Human Impact Project

In Huntington Park, California, federal agents set off an explosive device outside Jenny Ramirez's home, blowing off the front door and shattering a window while she and her 1-year-old and 6-year-old children were inside. Ramirez said agents gave no warning, that everyone who lived in the home was a U.S. citizen, and that she told them: 'You guys didn't have to do this, you scared my son, my baby.'

A father leaving a Denver immigration courtroom was grabbed by masked agents and slammed into a counter. His partner, pleading with agents to let him go, was grabbed by the hair and pushed to the ground, while their crying son watched. A legal observer was pushed against a wall and arrested.

Arzou Hami, an Iranian woman suffering from serious mental health issues, was detained in June 2025 as part of a sweep of Iranian migrants following U.S. military action against Iran. She was detained by Buffalo ICE agents at the Niagara County Jail before being transferred to Texas. Her attorney alleged in court filings that her detention prevented her from receiving mental health medications. Her attorney reported she has received some medication, but it is not the same as what she was previously prescribed.

In June 2025, ICE conducted a raid on a meatpacking plant in Omaha, the largest worksite operation in Nebraska since the start of the Trump administration. Dozens of workers were detained, including family friends and church acquaintances of Alejandra's family. The meatpacking industry in Nebraska, which includes major facilities for JBS, Tyson Foods, Cargill, and Smithfield, depends heavily on immigrant labor, with immigrants representing approximately 53% of the state's workforce.

Johane Morel, 47, arrived in the U.S. at age 5 and had no memory of Haiti. In June 2025, while attending an order of supervision appointment in Titusville, she was detained and transported to Baker County Detention Center in Macclenny before being deported to Cap-Haïtien, Haiti two weeks later. Unable to speak Haitian Creole, without family support, and with no knowledge of the country, she struggled to adapt and reported sexual assault, homelessness, and severe difficulty building a new life.

Mehrzad Asadi Eidivand, a 41-year-old undocumented Iranian resident, was arrested by HSI agents at his home in June without a warrant. He pleaded guilty on August 21 to possessing firearms and ammunition. His attorney claims he faces an execution order in Iran due to his views against the country's Islamist regime. After taking a plea deal with time served and two years' probation, Eidivand was immediately detained by ICE and has been held at Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Calexico, California for three months, where ICE agents have allegedly pressured him to sign a deportation order without legal representation.

Erasmo Zavala, a Berks County father who had applied for a U visa after cooperating with law enforcement in the investigation into his daughter's murder, was detained by ICE in April 2025 despite his pending humanitarian visa application. During his nearly two-month detention, he was repeatedly shackled at his hands and feet and flown between facilities, including Moshannon Valley Processing Center and a facility in Louisiana, often with no explanation of where he was being taken. He said he was awakened in the middle of the night twice and driven to the airport, fearing deportation to Mexico. Zavala said, 'They treat you as if you really were some kind of criminal. But what kind of criminal dedicates himself to his family and mostly goes from work to home?' He was released following a court order from Judge Stephanie Haines, with his case tied to a dispute over a Trump administration policy rescinding protections for crime victims and witnesses cooperating with law enforcement.

Sergio Cerdio Gomez, a 42-year-old Pasco food truck owner and father of three, was detained by ICE agents on April 24, 2025, during a scheduled immigration interview in Yakima. Gomez was attending the interview with his U.S. citizen wife, Gabrielle Cerdio, regarding his pending green card and citizenship application, which they had filed in 2022. He was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant. Gomez co-owns the Kennewick food truck Hibachi Explosion with his wife. He was subsequently deported to Chiapas, Mexico in June 2025.

In June 2025, hundreds of federal agents conducted immigration raids across Los Angeles, detaining immigrants at Home Depots, car washes, food stands, and garment factories. The operation left many Latino and immigrant families afraid to go to work or send children to school. Violence intervention workers say the fear and instability from the raids continue to affect their efforts to keep communities safe.

ICE agents approached poll worker Paigelynne Gonyea at a Syracuse polling site during state primaries, asking her to sign a warning notice related to an Instagram post where she credited reporting that identified Jonathan Ross, an ICE agent involved in a fatal shooting. Gonyea refused to sign the notice, which she says would have constituted an admission of guilt. The incident highlights ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility investigating civilians for online speech, with court documents indicating OPR investigated 131 cases of alleged doxing and threats against ICE employees between January 2025 and March 2026.

Joselyn Chipantiza-Sisalema, age 20, was detained at 26 Federal Plaza for 10 days where conditions included lights that were never shut off and unbearable summer heat. She was provided minimal food—often just cookies thrown into the detention area—and had to beg staff for food and water. She was eventually released from ICE custody following a federal judge's order. She stated: "We had to beg the people working there that they gave us something to eat, they didn't even give us water. Sometimes a few cookies they'd throw in there. A human being doesn't deserve to be treated that way. They had us in there like animals."

Roberto Chilavert Olmedo was held at 26 Federal Plaza for days during the summer 2025 surge in ICE arrests. In written testimony presented to the federal court, he described the experience as a nightmare, stating: "My time at 26 Federal Plaza still haunts me. It is a nightmare and I cannot believe that human beings can be treated like that in a place like the United States."

Reyes's husband, an undocumented construction worker, was detained last June when Florida Highway Patrol stopped his car over a plastic cover obscuring his license plate. He was charged with unlawful alteration of vehicle registration and driving without a license, then transferred to ICE custody and held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego. Reyes, who had been a stay-at-home mother of two children (ages eight and twelve), began working as a babysitter and selling homemade food to support the family and pay for her husband's legal fees, which totaled approximately $13,000. The family nearly faced eviction before relatives contributed $5,000 in back rent. After about one year in detention, an immigration judge granted her husband bond of approximately $1,500 in July 2026. A non-profit group outside the detention center and El Pueblo Unido provided additional funds for his plane ticket home. He arrived in Sarasota in the middle of the night, and for the first time in a year, reunited with his children. The family continues to fight his deportation case amid mixed emotions of relief and uncertainty.

Ramiro G., a 33-year-old man from Ecuador living in Buffalo, New York, was walking to work when he noticed an unmarked van trailing him. He texted his wife: 'Don't come outside, I think ICE is here.' When the van turned on its lights, masked officers asked for identification. Because he was undocumented, he had nothing to show and was arrested. He was handcuffed and taken to Buffalo (Batavia) Service Processing Center before being transferred to Camp East Montana.

Alonso C., a 72-year-old Cuban man who had lived in the United States for over 46 years and had a valid work permit, was playing dominos outside a bodega in Miami when masked agents without visible name tags approached looking for a man called 'El Flaco.' Although Alonso said he did not know the person and produced his work permit, agents handcuffed and arrested him. 'They didn't have a warrant, they didn't even show their faces. They didn't care that I had my permit,' he said. He was taken to Krome North Service Processing Center and eventually transferred to Camp East Montana.

Jesús, a 10-year employee at Westchester Hand Wash and primary breadwinner for his family, was arrested during ICE raids in Los Angeles in June 2025 and detained in El Paso. Immigration agents pressured him to sign documents without his glasses, and he unknowingly waived his right to remain in the U.S. He was deported to Mexico, leaving behind his wife Noémi and their four U.S. citizen children—Dhelainy (16), Esther (15), Angel (11), and Gabriel (6)—in Inglewood. The family has submitted a green card petition, but the application is backlogged and could take six years or longer to process, leaving the family separated as the children continue their education and activities in California.

An 11-year-old autistic girl was placed in foster care in Nebraska after her father was picked up by ICE in June 2025. The girl was separated from her parent and placed in the custody of the state.

Christian Cerna, a U.S. citizen, was violently arrested by ICE officers in June 2025 days after attending a protest against ICE raids. ICE officers filmed the arrest in front of his family and later posted the footage to social media. Cerna was accused of punching a border patrol agent at the protest but denies the allegation; he later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault.

Alberto Perdomo was detained on June 1, 2025, by immigration agents in Riverside while on his way to work. He is currently held at Adelanto Detention Center. Perdomo, the sole provider for his wife and four young children, was taken into custody following a traffic stop. Multiple plaintiffs, including named detainees and immigrant advocacy organizations, filed a class-action lawsuit against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and other federal officials challenging the detention and recent enforcement sweeps.

Documents revealed in a federal lawsuit show that ICE officers detained up to 100 people at a time in a makeshift facility on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan in 2025, despite the Trump administration denying overcrowding. Internal emails and testimony from ICE officials themselves acknowledged the deteriorating conditions, including detainees lying on cement floors, inadequate food, lack of medical care, and failure to comply with a judge's order limiting occupancy. Detainees including Nuvia Ventura Martinez and Carlos Lopez Benitez testified about days spent in cells designed for only 12-hour stays, with no beds or showers.