Human Impact Project

Alfredo Linares, an undocumented immigrant, and his American wife Raegan Kline relocated to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico after 20 years in the United States. Linares had worked as a cook at a Michelin-star restaurant and operated a catering business with his wife. The couple left the United States due to concerns about ICE detention and deportation under President Trump's immigration enforcement policies.

Multiple U.S. citizen children have been deported to Honduras alongside their undocumented mothers during immigration enforcement actions, according to PBS NewsHour reporting. In one case, a 2-year-old girl identified only by the initials VML in court filings was deported with her mother. In another case reported by correspondent Laura Barrón-López, a Texas family's two U.S. citizen siblings, ages 4 and 7, were deported with their mother within 24 hours of being detained; the younger child has late-stage cancer and was sent without his medication. The mother in the Texas case had a removal order dating back years, issued after she failed to appear at a hearing following her arrival in the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor, and said she was unaware of the order. Attorneys say these cases are part of a broader pattern of U.S.-citizen children being removed alongside their parents during enforcement actions.

Philippe Kame, a Taubman College Master of Architecture student at the University of Michigan, was detained by ICE in April 2025 after losing his F-1 student visa status. Kame claims the university terminated his graduate student instructor position in breach of an employment contract signed in December 2024, leaving him unable to afford tuition for winter 2025 semester and resulting in loss of visa status. He was detained for approximately one month and described being approached by armed officers in tactical gear. After his release on bond on April 27, Kame received support from the Graduate Employees' Organization, which helped him file a grievance against the university, and from over 1,300 community members who signed letters supporting his release. Kame remains enrolled as a student and continues to pursue reinstatement of his GSI position with GEO's support.

ICE deported an immigrant mother of an infant and three U.S. citizen children, according to lawyers. The woman had four children who are U.S. citizens at the time of her deportation.

ICE deported at least two families including three U.S. citizen children aged 2, 4, and 7 from New Orleans in early morning operations on April 25, 2025. The families were held without legal access. One child with metastatic cancer was deported without medication and a pregnant mother was deported without prenatal care arrangements. The deportations occurred after ICE reversed course and expedited the process before courts reopened. A habeas corpus petition had been filed.

Marie Blaise, a 44-year-old Haitian woman, died at the Broward Transitional Center in Florida on April 25, 2025, after complaining of chest pains for hours. Detention staff took her blood pressure, discovered hypertension, gave her pills, and told her to rest. Hours later she began shaking and screaming about chest pain and was pronounced dead at 8:35 p.m. She had been detained at the facility for 20 days after being arrested on February 12 at Saint Croix International Airport for attempting to board a flight without a valid visa and subsequently issued an expedited removal notice.

A 4-year-old U.S. citizen child with Stage 4 cancer and his 7-year-old sister were deported to Honduras with their mother on Friday morning. ICE was aware of the child's active cancer treatment in the United States but deported him without his medication. Attorneys say the mother did not sign or write any consent, did not speak with lawyers or family before deportation, and wanted to make alternative arrangements for her U.S. citizen children.

Marie Ange Blaise, a 44-year-old Haitian woman, died on April 25, 2025, at Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, Florida, after spending more than 10 weeks in ICE custody. She had been detained since mid-February after being stopped at an airport in Saint Croix, Virgin Islands without a valid immigrant visa, and was transferred through multiple facilities including San Juan, Krome North Processing Center in Miami, and a Louisiana facility. According to fellow detainees, Blaise experienced what appeared to be a seizure while in a kneeling position. When other women began screaming for help, guards ignored their pleas. One officer approached, looked at Blaise without intervening, and walked away. It took approximately eight minutes for a medical provider to arrive and another 15 to 20 minutes for a rescue team. She was pronounced dead shortly after. Following her death, facility staff told the women to stop making comments about what they had witnessed.

A 2-year-old U.S. citizen was apparently removed to Honduras on Friday with her mother, who had been ordered deported, according to a federal judge in Louisiana. The child's mother, a Honduran national, was seized by ICE on Tuesday morning in New Orleans while attending a scheduled check-in appointment with an Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office. During approximately three days in ICE custody, the mother and her two daughters were separated from family and legal counsel. U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty wrote that the child was sent to Honduras "with no meaningful due process" and expressed "strong suspicion that the Government just deported a U.S. citizen." The mother's attorney stated that ICE mischaracterized the removal as the mother's voluntary choice and that she was pregnant and prevented from contacting lawyers or family to make arrangements.

A U.S. citizen was detained by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations agents near Marts Donuts on W. El Norte Parkway in Escondido, California on April 25 around 7:40 a.m. Two other individuals with unknown legal status were also detained. The U.S. citizen was later released.

Martín Majín was detained by federal agents outside his barbershop in Pomona on Tuesday, with the arrest captured on security camera video showing agents approaching with weapons. He was released Wednesday after an immigration judge granted his release without bail. Majín, who was deported nearly 20 years ago and returned to the United States unauthorized months later, is scheduled to appear before an immigration judge again on May 29 in Los Angeles court.

Terez Metry was detained by immigration agents during a routine meeting at the Department of Homeland Security office on Brick Church Pike in Nashville. She had submitted Form I-130 as the first step toward obtaining a Green Card to become a U.S. citizen like her husband of three years. Her husband believes she is being taken to Louisiana for removal proceedings despite following immigration procedures carefully.

The wife of an active-duty Coast Guard officer assigned to USCGC Mohawk was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations during a routine security screening at Naval Air Station Key West on Thursday. The couple had married in early 2025 and were preparing to move into on-base family housing when the woman's name was flagged during visitor control processing. Her work visa had expired around 2017, and she had been marked for removal several years prior. NCIS contacted HSI, and agents entered the base housing to take her into custody. The woman's country of origin and current detention status remain unclear, though officials believe she is still being detained.

Detained immigrants at Adelanto ICE Processing Center in San Bernardino County reported finding worms in their drinking water. Video footage shared by detainees appeared to show contaminated water. Detainees said they were afraid to speak up about conditions to facility staff, fearing retaliation, and instead alerted their families so people outside would know. When staff learned of the situation, they attributed the contamination to sinks. The facility, which holds approximately 2,000 people, had previously faced complaints about murky and dirty water and improperly cooked food.

ICE arrested a Dominican national in Providence on April 24 after he became combative during an attempted arrest. Officers deployed a taser when he allegedly attempted to grab an officer's belt. The man was brought to Rhode Island Hospital, where about 85 protesters gathered. His attorney reported being denied access to his client despite having legal representation documentation.

Amilcar Lisser-Posadas, a 29-year-old Honduran national and former DACA recipient with two U.S. citizen daughters, was apprehended in Shelby County, Tennessee in March 2025 for driving with an expired license and transferred to ICE custody. He was moved between multiple detention facilities over four weeks and filed a legal request citing fear of persecution in Honduras, which received no response. At Alexandria Staging Facility, he was detained for approximately 12 days in overcrowded conditions with inadequate sanitation, food, and medical care—arriving sick with chest congestion, fever, and ear infection but receiving no medication until the final two days. On April 23, 2025, he was deported to Honduras on GlobalX charter flights despite his pending legal request. He was later apprehended again at the southern border in May 2025 attempting to reunite with his family and is now facing deportation again from a federal prison.

Rosmery Alvarado, 42, a Kansas resident born in Guatemala, was arrested by ICE agents immediately after completing a spousal green card interview at the USCIS office in Kansas City on April 23, 2025. She is now facing deportation to Guatemala and is being held in detention, despite her family believing her petition had been approved. The arrest occurred after ICE agents waited for her husband to step out of the interview room before detaining and handcuffing her.

Unaccompanied migrant children, including a 4-year-old girl, are appearing in immigration court proceedings without legal representation after the Trump administration terminated a $200 million federal contract funding legal services for minors. Data shows nearly all children without attorneys are deported, compared to 23% of those with representation.

A family of six asylum seekers from southwestern Africa — parents Josefina and José and their four children, ages 13, 10, 5 and 11 months — were held in a single windowless cell at a CBP facility in Blaine, Washington for about a month starting in April 2025, according to an ACLU complaint. Josefina, who was five months into a high-risk pregnancy, was hospitalized twice during the detention after CBP staff allegedly kept her in unsafe conditions despite hospital warnings, and she suffered pregnancy complications. The children reportedly went weeks without mental stimulation or physical activity, and the 13-year-old was allegedly handcuffed when taken to shower. The ACLU of Washington filed a federal claim seeking $15 million in damages from the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection, one of 54 such claims filed nationwide in July under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Daniela, known as Ari on social media, was detained by ICE agents on April 22 while attending her scheduled monthly immigration check-in appointment. Her family and friends have launched a fundraising campaign to cover legal fees and support efforts to secure her release.