Human Impact Project

A Clay County sheriff's deputy attempted to stop a vehicle near Hargraves Corner, Arkansas around 6:10 a.m. on September 24. The driver provided a Guatemalan identification card, and after a records check with ICE, one passenger was detained while the driver and the other passenger fled on foot before being caught. All three, identified by Sheriff Ronnie Cole as Guatemalan nationals wanted by ICE, were taken to the Clay County Detention Center and turned over to ICE on September 25. The sheriff's statement did not identify them, specify local charges, or explain why ICE was seeking them.

A Russian woman who resides in Sarasota, Florida is being held by ICE at a detention facility in Eloy, Arizona, facing a bond of nearly $90,000 to secure her release. Her family says they do not have the resources to pay that amount as her immigration case continues. An immigration attorney suggested that such a high bond could be a government tactic to pressure immigrants into self-deporting when they cannot afford to pay.

Joselito Mateo Sam, 20, was taken into ICE custody while walking down a street in New Bedford, according to court filings reviewed by The Boston Globe. Probate court records show he entered the United States in 2024 at age 18, then moved in with two uncles in New Bedford and began working at a fish processing house. He was one of at least 34 people detained during a multi-day ICE sweep across the Massachusetts coast region, part of a broader operation that left families searching for information amid a tracking blackout. Local officials warned immigrants in the New Bedford area to stay home following the surge in arrests.

Luis Silas, a 58-year-old Mexican national, was detained by ICE agents in February 2026 while shopping for wood near 43rd Avenue and Camelback Road in Phoenix to build a bookcase for his wife. Agents appeared to identify him through his car's license plate, addressed him by name, and threw him to the ground during the arrest, injuring his arm. His son, Isaac Luis-Azamar, witnessed the arrest and intervened after believing an agent was about to strike his father; he was himself arrested and accused of assaulting an ICE officer. Silas was held for three days at ICE's Central Avenue processing facility in Phoenix, where he said he was given only a bean burrito every six hours, allowed to shower once, and had to wait to contact his family.

A federal judge in Maryland held the Trump administration in contempt for twice deporting an asylum seeker identified in court documents as E.L.A. (or ELA) to El Salvador, the country where he feared persecution, in violation of court orders. E.L.A. was a minor at the time of his first removal in March 2026. After advocacy from his lawyers, he was returned to the U.S. in August 2026, but was deported again on September 1 despite holding humanitarian parole and having no pending removal order. His attorneys said he was left in El Salvador without his belongings, money, or a phone, still wearing a detention jumpsuit. The case stems from a 2019 class-action lawsuit protecting the asylum rights of immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as unaccompanied minors. The judge ordered the government to return E.L.A. to the U.S., restore his property, and halt any further removal until his asylum case is resolved.

Two employees of Charra's and Tequila, a Mexican restaurant in north Bismarck, North Dakota, were taken into ICE custody, including the owner's nephew. The restaurant's owner said the workers held permanent resident status and valid, unexpired work authorization, and described remaining staff as "scared" and the team as "in shock" following the arrests, prompting the business to temporarily close. An ICE spokesperson disputed this, stating the two workers had entered the U.S. without legal status and would remain in custody pending immigration proceedings. About 75 people gathered on September 25 to protest outside the William L. Guy Federal Building in Bismarck, opposing increased ICE enforcement activity that left at least 19 people in custody at the Burleigh-Morton Detention Center that week.

Bryan Omar Sánchez, a Honduran man who had lived in Colorado for about a decade working as a gardener, truck driver, and pressure-washing business owner, was detained by ICE at his home on May 13 and moved through detention centers in Texas and Arizona. Despite a 2020 Convention Against Torture protection barring his return to Honduras and a pending asylum claim, he was placed on a nearly 22-hour flight to the Central African Republic on July 29 without his consent; one officer reportedly mocked him, asking 'Hey, Honduras, why are you going to Africa?' while Sánchez protested, 'Africa? I can't go to Africa.' Once in Bangui, he described being held in a shelter with restricted movement, facing language barriers and limited access to services, prompting Honduras' National Human Rights Commissioner (Conadeh) to demand urgent consular assistance and verification of his well-being. While detained, Sánchez represented himself in filings with Colorado's federal court, arguing he should not have been removed to a country he had never visited. U.S. District Judge Regina M. Rodríguez ruled that ICE violated his due process rights by giving him no notice or opportunity to challenge the removal, and ordered the government to return him to Colorado and release him without conditions such as GPS monitoring.

A Black U.S. citizen in Evanston, Illinois was tackled and beaten by federal agents believed to be ICE, who mistook him for a fugitive they were pursuing near Dodge Avenue and Howard Street. Video captured by witness Miguel Angel Olivares and another bystander shows agents using rough force, pinning him to the ground and appearing to strike him as he repeatedly stated he was a citizen. He suffered injuries to his head, neck and teeth and was treated at a local hospital, St. Francis. Federal officials said the man refused to identify himself and declined medical assistance, and that he was briefly detained for fingerprinting before being released once agents confirmed he was not their target. Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss confirmed the detention and release, while local police, eyewitnesses, and activist group Sanctuary Evanston disputed DHS's account, calling the incident a 'violent assault.' Evanston police, Illinois authorities, and the FBI are investigating, with body camera footage being preserved and witnesses interviewed.

Stoyan Stoyanov, who has lived in the U.S. for 10 years while navigating his immigration case, says he was unlawfully arrested by ICE and held in detention for three months. He says he lost 24 pounds and developed health issues after being underfed in the detention center, and fell behind on rent and credit card payments as a result. He has started a GoFundMe to help cover legal fees, overdue bills, and medical costs stemming from his detention.

Catherine came to the United States as an international student ten years ago, building a life and education in Utah. Her family says she was taken into custody on false charges and has been held for six months in a Louisiana ICE detention facility without receiving a trial or hearing. Family members describe her as a daughter, sister, friend, and student, and say she has been separated from her education and community throughout her detention. They are raising money to cover attorney fees, legal filings, transportation, and other costs as they pursue her case.

A Peruvian man identified in court filings as "John Doe," who has judicial protections against deportation to Peru, has been held in ICE custody in Massachusetts since July. After an appeals court struck down the Trump administration's third-country removal policy, a Department of Justice attorney argued the ruling wasn't yet in effect and sought to transfer Doe to another facility to put him on a flight to the Central African Republic. Doe's attorneys, including Mary Holper, obtained an emergency clarification from the appeals court reaffirming the policy was dissolved immediately, and a judge declined to lift the stay barring his removal, though he remains in detention. Flight data showed ICE charter planes continued flying to and landing in African countries used for third-country removals hours after the court's order, raising concerns the government may still be violating the ruling.

Pastor Molis Augustave, 33, a faith leader in York, Pennsylvania and former organizer with We Are CASA, was detained after West Manchester Township police stopped him over a reportedly broken headlight while he was driving for DoorDash and turned him over to ICE under the township's 287(g) agreement. He had an approved I-130 petition, a pending I-485 green card application, a pending motion to reopen before the Board of Immigration Appeals, and a federal habeas corpus petition, but was deported to Haiti after 19 days in detention alongside 38 other Haitians. An advocacy campaign led by his U.S.-citizen wife, Omara Boniface Nunez, briefly got him pulled from an initial deportation flight, but USCIS denied his green card application days later. While detained, he led a Bible study group and counseled a fellow detainee who was contemplating suicide. His wife and their two U.S.-born children, Isaac and Sofia, remain in York, where he pastored a congregation, and his Motion to Reopen remains pending.

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order, later followed by a permanent injunction, requiring ICE to improve conditions at its 26 Federal Plaza detention facility in Manhattan. Detainees, including Sergio Alberto Barco Mercado, who filed a complaint after mass arrests at the site, were reportedly held on floors without beds, given only two meals a day, and denied hygiene products and access to legal counsel. The court found that ICE willfully violated prior orders and kept detainees in overcrowded rooms without adequate bedding, hygiene supplies, or proper temperature control. The rulings required ICE to provide sleeping mats, hygiene products, and legal access to those held at the facility.

José Alejandro Aponte, a 65-year-old Cuban man deported from the United States to Villahermosa, Mexico, stayed briefly at the Amparito Shelter and now rents a small room in the city center. When Forbidden Stories spoke with him in spring 2026, he had just been refused residency in Mexico. "I tried to comply with every rule. Now I'm in immigration limbo. I have no papers to go anywhere," he said, adding that he fears losing contact with his family because phone companies now require numbers to be linked to a valid identity document.

Humberto García, a Cuban national deported to Mexico after living 35 years in the United States, tried to travel through the mountains near Tapachula to avoid migration checkpoints. He was approached by three armed attackers who robbed him and shot him twice in the torso; he stumbled for nearly an hour before reaching a road where authorities took him to a hospital. After three days recovering, with no organ damage from the bullets, he had no choice but to return to Tapachula, where he said he was left with nothing to eat and nowhere to sleep.

A woman was detained by ICE agents outside her daughter's home while on her way to work, surrounded by three ICE vehicles with no warrant. She has lived in the United States for over 18 years and is described by her family as a hardworking mother who ensures her children are fed and attend school. She is currently held at a detention center in Otay, California, and her family is raising funds for legal fees.

Carlos, a recent graduate of Miami Beach Senior High who was preparing to begin college in finance, was detained by ICE and is being held at a Border Patrol facility. His family says he is being given little food, sleeps on the ground with only a paper blanket in cold conditions, and has suffered a recurrence of pancreatic pain that staff reportedly cannot treat because he is under 21. His brother describes him as hardworking and caring, noting he maintained top grades, played high school football, and enjoys mountain biking and helping others at the gym, and says his mental health is deteriorating in custody. The family is raising funds to hire a lawyer, seek bail, and fight his case before a judge.

Vova, a 23-year-old Ukrainian man seeking asylum in the U.S., was detained by ICE while traveling to Los Angeles. He is now held in a detention facility, sleeping in a large cell with other detainees, and faces an immigration hearing on October 1st. Friends describe him as quiet and kind, with interests in bow hunting, jiu-jitsu, aviation, and cars, and note that his mother and brother live in Poland while he has been building a life on his own in the United States. A GoFundMe campaign is raising money to cover his legal representation.

A man was detained by ICE on September 23, 2026 at around 8 a.m. while waiting at a bus stop. His daughter, Tiffany Yanez, described him as hardworking, loving, and well-respected by coworkers for his kindness and cooking. The family, including his wife who has health issues and barely works, is now facing financial uncertainty and is raising money to hire an immigration lawyer and cover detention-related expenses.

A 21-year-old Brazilian man was arrested by ICE at 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 23, 2026, while commuting to his job at a garage in Somerset. According to his habeas petition, he cooperated and provided his license, but when told he would be detained for overstaying his visa, an agent reached into the car, unbuckled his seatbelt and dragged him to the ground while other officers shouted "Taze him!" He entered the U.S. on a tourist visa at age 11 in 2016 and graduated from Diman Regional Technical High School in Fall River. He married his U.S. citizen wife in June 2024, and she was among dozens who submitted letters urging his release, writing that he "consistently tries to do good, support others, and be a positive presence." He remains in custody at Plymouth County Correctional Facility.