Human Impact Project

Matthew Marrero and his husband Allan Dabrio Marrero attended a green card interview at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan on November 24, 2025. Allan was detained by ICE after it was discovered he had missed an immigration court hearing in December 2022 and had a deportation order against him, which neither he nor Matthew knew about. Matthew says they were told Allan could leave the facility but were then handed over to ICE agents, and he had only 30 seconds to say goodbye before they were separated. Allan has since been transferred to Delaney Hall ICE Detention Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Vahid Abedini, an OU College of International Studies professor with an employer-sponsored H-1B visa, was detained by ICE for three days after being stopped at Will Rogers Airport in November while preparing to travel to an academic conference. Federal authorities said the detention was for standard questioning, though Abedini was asked very few questions according to colleagues. He has since been released but remains fearful of retaliation and has limited his public comments about the incident.

Thi Dua Vang and her family found asylum in the U.S. in 2023 and she applied for her green card, which is awaiting final approval. ICE agents showed up at her doorstep, which Vang believed to be a mistake given her pending legal status.

Edwin Josue Padilla Molina, who entered the U.S. in 2013 as a 14-year-old and has lived continuously in Central Islip for twelve years, was detained by ICE on November 23, 2025 while driving his pregnant partner and mother-in-law. A federal judge granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release, finding that his detention without an individualized custody determination violated federal law and constitutional due process rights. The court rejected the government's argument that he was subject to mandatory detention, ruling instead that he was entitled to a bond hearing.

Genesis Valadez, owner of Las Pollitas food truck, captured footage on her business cameras of a federal raid on an unauthorized nightclub near Basse Road and San Pedro Avenue in San Antonio. The operation on November 17, 2025, involved 14 state, local, and federal agencies and resulted in the arrest of more than 150 people, including 27 alleged members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang. Video from Valadez's cameras shows federal agents using flash bangs and smoke bombs, zip-tying detainees, and intentionally destroying a neighbor's surveillance camera. The raid also resulted in the seizure of three guns, cocaine, and approximately $35,000 in cash. Valadez and other lawful business owners operating food trucks in the area were forced to relocate due to community fear following the operation.

A 17-year-old U.S. citizen and high school senior was detained by ICE agents in Yamhill County, Oregon on Friday during the school lunch period. According to ICE, the student allegedly followed and obstructed federal agents in a vehicle. The student's family confirmed he is a U.S. citizen. McMinnville School District Superintendent Kourtney Ferrua stated the school had not previously had ICE visits and is working to support students' social and emotional needs following the incident. The minor was transported to the ERO Portland office for investigation and potential federal prosecution for impeding federal law enforcement officers. Students nearby witnessed the detention.

Mor Ba, a 19-year-old asylum seeker from Senegal, was detained by ICE on the morning before Thanksgiving while entering his car to go to work. Ba, who had no criminal record and was months away from his asylum hearing, was taken to the North Lake Processing Center in northwest Michigan. His aunt, Seydi Sarr, a Detroit-based immigrant rights advocate, learned of his detention when he called her from the ICE office and eventually posted a $10,000 bond for his release in January.

A federal judge is determining if ICE agents had probable cause to charge Miguel Angel Garcia Martinez, a U.S. citizen, with assault. Martinez fled from officers who began chasing him while he was documenting Border Patrol operations in Charlotte. Court video showed ICE agents planned to 'smash' into Martinez's vehicle during the chase.

Isaias Eduardo Soto Elias, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE Border Patrol agents in Yamhill County after allegedly following and obstructing the agents in a vehicle on Friday. He was transported to the ERO Portland office for investigation and federal prosecution for impeding federal law enforcement officers. DHS stated the detentions occurred during ICE sweeps in the county that resulted in at least seven other arrests.

Christian Jimenez, 17, a U.S. citizen and high school senior, was detained by ICE officers while driving off school grounds during lunch break in McMinnville. An officer broke the car's driver's side window and detained Jimenez despite him stating he was a U.S. citizen. He was transported to an ICE facility in South Portland and released shortly before 7 p.m. Authorities are attempting to charge his brother with obstruction of investigation.

Sam Behpoor, a restaurateur and manager of Pismo's Coastal Grill, was released on bond after being held in ICE custody for over eight months beginning June 23, 2025, when he attended an immigration interview. Behpoor had lost his green card following a 2004 non-aggravated burglary conviction and was detained while attempting to reinstate it. An immigration judge determined he did not pose a danger to the community or flight risk, allowing him to post bond and return home to his wife and toddler. The Governor had pardoned his 2004 conviction in November.

On November 21, 2025, ICE agents detained Christian Jimenez, a 17-year-old U.S. citizen and McMinnville High School senior, during lunch break in Oregon. Despite asserting his citizenship, agents broke his car window and transported him to an ICE facility in South Portland before releasing him later that day. The detention was part of ICE sweeps in Yamhill County that week resulting in at least 7 total detentions, including at least 4 U.S. citizens. The incident occurred off school grounds but was witnessed by students in the area. A protest was held in response. The McMinnville School District confirmed increased ICE activity in the community while noting that agents have not entered school buildings.

Bryan Cuautle Romero, 29, a long-term U.S. resident married to a U.S. citizen with two U.S. citizen children, was detained at West Tennessee Detention Facility in Mason on November 21, 2025, after checking in at an ICE office. ICE invoked a mandatory detention policy for individuals without admission or inspection. Despite a subsequent Sixth Circuit Court ruling against the mandatory detention policy in May 2026, Bryan had already accepted voluntary deportation to Mexico with a final removal date of June 6, 2026. His wife Lauren plans to pursue an I-130 petition to bring him back to the United States.

Alejandro Orrego Agudelo, a 27-year-old Colombian asylum seeker, was arrested by Boston police on November 21 after a dispute over a parking space on Falcon Street in East Boston. He was charged with assault and battery on a police officer and released by a judge that same day at East Boston District Court. However, ICE agents arrested him in the courthouse lockup and detained him for four months at Plymouth County jail under the Laken Riley Act. After legal challenges including a habeas corpus petition and dismissal of criminal charges, an immigration judge granted him bond, and he was released.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted enforcement operations in Long Beach on Thursday, resulting in at least nine detentions at workplaces. Mayor Rex Richardson and Supervisor Janice Hahn commented on the operations, with Richardson referencing a violent incident involving a gardener at a restaurant. DHS stated six people in the country without authorization from Mexico were arrested who had prior criminal histories.

Two U.S. citizen women were detained by ICE agents in Canby on Thursday after filming the agents in a parking lot. They were held for hours without access to an attorney before being released. The Oregon for All coalition, which reported the detentions, noted the women have chosen to remain anonymous due to fears of retaliation. The detentions occurred during ICE sweeps in Yamhill County that resulted in at least seven other arrests.

ICE agents detained a 16-year-old high school intern at the Licht Judicial Complex in Providence on November 20, 2025, after misidentifying the teenager as their target. Superior Court Judge Joseph J. McBurney intervened, and agents verified their information and released the intern. Governor Dan McKee and Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos issued statements regarding the incident.

Federal immigration agents detained a gardener in Long Beach's University Park Estates neighborhood on January 21, 2026, after he fled into a restaurant. The man claimed to be a dual citizen and showed agents an identification card during the detention. Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson criticized the operation as an "abduction" and said it reflected "a pattern of enforcement rooted in fear and intimidation."

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been holding 23-year-old Eric Sebastian Ferrales, a Laveen landscaper who has lived in the United States since age 3, for two weeks. Although Ferrales lacks legal status, his family states the U.S. is the only country he has ever truly known. He now faces deportation proceedings.

The longtime owner of La Playa Taco Shop, a well-known decades-old Mexican restaurant in Pacific Beach, San Diego, has been detained by federal immigration authorities and is facing possible deportation.