Human Impact Project

An ICE enforcement action in Escondido resulted in the detention of a father while his children witnessed the incident. According to an Instagram post, children can be heard speaking in Spanish expressing distress about the situation.

Charlotte, a U.S. citizen from California, says her husband, who is from Afghanistan and arrived in the U.S. in 2016 on a valid student visa, has been detained at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania for over a year and a half. In early 2025, while visiting family in Maryland, he was pulled over by a sheriff in West Virginia and arrested without a stated reason, then transferred to ICE detention. He had a REAL ID driver's license and a work permit valid until 2029, and he and Charlotte have a young son, JJ, who was diagnosed with ADHD and autism and was very close to his father. Charlotte sold her belongings and moved to Maryland to be closer to him, and says ICE has not allowed him to sign voluntary departure paperwork to self-deport.

Mario, a father of three who had worked non-stop for 33 years since immigrating from Mexico, was arrested during ICE raids at the carwash in Santa Ana where he worked on August 19, 2025. He spent six nights sleeping on the floor of a holding cell he called the "ice box" and two months at Adelanto detention center, where he contracted a contagion, possibly flu or COVID. He was released on October 24 after his lawyers filed a habeas corpus petition, but remains unable to work while awaiting a final deportation hearing, and his wife Alejandra said he came home severely traumatized, refusing to leave the house and barely eating. This summer, Mario spoke publicly at a news conference at Inglewood's Crenshaw Imperial Car Wash—since closed after a federal raid—describing being held for a week without a blanket, a toothbrush, or basic medical care for an injured man detained beside him; advocacy group CLEAN Carwash Worker Center says at least 373 car wash workers have been detained in more than 100 raids across Southern California since the crackdown began.

In August 2025, ICE confirmed the arrests of 24 construction workers in Centre County, Pennsylvania, who were on their way to a construction site at Mount Nittany Medical Center's patient tower project. On August 19, around 7 a.m., ICE agents pulled over a van of workers on Interstate 99 near Bellefonte; other workers from the same site were stopped near the Milesburg exit on Highway 220 about an hour later. Advocates said the 24 to 26 men detained were from Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras, and described them as fathers, sons and brothers whose arrests disrupted their families and the local workforce. A foreman driving several workers said he was pulled over by two unmarked vehicles and that many detained had valid identification and work permits. The men were reportedly taken to Pike County Correctional Facility, Clinton County Correctional Facility, and Moshannon Valley Processing Center, with advocates and a state lawmaker saying they struggled to obtain information about detainees' whereabouts and alleging some may have been misled or coerced into signing self-deportation orders. The raid preceded a similar operation near Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, and advocates described both as part of a pattern of immigration enforcement near hospitals in central Pennsylvania.

Daniel Fuentes Espinal, a 54-year-old volunteer pastor and construction worker from Honduras, was detained by ICE on July 21, 2025, while driving to a construction job in Easton, Maryland, after purchasing supplies at Lowe's and picking up breakfast at McDonald's. He arrived legally in 2001 on a six-month visitor visa and had been living in the country on an expired visa ever since. For the past 24 years, Fuentes Espinal has been a cornerstone of his Easton community, working steadily in construction to support his wife and three adult children, and serving as a volunteer pastor at Iglesia del Nazareno Jesus Te Ama for over a decade, where he has built the congregation to 70 families. His daughter Clarissa had begun sponsoring him for permanent residence through legal channels. According to court records and his family, he has no criminal history. During his detention, he was transferred through facilities in Salisbury and Baltimore before being moved to Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana, where he reported deplorable conditions including sleeping on concrete or cold benches, lack of adequate food and sanitation, and denial of access to his heart and stomach medications. His community, congregation, and Maryland congressional representatives—including U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, Representative Sarah Elfreth, and Representative Glenn Ivey—rallied to support him. A GoFundMe campaign raised over $50,000 for his legal expenses. He was released from ICE detention and returned home to his family in Easton nearly a month after his arrest.

Marlon Gerardo Sáenz Cruz, 65, known as 'Chino Enoc,' was detained by ICE agents in Los Angeles on August 17, 2025, when he arrived for what he believed was a second interview related to his pending asylum application. He was among 222 political prisoners stripped of their Nicaraguan citizenship and exiled to the United States in February 2023 after breaking with the Ortega-Murillo government, having previously served in the Sandinista guerrilla and State Security before admitting to participating as a paramilitary during the 2018 crackdown. He says he was imprisoned and tortured in Nicaragua for opposing the government. Sáenz suffers from a leg ulcer, glaucoma, and worsening complications from childhood polio that now require him to use a wheelchair, and he is being held at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center. His attorneys are seeking asylum or protection under the Convention Against Torture, though advocates warn he could still be removed to a third country where he has no ties.

Federal agents detained a food delivery driver in Northwest Washington on Saturday morning, tackling him to the ground and apparently using a stun gun before placing him in an unmarked vehicle. The incident was witnessed and recorded by multiple people including a Washington Post reporter. The man was later identified as a Venezuelan national.

On August 16, 2025, ICE conducted enforcement operations at a Home Depot and car wash in Anaheim, detaining at least five people despite a federal court order barring sweeps based on race, language or employment type. At the Euclid Car Wash, agents deployed tear gas against a crowd of bystanders and detained Isaac Dominguez, a Black bystander and U.S. citizen who was there to wash his car, in what city officials say was the third such incident at that location since July 3. Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken has criticized the continued raids as targeting workers based on job, skin color or language, and officials report federal agents have also returned to the same Home Depot on Brookhurst Street at least six times since early June, with enforcement spreading to day laborers in Garden Grove and car wash workers in Santa Ana.

ICE officers arrested a Mayan-language speaking woman from Guatemala in San Francisco immigration court on August 15, 2025. The DHS attorney did not move to dismiss her case and agreed to reschedule her hearing for October. The woman, who spoke only Mam and had difficulty communicating through interpreters, was arrested in the courthouse hallway immediately after her hearing concluded.

Maria Ursula Borja Valle, a 54-year-old Mexican immigrant who had lived in the U.S. for nearly three decades without a known criminal record, was detained by ICE on August 8-9, 2025, while attending a scheduled immigration appointment to apply for Parole in Place, a benefit for immediate relatives of active-duty service members. Valle, who suffered a stroke in 2021 and requires ongoing medication, is the mother of Marine Cpl. Jose Manuel Vilchis-Valle, who enlisted after recruiters told him military service could help protect his family from immigration enforcement. After being held at Broward Transitional Center and then transferred to a Border Patrol processing center in Texas, she was deported to Mexico by August 11, 2025. Her son, who completed four years of service and was honorably discharged shortly after her deportation, said, "I gave four years of my life to this country... but knowing that this country doesn't want my mother makes me feel terrible." His sister Mia, a nursing student, described their mother as "a very kind lady," while another sister, María Constanza, expressed concern for Valle's safety in Mexico since their parents have died and she has no family support there. The family hired an attorney who filed a motion to stay deportation and started a GoFundMe for legal costs; an AP investigation found more than 50 parents and spouses of active-duty service members have been detained since Trump took office for a second term, with at least six deported.

Edwin Calva-Guaman, a 27-year-old from Ecuador, was arrested by ICE agents at Danbury Superior Courthouse on August 15, 2025, after his public defender told him to appear for a court date his sister says did not exist. His sister, Monica Apolinario, spoke at a community rally in Danbury alongside Calva-Guaman's 3-year-old nephew, Axel, saying Calva-Guaman supports his sister, nephews and mother, who remains in Ecuador. His girlfriend, Jossie Gutierrez, has said she fears he will be deported and killed, pointing to the death of his nephew after a prior deportation. Calva-Guaman had pleaded not guilty to pending domestic violence and related charges, including two felony counts of violating a protective order.

Ribvar Karimi, an Iranian national, has been in ICE custody for over 50 days in Alabama. He missed the birth of his child while detained.

Johan Blanco, a 44-year-old yoga instructor from Venezuela who teaches at Mimi Yoga's Wynwood location, was detained by ICE agents during a vehicle stop in Miami-Dade County on August 15, just minutes before he was set to teach a sold-out Power Vinyasa class. His students arrived to an empty studio that morning, and it remained unclear where he was being held. An ICE spokesperson said Blanco had entered the country lawfully but remained in the U.S. for 10 years after failing to depart as required. A GoFundMe organized on his behalf describes him as a 'community pillar' and has raised more than $40,700 for legal fees and family support. Blanco moved to Miami in 2015 after previously teaching Hatha yoga at embassies in Venezuela.

Juliana Soares, an advocate with Greater Danbury United for Immigrants, was physically assaulted by ICE agents while protesting at Danbury Superior Courthouse on August 14, 2025. Soares stated that an ICE agent walked into her, shoved her into a group of armed agents, and another agent pushed her so forcefully she nearly fell. She was also screamed at loudly by another agent, causing her ear to ring. Soares was threatened with pepper spray and arrest during the incident.

Michel Tshimankinda, a pastor at Restoration Church of Maine in South Portland, was released on bond after spending 16 days in ICE custody following his August 13 detention. Tshimankinda, who arrived in 2016 on a tourist visa from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, says he applied for asylum while his visa was still active and has been awaiting a decision. He has returned to lead his church while his asylum case is pending. ICE states he overstayed his visa by nine years, while Tshimankinda maintains his asylum application was filed before the visa expired.

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.

Do Phi Long, 60, an Amerasian who left Vietnam in 1989 and lived in Orange County, California, had his green card revoked after a 2007 DUI arrest and lived for years under a deportation order that Vietnam initially declined to enforce. In January 2025, ICE agents arrested him at a gas station while he was filling his car, and on August 13, 2025 he was flown on a chartered deportation flight to Hanoi, leaving behind his wife and two sons. Long, who now runs a small coffee shop in Long Thanh, Dong Nai province, said he felt overwhelmed with sadness at how the US had treated him but has since found some peace being back in his home country.

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.