Human Impact Project

Lexis-Olivier Ray, an investigative reporter for LA Taco, was pepper-sprayed on his arm and neck and shoved multiple times by Los Angeles Police Department officers while covering a protest against immigration enforcement actions at the Metropolitan Detention Center on January 30, 2026. Ray was visibly wearing press credentials and a shirt marked 'press' while documenting the demonstration on his cellphone. Department of Homeland Security officers also deployed tear gas and pepper balls at the crowd. Ray reported severe burning from the pepper spray that lasted for hours and said he believed he was struck with a projectile on his backpack. At a protest the next day, he was struck with additional projectiles and threatened with arrest. The actions appeared to violate California law prohibiting law enforcement from using violent tactics against members of the press.

Ben Camacho, a journalist for The Southlander, was shot twice by LA County Sheriff's Department while reporting and photographing at a protest against ICE operations in Paramount. Despite wearing a press pass around his neck, officers struck him without warning with what appeared to be less-lethal munitions. He sustained injuries to his elbow and knee, with his elbow wrapped in gauze and his knee weakened by the impact. The incident occurred during a broader enforcement operation against ICE protests in Los Angeles County, during which multiple journalists covering the event were targeted with tear gas, pepper balls, and less-lethal rounds.

Ryanne Mena, a reporter for LA Daily News and Southern California News Group, was struck by law enforcement while covering ICE raid protests in Los Angeles County over two consecutive days in June 2025. On June 6, she was shot with a pepper ball bullet in her left thigh while reporting on ICE operations. The following day in Paramount, she was struck in the head with a rubber bullet and exposed to tear gas during a law enforcement dispersal of protesters. Mena, who has asthma, experienced difficulty breathing during the incidents and was diagnosed with a concussion. She reported ongoing symptoms including brain fog, headaches, vomiting, and heightened anxiety months later. She sought emergency medical care for her injuries and became a plaintiff in a lawsuit that won a preliminary injunction in California's Central District barring ICE and CBP from brutalizing protesters, legal observers, and members of the press.

Sean Beckner-Carmitchel, a journalist and videographer, was covering a protest against ICE raids in Paramount when law enforcement dispersed the crowd. LA County Sheriff's Department deployed tear gas, percussion grenades, and other crowd-control weapons. A tear gas canister struck Beckner-Carmitchel in the head, covering his face with CS agent. He later indicated the canister appeared to have been fired by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents, part of ICE. He sought emergency medical care but did not sustain severe injuries.

Miguel Lopez, a Livermore father of three, was detained during a routine ICE check-in in May 2025 and deported to Mexico in June 2025 despite a judge's order to allow him to stay. On March 17, 2026, supporters gathered outside federal court as Lopez awaited a judge's decision on whether his permanent resident status was wrongfully stripped in 2014. Lopez's attorney argues the government never provided valid reason for revoking his residency.

On June 7, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and ICE agents conducted enforcement operations in Paramount and Downey, California, with a staging area near a Home Depot store. The operations targeted individuals with active arrest warrants and criminal histories, resulting in at least 44 detentions. Word of the federal presence spread on social media, drawing over 1,000 protesters to the scene. Clashes erupted between federal agents in riot gear and demonstrators, with law enforcement deploying tear gas, flash-bang grenades, and pepper balls after protesters blocked vehicles and threw objects. The incident prompted the Trump administration to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles.

Miguel Angel Lopez Luvian was deported to Mexico on June 7, 2025, after being detained by ICE in San Francisco during a routine immigration check-in. His wife, Rosa Lopez, contends the deportation was wrongful despite his nearly 30-year legal battle and previous green card grant. The family is now separated, with Rosa struggling financially as the sole provider while fighting through the U.S. District Court to bring her husband back.

An ICE agent was recorded on video pulling a gun on a young woman whose father was being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Berclair area of Memphis.

A high school senior was detained by federal agents in the San Fernando Valley after taking his dog for a walk and did not return home. A neighbor reported seeing four men in tactical vests standing near unmarked SUVs shortly after his apprehension. As a minor, his detention separated him from his family during the June 2025 enforcement surge.

A food vendor was detained by federal immigration agents in Ladera Heights after clinging to a tree in an attempt to avoid apprehension. She was arrested while still wearing her work apron. Her case exemplified the public nature of enforcement operations during the June 2025 raids across Los Angeles County.

A 52-year-old day laborer died after being struck by an SUV on the freeway while attempting to flee a federal immigration raid at a Home Depot in Monrovia. He worked to support his wife and four daughters. His death was one of the immediate casualties of the June 2025 mass deportation campaign launched across Los Angeles County.

On June 6, 2024, federal immigration agents conducted a raid on Ambiance Apparel, a garment factory in downtown Los Angeles, arresting over 40 workers, many from Zapotec Indigenous communities. The operation separated families and triggered legal challenges and advocacy organizing. One year later, affected workers and families continue to face economic hardship, emotional trauma, and pending immigration proceedings. Advocates including Lucha Zapoteca secured the release of 11 of 14 initially detained family members and raised over $300,000 in support, though some workers remain in federal custody and others have been deported.

Mario and more than 40 other workers, many from Zapotec Indigenous communities, were detained during an ICE raid at Ambiance Apparel on June 6, 2025. A year later, some workers have been deported while others remain in immigration proceedings, with families facing ongoing economic hardship and trauma. Mario's daughter Yurien and other family members continue to struggle with the lasting consequences of the enforcement action.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted coordinated raids in Los Angeles's Fashion District on June 6, 2025, detaining more than 40 undocumented immigrants, including over 20 workers at a Korean-owned wholesale clothing business. Following the raids, some Korean American merchants closed their stores and protests occurred throughout the city. Business activity in the area was affected, with some workers departing and customers avoiding the location.

Valentina Galvis, a Colombian asylum seeker, appeared at Chicago Immigration Court on June 5, 2025, hoping for a hearing on her asylum case. Her husband Camilo had been granted asylum in the same court two weeks earlier after they both fled far-right paramilitary violence in Colombia in 2022; Galvis had also survived a brutal assault from the paramilitary group. Instead of a hearing, federal prosecutors asked the judge to dismiss her case. Plainclothes agents detained her immediately upon leaving the courtroom. Galvis and her seven-month-old son Naythan, a U.S. citizen, were taken to the Sonesta Chicago O'Hare Airport Rosemont hotel, where they were confined to a two-room suite for five days with the phone removed, monitored by private guards contracted by ICE, and given no information about their whereabouts or release. Her attorney filed a habeas corpus petition and a judge ordered her not be removed from Illinois, but ICE did not inform her of these legal developments. On the fifth day, she was released to ICE's Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office in Chicago and fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet. The contractor MVM Inc. transported her during her detention. Her original asylum case dismissal is now on appeal and she has a new case pending.

On June 5, 2025, ICE agents conducted a sweep of the Rio Rancho Walmart parking lot, detaining approximately a dozen delivery drivers from Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia, and elsewhere. The operation was prompted by calls to ICE hotlines from American-born delivery drivers reporting the locations of immigrant workers. Sandoval County Sheriff's Office provided support to the operation. At least three of those detained remain in custody, though none have been confirmed deported.

ICE arrested a witness at the Minnehaha County Courthouse in Sioux Falls while the person was testifying in a trial. The arrest occurred in front of the witness's wife and baby while jurors were on break. The judge immediately declared a mistrial. The Public Defender's Office noted that the witness had been legally subpoenaed and that the defendant is a U.S. citizen, expressing concern that such arrests could deter witnesses from testifying in future cases, particularly in immigrant communities.

Valentina Galvis and her seven-month-old U.S. citizen son were detained by ICE contractor MVM Inc. at a Sonesta hotel near O'Hare Airport for five days in June after being apprehended at Chicago's immigration court. During their detention, Galvis was denied access to phone calls, her location was falsely listed as Washington, D.C., and she was kept in a hotel suite with guards monitoring her at all times.

A Peruvian woman who crossed the U.S. border illegally was acquitted of unauthorized access to a newly designated militarized zone along the southern border. The trial involved charges related to the new militarized zone at the US-Mexico border.

Yunseo Chung, a 21-year-old permanent resident and Columbia University undergraduate, was pursued by ICE in March 2025 following her arrest for trespassing at a pro-Palestine demonstration on Barnard College campus in early 2025, for which she paid a fine. ICE searched her dorm room and her parents' home but did not locate her. She filed suit against the Trump Administration alleging violation of her First Amendment rights. On June 5, 2025, U.S. District Judge Naomi Buchwald issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting ICE from arresting or detaining Chung and rejected the government's motion to dismiss, noting that ICE failed to issue her a notice to appear in immigration court. Chung subsequently returned to court on May 29, 2025, seeking to consolidate the protective order while her constitutional case proceeds.