Human Impact Project

Daniel Flores Martinez was detained by ICE agents on Mother's Day 2025 after federal officers in unmarked cars surrounded his vehicle as he, his wife Kenia Guerrero, their three children (ages 3, 12 and 14) and his mother-in-law drove to church. Agents, who never identified themselves or their agency, broke the car window, dragged Flores Martinez out, and slammed him to the ground while his children screamed; Guerrero, who along with her children is a U.S. citizen, was restrained against the vehicle when she tried to intervene. Flores Martinez and Guerrero have since filed a federal lawsuit against ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, alleging the agents used illegal "smash and grab" tactics in violation of constitutional protections.

Sen Miao Lin, a 67-year-old Chinese man, was detained at Delaney Hall ICE detention center where he repeatedly asked for but never received medication for his Type 2 diabetes and hypertension for nearly a month. At one point during his detention, he collapsed, lost consciousness, and was rushed to the emergency room. His attorney filed a federal lawsuit alleging this medical neglect in May 2025. His case is one of over 70 lawsuits filed by detainees at Delaney Hall alleging medical neglect and deficiencies at the facility.

ICE agents detained Clemente Chilel Ramírez at his Phoenix apartment on April 29th after he returned from work, with his three children present during the operation. According to ICE, Ramírez had a deportation order issued in 2024 for illegally re-entering the United States after being expelled in 2016. Agents used a battering ram to enter the apartment, which ICE stated they had a search warrant for. Ramírez has no criminal record.

Cristian Ivan Ceballos Vega was arrested on felony voyeurism and misdemeanor criminal trespass charges after allegedly entering a family's property and engaging in sexually gratifying conduct while looking into their home where minors were present. ICE confirmed he is not lawfully in the United States. The arrest resulted from a joint effort by Ferris DPS, Texas DPS, U.S. Marshals Service, and ICE.

Refugio Ramirez Ovando, 43, was arrested in May 2025 while on his way to work at a construction concrete company in Grand Junction. ICE detained him for three months, and an agent later admitted the arrest was a mistake made in an effort to find someone else. The ACLU filed a lawsuit on his behalf challenging the arrest and detention.

Luis Fernando Cabrera, an 18-year-old senior at Northeast Early College High School in Austin, was released from ICE custody on May 20, 2026, after being detained on May 1 while driving home from his job at Popeyes. A federal judge ordered his release and barred the Department of Homeland Security from deporting him while his ongoing asylum case is processed. Cabrera will be able to attend his high school graduation.

After months in ICE detention in Tacoma, Rakesh Rakesh volunteered to self-deport to India but was mistakenly placed on a flight to Sitka, Alaska instead of New York. Alaska Airlines staff assisted him with meals, lodging, and rebooking at no charge. Upon his return to Seattle, ICE re-detained him at the Northwest ICE Processing Center for an additional 16 days before completing his deportation, prompting him to conduct a hunger strike to protest the situation.

ICE officers arrested dozens of delivery and rideshare drivers at the gates of Camp Pendleton military base in California as part of an "interagency security initiative" launched in May 2025. Many of those detained had temporary permission to work in the U.S. and were employed by apps like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and GrubHub. Federal judges have repeatedly found the detentions violated due process, yet the base and ICE continue the practice.

19-year-old Javier Salazar, a Venezuelan who came to the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor in 2022, was arrested in Maryland and detained by ICE on suspicion of gang membership based on a photo showing what may have been a toy water pistol. A Supreme Court intervention blocked his deportation to El Salvador hours before he was to be removed. His legal battle continues as the Trump administration seeks to expedite his removal.

Marisol Ordonez Vargas, a transgender woman originally from Central America, was detained by ICE in October 2023. She alleged she was denied toilet paper and medical treatment for a badly broken nose, and said she was sexually assaulted during her month in custody but did not report it because she did not trust guards and feared it would delay her release.

Loic Adandedjan, manager of Dottie's Coffee Lounge in Pittsfield, decided to self-deport to Benin in late April after living in the U.S. for a decade without permanent legal status. His decision was prompted by intensified anxiety over ICE enforcement, particularly after his coworker was detained by ICE on April 22. Adandedjan had initially come to the U.S. on a tourist visa for medical treatment and was working toward a green card when he chose to leave.

America Perez Ramirez, 52, was ordered by DHS to check in at an ICE field office and bring airline tickets for deportation to Mexico with her 11-year-old U.S. citizen daughter Yoselin, who has Maple Syrup Urine Disease, a life-threatening rare genetic disorder. Yoselin requires her mother's care to survive and her University of Florida doctor stated she cannot live without current treatment. Perez Ramirez, who came on an H2-B labor visa and was trafficked by her employer, had received four previous stays of deportation under prior administrations, but was denied another stay this time.

A pregnant mother and her 2-year-old U.S. citizen daughter were deported to Honduras after the mother was given less than two minutes on the phone with her husband to decide the child's fate. Attorneys say ICE denied the family contact with lawyers and each other throughout the process. ICE produced a one-page note in Spanish claiming consent, but her attorney states she was forced to write it and did not willingly consent to the deportation.

A 16-year-old unaccompanied immigrant girl in Washington state was visited by ICE officials for a "welfare check" earlier in April. During the visit, the frightened girl messaged and called her legal representative expressing fear that her life would be upended. The visit was characterized by her attorney as causing terror and trauma, illustrating the impact of ICE's targeting of unaccompanied minors under the guise of welfare checks.

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 Cameroonian national and former University of Michigan Taubman College graduate student and architectural designer, was detained by ICE for a second time on April 1, 2026, while on an approved leave of absence from the university. He had previously been held for about a month in 2025 after losing his F-1 visa status following the university's termination of his graduate student instructor position, a dispute he pursued through a grievance with support from the Graduate Employees' Organization and more than 1,300 community members. In the latest case, Kame was held at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan, and was granted release on an $8,000 bond on April 27, 2026. The university said the detention occurred off campus and declined to share further details, citing federal law and privacy policy.

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.

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.