Human Impact Project

ICE agents arrested at least two people in the parking lot of Thermoflex Corporation, a manufacturing plant at 1514 South Lakeside Drive in Waukegan, on Wednesday morning. The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights confirmed the ICE activity in Lake County. The arrests occurred less than two months after federal agents arrested another person outside a nearby Uline warehouse on May 13, 2026, and made additional arrests in the Waukegan area that same day. ICIRR reminded residents who encounter federal agents that they have the right to remain silent, speak with an attorney, refuse to sign documents and record police activity.

Federal immigration enforcement in the San Antonio region has intensified, with ICE data showing nearly 1,500 arrests since January 2025. The arrests include approximately 900 people with criminal convictions, over 400 facing pending criminal charges, and about 140 accused of other immigration violations. Local families report increased pressure and concern, particularly after recent enforcement operations at Hardberger Park and plans for a new ICE detention facility on the East Side. One woman described her husband's arrest after he and coworkers were stopped while leaving a city work site, noting that workers have become targets at job locations.

Juan Bonilla Lagos, a 32-year-old Colombian national, was arrested by ICE agents in Plainview in October 2024 while sitting in his car with his wife and 5-year-old son during what his family says was a trip to a doctor's appointment. During the arrest, agents threatened to break the car window as his child clung to him and pleaded with agents not to take him away. Bonilla Lagos, who entered the U.S. in 2022 fleeing gang violence in Colombia, was detained at an ICE facility in Batavia, New York, where he attempted suicide three times during his nine-month custody. He has no criminal record and has filed an asylum petition. On July 7, 2026, he was released and reunited with his wife and two children at Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan. The prolonged separation caused severe mental health trauma to his family, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress.

Three men who were riding in the van when ICE fatally shot driver Lorenzo Salgado Araujo have all been released from federal custody, including his brother Victor Salgado Araujo, who witnessed the shooting from the passenger seat and spent more than 50 days in detention. One of the men, identified by his stepdaughter Juana Degollado as Daniel Tirado Pantoja, has no legal permission to live in the U.S. but no criminal record, according to his family. Attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarra and Degollado have said the men faced pressure from ICE to self-deport, which would have prevented them from testifying about the shooting; DHS has called the allegation "categorically false." The Harris County District Attorney's Office is now moving toward presenting the investigation to a grand jury.

ICE lodged an immigration detainer against Alfonso Vasquez-Morales, a Mexican national, after he was charged in a fatal DUI crash that killed 69-year-old motorcyclist William Richard Sauer. Vasquez-Morales told deputies he had consumed several beers before crossing into oncoming traffic and striking Sauer's motorcycle. He told ICE officers he entered the U.S. without authorization through Arizona about three years ago. The Washington County Sheriff's Office, a 287(g) partner, facilitated the transfer of custody to ICE.

Annya Mari, an activist who has protested outside a Department of Homeland Security/ICE facility in Cedar Rapids for more than 20 years without prior arrest, was tackled to the ground and zip-tied by police on July 7, 2026. According to bodycam footage released by Cedar Rapids Police, two officers grabbed and pinned her arms behind her back while she was intervening during the arrest of another individual, Scott Boylen. Mari stated she was wearing a sundress, did not act aggressively, and was not a threat, expressing confusion about her arrest.

Luis Jaime-Fortin, 29, was involved in a traffic crash in Zilwaukee on July 7, 2026, after allegedly failing to yield while driving without a license, insurance, registration, or identification. Zilwaukee Police Chief Jason Wise contacted federal immigration authorities to verify his identity, then cited him for driving without a license and failing to yield before releasing him at the scene without arrest. Jaime-Fortin was later among nine workers arrested in the July 25 ICE raid at a Saginaw Township fiber optic worksite. The Latino Caucus of the Saginaw County Democratic Party criticized Wise's decision to involve federal immigration authorities, while Wise defended his actions by citing public safety concerns.

Alex Orellana, a Guatemalan resident of LaGrange, was approached by ICE agents at a traffic stop on July 7 and asked for identification and citizenship status. Orellana filmed the encounter and posted it to Facebook as part of efforts by residents to document immigration enforcement in their communities. He was ultimately allowed to leave after showing his documents. Orellana said he has lived in the area for nearly two decades and described the increased immigration enforcement activity as creating panic in the community.

Ulises Peña López, a 30-year-old Mexican carpenter and father living in Sunnyvale, California, with pre-existing conditions including a mini-stroke, blood clot, heart condition, and spinal and knee injuries, was surrounded by armed ICE agents outside his home in late February 2025. Agents smashed his truck window, pulled him out at gunpoint, and beat him unconscious in an alleyway while his wife Aby and young daughter watched, according to a federal lawsuit filed by his family with Disability Law United and Pangea Legal Services. He was hospitalized in Mountain View and allegedly shackled to his bed, with nurses passing him written notes to avoid ICE surveillance; his wife said he lost feeling in half his face and parts of his right side. During months in detention at Golden State Annex, California City Detention Facility, and other GEO Group and CoreCivic-run facilities, staff allegedly denied him a cane, hearing aids, medication, and other disability accommodations, and mocked him when he filed grievances. He was deported to Mexico in October 2025, where he says he is living in hiding, while his wife has been diagnosed with PTSD and their daughter has shown developmental regression. The family's lawsuit against DHS, ICE, GEO Group, and CoreCivic alleges civil rights, due process, and disability rights violations.

Leodegario was detained by ICE while traveling to work and is currently in immigration detention facing deportation to Mexico, a country where he has not lived for 30 years. He is a father of five children and husband who has worked to provide for his family and is known in his community for his generosity and willingness to help others. His family is fundraising for legal representation and living expenses as they fight to keep him in the United States and prevent family separation.

Anselmo Esquivel was detained by ICE on a Monday morning and is being held in Tacoma, Washington. His family describes him as a hardworking and generous man. The detention has been devastating for his entire family, who are seeking financial support during this difficult time.

Savannah Eric's father was detained during a routine ICE check-in and subsequently deported after more than 22 years living in the United States. He had no criminal convictions and consistently complied with all immigration requirements. The family has been separated for a year and is raising funds to travel and reunite with him.

Seven detainees in ICE custody at the Florence Service Processing Center in Arizona have been confirmed with measles. An unspecified number of additional detainees at the Eloy Detention Center and Central Arizona Florence Correctional Complex were placed under quarantine for possible measles exposure. Arizona Democratic representatives Greg Stanton, Yassamin Ansari, and Adelita Grijalva, along with Senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security demanding details about quarantine protocols, medical staffing, and whether detainees had access to legal meetings and court hearings during the lockdown. This is the second measles outbreak reported in Arizona ICE facilities in 2026, with three cases reported in February.

Three residents of Addison County were taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) agents in the parking lot of MiddTown Dental on Court Street in Middlebury early Tuesday morning. Masked, armed federal agents converged on a vehicle in the lot; witnesses reported seeing agents cuffing and taking away at least one man. According to Rachel Elliott of Migrant Justice, none of the three detainees appeared to be children, though their identities, backgrounds, and immigration status details were not immediately disclosed. Migrant Justice, an organization serving immigrant farmworkers in Vermont, was checking on the detainees' status and providing information to their families about the legal process.

Mario Bojorjes, a North Liberty construction worker and father of three with a pending permanent residency case, was detained by ICE on July 7 after an Iowa State Trooper stopped him on Interstate 80 for a window tint violation. During the traffic stop, the trooper conducted an immigration inquiry that led to Bojorjes' arrest. He has no criminal record and was his family's primary source of income. Bojorjes is currently being held on an ICE hold at the Linn County Jail.

ICE arrested at least five immigrants at New York immigration courthouses in late June despite a federal judge's order limiting such arrests, and advocates have asked U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel to determine whether the agency violated that order. ICE says the arrests were lawful, with acting supervisory officer Roberto Rodriguez stating courthouses are the safest location because enforcement elsewhere in New York risks protests and bystander intervention. Attorney Katherine Rosenfeld's June 29 letter raised concerns about ICE's compliance and noted a near-daily ICE presence at the courthouses. Of the five arrested, three were released without explanation while two remain detained awaiting habeas corpus petitions; one was from the Dominican Republic and another from Ecuador.

Jose Enrique Ojeda Duarte, a 31-year-old Venezuelan asylum-seeker and father of two who entered the U.S. legally in 2024, was arrested by ICE agents in Chicago on September 15, 2025, while driving to work during Operation Midway Blitz. He was told he was being taken to a court date but instead spent about seven months in detention, including at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, where he described 'inhumane' conditions such as frozen or expired food and lack of medical care when he contracted COVID-19. In April 2026, despite his pending asylum case, he was deported to Venezuela; DHS later admitted in court filings that a data error in its removal system caused the wrongful deportation. After his attorneys and partner, Leydimar Castillo, pushed for his return, a federal judge intervened and he was brought back to the U.S. in June 2026, reuniting with Castillo and their two children on Chicago's South Side. He has since struggled with anxiety, insomnia and fear, saying, 'Sometimes, I get a terrible feeling, like a fear of going out.' His asylum case remains unresolved.

Erianny Rodriguez Balza, a Venezuelan woman with active Temporary Protected Status (TPS), was detained by ICE at Eloy Detention Center in Arizona for approximately 9 months. Court filings show that a federal government attorney acknowledged her legal status, yet she remained in detention despite this acknowledgment. She was eventually released after the wrongful detention.

During an ICE enforcement operation over the Independence Day weekend, five individuals with criminal convictions were arrested across multiple states. Radimir Thompson-Nagle, a Panamanian citizen, was arrested in Brooklyn with convictions for murder and assault. Marcos Rubio-Hernandez, a Mexican citizen, was arrested in North Carolina with convictions for second-degree murder and kidnapping. Roberto Gutierrez-Diaz, a Mexican citizen, was arrested in Kentucky with convictions for sodomy, sexual abuse of minors, attempted rape, and burglary. Francisco Olmedo-Silva, a Mexican citizen, was arrested with convictions spanning Oregon, Wyoming, and Pennsylvania for drug trafficking, conspiracy, escaping from custody, and robbery. Pedro Mazorra-Herrera, a Cuban citizen, was arrested in Miami with convictions for aggravated stalking, resisting an officer with violence, burglary with assault or battery, and cocaine possession.

Hebert Kaleth Ibarra Castro, a 20-year-old mariachi musician, was arrested by ICE on June 25, 2026, at a traffic stop in China Grove, Texas, while returning from a musical performance in his mariachi outfit. Castro arrived in the U.S. at age 4 on a B-2 visa fleeing violence in Mexico; ICE claims he entered illegally, though his wife states the visa expired in 2020. He was detained at a South Texas ICE facility where he remained in his mariachi attire for nearly 18 hours before being allowed to change clothes. ICE agents allegedly mocked and discriminated against him because of his traditional mariachi clothing. While in custody on July 4, Castro performed 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' His wife, Marisol Pantosi, is a U.S. citizen and filed his green card application shortly before his detention. State and federal lawmakers, including State Rep. Barbara Garvin Hawkins and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, have publicly called for his release, and mariachi artists nationwide have rallied to demand his freedom.