Human Impact Project

Ruben Ray Martinez, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen from San Antonio, was fatally shot three times by Homeland Security Investigations Agent Jack Stevens in March 2025 on South Padre Island, Texas, while traveling with his best friend Joshua Orta to celebrate his birthday. Federal officials claimed Martinez tried to run over the agent with his car, but bodycam footage later obtained through a FOIA lawsuit showed his vehicle stationary or barely moving with brake lights engaged when agents fired through the window; Martinez was then pulled from the car, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed before receiving medical care, and died at a Brownsville hospital. Orta, the only civilian witness, said Martinez was 'hesitant' and 'scared'; he died in a car crash less than a year later. The government did not disclose the shooting for nearly a year, until the nonprofit American Oversight obtained the incident report. Martinez's mother, Rachel Reyes, said Texas Rangers investigators told her the footage contradicted the agents' account. A Cameron County grand jury declined to indict Stevens, and the family has filed a tort claim against the federal government for wrongful death and requested a federal investigation and release of records.

Danilo Alves Silva, 46, was arrested after authorities said he dressed up as an ICE agent—wearing an ICE hat, raid jacket, tactical gear, and a face mask—to intimidate voters at a Miami-Dade College polling site during Brazil's presidential election. Several voters became visibly afraid that an immigration agent was interfering with the election and could deport them. Silva later admitted the outfit was a costume he bought online and said he returned to record people's reactions after voting himself. He allegedly threatened a detective and offered a bribe after being detained, and faces charges including felony voting intimidation, bribery, threatening a public servant, and unlawful use of police insignia.

Phone Chomsavanh, a Laotian citizen who was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and moved to the U.S. with his family at age 7, was released from Eswatini's maximum-security Matsapha Correctional Complex on Sunday after being held there for more than 14 months. He was deported to Eswatini in July 2025 under the Trump administration's third-country deportation program after already completing his U.S. prison sentence, one of five immigrants sent there at the time. His lawyer, Tin Thanh Nguyen, said he was given no notice, hearing, or chance to object before being flown to a country he had no ties to, saying, 'He had already served his time. Instead they put him on a plane without telling him where it was headed and left him in a prison in a country he had never heard of, where nobody ever accused him of anything.' Following his release, he traveled through Johannesburg en route to Laos. The third-country deportation program has sent about 500 immigrants to African nations that are not their countries of origin, with Eswatini receiving roughly 30 people under an agreement with the U.S. in exchange for $5.1 million in payments.

Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a U.S. citizen walking to a pharmacy in Evanston, Illinois, to fill a prescription, was tackled and detained by federal agents who mistook him for a fugitive near Dodge Avenue and Howard Street. Witnesses, including Miguel Angel Olivares, recorded video showing agents pinning him down and appearing to strike him as he repeatedly stated he was a citizen. He suffered injuries to his head, neck and teeth, bled at the scene, and was taken by Evanston Fire Department ambulance to St. Francis Hospital for treatment. A paramedic and police officer on scene expressed shock that agents drove away while he lay injured in the street. DHS said the man was uncooperative and declined assistance, while an ICE supervisor told Evanston police that agents left because protesters began gathering; Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss confirmed the detention and release, and local police, eyewitnesses, and the group Sanctuary Evanston disputed DHS's account, calling it a violent assault. Evanston police, Illinois authorities, and the FBI are investigating, reviewing body camera footage and 911 audio.

Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan asylum seeker who entered the U.S. legally through CBP One in 2024 and held a valid work permit, was shot in the back by an ICE agent on September 20, 2026, during a traffic stop while delivering for DoorDash in North Austin. Federal prosecutors allege he struck an officer with his car's side mirror and fled, while he says an unmarked ICE vehicle rammed and spun his car before he was shot, unaware it belonged to ICE. He suffered a fractured clavicle and a bullet lodged near his spine causing partial paralysis, and his attorney said he faced risk of infection without surgery and received no pain medication in custody. A federal magistrate judge found prosecutors had not clearly shown he was a danger to the community but ruled him a flight risk and denied bond; his attorney said he would pursue a habeas corpus case. He faces DOJ charges of assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer carrying up to 20 years in prison, which his defense disputes, and a separate deportation order prompted his attorneys to sue to block removal. The shooting, partly captured on bystander video, prompted protests of over 150 people and calls from Rep. Greg Casar, Mayor Kirk Watson, and Rep. Joaquin Castro for an independent investigation and release of body-camera footage.

Christian Omar González, a 27-year-old Cuban man living in Hialeah, Florida, has been held at an ICE facility in Miramar for nearly two months after being arrested on August 5 while riding as a passenger to his job in West Palm Beach. His mother and grandmother have publicly pleaded for his release, with his mother saying 'mi niño no es ningún delincuente,' insisting he has no criminal record. ICE said he was arrested during a joint operation with the Florida Highway Patrol following alleged traffic violations, though the vehicle's driver, U.S. citizen Luis Villalba, disputes that account and says he was never ticketed. González left Cuba in 2022 to avoid mandatory military conscription after the July 11 protests, and his asylum case is pending; a bail request was denied because he was classified as an 'arriving alien,' a category that bars the immigration judge from granting bond. His family says they have taken on debt trying to secure his release, and his attorneys note his case coincides with a pending U.S. Supreme Court review of whether ICE can detain migrants in this category without bond. The Miramar facility where he is held has reportedly held as many as 342 people despite an official capacity of 56.

Johnny Sebastián Lucas Barre, a 38-year-old Ecuadorian man held at the Folkston ICE Processing Center in Georgia, says agents handcuffed and beat him after he refused to sign a deportation order and provide fingerprints without a lawyer present. He said three agents threw him against a wall, struck him, and placed a foot near his head until he lost consciousness, later waking up in a wheelchair receiving medical attention and showing visible bruises on his wrists and body. His partner, Leidy Montalvo, said he had been working in the facility kitchen for a dollar a day when agents repeatedly pressured him to sign his deportation paperwork, and she has shared photos of his injuries publicly. Lucas Barre entered the U.S. through Texas in 2024 and was detained again in December after reporting a change of address at an immigration appointment in Orlando, Florida; he has a pending asylum/immigration appeal but no longer has a lawyer because he could not afford to continue paying for one. Immigration attorneys said fingerprints or a signature obtained while someone is unconscious would not be legally valid. Lucas Barre has since filed a federal habeas corpus petition against the facility's warden, which remains pending after the warden moved to dismiss it and his attorney filed a response opposing dismissal.

Ismael Ayala-Uribe, 39, a Mexican national and former DACA recipient who grew up in Westminster after arriving in the U.S. at age four, died in ICE custody from septic shock caused by an untreated pelvic abscess. He had worked nearly 15 years at the Fountain Valley Auto Wash, where his manager called him 'the most important person in this business' and a customer said staff and patrons were devastated by his death. Arrested by ICE and Border Patrol agents on August 17, 2025, he was transferred to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, where his mother visited weekly and watched him decline after losing his DACA status over a 2015 DUI conviction. An internal ICE mortality review and forensic pathologist both found his death likely preventable, citing staff failures to examine him, respond to wellness checks, or properly treat and document his care. His family, represented by attorney Jesus Arias, has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit, and his brother Jose said the findings show 'what's going on in there, in Adelanto, any detention center.'

Reginaldo Quej, Erwin Orlando Xoy Acaham, and Catherine Migdalia Rax Sis, Guatemalan workers at Chile & Chili's Taqueria in Tallahassee, Florida, were detained on September 25, 2026 after ICE and Florida Highway Patrol attempted to stop a vehicle near the restaurant suspected of carrying someone without legal status. The three fled on foot before being caught and handcuffed, and ICE said the taqueria itself was not the target. Rax, 25, said from Flagler County Jail that she sends money home to support her mother, who has cancer, and described her coworkers as having become like family, saying the experience was 'not living — it's surviving.' Owner Marco Tenorio, who watched the raid via security cameras while in Mexico, called the workers 'good people trying to make a living,' noted it was the third immigration operation the business had faced in just over a month, and said employees had panic attacks during the raid. An immigration attorney said none of the three had a serious or prior criminal history, though legal statuses varied. Remaining staff quit out of fear, prompting the taqueria to permanently close, and community members raised nearly $13,000 via GoFundMe while the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance organized a rally outside the restaurant.

Yader Cortez Andino, a Nicaraguan immigrant with a pending asylum claim and a green card application based on his marriage to U.S. citizen Jennifer Cortez, was ordered released from ICE detention at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on Oct. 2 after a federal judge ruled his June 30 warrantless arrest illegal. ICE agents returned his belongings and signed his release papers but led him out a back door, where plainclothes agents immediately re-arrested him, telling him the judge's order was wrong. His wife Jennifer said she and the couple's three children had prepared balloons and banners to welcome him home. Cortez's green card was approved while he was held, and after the judge found ICE had violated its release order, he was ultimately released on Oct. 5.

Maycon Eleazar De Jesus Barrios, a Guatemalan national, was taken into custody by ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston office on Oct. 2 during a targeted enforcement operation in Marlborough. ICE described him as being in the country without legal status and said his criminal history includes an arrest for assault and battery on a family or household member. The agency announced the arrest in connection with Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

A North African man, identified only as A.S. out of fear of being detained again, said he was pressured to self-deport while held at the Plymouth, Massachusetts ICE detention facility last winter. He said officials repeatedly suggested he could instead be sent to Uganda, a country with a third-country removal agreement with the U.S. that he had never visited and whose language he did not speak. He was eventually released from detention to his family in southeastern Massachusetts.

A 26-year-old refugee known only as Adam, who fled forced military conscription, was granted protection from removal by a US immigration judge but was secretly deported to Equatorial Guinea in November 2025 under a third-country removal deal. He has been confined alone in a hotel room under armed guard for nearly a year, and was recently handcuffed and beaten by security officers who warned him not to speak out.

A U.S. citizen was injured when an ICE agent punched him during a work van stop in Naples Manor, Florida, after community members arrived to document and protest the stop. Graphic images shared with the Naples Daily News and The News-Press show an ICE agent pointing a gun toward bystanders during the encounter. June Sanson, a legal observer with the Rapid Response Alliance for Immigrant Safety and Empowerment, said the agent involved had previously pointed his weapon at her during an unrelated encounter in Immokalee. The advocacy group has planned a protest in Naples on Oct. 2 in response to the incident. ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ho-Yin Mo, a field representative for California Assemblymember Catherine Stefani who assists Chinese American constituents with healthcare, childcare, and food support, was detained by ICE on September 17, 2026, at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas while traveling to visit the Muhammad Ali Museum. Mo, originally from Hong Kong, lawfully entered the U.S. in January 2020; DHS said he overstayed after failing to depart in May 2020, though attorneys argued he was likely protected from deportation under Deferred Enforced Departure for Hong Kong residents. Stefani described Mo as 'a selfless public servant and a valued, legal employee of the California state Legislature,' and nearly every San Francisco City Hall politician and many state legislators called for his release. Mo, a former KTSF TV anchor and reporter who also worked on Mayor London Breed's 2024 re-election campaign, was held at the Nevada Southern Detention Center in Pahrump before being released on bond after 15 days in custody. Stefani traveled to Las Vegas to greet him upon release, and Mo thanked her, his lawyer, and supporters, saying he was eager to return to work.

A Guatemalan man working a landscaping job for Tommy Builders near Everett Community College was pulled from a work truck by six to eight masked ICE agents in tactical vests on a Monday morning in north Everett. Homeowner Jennifer Gordon recorded video showing the man shouting for help in English and Spanish, saying 'They don't have a warrant' and 'I can't breathe' as agents leaned over him; a second man working with him fled the scene. Gordon said the agents wore no badges or identification, used unmarked vehicles, refused to show a warrant when asked, and later photographed her house and address, which she said felt intimidating. ICE declined to confirm his identity, but DHS later said he had a criminal history and had been issued a final removal order in 2003 that was reinstated in 2011 and 2016 after alleged unauthorized reentry, and said officers used lawful, minimum-necessary force after he refused commands. A neighbor said an agent claimed the man was wanted over a murder allegation in his home country, which ICE did not confirm.

Gerardo Sanchez Lopez (also reported as Chavez Lopez), a longtime Clatsop County resident who came to the United States as a teenager and owns and operates multiple businesses in the area, was detained by ICE officers on June 7 while agents were searching for another man, Marco Antonio Mendoza-Cesar, who was also detained that day. ICE officers moved Sanchez Lopez between vehicles at the Port of Astoria's Pier 1 before transporting him to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. The use of port property by ICE prompted complaints to the Oregon Department of Justice over a potential violation of the state's sanctuary laws, though the Port of Astoria said staff faced a difficult situation and did the right thing by allowing agents access. Sanchez Lopez has since been released and returned home to Clatsop County, though a person close to him said he will need to check in with immigration again in several months.

César Cepeda Gomez (also referred to as Cesar Augusto Cepeda Gomez), a Venezuelan asylum seeker who delivered for Walmart in Bloomington, was detained by ICE agents in a Walmart parking lot alongside a coworker on September 1, 2026. Cepeda Gomez entered the U.S. legally through a CBP One appointment, held valid work authorization, and had an asylum hearing scheduled for October; he lives in Bloomington with his partner and her child. He was transported to the GEO Group-run North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan, where he remained held for weeks. His attorney said he has been working, paying taxes, and has no criminal history. A federal court ruled ICE could not continue holding him without a chance to seek release, after which an immigration judge granted him a $10,000 bond, with Cepeda Gomez awaiting payment as of early October.

On June 7, 2026, ICE agents conducted an operation at the Port of Astoria's Pier 1, detaining two men. As vehicles left the scene, Astoria resident Stefanie Collar, who had been observing the agents, approached one vehicle at a nearby red light, pressing her body against it because she believed an officer was preparing to pepper-spray her. An officer rolled down his window and sprayed her as the vehicle drove past, and two additional vehicles following also sprayed her. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said officers had been 'swarmed by a group of 20 rioters,' but video footage reviewed by KMUN and witness accounts showed only a few people on a nearby sidewalk, contradicting that account. An ICE officer separately called local police to report that agents used pepper spray after being swarmed.

Carlos Moreno, a legally blind and hard-of-hearing asylum seeker from Venezuela, was detained by ICE agents in March 2026 as he and his wife, Wendys Martinez, left a Schuylkill County courthouse after paying a $277 noise citation for playing music at their Pottsville home. He was transferred through a York processing facility and Moshannon Valley Processing Center before being held for nearly six months at Cambria County Prison, about 200 miles from his family, where he says staff failed to keep his hearing aids charged, never repaired his broken cane, and did not provide promised translation services, leaving him reliant on other detainees and largely confined to his cell. Moreno said the conditions led him to abandon his asylum appeal; after the deadline passed, Martinez gave birth to their son alone on the Fourth of July while their four other children cared for themselves at home. Cambria County, which has earned more than $1.5 million detaining immigrants under a federal agreement, later transferred Moreno to facilities in Louisiana and then Texas to await deportation to Venezuela. The county's warden said Moreno received adequate care but declined to provide details, citing privacy and security procedures. A GoFundMe campaign has raised money for the family's legal fees, rent and groceries.