attorney says he should never have been arrested. A detention hearing is scheduled for November 17.

Federal immigration agents arrested two men, Adolfo Felipe Mendoza-Cruz on October 30 and Fabian Pablo Beltran-Flores on November 3, in apparent violation of Washington state law prohibiting immigration enforcement within one mile of courthouses. Mendoza-Cruz was detained in a courthouse parking lot after attending a DUI arraignment, while Beltran-Flores was arrested on a sidewalk outside City Hall after a court appearance. City officials reported both incidents to the Washington State Attorney General's Office.

Marta Brizeyda Renderos Leiva, a 39-year-old Salvadoran immigrant and mother of four U.S.-born children, was forcefully arrested by ICE agents in plain clothes at Salt Lake City International Airport on October 29, 2025, while traveling with her sister to visit family in Maryland. Renderos fled El Salvador in 2007 due to domestic violence and political strife, held a valid work permit issued in 2024 through 2029, and had applied for asylum. She was arrested based on a deportation order issued in absentia in February 2020, which she claims she never received due to a notary error listing an incorrect address. Video footage captured agents holding her on each side as she struggled and screamed for help in the airport's pre-security area. Her attorney argues the deportation order should be canceled because she was never properly notified as required by federal law. Two of her children have serious health issues that would be affected by her deportation. Her sister and community members, including teachers and neighbors, describe her as responsible and dedicated to her family. The incident prompted Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and the City Council to express concern about the operation's lack of transparency, the agents' plain clothes without visible identification, and the choice of a public airport lobby as the location.

A Harrisonburg mother was detained by federal agents on Monday morning while taking her teenage daughter to school. A video of the incident was posted on social media.

Michal Duda, a Slovak national, was detained by immigration officials near his residence on October 29, 2025, and held at Pike County Correctional Facility in Lords Valley, Pennsylvania. He had pending applications for a green card through his U.S. citizen spouse and for work authorization, and later sought asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture, all of which an immigration judge denied in March 2026. Duda says he endured nine months of physical and mental abuse while in detention, and his family says he was deported without notice to them or his attorney, bypassing further judicial review. The family is in contact with the ACLU and plans to file a lawsuit.

A group of ten women arrested in the October 2025 immigration raid at the Savino del Bene warehouse in Woodbridge, New Jersey, were transferred through detention facilities in Texas and Ohio before being sent to the North Lake Correctional Facility in Michigan, near the Canadian border. The women, including one identified as Sofía, said they were given little food or water during the days-long transfer, forced to undress and shower in front of a female officer, and verbally demeaned by an immigration officer who called them "bitches" when handing them to an Ohio county sheriff. Once at the Michigan facility, the women said the heat was not turned on during the freezing Upper Midwest winter.

Jhonatan Bello Cabrera, an 18-year-old Colombian national, was detained during an immigration raid at the Savino del Bene warehouse in Woodbridge, New Jersey, while in the process of obtaining permanent residency through his U.S. citizen stepfather and legal permanent resident mother. He was transferred to detention facilities in New Jersey, Texas and Arizona before being released in December after posting a $6,000 bond and being fitted with an ankle monitor. His mother, Sandra Suero, said she never expected the arrest, calling him "a newly graduated kid, still a child."

Killy Tatiana Yangquen García, a 21-year-old Colombian woman who came to the U.S. at age 10, was arrested at the Savino del Bene bonded warehouse in Woodbridge, New Jersey, during an immigration raid that detained 46 workers. After nearly four months in detention, including transfers across multiple states, an immigration judge denied her bond and she accepted a voluntary departure, returning to Bogotá in February. Her mother, María Eugenia García, said she has struggled to cope with the separation, while Yangquen García's husband, who is applying for U.S. citizenship, hopes to eventually sponsor her return.