Human Impact Project

Omar Huerta Cisneros, a 54-year-old green card holder with schizophrenia who has lived in the U.S. since childhood, was stopped by agents in Chicago's Chicago Lawn neighborhood while walking to a grocery store in October 2025. Agents zip-tied his hands and put him into an unmarked vehicle, which witnesses described as a red minivan. His family learned of the detention from a Facebook video and spent 10 days searching for him, repeatedly calling DHS offices to explain he urgently needed his medication, but no agency could tell them where he was. After 10 days, the family found Huerta wandering the streets of Franklin Park disoriented, dirty, and hungry. Based on what Huerta could recall, the family believes agents released him without a phone call or transportation home.

Sarah Parise and her 2-year-old daughter Leia were exposed to tear gas deployed by Border Patrol agents during immigration enforcement operations in the Old Irving Park neighborhood on October 25. While walking near a grassy field, Parise and her daughter were struck by chemical agents without warning; Leia screamed in pain as Parise ran home and rinsed them with water and milk. A federal judge questioned the use of tear gas in the operation, which resulted in one arrest.

On October 25, 2025, a 67-year-old U.S. citizen was removed from his car and assaulted by Border Patrol agents during an immigration enforcement operation in Chicago's Old Irving Park neighborhood. The man sustained six broken ribs and internal bleeding during the incident. The enforcement operation occurred during a children's Halloween parade preparation, and tear gas was deployed near children in the area. Border Patrol agents had blocked off the street as part of their operation to apprehend an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. On October 10, 2025, Dayanne Figueroa, a U.S. citizen paralegal employed by WGN TV, was removed from her vehicle by masked Border Patrol agents on West Hubbard Street in Chicago following a traffic accident involving an unmarked government vehicle. Video footage documents armed federal agents dragging her from the car by her legs and pinning her to the ground without initially explaining the reason for the detention. Figueroa sustained injuries requiring hospital treatment. She was subsequently released without being charged. Accounts differ between Figueroa and DHS regarding who struck whom and her actions during the encounter.

Federal immigration agents deployed tear gas in the Irving Park and Avondale neighborhoods on Chicago's Northwest Side on Saturday, detaining multiple people including a landscaper, a tortilla delivery driver, and an elderly resident. Neighborhood protests occurred following the incident. The incident was alleged to violate a federal judge's temporary restraining order limiting tear gas use. Additional arrests occurred at O'Hare International Airport's rideshare lot the same day.

A 24-year-old Honduran man, Josué Castro Rivera, died after being struck by a vehicle while fleeing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Interstate 264 in Norfolk, Virginia. He was on his way to a gardening job when his vehicle was stopped by ICE as part of a targeted operation, and he fled on foot when agents attempted to detain him and his passengers.

Marina Ortiz, a fifth-grade teacher at Global Village Academy in Douglas County (Parker), Colorado, was detained by ICE along with her minor children during a routine immigration appointment at an ICE field office in Centennial on October 24. She and her family were subsequently transferred to a detention facility in Texas. School officials confirmed Ortiz held valid employment authorization through spring 2029 and said they are working with immigration attorneys to help bring the family back to Colorado. ICE said Ortiz entered the country near Yuma, Arizona, on December 2, 2022, and was later paroled. A school board member said the incident has caused fear within the school community.

Josué Castro Rivera, a 24-year-old Honduran man who had been in the U.S. for four years sending money home to family, died after being struck by a pickup truck while fleeing on foot from ICE agents who had pulled over his vehicle in Norfolk, Virginia, as he headed to a gardening job. His brother, Henry Castro, said Castro Rivera "had a very good heart" and is raising funds to return his body to Honduras for burial. DHS said the stop was part of a targeted operation and that Castro Rivera "resisted heavily and fled" before being struck; Virginia State Police confirmed he was pronounced dead at the scene and said the crash remains under investigation. His death follows those of a Mexican man fatally shot by federal agents during a traffic stop near Chicago and a farmworker who died after falling from a roof during an ICE raid in California.

ICE agents attempted to arrest 21-year-old undocumented Honduran immigrant Willian Castillo-Hernandez on October 24, 2025, despite not having a warrant for him. After he fled to his home, a multi-hour standoff ensued involving the FBI. Video evidence suggests ICE rammed his truck, contradicting ICE's claim that he rammed them. Castillo-Hernandez was ultimately arrested after negotiators convinced him to leave the house.

On October 23, 2025, U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino deployed tear gas and pepper spray against protesters in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood in response to immigration enforcement operations. Video evidence documented Bovino throwing a tear gas canister into the crowd, allegedly in violation of a federal court order prohibiting such tactics without imminent threat. The Department of Homeland Security claimed Bovino was struck by a rock, but witnesses and video evidence contradicted this account. On October 24, Federal Judge Sara Ellis ordered Bovino to appear in person to answer allegations that he violated the temporary restraining order.

Federal agents from ICE and U.S. Marshals Service raided a home in Gary, Indiana on October 23, 2025, taking an entire family into custody. The 26-year-old son reported being punched in the eye and choked during the arrest, while his parents—who lack legal immigration status—remain in custody. The two adult U.S. citizen children were released, but the family now faces four separate court cases and legal expenses.

Two Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a VA nurse and observer, in Minneapolis. Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino was reassigned to El Centro, California following several high-profile incidents.

Enrique Lozano, an ice cream vendor who has lived in Los Angeles for over 20 years, was detained by ICE agents on June 23, 2025, while working on Culver Boulevard. He was held for approximately four months before being released and granted a green card through his wife's sponsorship. Following his release, Lozano has returned home and resumed his business operations. The local community mobilized support for his family, raising nearly $76,000 through a GoFundMe campaign, while a local company donated a new cart to help him restart his ice cream business.

A junior at Benito Juarez High School in Chicago was detained by federal agents on October 23, 2025, while on his way to school in the Little Village neighborhood. The student, who city leaders identified as a U.S. citizen, was zip-tied and taken into custody after federal agents conducted immigration enforcement operations at a shopping center at 26th and Whipple. He was released back to his family at approximately 3 p.m. that day. A second student was injured during the same operation but was not detained.

During a second day of federal immigration enforcement operations in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood in October 2025, agents led by Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino detained at least five people, including two Benito Juarez Community Academy students and a U.S. citizen. Protesters and city officials said the students were beaten and assaulted by officers, with one left with blood on his face; a teacher said she realized one student was missing only when taking attendance. When residents gathered to oppose the sweeps, agents in camouflage and gas masks deployed tear gas and pepper spray, with video showing Bovino tossing a canister into the crowd despite a court order restricting such force. Additional arrests, including two staff members of a local alderman, occurred in Little Village and suburban Cicero, and a federal judge ordered Bovino to testify and appear at a status hearing.

Rev. Jorge Bautista, a United Church of Christ pastor, was shot in the face with a pepper round by an ICE agent during an October 23 prayer vigil at Coast Guard Island in Alameda, California. The vigil was organized by the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity to protest ICE operations in the Bay Area. Bautista approached an agent to help deescalate the situation, saying "We come in peace," but was immediately shot with no warning. He received medical treatment and recovered after several days of burning eyes and headaches.

Detainees at the Richwood immigration detention facility in Louisiana report persistent hunger despite ICE and facility operator LaSalle Corrections claiming meals meet nutritional standards. Women describe small portions of processed, often expired foods that are undercooked, burned, or barely edible, with inadequate nutrition and lack of fresh produce. The facility switched to a lower-cost food distributor in 2025 as the detained population increased, and inspectors found the facility failed to post menus meeting required nutritional standards. Advocates and detainees, including former detainee Camila Muñoz, report deteriorating food quality and quantity, while ICE and LaSalle maintain compliance with national detention standards despite insufficient oversight of actual meals served versus certified menus.

Gabriel García Avilés, 56, a Mexican immigrant who had lived in the United States for over 30 years and held a work permit, was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol on October 14, 2025, during a roving operation in Costa Mesa, California. He was transferred to ICE custody and moved to Adelanto ICE Processing Center on October 15. Avilés was subsequently hospitalized at Victor Valley Global Medical Center in critical condition. He died on October 23, 2025. ICE and hospital staff attributed his death to cardiac arrest resulting from suspected alcohol withdrawal symptoms. His family reported poor communication from detention staff, concerning hospital conditions, and observed physical injuries on Avilés including dried blood, cuts, broken teeth, and bruising. His family requested that medical staff cease resuscitation attempts.

Marie, a woman who entered on a valid tourist visa and was detained after her identity documents were stolen, was held at an ICE facility for 20 weeks while pregnant with a high-risk pregnancy. She was placed in solitary confinement for at least three days after officials disbelieved her pregnancy report. During her detention, she was given poor-quality food, denied prenatal vitamins, vaccinated without consent and without translation services, and ignored when she reported severe cramps and requested medical help. After advocates intervened and she was released, she developed eclampsia and required extended hospitalization after giving birth. She continues to struggle with postpartum depression related to her detention trauma.

ICE agents engaged in an hours-long standoff with Honduran immigrant William Hernandez outside his home in Avondale, Arizona, following a car incident. ICE claims Hernandez rammed an agent's vehicle, while witnesses and his wife report that ICE agents rammed his car. Hernandez, who has lived in the U.S. for a decade with no criminal record, was detained along with his uncle Abel Ochoa and another family member Marcos Ochoa.

A driver in a blue GMC pickup truck allegedly attempted to ram a Customs and Border Protection vehicle carrying federal immigration agents in Cicero on Wednesday morning. The truck instead struck a gray Toyota Corolla at an intersection. No injuries were reported, and the driver was taken into federal custody.