Human Impact Project

Jose Pescador Garcia, a Mexico native who has lived in the U.S. over 25 years, was detained by ICE in September 2025 and later ordered removed by an immigration judge, a ruling he is appealing to the Board of Immigration Appeals. He is married to a U.S. citizen whose family petition on his behalf was approved, and he is the father and stepfather of seven U.S.-citizen children; his wife is eight months pregnant with a high-risk pregnancy involving detected chromosomal abnormalities. A federal judge in the Southern District of Texas granted his petition for a writ of habeas corpus in January 2026, finding no lawful basis for his continued detention.

Federal ICE agents apprehended two people in Maplewood using unmarked cars. According to local officials and advocacy groups, three masked ICE and Border Patrol agents loaded the two arrestees into unmarked, out-of-state vehicles on Prospect Street around 11 a.m. The local police department was not notified of the incident, and the township does not cooperate with ICE.

A woman who had been living legally in the United States for 47 years was detained by ICE over 22 bad checks.

Margarita Avila, a 50-year-old Houston mother, has been held in immigrant detention since March 2025 as the Trump administration seeks to deport her to Belize, a country she fled two decades ago due to threats against her family. She requested asylum more than a decade ago, and her case has remained pending since then. Her husband, José Avila, and their young sons, including 12-year-old Isaac and 10-year-old Jeremiah, have struggled with her absence, including during a Mother's Day church service where the boys had no mother to greet. José said, "It's really hard to see everything my wife is going through. It hurts not being able to be with my wife — and seeing my kids sad — because their mother is always around." Margarita is among tens of thousands of immigrants targeted for deportation under the Trump administration's stated goal of deporting 1 million immigrants annually.

Óscar Rascón Duarte, 58, a Mexican national, died on September 8, 2025, at Banner Desert Medical Center in Arizona while in ICE custody. He suffered from advanced-stage Alzheimer's disease, right kidney cancer, and hepatitis C. Rascón Duarte entered the United States in September 1976 as an undocumented immigrant near Douglas, Arizona. In 2004, while in Arizona Department of Corrections custody, ICE initiated deportation proceedings against him and transferred him to Eloy Detention Center. On January 15, 2025, ICE arranged long-term care for him at a medical facility due to his advanced medical conditions. He remained hospitalized in long-term medical care until his death. ICE stated that the cause of death is under investigation and that the Mexican Embassy was notified of his death. His death was one of 17 Mexican immigrant deaths in ICE custody or during immigration enforcement operations during the Trump administration's mass immigration crackdown, prompting Mexico's government to file complaints and demand investigations.

Oscar Rascon Duarte, a 58-year-old Mexican national, died on September 8, 2025, while in ICE custody at Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa, Arizona, where he had been hospitalized for an extended period. According to ICE, Rascon Duarte had advanced-stage Alzheimer's disease, right kidney cancer, and hepatitis C. On January 15, 2025, ICE arranged long-term care for him at Promise Hospital in Mesa. ICE stated that the cause of death was under investigation and notified the Mexican Embassy of his death.

Leodegario Martínez Barradas, a flower vendor, was arrested by federal immigration agents in Chicago's Archer Heights neighborhood on September 7, 2025, during the launch of Trump's "Operation Midway Blitz" immigration enforcement operation. He was deported to Mexico within days. The Trump administration claims the operation targets criminal immigrants. Barradas had no known violent criminal record.

Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez, a Mexican migrant who had been ordered deported to Mexico by an immigration judge in 2005, was instead placed on a deportation flight to South Sudan in July 2025 as part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Immigration officials said he had recently been identified as a member of a criminal organization. He was one of eight men deported to South Sudan on July 5 after a legal battle, and a federal judge ruled the flight violated a court order requiring migrants be given a meaningful opportunity to object to their removal. Mexico later accepted his return after receiving assurances he would not face torture or inhumane treatment, and he was repatriated to Mexico.

Hilda Gloria Yanez-Zavala, who came to the U.S. from El Salvador three years ago and was granted asylum, was detained during an immigration raid at a factory in Cato where she worked legally. She was separated from her two sons and held in detention for a month before deciding to self-deport. Her two sons remained in America.

Jorge, an Ecuadorian national, was detained by ICE agents at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan on September 6, 2025, while his eight-month pregnant wife Jessica waited outside. Three days later, their daughter was born, and Jorge was deported to Ecuador without meeting her. Jorge had fled Ecuador after his brother was killed by gang members and faced continued danger there. He was attempting to resolve his immigration status after marrying Jessica, a U.S. citizen who had become a citizen in 2023, and was wearing an ankle monitor when arrested during a required court appearance. Jessica, now caring for their newborn daughter Maite Cristina, their 9-year-old son Dylan from her previous marriage, and Jorge's daughters from a prior relationship, faces financial hardship and fears for Jorge's safety in Ecuador. They are waiting for an I-130 family petition to be approved to reunite.

Orville Etoria, a 62-year-old Jamaican man with legal permanent residence in the U.S., was deported to Eswatini in July 2025 despite serving his sentence and complying with ICE supervision orders. After his release from prison in 2021, he lived in New York, obtained a master's degree in theology, and worked at a men's shelter while reporting regularly to ICE. When ICE requested he obtain a Jamaican passport earlier in 2025, he complied, but was instead sent to Eswatini rather than Jamaica. His family did not know his whereabouts for several days, and his attorneys report they have been unable to contact him and fear for his safety. Jamaican officials stated their country does not refuse repatriation of its nationals.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducted a raid at a construction site near CIA headquarters in Virginia. Construction workers fleeing the raid attempted to scale fences surrounding the CIA complex during the morning commute. ICE did not notify the CIA in advance of the operation. No workers breached security or posed a threat to the facility.

Eight migrants from Burma, Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, Mexico, and South Sudan were detained in a converted shipping container at a U.S. military base in Djibouti for more than six weeks while awaiting appeals filed by their lawyers. On July 5, 2025, they were deported to South Sudan. ICE agents transporting them described the living conditions as 'outrageous.' Mexican citizen Jesús Muñoz was subsequently repatriated to Mexico in early September, and South Sudanese citizen Peter Domach was released. Six other deportees' whereabouts remain unknown, with lawyers suggesting they may be imprisoned at the Blue House, South Sudan's National Security Services headquarters. The South Sudan government stated it would guarantee their safety but refused to disclose their location or eventual fate.

Federal ICE agents raided Nutrition Bar Confectioners, a family-owned nutrition bar manufacturer in Cato, New York, on September 4, 2025, detaining 57 workers. The raid separated nursing mothers from infants under one year old and affected elementary school-aged children whose parents were detained. Five of the 57 detainees were criminally charged with unauthorized re-entry after prior deportation, while the remaining 52 faced deportation proceedings. Governor Kathy Hochul visited the facility and expressed concern that detaining parents put at least a dozen children at risk of returning from school to an empty house.

Three individuals—an immigrant detained by ICE in the Northern District of California, a second immigrant detained by ICE in the same district, and a third immigrant detained by ICE in the same district—were detained by ICE in the Northern District of California. The court granted a preliminary injunction on November 5, 2025, prohibiting respondents from detaining the petitioners without a pre-detention hearing before a neutral decisionmaker and preventing their transfer out of the district without court approval. The court found the petitioners raised serious legal questions regarding the legality of their detention under the circumstances presented.

Darian Maldonado Medina, a Venezuelan with Temporary Protected Status, was detained by ICE during a routine check-in in Tampa on September 5, 2025, and deported to Venezuela three weeks later. He had valid TPS status at the time of detention, a pending family petition through his U.S. citizen mother, and a 15-month-old U.S. citizen son and partner remaining in Florida. A federal court order had extended TPS protections prior to his deportation. Lawyers have argued that the deportation violated federal law and court orders.

On September 4, 2025, 14 people were deported from U.S. detention to Ghana on military aircraft as part of the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign to African countries. Four detainees were placed in straitjackets when they refused to board without speaking to their lawyers. The group landed in Accra after 16 hours with no explanation provided and no documentation given. According to lawyers, the actual group consisted of 11 detainees (four Nigerians, three Togolese, two Malians, one Liberian, and one Gambian), who were held at Bundase Military Camp with irregular food and water supply. On September 23, eight were deported by Ghana to Togo and given approximately $100 each, with two reportedly taken to Mali and one remaining in Ghana.

K.S., a Gambian citizen and LGBTQ+ community member who had obtained humanitarian parole to remain in the U.S., was removed from a Louisiana detention center without explanation on September 4, 2025, chained and placed on a military aircraft. He was deported to Ghana as part of the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign to African countries. K.S. had fled Gambia where LGBTQ+ status is punishable by up to life in prison, and expressed his fear of returning to his homeland to Ghanaian officials, but immigration authorities proceeded with the deportation anyway. He is currently in hiding.

A California State University Channel Islands professor was charged with throwing a tear gas canister during an incident. In a separate immigration enforcement action in Southern California, a legal green card holder who was working toward U.S. citizenship was detained by ICE. The woman's husband expressed concern following her detention.

New Jersey's attorney general is reviewing reports that ICE is conducting operations at a Roxbury warehouse in violation of a federal court order barring its conversion into a detention facility. A May court ruling required ICE to halt conversion plans and limit activity at the site to maintenance, but a July 10 DHS filing indicated the agency intends to move forward with retrofitting the warehouse for detention use. The community group Sussex Visibility Brigade has reported increased ICE activity at the site, and the AG's office says it will take steps to address any non-compliance. The warehouse, purchased by DHS for nearly $130 million to become a 1,500-person detention center, has drawn bipartisan opposition, including a lawsuit from the state and Roxbury township.