Human Impact Project

Edgar Ruiz, a U.S. citizen born in Chicago, was tased in the face by ICE agents outside a 7-Eleven in Des Plaines on October 31, 2025. He was detained for approximately two hours before being released and hospitalized. His undocumented father remained in ICE custody following the incident. Edgar Ruiz, a U.S. citizen born in Chicago, was tased in the face by ICE agents outside a 7-Eleven store in Des Plaines on September 16, 2025, during an operation targeting his undocumented father. Ruiz attempted to hold his vehicle's door closed when agents arrived, and was tased when the agent tried to open it. He was detained for approximately two hours at a facility in Lombard before being released and taken to a hospital for medical attention. His father, Rigoberto Ruiz, who has lived in the United States for 30 years, remained in ICE custody.

Luisa Rodriguez, a Mexican national who immigrated to the U.S. over 30 years ago and worked in courts, was detained by ICE agents on September 28, 2025, at Camp Pendleton's gate while visiting her pregnant daughter, a newly enlisted U.S. Marine. Rodriguez and her husband Esteban Rios were initially released with ankle monitors but were taken back into custody at a subsequent ICE check-in appointment. Rodriguez was held at Otay Mesa Detention Center for nearly three weeks before being released on October 30. Her husband was deported to Tijuana on October 31. The family has pending green card applications and no criminal history.

Fernando Jaramillo Solano, a 45-year-old Colombian national seeking asylum, and his two children, Jana Michel Jaramillo Patiño (12) and Kewin Daniel Patiño Bustamante (15), were detained by ICE agents on October 27, 2025, while being driven to school near a mobile home park in Durango, Colorado. The family had lived in Colorado for over 18 months, possessed valid documentation showing an active asylum process since December 2024, a work permit request, and no criminal record. ICE officials stated during federal court proceedings that Jaramillo Solano was not their intended target. Hundreds of protesters gathered at the ICE field office in Durango on October 28 to demand their release. During the demonstration, ICE agents in tactical gear pepper-sprayed and fired rubber bullets at peaceful protesters. Protester Franci Stagi, 57, was knocked to the ground and subjected to a chokehold by an unidentified officer, and protester Drew Collie, 22, was sprayed at close range and struck twice with rubber bullets, sustaining bruises. Local Durango police attempted to intervene to secure the children's release and conduct a welfare check but were denied entry by federal agents. The father was transferred to a detention facility in Dilley, Texas, while the children were held at an ICE facility in southern Texas. Immigration officials later granted the family voluntary departure and stated ICE would facilitate their return to Colombia. The City of Durango requested assistance from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation regarding agent conduct, which formally declined.

Homeland Security Investigations agents raided an apartment in Lynden, Washington on October 29, detaining U.S. citizen Jocelyn Peña while arresting her undocumented partner, Jesus Alejandro Lopez Ruiz, on a federal warrant alleging he assaulted an officer during a vehicle pursuit on October 15. Lopez Ruiz was booked into Whatcom County Jail and transferred to federal immigration custody. Advocates and Lopez Ruiz's partner dispute the assault allegation, characterizing the arrest as retribution and intimidation, with claims that no evidence has been provided that the alleged car door contact occurred.

Victor Rodriguez Ocampo Sr., 54, owner of La Playa Taco Shop in Mission Beach, was detained by ICE on October 31 outside his National City home and deported to Mexico after approximately two months at Otay Mesa Detention Center. His son has taken over operations at the restaurant and established a GoFundMe fundraiser that has raised over $18,500 toward legal expenses and family support. Rodriguez Jr. recently joined the U.S. Navy while working a second job to keep the family business operating.

Border Patrol agents conducted immigration enforcement raids across Chicago and nearby suburbs on Halloween, detaining multiple individuals. Incidents included pepper-spray deployment in Albany Park, an agent pointing a weapon at protesters in Evanston, and an officer punching a detainee. Three U.S. citizens were arrested for allegedly obstructing the operations, while five Mexican nationals were detained.

M-J-M-A, a 45-year-old Mexican citizen who entered the U.S. legally in January 2025 and later overstayed her visa, was arrested by ICE on October 30, 2025 while on her way to work. At the Portland ICE facility, an officer pressured her to sign a Spanish-language document waiving her right to an immigration court hearing and requesting voluntary removal, despite her intention to seek asylum, telling her that refusing would delay her departure. When her attorney was finally able to meet with her roughly three hours later, the meeting was cut short after only about 10 minutes. ICE then shackled her and transferred her to a facility in Tacoma, Washington, leaving her without attorney contact for approximately two days.

Armando Garcia Picazo, detained by ICE in August without legal status, was ordered released by federal judge Leonard Strand after being denied bond approved by an immigration judge. Garcia Picazo was held at Woodbury County jail for over two months before filing a habeas corpus lawsuit. He was required to post $6,000 bond and will continue his immigration case on a non-detained docket.

Two employees of SUNY Upstate Medical University were detained by ICE on Wednesday while attending immigration hearings to finalize their legal status. The workers were taken into custody before entering the courtroom and are being held at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, facing possible deportation. Union officials from CSEA and UUP issued statements regarding ICE's actions.

Ruperto Vicens Marquez, 38, head chef and co-owner of Emilio's Kitchen in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, was detained by ICE on October 19, 2025. He is a father of three and co-owns the restaurant with his brother Emilio, after the pair worked together for seven years at another local restaurant, Copper Canyon. ICE says an immigration judge issued him a final removal order in July, but his attorney and Atlantic Highlands Mayor Lori Hohenleitner dispute this, noting he has valid work authorization through 2029 and a pending merits hearing scheduled for 2028. He has been held at Newark's Delaney Hall Detention Facility since his arrest. A protest was held in his support, a GoFundMe campaign has raised $85,000 for legal fees, and more than 200 community letters have been submitted on his behalf. A judge has granted him a bond hearing within seven days.

A 16-year-old boy named Diego had both parents taken in separate ICE raids. After being released from ICE custody, Diego's mother Yolanda shared her account of the experience. The incident was originally covered in November of the previous year.

Rian Andrianzah, an Indonesian national, was arrested by ICE agents while attending what he believed was a routine biometrics appointment in Philadelphia. His arrest occurred while his wife waited in another room, and he was subsequently sent to a Central Pennsylvania detention center where he now faces deportation. The arrest is part of the Trump administration's strategy shift to apprehend green card applicants, asylum seekers, and others engaged in legal immigration processes.

MJMA, a 45-year-old farm worker and lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit, was detained in a van stop by ICE agents who smashed the vehicle's windows without waiting for occupants to comply with commands. Body-camera footage shows MJMA asserting her right to remain silent and requesting a lawyer in Spanish, while an officer broke her phone as she called 911. Agents used facial recognition software to scan her face multiple times, obtaining inaccurate matches—one incorrectly identifying her as "Maria"—and falsely claiming she entered the country unlawfully when she had actually arrived with a valid temporary visa. A federal judge ruled the arrests unlawful and unjustified, finding officers engaged in misconduct, made inaccurate statements in reports, and improperly used facial recognition technology without warrants. MJMA has an ongoing asylum case.

A Mexican mother of a 10-month-old was arrested by ICE agents while driving her taxi near O'Hare International Airport and detained at the Broadview facility. She lacked access to a lactation room to pump breast milk for her daughter. A federal judge ordered her release on October 31, the day after her habeas case was filed.

Five plainclothes federal agents arrested a 26-year-old barber from Venezuela at Rockstar Fadez barbershop in Brighton Park. One agent had posed as a construction worker and customer earlier that morning without identifying himself as law enforcement. The agents threw the barber to the ground and carried him away in a pickup truck while threatening to detain anyone who intervened, and no warrant was presented before the arrest.

Federal immigration agents arrested two men, Adolfo Felipe Mendoza-Cruz on October 30 and Fabian Pablo Beltran-Flores on November 3, in apparent violation of Washington state law prohibiting immigration enforcement within one mile of courthouses. Mendoza-Cruz was detained in a courthouse parking lot after attending a DUI arraignment, while Beltran-Flores was arrested on a sidewalk outside City Hall after a court appearance. City officials reported both incidents to the Washington State Attorney General's Office.

A Slovak national who entered the U.S. in 2015 on a visa waiver and later overstayed was detained by immigration officials near his residence in October 2025 and held at Pike County Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania. He had pending applications for a green card through his U.S. citizen spouse and for work authorization, and later sought asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture, all denied by an immigration judge in March 2026. He says he endured months of physical and mental abuse in detention, and his family said he was removed without notice to them or his attorney; he and his family, working with the ACLU, then filed a federal habeas corpus petition seeking to block his deportation. In July 2026, a federal district court in Pennsylvania ruled it lacked jurisdiction over his claims, dismissed the petition, vacated an earlier temporary stay of removal, and denied his request for a restraining order as moot.

A group of ten women arrested in the October 2025 immigration raid at the Savino del Bene warehouse in Woodbridge, New Jersey, were transferred through detention facilities in Texas and Ohio before being sent to the North Lake Correctional Facility in Michigan, near the Canadian border. The women, including one identified as Sofía, said they were given little food or water during the days-long transfer, forced to undress and shower in front of a female officer, and verbally demeaned by an immigration officer who called them "bitches" when handing them to an Ohio county sheriff. Once at the Michigan facility, the women said the heat was not turned on during the freezing Upper Midwest winter.

Jhonatan Bello Cabrera, an 18-year-old Colombian national, was detained during an immigration raid at the Savino del Bene warehouse in Woodbridge, New Jersey, while in the process of obtaining permanent residency through his U.S. citizen stepfather and legal permanent resident mother. He was transferred to detention facilities in New Jersey, Texas and Arizona before being released in December after posting a $6,000 bond and being fitted with an ankle monitor. His mother, Sandra Suero, said she never expected the arrest, calling him "a newly graduated kid, still a child."

Killy Tatiana Yangquen García, a 21-year-old Colombian woman who came to the U.S. at age 10, was arrested at the Savino del Bene bonded warehouse in Woodbridge, New Jersey, during an immigration raid in which more than 50 agents from multiple federal agencies, including a helicopter, detained 46 workers. After nearly four months in detention, including transfers across multiple states, an immigration judge denied her bond and she accepted a voluntary departure, returning to Bogotá in February. Her mother, María Eugenia García, has been living in hiding in Elizabeth, New Jersey, since the raid and says she has struggled to cope with the separation, speaking with her daughter only by video call, while Yangquen García's husband, who is applying for U.S. citizenship, hopes to eventually sponsor her return.