Human Impact Project

Lee Stinton, a 45-year-old Irish hairstylist from Northern Ireland who had lived in Key West since 2018, was detained by ICE on June 12 after being stopped for a traffic violation on his e-bike. During the stop, an ICE officer told him "You look Mexican" before taking him into custody. Stinton had valid work authorization and a pending green card application through VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) protection after his previous marriage ended in domestic violence charges. An ICE officer also threatened to detain Stinton's partner, DeVaun Davis, a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier and U.S. citizen, after seeing his photo on Stinton's phone. At Krome Detention Center near Miami, Stinton was held in severely overcrowded conditions—a cell designed for 10 people held approximately 100 men on a concrete floor with one toilet—denied vegan food despite being vegan, given limited access to showers and medications, and experienced obstacles contacting a lawyer. During his detention, Stinton was taken to a hospital where subdermal piercings were surgically removed without his consent while he was shackled to a bed. He also witnessed a detainee die after not receiving heart medication. Stinton is a valued community member with no criminal record who had been paying taxes since 2019; a local petition for his release drew over 1,500 signatures. After approximately one month in detention, Stinton was deported to London on July 12 and returned to Northern Ireland, where he has since engaged in therapy and part-time work. His case drew international attention with coverage in the BBC, Belfast Telegraph, and other outlets.

Tenzin, a 29-year-old Tibetan refugee originally from Nepal, arrived at Newark airport on July 12 and was detained after attempting to cross into Canada. He spent over six months in ICE detention in Batavia, NY, where his asylum case was dismissed by a judge due to an interpreter's illness, then targeted for deportation to Uganda under the Trump administration's pretermission policy. His attorney successfully intervened to have him deported to Canada instead, where he arrived on February 19.

U.S. Border Patrol agents raided Don Chilaquiles food stand in La Puente on December 3, 2025, detaining three workers. Video footage shows agents seizing a cash box from the stand and placing it in an unmarked vehicle. One worker fled to a nearby firetruck during the operation, and an accident occurred between an agent's vehicle and another car at the scene.

Federal ICE agents raided Glass House Farms facilities in Camarillo and Carpinteria, California on July 11, detaining dozens of farmworkers. Hundreds of community members gathered to protest, and federal agents deployed tear gas and smoke grenades on the crowd, injuring at least one city council member. Judith Ramos, a 22-year-old certified nurse assistant, was sprayed with tear gas when she arrived at the farm to support her father, a farmworker at the facility, and learned he had been detained. Rep. Salud Carbajal was denied entry when he attempted to conduct congressional oversight of the raid. National Guard troops in military vehicles also responded to the scene. ICE agents conducted a heavily armed raid on Glass House Farms cannabis facilities in Camarillo and Carpinteria on July 10, 2025, detaining 361 adults and 14 minors. A 56-year-old farm worker died after falling 30 feet from a greenhouse roof. Three men—undocumented farm worker Santiago, security guard George Retes (an Iraq veteran), and professor John Caravello—were arrested during the operation; Caravello was arrested after throwing back a teargas canister at agents.

Sandra, an asylum seeker from South America, was arrested by ICE during a routine check-in appointment at the agency's San Francisco field office on July 11, 2025, and has been held in a detention center awaiting updates on her pending asylum case. She met her husband Roberto online in 2017 and undertook a months-long journey through Central America and the Darien Gap to reunite with him in San Francisco, where they married in early 2025. Sandra was taking English classes at City College and the couple was planning to start a family when she was detained. Roberto, who recently obtained legal status and received a promotion at work, was present during the appointment. Sandra continues to wait for her first court date, with her attorney fighting for her pending asylum application while she remains in detention.

Barbara Stone, a 71-year-old U.S. citizen, was handcuffed and detained by ICE agents outside of a San Diego immigration court hearing. Stone reported that she was affected by the incident.

According to a social media post, Border Patrol allegedly illegally arrested a U.S. citizen. The family reportedly does not know the whereabouts of the arrested individual. The incident was shared on Instagram with a video documenting the situation.

Jackie Merlos, an undocumented immigrant mother from Honduras with a pending U-visa, was detained by CBP agents on June 28, 2025, at Peace Arch Park near the U.S.-Canada border during a family picnic. Merlos, a well-regarded local business owner who had lived in Portland, Oregon for decades, was held in a CBP facility for 12 days. An ICE agent then called Merlos' friend Mimi Lettunich, demanding she immediately pick up Merlos' four U.S. citizen children—9-year-old triplets and a 7-year-old—or they would be placed in foster care. Lettunich, who had not cared for young children in years and had a full-time job, took the children into her home. Federal authorities attempted to deport Merlos without proper documentation or due process, but a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the children's removal. As of July 2025, Merlos remained in ICE custody at a facility in Tacoma, Washington, separated from her children and facing formal removal proceedings.

Edgar, a 36-year-old DACA recipient who arrived in the U.S. from Mexico as a 13-year-old in 2001, was detained following a warrant for missing a court date related to driving with a suspended license. He was arrested, held briefly at Orange County jail, then transferred to the Florida Everglades detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" in early June 2025. Edgar is the father of three U.S. citizens with no criminal record and maintains valid DACA status through regular renewals, with a current work permit. His employer submitted a letter supporting him, and his attorney Josephine Arroyo has petitioned ICE to grant him bond. When arrested, Edgar informed officers of his active DACA status but was told by ICE that DACA had been canceled. His family expressed concern for his safety, citing detention conditions including 24-hour lighting, poor food, mosquitoes, inconsistent air conditioning, and a non-functional toilet system. Neither Edgar nor his attorney understands the legal basis for his continued detention, and the timeline for resolving his bond petition remains unclear.

Vanessa Valdez, a Ventura-based attorney and legal observer, was shot six times with rubber bullets and exposed to tear gas during a raid at Glass House Farms in July 2025, despite identifying herself as a legal observer. The raid, conducted by ICE and Border Patrol agents, resulted in more than 360 arrests at farm sites in Carpinteria and Camarillo, northwest of Los Angeles. Valdez reported severe pain, sleep disruption for three weeks, inability to see, and crawled on all fours to escape. She has filed a tort claim against the federal government seeking compensation for hospital visits, lost wages during recovery, anxiety medication, and mental health treatment.

Mitch Lillie, a volunteer with grassroots organization VC Defense, was at the Glass House Farms facility in Camarillo when federal agents raided the site on July 10, 2025. Lillie was shot in the temple with a rubber bullet during the operation. He witnessed workers trapped in the facility and family members distraught on their phones.

NBC6 reviewed dozens of 911 calls made from April through June 2025 from family members and employees at Krome Detention Center requesting medical assistance for detainees. The calls document cases of unresponsive detainees, chest pains, blood coughing, and other serious health conditions where facility staff allegedly did not provide adequate medical response. A recent report found detainees were held beyond the 12-hour limit and some did not receive required medical and mental health screenings upon arrival.

Two federal ICE agents arrested 27-year-old Jack Randmaa and pepper sprayed 80-year-old attorney Doug Hayes during a chaotic scene in downtown Santa Barbara. Randmaa, a volunteer ICE observer, was allegedly arrested after approaching an ICE vehicle on Carrillo Street, with agents accusing him of slashing a tire, though his father claims the charges are false.

Nicolle Orozco Forero, her husband Juan Sebastian Moreno Acosta, and their two sons were detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas in June 2025 after arriving for a routine ICE check-in appointment. The family, who had been living in Seattle for two years, were separated by gender during their three-week detention. Their son Juan David, who had a serious kidney condition requiring medical treatment including a recommended biopsy, was denied adequate medical care by ICE officials. Despite legal efforts and community mobilization including support from U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro, the family was eventually deported.

Immigrants detained at ICE holding rooms at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan have complained of inhumane conditions including cramped quarters, inadequate food, inability to bathe or change clothes, and sleeping on concrete floors. Some detainees reported stays lasting up to 10 days in what were previously temporary processing areas, with allegations of insufficient medical care and limited communication with family and lawyers.

Immigrant detainees at a state-managed detention facility in the Florida Everglades are alleging conditions including lack of water, electricity issues, inadequate food, and excessive mosquitoes. Detainees from Cuba and Colombia have reported being denied access to bathrooms, showers, medicine, and legal representation. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has requested access to monitor the facility, while state officials deny the allegations.

Eduardo Guzman Garcia was pulled over in Henry County for a broken brake light on July 9, 2025, and subsequently taken to jail for driving without a license. The Henry County Sheriff's Office notified DHS after discovering an immigration detainer on him, and ICE agents arrested him at the jail. He has been held in an ICE facility in Atlanta since July 12, 2025, while his family continues working on his green card application.

Maisa Lopes Eliaser, a 32-year-old Brazilian national, was detained by ICE in early July 2025 during a scheduled adjustment-of-status interview at a USCIS office in Montgomery, Alabama, where she was seeking lawful permanent residency through her marriage to Army Staff Sergeant Alexis Jaramillo. Eliaser legally entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in June 2019 but overstayed it; she had previously applied for asylum and later sought a green card through marriage. Jaramillo, 43, who has served in the Army for 11 years as an aviation operations specialist at Fort Polk, Louisiana, was forced to take administrative leave to care for their 5-year-old stepson, Noah. Jaramillo told reporters the experience was "really overwhelming" and that he feels "betrayed" by the detention, saying "I need to take care of my kid by myself. No one is here to help me out." Eliaser is being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center. An AP investigation found that at least 52 parents and spouses of active-duty service members have been detained by immigration officers since Trump took office for a second term.

Don Lupe, a warehouse worker from Puebla, Mexico who had lived in the U.S. for 27 years, was the first worker arrested when ICE agents raided Alba Wines and Spirits in Edison, New Jersey on July 8. Agents handcuffed him with zip ties and transported him to Delaney Hall detention facility. His daughter, a pre-school teacher, learned of the raid mid-class when her mother called crying. The family of six children surrounded their mother, who suffers from asthma, depression, and high blood pressure, as they frantically called immigration lawyers for hours. Don Lupe had hidden his fears about the raids from his wife to protect her health, but prayed each morning before leaving for work that God would let him come home. He was eventually released after legal advocacy and reunited with his family.

Hector Saul Iraheta-Mercado was arrested by ICE officers on July 8, 2025, based on a 17-year-old warrant for unlawful entry and now faces federal trial for allegedly assaulting officer Jaimie Waite by trapping his arm in a car window during the stop. A judge ruled inadmissible evidence showing Washington's Department of Licensing illegally shared Iraheta-Mercado's data with ICE, preventing the defense from using the unauthorized data access as impeachment evidence. The case resulted in a mistrial in March 2026 when jurors could not reach unanimity, and the trial resumed in June 2026. Court records indicate ICE officer Waite has a documented history of collaboration with Washington law enforcement and anti-immigrant social media posts.