Human Impact Project

Gagne Diagne, a Senegalese immigrant and DoorDash delivery worker, was arrested by masked federal agents outside his Bronx home on August 14 while his wife and infant were upstairs. He was detained for six days and nearly deported to Senegal before a judge granted his habeas petition and reopened his asylum case, leading to his release. The Amadou Ly Foundation, which supports West African immigrants, helped secure his release through legal advocacy.

Antonia Aguilar Maldonado, a mother of two U.S. citizen children, was released from ICE custody on August 13 following a federal judge's order. She had been detained on July 17 while on her way to work despite having no criminal record and an active asylum application. Aguilar Maldonado came to the U.S. in 2016 as a 17-year-old unaccompanied minor without legal status.

Isabella García, a Mexican woman, said her U.S. tourist visa was canceled after she tried to cross into Eagle Pass, Texas, from Piedras Negras, Coahuila, with her 3-month-old son, a U.S. citizen. She said she was held for nearly seven hours and questioned by immigration agents about her son's birth, how she paid for the delivery, and her income, and that agents took her DNA, fingerprints, and photographs. She said she was told a new law applied to her case and that she could reapply for a visa in a year, and that anyone accompanying her son into the U.S. in the future would also face scrutiny. Her case comes amid increased government scrutiny of so-called "birth tourism," including efforts by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to investigate hospitals allegedly offering maternity packages to foreign women.

Jose Valdovinos, a 27-year-old DACA recipient who has lived in Arizona since he was a toddler, was detained by Border Patrol on August 10, 2025, after he and his wife, U.S. citizen Jitzell Flores, left a Circle K gas station near downtown Yuma. When Flores asked why he was being taken, an agent said, 'We don't have to give it to you.' Valdovinos, who works packaging Medjool dates at Datepac, has no criminal record, pays taxes, renewed his DACA status every two years, and was pursuing permanent residency. DHS said the vehicle was stopped for 'driving in a suspicious manner' and stated that 'DACA does not confer any form of legal status.' Flores called the stop racial profiling. The Mexican Consulate visited him and connected his family with an attorney before his transfer to the Florence Service Processing Center. Weeks later, he was released with an ankle monitor.

ICE agents detained six people at a home on 79th Avenue near Hillside Street in East Oakland on August 12, 2025, including a 17-year-old minor and someone with a severe disability. According to Nikolas De Bremaeker, immigrants' rights managing attorney at Centro Legal, no arrest warrants were issued for any of the detainees. The minor was initially held in a hotel before being transferred to the San Francisco ICE Field Office, where all six remain detained. De Bremaeker stated he pressed ICE on the illegality of detaining a child under these circumstances. Centro Legal and the Alameda County Immigration Legal Education Partnership's rapid response hotline are providing legal support to the detainees. This was the first confirmed ICE sighting in Oakland verified by the county's rapid response hotline.

Federal Protective Service officers arrested more than a dozen protesters outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles during Occupy ICE demonstrations that began in early July. The protesters maintained an encampment and stated they were being targeted for exercising First Amendment rights, while federal officials cited charges including assaulting officers and vandalism. The ACLU filed a lawsuit alleging excessive force and violations of protesters' constitutional rights during the demonstrations. The arrests occurred during the ongoing demonstrations.

Armelle Bondonga Bradshaw, who came to the United States from the Democratic Republic of Congo at age 9, was detained by ICE during her final green card interview on Aug. 12. She had married U.S. citizen Terrance Bradshaw after her family's asylum case was denied, and her marriage-based petition had been approved by USCIS. Officers separated her from her husband and 19-month-old son in the interview lobby, placed her in handcuffs, and she has no criminal history. Her husband was left to care for their child while Armelle remained detained in an Indiana jail.

J-M-L, a 57-year-old father from Guatemala, was detained by ICE on August 12, 2025, when he and his son arrived at the Eugene Federal Building for an administrative check-in. Both were transported to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. J-M-L had previously entered the United States without authorization on multiple occasions and was considered subject to a final removal order since 2007. The family had been living in Lebanon, Oregon since 2019.

S-M-J, a 19-year-old with a disability from Guatemala, arrived at the Eugene Federal Building on August 12, 2025, for an administrative check-in and was detained by ICE along with his father. An ICE officer presented him with options to sign a voluntary departure order or receive a notice to appear, which U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai characterized as "coercive conduct." The judge's ruling ensured the voluntary departure order would not be enforced. S-M-J had lived in Lebanon, Oregon since 2019 and was a high school graduate.

A 21-year-old man with physical and developmental disabilities, who is nearly deaf and has limited English proficiency, was arrested by ICE on August 12 during a raid in Oakland and is now detained at the Northwest ICE Detention Center in Tacoma. Advocates and attorneys report he cannot understand his legal proceedings and is isolated from those who can communicate with him. ICE is detaining an individual with disabilities at a detention center.

Two men were arrested by ICE agents inside a Stamford courthouse on August 11, 2025, around 11:15 a.m. Federal officers in military-style vests entered the building, forced open a bathroom door, and removed the men in handcuffs. Witnesses reported the use of pepper spray and described the operation as aggressive and disruptive to court proceedings. The arrests occurred after President Trump's administration reversed a federal policy that had prohibited immigration enforcement in courthouses.

A 15-year-old disabled U.S. citizen was detained by ICE and Border Patrol agents outside Arleta High School on August 11, 2025, in what federal authorities claim was a case of mistaken identity. The family alleges the detention amounted to unconstitutional racial profiling and has filed a $1 million damage claim against the Trump administration. Federal agents drew weapons on the boy and handcuffed him before his mother convinced them they had the wrong person.

Federal immigration enforcement officers arrested two undocumented immigrants inside the Stamford courthouse on August 11, 2025, forcibly entering a bathroom and breaking a door panel during the encounter. The arrest, which followed the Trump administration's reversal of a federal courthouse enforcement policy, sparked public outcry and led 21 Connecticut state senators to request in September that the state's highest court issue orders prohibiting arrests without judicial warrants in or near courthouses, citing concerns that facilities are being used as "mouse traps" rather than centers for justice.

A Nicaraguan citizen was detained at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2022 and subsequently released on parole. After living and working in the United States for more than two years, he was re-detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a scheduled check-in. He filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus and a request for a temporary restraining order, arguing his detention violated procedural due process under the Fifth Amendment. He argued that because he had been paroled into the country, mandatory detention under the expedited removal statute no longer applied to him. A federal judge previously found he raised a serious question on the merits and ordered him released, enjoining the government from re-detaining him. The court has now granted the habeas petition on the merits, ordering that he not be re-detained without notice and a hearing before a neutral decisionmaker, or absent a material change in circumstances. His request for attorney's fees was denied without prejudice, with leave to refile within 30 days of judgment.

Ursula Borja Valle, a 54-year-old Mexican immigrant and mother of Marine Cpl. Jose Manuel Vilchis-Valle, was detained by ICE on August 8-9, 2025, when she arrived at an immigration appointment to apply for Parole in Place—a military family benefit designed to protect immediate relatives of active-duty service members. She had lived in the U.S. for nearly three decades without a known criminal record and has three U.S. citizen children, including her son Jose (age 22-23) and daughters Mia, a nursing student, and a 15-year-old. After initial detention at Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, she was transferred to US Border Patrol Central Processing Center in Texas and deported to Mexico on August 11, 2025. Her family had hired an attorney who filed an I-246 motion to stay deportation and launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover legal costs. Her son, who served four years in the Marines and was honorably discharged shortly after his mother's deportation, stated: "I gave four years of my life to this country. I feel honored to be here, that this is my country, but knowing that this country doesn't want my mother makes me feel terrible." Valle told her family by phone after arriving in Mexico: "Already had a life made there, so it's a bit complicated to be here because I never thought I'd arrive in this situation." Her sister María Constanza expressed concerns about her safety in Mexico, as their parents had passed away and she no longer has family support there. This case is one of more than 50 documented detentions of military family members under the Trump administration's immigration enforcement.

Joselyn Chipantiza Sisalema, a 20-year-old Ecuadorean public school student, was arrested inside immigration court and held at ICE's 10th-floor processing facility at 26 Federal Plaza for 10 days between June 24 and July 4, 2025. She menstruated for five of those days without access to sanitary pads; guards distributed only two pads for all women in the overcrowded cell, forcing her to remain in blood-stained clothing. She was recently freed following a federal judge's order. Her sworn affidavit is part of a lawsuit filed by immigration rights groups against ICE seeking to improve conditions at the facility, which detainees describe as severely overcrowded with limited food, water, hygiene access, and no bathing facilities.

Felipe Agustin Zamacona was arrested last Thursday in Wheeling and detained at the Broadview ICE facility in overcrowded conditions. He testified in federal court that he had to wake someone up who was sleeping beside the toilet in order to use it. He is still in federal custody. His testimony is part of a class-action lawsuit seeking to improve conditions at the facility.

Hugo Elias Sanchez Trillos, a Colombian construction worker, was arrested in late June after ICE raided his home looking for someone else. He was held at 26 Federal Plaza for nearly three weeks (with a three-day break at Nassau County jail between June 26 and July 14), wearing the same clothes and never bathing. He lost nearly 20 pounds due to limited food access, receiving only two meals daily served cold in plastic bags. His sworn affidavit is part of a lawsuit seeking to improve conditions at the facility.

Geovani Maradiaga Ochoa, a Honduran immigrant who lived in the Bronx for 20 years with a U.S. citizen wife and daughter, was arrested at an ICE check-in and detained at 26 Federal Plaza for six days without access to shower or toothbrush. He stated he felt mistreated during detention. His sworn affidavit is part of a lawsuit by Make the Road New York, the NYCLU, and ACLU seeking to improve conditions at the facility.

Florida officials are refusing to confirm whether COVID-19 or other infectious diseases are spreading at Alligator Alcatraz, a new immigration detention center. A Venezuelan detainee recently collapsed with respiratory symptoms and was hospitalized, while relatives of other detainees report widespread illness at the facility. A former corrections officer also reported contracting COVID-19 shortly after starting work at the center.