Human Impact Project

A 20-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen was detained by ICE agents for approximately two hours in Minneapolis after being approached based on his Somali appearance. The agents apprehended him on a street near Cedar Avenue, placed him in a chokehold, and transported him to the Whipple Federal Building despite his repeated attempts to show his passport and ID. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O'Hara stated the incident constituted racial profiling and was unconstitutional, while ICE stated their actions were based on reasonable suspicion.

Susan Tincher, a 55-year-old Minneapolis resident, was detained by ICE agents while filming them arresting someone from a nearby house during Operation Metro Surge. Tincher said she was recording on her phone when agents tackled her to the ground and detained her for allegedly not moving back when ordered. She is one of six Minnesotans who sued DHS this week, alleging ICE has carried out an unprecedented attack on civil liberties. ICE officials disputed the account, stating Tincher was arrested for allegedly assaulting an agent, attempting to break through a security perimeter, ignoring lawful commands, and becoming violent.

Shahrokh Rahimi, a 54-year-old Iranian immigrant and San Antonio restaurant owner who has lived in the U.S. for more than two decades, was arrested by ICE/DHS officers at his home on June 22, 2025, in front of his 12-year-old daughter and neighbors, days after U.S. military strikes on Iran. He entered the country in 2003 and in 2010 was granted withholding of removal after an immigration judge found he would likely face persecution or torture if returned to Iran, having since complied with all check-in requirements for 15 years. His wife, Brandi Rahimi, describes him as a devoted father who calls their daughter every morning before school and has volunteered as a school mentor and helped neighbors and veterans in the community. The Texas Civil Rights Project filed a habeas corpus petition on his behalf, arguing he had previously been granted bond and lived safely in the community for years. On December 9, 2025, he was denied bond in a hearing his wife said lasted less than 10 minutes, and he remains in ICE custody, describing hearing other detainees cry at night. His family has spent roughly $30,000 on legal fees and gone five months without his income; his case is one of five profiled by the Texas Tribune involving ICE arrests of Texans without criminal convictions.

David Cardenas, 54, a Raleigh resident who fled Nicaragua and sought asylum in 2022, was detained by ICE during a routine yearly check-in appointment with USCIS in Charlotte. He suffered a medical emergency shortly after detention and was hospitalized at Atrium Health in Pineville, where ICE and the hospital initially blocked visits from his wife and children for a week. Following advocacy efforts and a press conference by immigrant rights groups and local leaders, ICE announced it would release Cardenas due to his severe health condition, potentially using alternative detention such as an ankle monitor.

A Guatemalan asylum seeker who fled to the U.S. in April 2024 was arrested on December 11, 2025, while attending a scheduled ICE check-in at 630 Sansome Street in San Francisco. She had been released on her own recognizance, complied with all supervision conditions, and had no criminal history. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring her immediate release, finding her detention likely violated her constitutional due process rights.

Mohan Karki, a 30-year-old refugee born in a Nepal refugee camp whose family fled persecution in Bhutan in the 1990s, faces deportation to Bhutan by the U.S. government despite having no passport or birth certificate from that country. He has been detained for over eight months pending removal proceedings stemming from a teenage burglary conviction. His attorneys have stated that deportation could result in statelessness, as Bhutanese authorities have previously denied entry to other deportees.

Jose Gomez and his 13-year-old son were detained by ICE agents in unmarked SUVs in Eden Prairie on Thursday morning while moving their car after a snowstorm. The boy was tackled, handcuffed, and questioned about his legal status; he later required medical attention for an abnormal heartbeat triggered by the stress. Both are undocumented immigrants from Mexico; Gomez's family believes he was randomly targeted and says ICE lacked a warrant for his arrest. The boy was released to his aunt's house, but Gomez remained in ICE custody.

A man who had lived in the U.S. for 27 years and worked with a company for 17 years was deported after his wife was pulled over for a broken headlight. He had paid taxes, owned a home, and raised American-born children. The deportation occurred despite his lack of criminal conduct.

Andrei Bankevich, a Belarusian migrant granted relief from deportation, was detained by ICE in December 2025 despite having no legal authority to hold him. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger ruled in March 2026 that federal officials violated his due process rights by keeping him incarcerated in Muscatine County Jail for over a year, stating it was "untenable" that officials refused to comply with the law without a court order.

On December 11, 2025, Border Patrol agent Armando Flores shot and killed Isaias Sanchez Barbosa, a 31-year-old Mexican man, three times at close range in Starr County, Texas. CBP stated Sanchez Barbosa was attempting to return to Mexico when Flores engaged him in a two-minute struggle and discharged his firearm. Sanchez Barbosa had no criminal history, no prior U.S. entries, and no weapons were found on him. A grand jury declined to indict the agent, and Texas DPS has withheld body camera footage and audio despite investigating seven months later.

Viktoriia Bulavina, a Ukrainian woman with Temporary Protected Status, was detained for five days after being arrested during a green card interview at the USCIS San Diego Field Office on December 4, 2025. She spent three days in the downtown San Diego ICE facility where she reported harsh conditions including lack of sleep, inability to change clothes or shower, cold temperatures, expired food, and inadequate privacy. Her attorney stated she had complied with all immigration procedures and was renewing her TPS when detained; her TPS extension was approved the day she was released.

José Gonzalez, a 53-year-old Mexican national and well-known manager at BiCE Ristorante in Palm Beach who also operates the Tacos Agave food truck, was detained by ICE on December 10 after a Florida Highway Patrol traffic stop for dark window tint while driving his nephew's truck on a supply run. Gonzalez claims he has a valid work permit and driver's license connected to an ongoing immigration or asylum case. He was transferred between multiple detention facilities before being held at Alligator Alcatraz in the Everglades. Friends and colleagues, including Table 26 owner Eddie Schmidt, described Gonzalez as someone who spent over 20 years serving the Palm Beach County restaurant community with dedication and generosity. During his 12 days in detention, Gonzalez reported cold conditions, open toilets, limited privacy, and approximately 80 people held in cramped cage-like conditions. Staff at the detention facility encouraged him to self-deport, which his 23-year-old nephew chose to do; Gonzalez refused. Community members organized vigils, rallies, and circulated petitions that gathered nearly 2,000 signatures calling for his release. U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel and Palm Beach County Commissioner Gregg Weiss organized a vigil on December 21. Gonzalez was released on December 22-23, and expressed gratitude for community support. His nephew remains detained at Krome detention facility after signing expedited removal papers.

A 20-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen named Mubashir was detained by ICE agents in Minneapolis while on his lunch break. Agents forcibly removed him from a restaurant, handcuffed him, and initially refused to accept his U.S. passport and identification documents despite his attempts to present them. He was held for approximately two hours at a federal building before being released after presenting identification. Minneapolis city leaders, including Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O'Hara, characterized the detention as wrongful and unconstitutional racial profiling, while ICE stated their actions were based on reasonable suspicion.

ICE agents arrested Mubashir, a 20-year-old Somali American U.S. citizen, in Minneapolis's Cedar-Riverside neighborhood on his lunch break. Video footage documented agents slamming him against a door, placing him in a chokehold, and handcuffing him before detaining him for approximately two hours. Despite offering identification and having his citizenship verified, Mubashir alleged he was denied water and medical assistance during detention. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O'Hara stated the arrest was racially motivated, while Governor Tim Walz requested a DHS review of ICE arrests of U.S. citizens in the city.

Jose Roberto Ramirez, a U.S. citizen and Red Lake Nation descendant, was detained by ICE officers at a Robbinsdale Hy-Vee on January 8 and later released from federal custody. A family member's video of the encounter was shared on social media, prompting local lawmakers and the legislature's Native American Caucus to condemn the arrest as racial profiling and a violation of Indigenous sovereignty. Robbinsdale police stated they did not participate in the federal operation and were not notified in advance.

Nathan Griffin, a U.S. citizen and night manager of the Laugh Factory comedy club in Lakeview, was arrested by masked Border Patrol agents on October 24, 2025, outside the club at Belmont and Broadway during immigration enforcement operations on the North Side. Agents accused him of interfering with a federal officer and assaulting an agent by closing a vehicle door on the agent's leg while the agent was searching for a body-worn camera believed dropped during a prior immigration-related arrest. Video posted by the club showed multiple masked agents in full camouflage wrestling Griffin to the ground as bystanders screamed that he had done nothing wrong. Griffin's mother, Elaine Plybon, was also physically engaged with agents while attempting to stop her son's arrest. Griffin was initially charged with one count of forcibly assaulting, impeding, and interfering with a federal officer, facing up to 8 years in prison if convicted. Federal prosecutors dropped all charges on December 10, 2025, after a federal grand jury refused to indict him by returning a 'no bill.'

Santiago Zamora Perez, a 17-year-old Detroit student at Western International High School, was arrested by ICE on Sunday after Fraser police pulled him over for driving under the speed limit and called federal agents. Zamora and his mother were detained; he is a Venezuelan asylum seeker who entered the U.S. last year. At least four Detroit teens are currently held in ICE detention facilities.

A Homeland Security agent confronting a man about his visa status was briefly taken in an SUV against his will on Wednesday in Plymouth, Minnesota. Two people were charged in federal court with interfering with DHS agents: Oluwadamilola Bamigboye, 24, a Nigerian national who overstayed his student visa, and Rekeya Frazier, 26. The incident began when agents approached Bamigboye outside an apartment complex, leading him to jump into Frazier's SUV and demand she drive away, resulting in a brief pursuit that ended near a New Hope police station.

Alan Crenshaw, a 35-year-old Minneapolis resident, observed and filmed ICE arresting a U.S. citizen on December 9. As officers were leaving the scene, one agent leaned out of a car window and pepper sprayed Crenshaw. He is a named plaintiff in an ACLU lawsuit alleging ICE violated constitutional rights of observers and protesters.

Mubashir, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen of Somali descent, was arrested by ICE agents on December 9, 2025, in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of south Minneapolis. According to Mubashir and community organization CAIR-MN, ICE agents tackled him during the arrest despite his repeated statements that he was a U.S. citizen and his display of his passport. He was detained at Fort Snelling federal building after agents allegedly failed to identify themselves. DHS disputed accounts of the incident, claiming officers were investigating criminal immigration violations and that Mubashir resisted arrest. According to CAIR-MN, the arrests were part of a pattern targeting Somali neighborhoods and included multiple U.S. citizens.