Human Impact Project

Spanish-language journalist Mario Guevara was arrested by police on June 14, 2025, while covering a protest in DeKalb County, Georgia, and charged with obstructing police, unlawful assembly, and improperly entering a roadway. After a judge granted him bond, ICE placed a 48-hour hold on him despite his work authorization and pending green card application. Guevara spent 110 days in ICE custody, including 22 hours daily in solitary confinement, before being deported to El Salvador. A federal judge questioned the legality of his detention. His attorneys argued it violated his constitutional rights to free speech and due process. The government claimed broad discretion to detain him as a deportable immigrant. Guevara stated he was targeted for his journalistic work documenting immigration raids rather than for any criminal activity.

Mario Guevara, an Emmy-award-winning Salvadoran journalist who lived in Atlanta for nearly 22 years and held a valid work permit, was arrested by ICE on June 14, 2025, while live-streaming a 'No Kings' protest in Doraville. He spent more than three months in immigration detention, much of it in isolation, separated from his wife and children who remained in the US. A Georgia immigration judge ordered his release on bond in July, and the ACLU filed legal challenges on his behalf, but the Bureau of Immigration Appeals closed his case and ordered his removal on September 19. DHS denied targeting him for his journalism, stating he was arrested for obstruction and deported due to a decade-old removal order. He was deported to El Salvador on October 3, 2025, and continued working as a journalist afterward, reporting from Central America and speaking at international press freedom conferences.

On Friday, October 2, 2025, federal immigration agents handcuffed Alderman Jessie Fuentes of the 26th Ward at Humboldt Park Hospital while she was confronting them about an arrest. Fuentes asked agents if they had a signed warrant before being handcuffed and led outside the hospital. Agents were at the hospital pursuing a person who had been injured and brought for medical care. The incident occurred during broader immigration enforcement operations across Chicago that included tear gas deployment and multiple arrests, including at least one U.S. citizen. Mayor Brandon Johnson stated that elected officials have a First Amendment right to document ICE actions and inform constituents of their rights. Governor Pritzker called for an investigation into treatment of children during a separate federal raid in South Shore.

Jorge was arrested at an ICE check-in at the federal building and deported on October 3, 2025—just two days before his daughter Maite was born. His wife Jessica, a U.S. citizen and elder care worker, was left alone to care for their newborn and her 9-year-old son Dylan on a single income. Jessica grew depressed and anemic during her pregnancy as she worried about Jorge's fate. Since his deportation, Dylan has struggled in school, Jessica has lost their apartment to eviction, and she is pursuing legal avenues for Jorge's return—a process attorneys say could take years. Friends pooled money for plane tickets so Jessica and her children could visit Jorge in Ecuador to meet their newborn daughter in person.

Governor JB Pritzker is calling for an investigation into how children were treated during a federal immigration raid in the South Shore neighborhood. Families reported that children were zip-tied, separated from their parents, and held for hours during the enforcement operation. The governor has ordered state agencies to provide support and investigate possible abuse by federal agents.

Jesus Hernandez, a 46-year-old from Mexico who has lived in the United States for 25 years and is a father of three, was arrested by federal agents in Little Village along with his 21-year-old son Brian, who is a U.S. citizen born in the United States. Video showed both men being detained and led away in custody. Family members expressed distress at the separation, with a relative stating that Hernandez is the primary provider for his family.

Juan Munoz, an Oak Park Township trustee, was arrested outside the Broadview ICE facility on October 3 while protesting in a designated protest-free zone. Federal agents pulled him to the ground, zip-tied him with plastic handcuffs, and detained him for approximately eight hours without being told why or what he was accused of. Munoz was forced to stand along a guardrail for 40 minutes while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and photographers passed by, which he described as political theater and being used as a prop. He was then locked in a filthy cell with a shared toilet and soiled waste before being released without documentation or charges. Munoz is pursuing legal action and stated that federal agents violated the rights of community members without due process.

Cole Sheridan, a 27-year-old hospitality worker, was arrested during a pro-immigrant protest at the Broadview immigration enforcement facility on October 3 while demonstrating against a deportation blitz. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino accused Sheridan of pushing and swinging at him, resulting in federal charges for assaulting, resisting, and interfering with a federal officer. Sheridan was detained for three days at the Broadview facility and the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Downtown Chicago. After a friend discovered video footage from an October 31 news report showing Sheridan being pushed down—not in front of Bovino—prosecutors dropped all charges the next business day. Sheridan said the incident cost him four days of work and a month of anxiety over potential imprisonment.

Chicago Alderperson Jessie Fuentes was handcuffed and threatened with arrest by federal immigration agents at Humboldt Park Health on Friday after she questioned them about their authority to conduct enforcement at the medical facility. Fuentes said agents shoved her when she asked if they had a warrant to make arrests in the hospital, and later restrained her while claiming she was impeding their work. She reported that agents were attempting to detain a person with a broken leg at the hospital, and noted that federal agents have brought multiple injured people to local hospitals following arrests.

Kyle Frankovich, a protester, was arrested outside the Broadview ICE facility on October 3 while demonstrating in a designated protest zone. Federal agents grabbed and threw him to the ground, zip-tied him, and detained him for approximately eight hours without explanation or charges. Frankovich was made to stand along a guardrail for 40 minutes while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem walked past with cameras and photographers. He was then locked in a filthy cell and later released without documentation or charges. The following week, his fiancée Leigh Kunkle was shot in the face with pepper balls by federal agents during another protest at the same facility. Frankovich and his fiancée are planning legal action, with their attorney filing federal claims alleging wrongful detention and violation of rights.

On October 3, 2025, federal agents conducting an immigration enforcement operation in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood deployed tear gas near Funston Elementary School, traumatizing hundreds of children and families in the area. Children playing on school grounds, eating at a nearby café, and walking home from school were exposed to the gas. Teachers, including Liza Oliva-Perez, were also tear-gassed while attempting to protect students. The incident left children experiencing anxiety, nightmares, and fear of separation from family members, with some now asking teachers and dolls whether ICE will come for them. The operation, dubbed "Operation Midway Blitz," has involved masked armed agents in unmarked vehicles patrolling neighborhoods, with residents reporting multiple incidents including helicopter raids, detention of U.S. citizens, and deployment of pepper munitions against protesters.

DHS reported that on Wednesday (during the broader Operation Midway Blitz enforcement period), a Latin Kings gang member allegedly attempted to ram federal agents with his vehicle at 26th and Ogden in Cicero. Six people were arrested that day for impeding operations, and three undocumented immigrants were placed into custody as a result of the incident.

On October 3, federal agents conducted widespread immigration enforcement operations dubbed 'Operation Midway Blitz' across multiple Chicago neighborhoods including West Town, Lakeview, Bucktown-Wicker Park, and Logan Square, detaining multiple people at various locations. Individuals detained included a man waiting outside a health center for his pregnant wife (reported to have work authorization and a pending court date), a construction worker arrested at a residence, a gardener taken into custody, and a comedy club night manager. Schools in the Bucktown-Wicker Park area were placed on soft lockdown. Confrontations between residents and federal agents at multiple locations resulted in tear gas and pepper ball deployment, with agents also reported driving dangerously through neighborhoods.

Saúl Zermeño, a 45-year-old single father with deferred action status, was deported to Mexico after attending a routine ICE check-in appointment on October 3. His 15-year-old U.S. citizen son Damian, who has ADHD, autism, and other health conditions, was left without his sole caregiver. Damian subsequently experienced severe emotional distress including depression, anxiety, inability to focus in school, and withdrawal from activities.

Saúl Zermeño, a 45-year-old with deferred action status, was deported to Mexico on October 3 after attending a routine ICE check-in appointment. He had lived in the U.S. for 36 years and was the sole caregiver for his 15-year-old U.S. citizen son Damian, who has autism, ADHD, neurofibromatosis Type 1, epilepsy, and was born with one kidney. ICE officers did not ask about his son or check on Damian's well-being before deporting him. Damian experienced severe emotional distress, depression, and academic decline after his father's deportation.

On October 3, 2025, 26th Ward Alderperson Jessie Fuentes was shoved and handcuffed by masked ICE agents at Humboldt Park Health Hospital while advocating for a detained constituent during Operation Midway Blitz. Fuentes filed a federal tort claims lawsuit in October 2025, and formally sued the federal government in May 2026 after the Department of Homeland Security failed to respond within the required timeframe. The lawsuit alleges battery, assault, false arrest, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, claiming Fuentes suffered shoulder pain, anxiety, nightmares, and emotional distress from the encounter.

Subramanyam Vedam, a legal permanent resident born in India, was released from a Pennsylvania maximum security prison after 43 years when prosecutors abandoned his murder case. He was immediately placed in ICE custody at the Moshannon Processing Center and is being held while fighting deportation, with a judge denying him bail.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducted multiple enforcement operations in Chicago, deploying tear gas and smoke bombs during raids. In one incident at Funston Elementary School, tear gas released in a nearby parking lot during a grocery store raid spread into the school building, exposing students including first-graders to the chemical agent. A separate operation at 51st and Damen on October 3rd resulted in video footage showing federal agents threatening a community member and throwing a smoke bomb onto a vehicle, with one person detained. ICE has conducted multiple enforcement operations in Chicago during this period, including residential raids and the detention of individuals.

Five asylum seekers from Colombia, Guatemala, China, and Nicaragua were arrested by DHS agents immediately after exiting immigration court hearings at the San Francisco Immigration Court on October 2, 2025. All had pending asylum applications and were previously released under supervision with no criminal history. The federal court granted a temporary restraining order requiring their immediate release and prohibiting re-detention without a hearing.

A Northwest Arkansas man was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement following a traffic stop. According to his attorney, the man is a U.S. citizen. He has since been released and returned home.