Human Impact Project

Natalia Arai, 37, was charged with second-degree assault and resisting arrest after kicking a garbage can that struck an officer in the leg during a protest against an ICE operation on Canal Street in lower Manhattan. Arai was among 18 people arrested when activists formed a human chain and used debris to block ICE agents from leaving a garage. She pleaded not guilty and was released without bail.

Guan Heng, a 38-year-old Chinese asylum seeker, secretly filmed internment facilities in Xinjiang in 2020 before fleeing China and arriving in the U.S. in 2021, where he applied for asylum, obtained a work permit, and worked as an Uber driver and delivery worker in Queens. In August 2025, ICE agents arrested him at his home near Albany, New York, during an operation targeting his housemates, and he has since been held at Broome County Correctional Facility. DHS initially sought to deport him to Uganda, but dropped that plan in December after his case drew attention from Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and public advocacy groups. Guan is now appealing to remain in the United States, saying he fears prosecution, imprisonment, or torture if returned to China.

Juan Barilla, 35, a peasant farmer from San Miguelito in Nicaragua's Río San Juan department, spent 29 months imprisoned after being kidnapped by paramilitaries in 2020, and was among 222 political prisoners the Ortega-Murillo government expelled to the United States in February 2023, stripping him of his nationality. He resettled in Louisiana with humanitarian parole and a work permit, but was arrested by local police on April 5, 2025 for driving under the influence; even after a judge ordered his release following his 112-day sentence, he was held because of an ICE appointment, and ICE took him into custody in July 2025. Representing himself without a lawyer through several immigration court hearings on his pending asylum case, he said he was never allowed to present notarized evidence of his imprisonment and torture in Nicaragua. In October 2025, prosecutors sought protection for him under the Convention Against Torture with removal to Honduras rather than asylum, and he was deported there on November 29, 2025, describing being shackled at the hands, feet and waist 'like a criminal.' He is now under temporary UNHCR protection in Honduras and says he fears transnational retaliation from the Nicaraguan regime.

A Charlotte man was detained by ICE during his lunch break at a construction job during raids in the city last December. He was held in detention centers across two states before being deported to El Salvador. His wife, who was five months pregnant at the time, and their young daughters have not seen him in about ten months, and he has never met the couple's new baby. Neighbors describe him as a talented woodworker who helped build decks and complete projects for others in the community, and the family has decided to relocate to El Salvador to reunite.

Carlos Téllez-Sanchez, a Venezuelan man who fled his home country in 2019 and had been living in Dallas working at a car dealership while awaiting the birth of his son, was arrested by ICE in December during a routine visit to renew his work permit despite holding a judge's order protecting him from deportation. He said an ICE agent told him to "shut up" when he tried to explain the court order, and he was subsequently held for eight months and moved between detention facilities more than six times before being deported to Liberia. Téllez-Sanchez said he witnessed constant verbal abuse by ICE officials in detention and now hopes to return to the U.S. to see the newborn son he has not yet held. A lawyer working with him said ICE frequently moves detainees between facilities to prevent them from mounting legal challenges.

Pauline Nadege Binam, 36, a Cameroonian woman who came to the U.S. at age 2 and identifies as queer, remains held at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, as of August 2026. Advocates Noël Heatherland and Timoria McQueen Saba recently visited her through a glass partition for about 40 minutes, describing her as exhausted but hopeful, and noting she has found some solace reading nearly a book a day and bonding with other detainees, including another Cameroonian woman. She remains separated from her 17-year-old U.S. citizen daughter and continues to fear seeking medical care after a doctor removed one of her fallopian tubes during an earlier detention at Irwin County Detention Center without her consent. Her attorney is pursuing a U visa tied to her cooperation with authorities after surviving domestic violence and may seek to reopen her removal case based on fears of persecution if returned to Cameroon.

Elías Pérez-Zuazo, a Panamanian national, was detained by ICE on December 10, 2024, during a scheduled appointment at an ICE office in Chantilly, Virginia, where he had checked in without incident in prior years. He and his husband, U.S. citizen Jonathan Blanco Gallegos, met in 2023 and married in Washington, D.C., on February 27, 2024; the couple had an approved I-130 family petition pending for his green card. ICE claimed a prior deportation order existed from November 2021, but his attorney contested this, questioning the legality of the detention. Pérez-Zuazo was held at Farmville Detention Center in Virginia, and a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia barred ICE from removing him from the judicial district while reviewing a habeas corpus petition; Blanco Gallegos has described the toll of the detention, saying his life has been paused and that he has a broken heart.

A 32-year-old Turkish man was detained and transferred to ICE custody while working as a driver, before he could receive follow-up medical care despite blood tests indicating he needed prompt treatment. He has rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic autoimmune disease causing intense pain in his neck and ankles. His family attempted to deliver medication to Otay Mesa but was turned away. His sister, brother-in-law, cousin, uncle and a family friend submitted court declarations supporting his release and attesting to his community standing. A judge granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered a bond hearing within seven days, considering his documented medical conditions.

Elder Chavez, an 18-year-old from Honduras who was granted Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) in September 2024, was detained by ICE in December 2024 after Alabama state police pulled him over for speeding and driving without a license. Despite presenting documentation proving his legal protected status, officers contacted ICE and took him into custody. Chavez came to the United States in 2022 at age 14 to live with his older sister Maryuri after being abandoned by his parents in infancy. A high school junior excelling in welding and carpentry classes, Chavez was transported to Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana, where he has remained detained for seven months facing deportation and unable to continue his green card application process. His English teacher Carmen Bahena, sister Maryuri, and local pastors Andy Yarnell and Beth Johnson have described him as kind, hardworking, bright, and gentle; since his detention, Chavez has missed prom, the birth of his nephew, and months of school.

Noemi, a Guatemalan asylum seeker, witnessed ICE agents smash a window of her family's car and forcibly remove her Mexican national partner from the vehicle while she and their three children (ages 1, 7, and 9) were inside an ICE office for a check-in appointment in December. Her partner was sent to Adelanto ICE Processing Center. The three children subsequently experienced significant emotional and behavioral regression, including depression, sleep disturbances, developmental regression (the 1-year-old returned to crawling), and academic decline.

Noemi, a Guatemalan asylum seeker, was at an ICE check-in appointment when immigration agents smashed the car window and forcibly removed her Mexican national partner, who had lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years. Officers attempted to separate Noemi from her three young children (ages 1, 7, and 9) but the children's screams prevented separation. Her partner was sent to Adelanto ICE Processing Center. Since the detention, the couple's children have experienced depression, eating disorders, sleep disturbances, regression (including a 1-year-old reverting to crawling), and cognitive decline.

Kevin Isaac Montoya Palacios, a citizen of El Salvador with withholding of removal protection granted in September 2023, was arrested by ICE agents in December 2025 during a routine check-in appointment after meeting with ICE officials for over two years. He filed a habeas petition challenging the legality of his detention, which was granted by U.S. District Judge George Russell. However, the judge denied his request for attorneys' fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, citing the 4th Circuit's position that habeas claims related to immigration detention are not civil actions. The case has been appealed to the Supreme Court.

José Antonio González, 51, was deported to Mexico in December 2025 after nearly four decades in the United States, following offenses he committed as a minor in the 1990s for which he had already served his sentence. González arrived in the U.S. at age nine in 1987, worked as a painter and in retail, paid taxes, and was the primary provider for his U.S. citizen family including his 82-year-old mother. He spent six months in a Texas ICE detention center before being deported under an I-220B order, describing coercion to sign deportation papers after refusing twice. He is now living in Mexico and reports feeling more American than Cuban.

Angel, a Nicaraguan political activist and LGBTQ community member who fled Nicaragua in 2019 after nearly being killed by the government, was detained by ICE in late December 2025 while driving to work. He holds official work authorization from USCIS. He is being held in ICE custody and facing removal proceedings while seeking funds for legal representation in a habeas petition to challenge his detention.

A dairy farm worker in New York's North Country was detained by Border Patrol. His girlfriend, Myrna Romero, spoke about the impact of the detention on their family, expressing concerns about freedom and safety in the country.

Diana Sanchez Ledezma, a Stockton-area DJ known as DJ Reina Azteca with pending asylum and U-visa applications, was detained by ICE officers at a check-in appointment on December 18, 2025, despite being enrolled in the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program and requesting deportation herself. During processing at Otay Mesa Detention Center, she initially refused a medical screening and pregnancy test out of fear, having heard accounts of forced abortions and hysterectomies in detention, and was held unclothed in a cold cell before relenting. Over nearly four months in custody, she witnessed medical emergencies including strokes and fainting, reported inadequate care and poor food, and faced retaliation from guards after filing grievances; she also lost her deactivated DJ account and entire music library. A federal judge ruled in her favor in April 2026, finding ICE lacked authority to detain her, and she was released, though she has struggled to rebuild her music career while awaiting the return of her identification documents.

Carlos, a Venezuelan man with temporary protected status, was detained by ICE at a New Mexico immigration office in December 2025 after being called for what he believed was a reunification meeting with his 14-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter. Federal officials had previously vetted Carlos and told him his custody case was complete. When he arrived at the ICE office, officers attempted to force him to sign documents he did not understand. After refusing to sign, officers stripped his clothes, seized his belongings, and chained him by the neck, waist, and legs. Carlos said he felt "tricked" and that ICE "used my children to grab me." His two children had been in a federal shelter in Texas for nearly a year after crossing the border to reunite with him. According to reporting, the Trump administration's Office of Refugee Resettlement has begun coordinating with ICE to arrest parents and caregivers seeking custody of unaccompanied migrant children, reversing Obama-era restrictions on data sharing between the resettlement office and immigration enforcement.

From November 26 through December 1, 2025, ICE and HSI stopped and questioned approximately 25 people during Thanksgiving week, detaining at least 15 of them. Operations spanned multiple Southern California locations including the San Fernando Valley (Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, Carlsbad), San Bernardino area (San Bernardino, Ontario, Fontana, Montclair), San Diego, and Orange County, with at least two detentions confirmed on Thanksgiving Day itself. ICE employed increased vehicle stops, questioned people at gas stations and bus stops, and was observed near detention facilities in San Luis Obispo, Oxnard, Rialto, and El Monte.

Ehsan Rajabi, an Iranian graduate student at Johns Hopkins University studying art history, had his student visa cancelled by U.S. border officials at the American border near Buffalo, New York. After presenting all required documentation including his student visa and Canadian visitor visa, officers searched his car and phone, interrogated him for hours, and then used a red marker to draw a cancellation line across his student visa.

Community organizers in Fontana, California are providing legal representation and mental health support resources to an Indigenous family in connection with immigration enforcement actions.