Human Impact Project

D.V.D., a Cuban immigrant living in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, has had a final deportation order designating Cuba as his only removal destination since 2017 and has checked in regularly with ICE's Burlington, Massachusetts office since 2019. In March 2025, ICE required him to appear for another check-in only weeks after a previous one, raising fears he could be detained and deported to a third country instead of Cuba. He is one of four named plaintiffs in the federal class-action lawsuit D.V.D. v. DHS challenging the Trump administration's third-country deportation policy.

Jorge Reyes Medina, a Mexican father of four, was arrested in Baltimore in March 2025 and held at the George H. Fallon Federal Building before being transferred to Arizona and then California. After a federal judge ordered ICE to return him to Maryland for a bond hearing as part of a habeas corpus petition, he was moved through Louisiana, Pennsylvania, back to Baltimore, then Louisiana and Texas again. He was denied bond, and a judge ordered his deportation on June 23, 2025; no appeal was filed.

Wendy Brito, an asylum-seeker from El Salvador and mother of three living in the New Orleans area, was detained after attending a routine check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She has been in the U.S. for 15 years and volunteers at a local elementary school. Her partner Kremly Marrero said officials told the family she was taken because of "new regulations under the new administration." Brito is now held in Basile, Louisiana, nearly 200 miles away from her home and children, and ICE has declined to comment on the specifics of her case.

Jonathan, an Australian who had lived on the US east coast for nearly a decade with a valid work visa, was detained at Houston border control in March while returning from Australia after attending his sister's memorial service. Border officials accused him of carrying drugs and possessing two phones despite his denials, demanded his phone passcode, and when he asked to speak to a lawyer, told him he had no rights. During the encounter, an officer called him "retarded" and later stated "Trump is back in town; we're doing things the way we should have always been doing them." Officials claimed his statement that he lived in the US indicated intent to stay permanently and thus invalidated his visa, despite his having left and re-entered the country approximately 20 times previously on the same visa class. After being held for over 36 hours with minimal communication, his visa was cancelled, he was banned from entering the US for five years, and he was deported to Australia. His American partner, apartment, work studio, and clients remain in the US, and he is now couch surfing in Australia.

Val, a Mexican national, was apprehended during a Department of Homeland Security check-in in March and deported under expedited removal, leaving behind his 7-year-old son Alex and partner Renee in Baltimore. The deportation is one of thousands of ICE enforcement actions in Maryland under the Trump administration—arrests surged 165% compared with 2024—causing widespread anxiety and stress among immigrant families in the region.

Javier Hernandez, a cooperating witness prepared to testify in a federal methamphetamine case in California, was deported to Mexico by ICE in March 2025 without notifying prosecutors. The 2015 case involved nearly 22 pounds of methamphetamine discovered in a vehicle; without Hernandez's testimony linking the defendants to the smuggling operation, both co-defendants were acquitted of all charges. U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder noted ICE did not consult with Los Angeles prosecutors before removing him from the country.

Juan was detained on January 12 and deported in March, separating him from his 2-year-old daughter in Oregon and his 10-year-old daughter in Colombia. His partner Verónica is now struggling to pay for rent, food, diapers, and medical expenses for his daughter's heart surgery.

A.G., a Venezuelan national with Temporary Protected Status and a pending asylum application, was detained by ICE agents during a traffic stop in Orange County while driving to work. Despite holding a valid driver's license, work permit, and Social Security card, he was handcuffed and held in ICE custody for several days. During detention, ICE repeatedly pressured him to self-deport. He was released on his own recognizance with assistance from Rep. Anna Eskamani and legal advocates.

Jacqueline, a Guatemalan immigrant who has lived in the U.S. for a decade, became pregnant while her husband was detained after a traffic stop and subsequently deported to Guatemala in March 2025. Left without income, transportation, or support, and fearful of ICE enforcement under the Trump administration, Jacqueline avoided leaving her home during her later pregnancy despite the risks. A local nonprofit clinic arranged and paid for Uber rides to enable her to continue prenatal appointments. Her 8-year-old U.S. citizen daughter and unborn child were left vulnerable as the family lost its primary provider and support system.

Antonio Velez-Lopez, a 69-year-old Colombian citizen and former priest, was sentenced to one year in prison for passport fraud and stripped of his U.S. citizenship. He had been convicted of sexually abusing a child from 2003 to 2009 while serving as the child's priest, and had falsified information on his permanent residency, citizenship, and passport applications to conceal his crimes. He was ordered to be deported to Colombia after completing his prison sentence.

Lewelyn Dixon, a 64-year-old green card holder and University of Washington lab technician, was detained by ICE on February 28, 2025, after returning from the Philippines, following discovery of a 2000 embezzlement conviction by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Dixon had lived legally in the United States for over 50 years and completed restitution on her conviction in 2019. She is currently held at the Northwest ICE Detention Facility and is not bond eligible, with her first hearing scheduled for July 17. Her family and supporters have called for her release.

ICE agents detained Francisco Andrade-Berrera, a 37-year-old Mexican citizen, outside Soto High School in Chicago's Gage Park neighborhood on Wednesday morning while he was dropping off children. Two students were in the vehicle at the time; school staff escorted them into the building. Andrade-Berrera had prior convictions and had been deported twice previously.

Nicolas Rodriguez was taken into ICE custody on May 15 and is being held at Otay Mesa Detention Center. The landscaping business owner, who has lived in the US for over 35 years and has three American citizen children, is facing deportation after ICE reopened his immigration case. He will be ordered this week to either request voluntary departure to Mexico or accept a deportation order.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Emine and Celal Emanet, owners of Jersey Kebab restaurant in Haddon Township, New Jersey on February 25, 2025. The couple, who came from Turkey nearly two decades ago on visas, had fallen out of legal status and were being detained by ICE. Celal Emanet was released with an ankle monitor, while his wife remains in ICE custody awaiting a bond hearing scheduled for mid-March.

Activists in Southern California distributed flyers revealing the names, photos, and personal information of ICE and HSI agents, with the flyers written in Spanish and posted in Los Angeles neighborhoods. Federal authorities, including the DHS and FBI, condemned the action and launched an investigation, warning that those responsible could face legal consequences for obstructing law enforcement operations.

Genry Ruiz Guillén, a 29-year-old Honduran man with schizoaffective disorder, was transferred to ICE custody in October 2024 and held at Krome North Service Processing Center in Florida. While detained, he suffered seizures, dizziness, fainting spells, confusion, and loss of consciousness. In December 2024, during a phone call, he told his mother three times that he was about to faint and did not feel well; she was unable to reach him afterward. He was hospitalized for acute psychosis and later transferred between three Larkin Health System hospitals for psychiatric care and treatment of rhabdomyolysis, a life-threatening muscle breakdown condition. He died in custody; his mother traveled to the detention center seeking information and was notified of his death weeks later, and his body was repatriated to Honduras. The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner ruled his cause of death as 'complications of schizoaffective disorder,' but medical experts, including a former New York City chief medical examiner, questioned this finding, citing concerns about multiple medications in his system and the unresolved rhabdomyolysis. He was one of seven migrants who died in ICE custody during the first three months of the Trump administration.

Juan Alexis Tineo-Martinez, a 44-year-old Dominican man, died on February 23, 2025, after three days in ICE custody in Puerto Rico. He was taken into ICE custody following a maritime interdiction and was treated at Centro Medico Hospital. His suspected cause of death was hemorrhagic stroke. He was one of seven migrants who died in ICE custody during the first three months of Trump's presidency.

A 33-year-old Guatemalan man was returned to the United States in June 2025 after a federal judge ordered his reinstatement following an unlawful deportation. Despite an immigration judge's February 2025 order barring his removal, ICE deported him to Mexico two days later, violating due process protections. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy criticized the action as "blatant lawlessness" and ordered his return, after the Justice Department acknowledged its claim that the man had expressed no fear of being sent to Mexico was based on erroneous information. He was granted withholding of removal after demonstrating he would face serious harm in Guatemala, and his arrival back in the U.S. marked the first such return among several similar court-ordered cases.

Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez, who had resided in the United States for 35 years, were arrested and deported to Colombia in February 2025 after being detained by ICE during a routine immigration court check-in in Santa Ana, California. The couple entered without authorization in 1989 and had a 2000 deportation order. They maintained clean criminal records and had complied with regular check-ins throughout their time in the country. They had three U.S. citizen daughters and were involved in church work and volunteering. They were held for three weeks before deportation.

Maksym Chernyak, a 44-year-old Ukrainian man who fled Russia's invasion and entered the U.S. legally under a humanitarian parole program in August 2024, was arrested in January 2025 on a domestic battery/assault charge and transferred to ICE custody at the Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami-Dade County. In the days before his death, he reported fever, chest pain, an irregular heartbeat, and blood in his stool, but went several days without seeing a doctor and his elevated blood pressure went untreated. On February 18, while held in an overcrowded room with about 30 other detainees, he suffered a stroke with multiple seizures and became unresponsive; staff reportedly took 15 to 40 minutes to call 911 and initially accused him of drug use, though toxicology later showed no intoxication. He was hospitalized at HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, where doctors confirmed a hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage, declared him brain dead, and he died two days later. His wife said he had been in good health before detention and was pressured to sign documents without a translator. Medical experts reviewing his case for Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights concluded that delays in emergency response and higher-level care likely contributed to his death, and his case was examined as part of a broader look at rising ICE detention deaths.