Human Impact Project

Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez's wife was detained outside a Walmart in front of their 6-year-old daughter in July 2025 while he was stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas. The detention has made it difficult for him to focus on his military career as he worries about his wife's situation. The case reflects Trump's administration's rollback of immigration protections for military families that had been in place for decades under bipartisan consensus.

Alexis, a 15-year-old from Chiapas, Mexico, was detained on July 1 when Florida Highway Patrol stopped a vehicle he was traveling in with friends and handed him over to federal authorities. He had no criminal record. The teenager spent three days at Alligator Alcatraz, a controversial temporary detention facility consisting of tents and chain-link pens, housed with adults and handcuffed during transfer. Officers said he misrepresented his age upon arrest because he feared being separated from his group. His father, Ignacio, learned of his detention only after three days when one of Alexis's friends called from the facility. After Ignacio sent a photo of Alexis's birth certificate and authorities confirmed his age, the boy was transferred to a federal shelter for migrant children on July 4. Ignacio, who fled Chiapas in 2018 due to violence, is working to reunite with his son.

A Ghanaian woman who has lived in the U.S. for five years and works as a home health aide in Franklin County is facing deportation to Uganda under a 2025 U.S.-Uganda agreement, despite having no ties to Uganda and speaking a different language. She has been seeking asylum but the Department of Homeland Security is pushing to cut her case short and deport her to the third country. Immigration lawyer Gus Shihab noted the contradiction in the U.S. government's position, as the State Department has documented human rights concerns in Uganda while simultaneously claiming it is a safe destination for deportees.

Carlos Lopez Benitez was arrested by ICE agents immediately after his immigration court hearing in July 2025, which he attended with his two U.S. citizen sisters. He was detained at 26 Federal Plaza for multiple days in severely overcrowded conditions. An ICE officer held up a phone showing a photo of Lopez Benitez weeping and laughed. When he asked why they were arresting him, an ICE officer responded "it's a new government." After his release from custody, he testified about the conditions and stated: "No one should have to go through what I went through, or what thousands of other people who have been arrested and detained in this building have gone through."

A client of attorney George Rios was detained in July 2025 during a scheduled green card interview at the Fresno USCIS office. The client arrived with his wife, a U.S. citizen, but she was asked to step into the waiting area before ICE agents detained him. He was driven across the border at age four and presented himself to immigration officials, which counted as legal entry. Rios believes the real reason for detention was the client's criminal history, though the client has no criminal convictions and has been in the U.S. for at least 10 years, maintained good moral character, and is eligible for his green card. He is currently detained at a McFarland detention facility. His wife is a U.S. citizen, and his youngest child is less than a year old. Rios must prove several requirements at a hearing to give his client a chance to stay in the country, arguing that deportation would cause extreme hardship on his wife and children.

An undocumented single mother was arrested during a workplace raid at a cannabis farm in Southern California in July 2025. Her 10-month-old US citizen child was left with family friends as a result of her arrest and detention.

ICE conducted raids on cannabis farms near the California coast in summer 2025, resulting in the detention and rapid deportation of more than 300 undocumented workers. More than a dozen US citizen children were left stranded without parents. In one case, a 15-year-old was left alone with his two younger brothers, ages 8 and 9, after their mother was deported to Mexico only three days after the raid. A 10-month-old was left with family friends when her single mother was arrested. During the raids, federal agents used riot gear, flash bang grenades, and smoke bombs; a worker fleeing the facility fell 30 feet from a greenhouse roof and died.

Kenia Perez, mother of two US citizen children ages 6 and 9, was arrested by ICE agents at her home in Texas. She was the sole parent since their father died five years ago. Despite telling her attorney she wanted to see her children as soon as possible, she was deported to Honduras only three days after her arrest, leaving her two young sons without a caregiver.

Nancy Martinez, a 37-year-old factory worker and 15-year resident of New Haven, was arrested by ICE agents on June 9, 2025, while driving her two U.S. citizen children—13-year-old Monse and 8-year-old son—to school. Masked and armed agents in three unmarked vehicles boxed in her car, handcuffed her in front of her children, and did not present a judicial warrant or identify themselves as ICE. Martinez's grandmother came outside to help the children after her arrest. She was detained in multiple facilities across Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, and Texas before being deported to Mexico approximately one month later. Martinez subsequently filed a federal civil lawsuit against ICE and the federal government alleging violations of her constitutional rights, including assault, recklessness, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and unlawful detention.

Hector Saul Iraheta-Mercado was arrested by ICE on July 8, 2025, in East Wenatchee and charged with assaulting ICE agent Jaimie Waite. After a mistrial in March 2025, he was acquitted at a second trial in June 2025. He is now facing a federal jury trial on the same assault charge, with proceedings that began in June 2026 including video evidence of the arrest and testimony about the arresting officer's social media posts.

A 27-year-old Filipino housekeeping attendant identified as C was removed from a Carnival cruise ship docked in Baltimore by CBP agents who questioned him about child sexual abuse material. Agents examined his phone but found no evidence of illegal content. C denied all allegations and was never shown evidence or charged with any crime. His visa was revoked and marked cancelled without prejudice, and he was deported to the Philippines, ending his maritime career.

Attorney Vanessa Valdez, identifying herself as a legal observer, was shot six times with rubber bullets and exposed to tear gas during an ICE raid on Glass House Farms cannabis company. The injuries caused severe pain, rib damage, and sleep disruption lasting weeks, leading to hospital visits and ongoing mental health treatment costs included in her tort claim.

A single mother of three granted legal status under the child separation settlement was deported to Honduras in July 2025 along with her children, despite possessing protections under the federal settlement agreement. According to court records, she has received death threats from local men seeking to extort money since her return.

A 60-year-old Afghan migrant, Baqir Rezaei, died in an Iranian detention camp in Zabol after being intercepted despite holding an official exit permit. He was held without food or water and forced to work under extreme heat conditions. According to his family, at least eight migrants died in the camp out of 35 who lost consciousness from heat and thirst.

Cristian Romo-Bermejo, a former Virginia Tech student, was arrested in July 2025 after an alcohol-related incident where he allegedly threatened staff and assaulted officers while being treated for alcohol poisoning. He was subsequently detained by ICE due to his undocumented status and was deported before his scheduled court appearance for the assault charges.

Paul John Bojerski, 79, a Polish-born refugee who legally immigrated to the U.S. in 1952 and lived there for over 70 years, was detained by ICE in late October 2025 based on a decades-old deportation order from 1968. Despite having no passport and no country to return to, Bojerski was taken into custody after attending a routine ICE check-in and transferred to Alligator Alcatraz detention facility. His family reports his health has deteriorated significantly during detention, and he now awaits resolution of his case.

Donna Brown-Hughes, an Irish woman who has lived in America for 47 years, was detained by ICE for five months after returning from a trip to Ireland. She was arrested in Chicago due to two dishonored checks from 13 and 10 years prior. She was subsequently released and reunited with her family in Missouri. During detention, she reported conditions including unsanitary facilities, pest infestations, and inadequate food and utilities.

A 15-year-old Mexican national was detained by Florida Highway Patrol in Tampa and transferred to Alligator Alcatraz, a detention facility in the Florida Everglades designed for adult detainees. The teenager initially claimed to be an adult, but was transferred to a shelter for migrant children after his age was confirmed. State and federal officials initially did not acknowledge the minor had been held at the facility before acknowledging it after media confirmation.

Arpineh Kamal Masihi, an Iranian-born refugee with a prior theft conviction, was detained by ICE for 187 days at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center after her green card was revoked. Her husband Arthu Sahakyan has stated he would continue to support Trump and his immigration enforcement policies.

Thirty young people were arrested after blocking an ICE detention facility near Alligator Alcatraz. A journalist covering the action was also detained by police. The protesters are demanding the shutdown of all ICE facilities and the abolition of ICE.