Human Impact Project

A Georgian citizen who entered the U.S. in 2022 and filed an asylum application was detained by ICE in November 2025 during a routine check-in. He had originally been released on his own recognizance after being apprehended by Border Patrol. The federal court ruled his detention unlawful and ordered his immediate release, finding he did not meet the criteria for mandatory detention under immigration law.

An Instagram post reports ICE agents forcibly placing a person into a van at 7:50 AM near 148th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 16th Street. The person was reportedly pleading for help in Spanish while being detained. Bystanders observed the incident but did not intervene or identify the individual.

Rafael Veraza and his 1-year-old daughter were allegedly pepper-sprayed by ICE agents in a Chicago suburb while the family was going grocery shopping. The incident occurred last week, and the family held a news conference to discuss the alleged use of force. The Department of Homeland Security has disputed the allegation.

Juliana Milena Ojeda Montoya, 24, an Ecuadorian national with a pending asylum claim and valid work authorization, was detained by ICE on November 6, 2025, during a traffic stop on Kimball Street in Fitchburg. The detention occurred while her husband, Carlos Sebastian Zapata, 24, a Fitchburg resident, appeared to suffer a seizure while holding their 1½-year-old daughter. According to Zapata's account, an ICE agent pushed him, hit his ribs, and pressed on his neck, causing him to lose consciousness. Video of the incident captured bystanders expressing concern for his safety and went viral. The Department of Homeland Security claimed Zapata was faking a medical emergency to help his wife evade arrest, though medical examination findings are disputed. A federal judge ordered Ojeda Montoya's release on November 10, finding that her detention without a hearing violated her due process rights and citing her young daughter whom she breastfeeds and her husband's acute medical episode. Ojeda Montoya had been released on bond in March 2024.

A Haitian citizen who entered the U.S. in 2023 and was paroled was arrested in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida on April 16, 2025 for battery. After conviction on November 4, 2025, he was detained by immigration agents on November 10, 2025 and transferred to Central Valley Annex in California. The court granted his habeas petition, finding he was not subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) and ordering a bond hearing within 14 days.

A high school student and mariachi musician describes two separate immigration raids on his family occurring four months apart. The article details the student's experience and documents the effects of federal immigration enforcement on young people of color across the United States.

Nine employees at Allston Car Wash in Boston—Hector Valladares, Felicita Valladares, Vanessa Vasquez Valladares, Clarisa Aguilon, Heidy Aguilon, Yuli Magali Mendez Luarca, Pablo Oseas Lopez, Dairo Preciado, and Jose P. Enriquez Sagastume—were detained by more than 22 ICE agents on November 4, 2025. All nine workers held valid work permits at the time of their arrest. According to business manager Jose Barrera, agents arrived with subpoenas and detained the workers before allowing them to retrieve their work permits from their lockers. Attorney Todd Pomerleau reported that detainees held at ICE's Boston field office in Burlington experienced mistreatment, including being denied food and shower access for several days, and that one detainee was allegedly transferred to Texas in violation of a court order. Seven of the detained workers subsequently filed a federal tort claim through Boston Lawyers for Civil Rights alleging unlawful arrest, racial profiling based on their Latino and Spanish-speaking status, and mistreatment in custody including shackling, transport to multiple detention facilities, and denial of access to phones, legal counsel, and medications. The complaint seeks $1 million in compensation per worker plus legal fees.

A woman who entered the U.S. on December 10, 2021, on a B-2 visitor visa was detained by ICE on November 9, 2025, while in custody at Utah County Jail after her visa expired in June 2022. After six months in ICE detention without a bond hearing, the federal court found a due process violation and ordered her immediate release.

An ICE agent pointed a gun at a female driver in Santa Ana who was allegedly recording him. A Fullerton police officer intervened at the scene and the ICE agent identified himself and provided credentials. The officer declined to assist, noting no crime had occurred, and the woman left the area.

An ICE agent brandished a firearm at Sol, an unarmed community watch member, at the intersection of Santa Ana Boulevard and Shelton Street in Santa Ana on November 9, 2025. The agent pointed his gun directly at Sol after she had been legally observing and documenting what appeared to be an ICE vehicle. A Fullerton Police officer witnessed the incident but did not intervene after the agent identified himself as ICE and claimed Sol was following him.

Jaykie Funez-Andrade, who has lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years, was detained by ICE agents during a traffic stop on Route 11 North in Harrisonburg, Virginia while driving her 16-year-old daughter to school. When she struggled to recite her Social Security number from memory, an agent tackled her to the ground; she then produced her work permit, Social Security card, driver's license, and vehicle registration, but was arrested anyway. Her daughter filmed the encounter and said officers left her alone on the roadside as they drove off with her mother, saying, "I want this video out there because I want my mother home." Funez-Andrade is being held at Rockingham/Harrisonburg Regional Jail with no criminal charges filed, reportedly as a 'courtesy' to ICE, and her family has started a GoFundMe to cover legal fees.

Federal agents sprayed pepper spray from a moving vehicle at a line of cars exiting a Sam's Club parking lot in Cicero on Saturday morning, striking a 1-year-old child among other occupants. Video footage shows a masked federal agent firing chemical irritants through open car windows.

An Indian American employee of the Illinois Department of Transportation who is a U.S. citizen was questioned by three masked federal agents on November 7 while working at a Busse Highway resurfacing project in Park Ridge. The agents asked whether the employee had traveled to New York and if he was aware of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who is also Indian. Governor JB Pritzker's office condemned the stop as a targeted questioning of a state employee with no legitimate reason.

A long-time U.S. resident who arrived in the country at age 3 in 1991 was detained by ICE on November 7, 2025 during a scheduled check-in at the San Francisco ICE Field Office. ICE alleged he violated his GPS monitoring terms by visiting Stinson Beach on Labor Day, though he claims he had permission from his ISAP officer. The court ordered his immediate release and prohibited re-detention without a hearing before an immigration judge.

Kara Dominguez, a U.S. citizen and activist who runs La Voz del Pueblo, a grassroots group tracking ICE activity on Facebook, alleges that ICE arrested her husband Olvin Dominguez on November 5, 2025, in retaliation for her activism. According to Kara, her husband reported that ICE officers said they had been monitoring her Facebook page. Olvin Dominguez, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras with no criminal record who has lived in the U.S. for 17 years, was transferred to Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana.

Victor Cruz, a Hillsboro resident with legal work authorization and temporary protected status, was arrested by ICE on October 14 after agents pulled him over, claiming he was wanted on DUI and hit-and-run charges. ICE agents allegedly confused him with another man bearing the same name despite recognizing the photo mismatch. After ICE confirmed at the Portland facility that Cruz had no criminal record, he was transferred to a detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, where he remained for over three weeks. An immigration judge initially denied bail, but a federal district court judge released Cruz on bond on November 7. Democratic political leaders, including Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, and his family and attorney protested the detention as unlawful.

Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, 31, was sentenced to time served for illegally reentering the United States after spending nearly seven months in jail since his arrest outside the Milwaukee County Courthouse. He pleaded guilty and agreed not to fight deportation in exchange for prosecutors recommending a time-served sentence. He is now awaiting deportation from a county jail.

ICE agents surrounded a family's car in Fitchburg on Thursday morning to arrest Juliana Milena Ojeda-Montoya, who was wanted for allegedly stabbing a coworker with scissors. Video shows her husband Carlos Zapata, 24, appearing to have a seizure while holding their toddler daughter during the arrest. Zapata said agents pushed, hit him, and pressed on his neck, causing him to lose consciousness. DHS officials disputed his account, claiming he faked the medical emergency and stating medical personnel found no legitimate emergency.

Waukegan Alderman Juan Martinez was briefly detained by U.S. immigration enforcement agents on Baldwin Avenue while stuck in traffic on November 7, 2025. Four federal agents drew guns on Martinez while he sat in his car with his hands raised, with one agent threatening to shoot him. The agents eventually left after community members identified Martinez as a city alderman, and he filed a police report with the Waukegan Police Department.

A detainee identified as K.U. in court filings alleged he was not receiving proper medical care for numerous life-threatening health conditions while detained at Batavia. An independent physician reviewed his case and expressed extreme concern that he was not receiving the standard of appropriate medical care. A judge ordered his release in August 2025. ICE officials have not yet addressed his medical claims in court.