Human Impact Project

Seventeen people detained by federal immigration agents were held at the Burleigh/Morton Detention Center in Bismarck as ICE exceeded the 41,500 beds funded by Congress, holding over 48,000 people nationally. North Dakota facilities absorbed overflow detainees.

A 41-year-old man from Guatemala drowned in the American Canal near El Paso after crossing the border fence without authorization with two other individuals in June 2025. Border Patrol agents and Department of Defense personnel observed the three individuals enter the canal and rescued two of them. The third man was found unresponsive approximately two-tenths of a mile away. Despite CPR efforts by Border Patrol and fire department personnel, he was pronounced dead at University Medical Center.

Brian Gavidia, a 29-year-old U.S. citizen, was detained and interrogated by armed Border Patrol agents at a tow yard in Montebello during a roving patrol. Agents pushed him against a metal gate and demanded to know where he was born, asking specific questions about his birthplace despite his repeated assertions that he was American and attempts to show his Real ID. Agents took his identification and detained him for investigation of interference in an enforcement operation before releasing him after confirming his U.S. citizenship. The incident occurred during broader Border Patrol sweeps across Southern California targeting largely Latino neighborhoods and raising concerns about racial profiling.

Four detainees escaped from Delaney Hall, a privately-owned immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on June 12-13, 2025, by breaking through inadequately constructed interior and exterior walls. The escape occurred amid reports of disorder at the facility, including complaints about delayed meals, poor conditions, overcrowding, and unhygienic facilities. Two of the escapees—Joel Enrique Sandoval-Lopez from Honduras and Joan Sebastian Castaneda-Lozada from Colombia—were recaptured by federal authorities by June 12-13. Two others—Franklin Norberto Bautista-Reyes and Andres Felipe Pineda-Mogollon, a Colombian national—remained at large as of mid-June, with the FBI offering up to $10,000 for information leading to their arrests. All four face federal charges of escape from custody. DHS stated the escapees have criminal histories, and facility management announced plans to move detainees out over the following 24 hours.

A man was arrested by ICE on June 15, 2025, in Anaheim, California, while entering a store. He has been detained for over 7 months despite being in the process of obtaining residency through USCIS and having no criminal record. He has suffered serious health complications including hospitalization for oxygen deprivation, legal injustices including attorney abandonment, and needs funds for legal representation before his final asylum hearing in June.

On Saturday, June 14, ICE agents conducted a raid on a popular swap meet in Santa Fe Springs featuring vendors, food, and entertainment. Dozens of heavily armed, masked officers carried out the operation before a scheduled 5:30 p.m. concert, which was subsequently canceled. Witnesses reported that agents appeared to be targeting people based on appearance, with one attendee describing being photographed by agents after stating he was from the United States. DHS confirmed that two people were arrested at the swap meet and are facing deportation. The raid was part of sustained ICE activity across southern California targeting day laborers, car washers, warehouse workers, and residents in public spaces.

Heidi Plummer, a U.S. citizen and Orange County attorney, was arrested by federal agents at Centennial Regional Park in Santa Ana on June 14 while taking a walk. Plummer was detained, handcuffed, and transported to an ICE detention facility in Santa Ana, where she was held for approximately an hour and a half before being released. ICE denied the incident occurred, stating they were not at the park that day and made no arrests there.

Border Patrol agents questioned Brian Gavidia, a U.S. citizen born in East Los Angeles, at his workplace on West Olympic Boulevard. Despite Gavidia showing his Real ID and repeatedly asserting his citizenship, agents held him against a fence, twisted his arm, and confiscated his ID and phone. The incident was captured on video.

Mason Lake, an independent journalist and videographer based in Portland, was shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents with a pepper round that struck his right arm while he covered a protest outside an immigration detention center on June 13, 2025. Lake was filming officers deploying crowd-control munitions during a protest over the arrest of Moisés Sotelo, a Newberg business owner detained by federal immigration agents. Despite wearing clear press markings on his coat, helmet, and belt, ICE agents shot at him multiple times. Lake believes the ICE Special Response Team was responsible based on uniform patches visible in his footage. Since 2020, Lake has been assaulted at least 14 times while covering Portland protests. In November 2025, Lake and fellow journalist Hugo Rios filed a federal class-action lawsuit against President Trump, the Department of Homeland Security, and its head Kristi Noem, alleging indiscriminate, retaliatory violence by DHS agents. In March 2026, Lake and Rios won a preliminary injunction protecting journalists against retaliatory violence by DHS agents in Portland.

Justin Chung was detained by ICE agents at his home despite having agreed to voluntarily depart to South Korea and having purchased a ticket for June 13. He had been granted clemency and parole after serving time for a youth offense and had since reformed, mentoring at-risk teens. His pregnant wife Neftali is seeking funds for legal assistance and support.

Jose Juarez Ramos, a 29-year-old Mexican citizen, was arrested in June 2025 for immigration law violations and fraud related to possessing counterfeit permanent resident and Social Security cards. After being released on a $50,000 bond on June 25, he was transferred to ICE custody pursuant to an immigration detainer and deported without notice to him or his attorney before his scheduled arraignment on June 27. His federal public defender filed a motion to dismiss the charges with prejudice, arguing the government violated his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights and the court's release order.

Gregory Sanabria Tarazona, a Venezuelan seeking asylum, was detained by ICE during a routine check-in in Houston. He was taken to an ICE processing center weeks before his preliminary hearing.

ICE detained several undocumented immigrants during what they believed were routine check-ins at the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) office in Birmingham's Southside last week. The detainees had final removal orders from immigration judges and had not complied with those orders, according to ICE officials. Immigration advocates expressed concern that targeting people in the ISAP program, which is meant to be an alternative to detention, sends a discouraging message to immigrants trying to follow the law.

Javier Diaz Santana, a 32-year-old deaf DACA recipient with no criminal history, was arrested by ICE agents during a raid at a car wash in Temple City, California on June 12, 2025. Despite being deaf and unable to communicate, agents confiscated his phone and wallet, handcuffed him, and transported him to an El Paso detention center without explaining his detention or accommodating his disability. He was released on July 8 after his attorney provided proof of his DACA status to authorities.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem attended an ICE raid at a Huntington Park home targeting a man with a criminal history. The raid occurred at the residence of Sabrina Medina, a 28-year-old pregnant U.S. citizen mother of four, though the intended target was her husband. Agents conducted a room-by-room search while Medina and her children were removed from the home, though agents left empty-handed.

Jason Brian Gavidia, a 29-year-old US citizen born in Montebello, was detained by armed border patrol agents in an unmarked car near his auto body shop. Video footage shows agents pressing him against a fence, twisting his arm, and interrogating him about his birthplace despite his repeated statements that he was born in the United States and offered to show his ID. Witnesses described the encounter as racial profiling based on appearance. Gavidia was eventually released, but the incident occurred amid a series of ICE raids across southern California targeting people based on their appearance.

Democratic US Senator Padilla was forced to the ground and handcuffed by federal agents. He was released shortly after the incident. The FBI defended the agents' actions in response to questions about the Department of Homeland Security's response.

Brian Gavidia, a 29-year-old U.S. citizen born and raised in East Los Angeles, was detained by Border Patrol agents on June 12 at his workplace on West Olympic Boulevard in Montebello during an immigration enforcement operation in the San Gabriel Valley. An agent pushed Gavidia against a metal fence and demanded proof of citizenship, asking repeatedly where he was born despite his repeated statements that he was American. Video footage shows two agents holding Gavidia against the fence while he stated "I'm American, bro!" Agents confiscated his Real ID and did not return it; they also took his phone for approximately 20 minutes before returning it. Gavidia, whose mother is Colombian and his father is Salvadoran, believes he was targeted because of his Latino heritage and appearance. He described the encounter as traumatic, saying he feared for his life when an agent racked a chamber in an AR-15. A friend who was filming the encounter was injured and bleeding from the forehead after being pushed by another agent. Gavidia has since joined an ACLU lawsuit with other plaintiffs challenging immigration enforcement tactics and racial profiling, and has renounced his earlier support for President Trump, stating he was "manipulated" and "brainwashed." He now carries a copy of the U.S. Constitution and helps with know-your-rights workshops.

Sayed Naser, an Afghan national who worked as a translator and logistics contractor for U.S. military forces in Afghanistan, was detained by ICE agents during a routine immigration hearing at a San Diego courthouse on June 12, 2025. Naser entered the U.S. legally in July 2024 through humanitarian visa to Brazil and Mexico, and had been granted humanitarian parole while applying for a Special Immigrant Visa and asylum. His brother was killed by the Taliban in September 2023, forcing Naser and his family into hiding in Iran. According to his attorney Brian McGoldrick, Naser has no criminal record, an active asylum case, and his brother was granted asylum weeks before his detention. During the hearing, the government attempted to dismiss his asylum case without explanation, but the judge declined and gave Naser time to respond. Naser is being held at Otay Mesa Detention Center and is unable to contact his family, who remain in hiding in Iran during an internet blackout.

Brian Gavidia, a U.S. citizen born and raised in East Los Angeles, was pinned against a gate at his car lot by armed federal agents who refused to accept that he was a citizen. He was forced to close his used-car business after agents kept returning to the neighborhood. He joined an ACLU class-action lawsuit challenging ICE's racial profiling. He also had to tell his nine-year-old daughter she couldn't visit from Portland because it wasn't safe.