Human Impact Project

A 32-year-old U.S. citizen was detained by federal immigration agents during a raid at a Home Depot in the Cypress Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Witnesses said agents accused him of throwing rocks at them, detained him, and then drove away in his vehicle, which still had his 1-year-old daughter inside. The child was later returned to her family with a bruised cheek but was otherwise unharmed. The father was held in custody for two days before being released.

An immigrant named Javier experienced severe mobility issues while in ICE detention due to medical neglect. Advocates have called for an end to medical neglect of immigrant detainees.

ICE agents pointed rifles at bystanders and attempted to break down doors while conducting an enforcement action at Salem Walk apartments in unincorporated Northbrook on November 5, 2025. The operation, which lasted approximately 50 minutes and involved over a dozen agents and an armored vehicle, resulted in the arrest of Alan Eduardo Garcia, who had a history of violent convictions. Residents and community members confronted agents and filmed the incident.

Marta Brizeyda Renderos Leiva, a 39-year-old Salvadoran immigrant and mother of four U.S. citizen children, was arrested by ICE upon arriving at Salt Lake City International Airport. She held a valid work permit approved in 2024 and said she was unaware of a 2020 deportation order, as the court notice had reportedly been sent to an address where she no longer lived. Her attorney says she was detained for nearly four months despite having an active appeal pending, during which she was transferred through multiple facilities, including jails in Salt Lake and Tooele counties, a Texas facility, two Arizona detention centers, and finally a Louisiana facility she described as having the worst conditions, with overcrowding, wet bedding, and untreated illness among detainees. She said she was cuffed at the hands, waist, and feet during every transfer, including her deportation flight, and repeatedly told agents she had lawful status. She was ultimately deported to El Salvador, leaving her four children behind.

ICE conducted arrests at multiple locations in Redmond, Washington, including at Bear Creek Village shopping center, detaining seven people in total. One incident involved a man being detained outside a Panera Bread, with witnesses reporting that ICE agents broke a truck window and dragged out the occupant without showing a warrant. The Redmond Police Department confirmed it was not informed in advance of the operations and stated it does not participate in immigration enforcement. At least three of the arrests occurred less than a mile from the city's Flock Safety surveillance cameras, prompting Redmond police to suspend officers' access to the camera system amid concerns the data could be sought by federal agencies.

According to an Instagram post by L.A. TACO, a Border Patrol agent hit a child in the face with a ball during a raid. The child was subsequently driven away from the scene by Border Patrol but was later reunited with their mother in the afternoon.

Daniel Angel Meléndez, an immigrant from El Salvador, was detained by ICE agents on November 4 during a yearly check-in in Cedar Rapids. His wife María Lozano, a U.S. citizen, and family members appealed to U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks at a town hall on November 10 to prevent his deportation. Meléndez has a U.S.-born child and has been in the country since 2017, having applied for asylum based on gang violence threats.

Julio Vargas, a 66-year-old Guatemalan, was detained by U.S. Border Patrol during an immigration raid at El Corredor Salvadoreño in Los Angeles on Sunday. He is being held at Adelanto Detention Center and has reported breathing problems and cramps due to cold conditions, worsened by his existing health conditions and lack of medication. His family is seeking legal assistance but faces financial and resource barriers.

Cole Sheridan, a 27-year-old hospitality worker, was arrested during an October 3 pro-immigrant protest at the Broadview, Illinois immigration enforcement facility after U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino accused him of pushing and swinging at him. Sheridan faced federal charges of assaulting, resisting, and impeding a federal officer, spent three days in custody, and said the ordeal cost him four days of work and a month of anxiety over potential imprisonment. An investigator noted Bovino took two weeks of leave citing a groin injury he claimed to have sustained in the encounter. After a friend located video footage from an October 31 news report showing Sheridan being pushed down and not near Bovino, prosecutors moved to dismiss the charges on November 3, though they could still refile. Sheridan said the footage proved there was no altercation as described in the criminal complaint, adding Bovino's account 'means nothing.' Other cases against Chicago-area protesters and immigrants involving similar discrepancies in Bovino's accounts have also been dismissed.

Nazario Radilla Valdovinos, a Mexican citizen, was taken into ICE custody on November 3, 2025 and detained at Adelanto ICE Detention Center pending removal proceedings. ICE issued a custody determination continuing his detention without providing an opportunity for bond or release. The court granted his habeas petition in part, ordering that he receive a bond hearing within seven days under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a).

Berenice Garcia-Hernandez, a 25-year-old U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE for approximately seven hours after photographing unmarked ICE vehicles near a Chick-fil-A in Gresham. She was documenting the agents' presence to warn her community after seeing a Facebook alert. ICE agents broke her car window and removed her from the vehicle, though no criminal charges had been filed as of the article's publication.

Kenia Jackeline Merlos, a Honduran mother of four U.S. citizen children, was arrested by ICE agents in June at the U.S.-Canada border during a family outing. She had been granted deferred status to reside in the U.S. after being threatened at gunpoint by a man. Merlos was detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma for nearly four months. An immigration judge terminated the government's deportation case on October 14, and Merlos was released on October 28. Her husband was deported to Honduras, and her mother also resides there.

A man detained at the California City Processing Center filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus challenging his detention there. He is seeking release from custody through habeas corpus proceedings and a temporary restraining order. On May 7, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California issued an order consolidating the habeas petition with the temporary restraining order motion, requiring respondents to file a response within three calendar days and prohibiting deportation or removal from the district while the petition is pending.

The City documents five months of immigration enforcement activities at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City, where masked federal agents arrested immigrants in and around immigration courts. A photojournalistic report documents these activities and their effects on affected immigrants during this period.

Ricardo Rodriguez, a 53-year-old construction worker and father of two deaf teenagers, was arrested by federal agents on Sunday morning in Melrose Park, Illinois while riding his bicycle home from a grocery store. According to video footage, agents grabbed him in a stranger's driveway, pepper-sprayed him, placed him in a chokehold, and struck his head. He was gasping and saying 'Por favor, amigo' during the encounter. Rodriguez was taken to Gottlieb Memorial Hospital with head wounds and complaints of chest pains. While hospitalized, federal agents restricted visitation from his U.S. citizen sister and other family members.

In Adelphi, Maryland, Montgomery County Councilmember Kristin Mink filmed federal agents detaining a person near a school. She said an agent grabbed her arm, touched her face and reached for her phone while ordering her to leave, and two vehicles then drove toward her before leaving the area. Mink said she is considering legal options and plans to continue monitoring ICE activity in her community.

At an intersection in California, a plainclothes federal agent pulled his weapon on a woman following and recording him — until a local police officer driving by intervened, explaining to the federal agent that there was no crime being committed.

Immigration agents forcibly entered a family's apartment in November 2025 searching for the mother's cousin, breaking down the door and using force against the mother while her children hid. The 10-year-old boy, identified as J., witnessed agents point a gun at him and his sister as they tried to film the encounter on an iPad. Months later, J. continues experiencing nightmares and flashbacks, struggling to focus in school and fearing for his parents' safety. The incident is part of a broader pattern of immigration enforcement affecting children's mental health nationwide, with studies showing significant psychological impacts on minors in immigrant families.

Maria Vargas, 6, was detained with her parents at Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas after her family was arrested during a September immigration check-in. The family had fled Colombia in 2022 and settled in New York, where they applied for special visas for human trafficking victims. At Dilley, Maria experienced severe trauma including regression (bedwetting and accidents), loss of appetite and weight loss, a staff member's accidental eye injury, and persistent psychological distress. Her parents reported officers pressured them to abandon their visa applications by threatening to separate Maria. After two months, the family agreed to self-deport and was sent to Colombia in November 2026. Maria continues to suffer vision problems, headaches, and behavioral changes including fear of police.

Alejandra's undocumented parents, who own a home and pay taxes in Nebraska, plan to self-deport to Mexico within six months due to fears of detention by ICE and concerns about conditions at ICE facilities that could jeopardize the mother's health. The family has lived in Nebraska for years as part of a Latino community that has been present for decades, but rising ICE enforcement operations and a new detention facility opening in the state have created an atmosphere of fear among undocumented immigrants.