Human Impact Project

Jonathan Paredes Rodriguez, a Venezuelan asylum seeker with a valid work permit, was detained by ICE after he approached an Ogden police officer for help because he believed an unmarked vehicle was following him while he worked as a DoorDash driver. Video of the encounter showed the Ogden officer conversing with an ICE agent before the agent approached Paredes Rodriguez's stopped vehicle and detained him, even though he believed his pending immigration proceedings allowed him to remain in the country. He spent about six weeks in ICE custody, during which he lost roughly 18 to 19 pounds and developed a lingering cough, and was released last week. Since returning home to his family, he has struggled with sleep and said he hopes sharing his story will help others understand the fear immigrants face in the system.

Oscar Quintero Frias, co-owner of Colombian specialty coffee shop Cof& in downtown Bellingham, was detained by ICE on September 15 at Sea-Tac Airport while returning from a work trip to Chicago. He was held at the Northwest ICE Processing Facility in Tacoma; DHS claimed he had overstayed a tourist visa that expired in 2021, while his family said he is a lawful permanent resident with no U.S. criminal history. Quintero Frias, an electrical engineer who fled potential kidnapping threats in Colombia, earned his engineering license after immigrating in 2021 and opened Cof& with his wife that same year, later winning a Bellingham Mayor City Center Award in 2024 for helping revitalize downtown. A friend said he and his family worked hard to build the business despite financial hurdles facing noncitizen entrepreneurs. A GoFundMe for his legal and bond costs raised nearly $60,000, and he was released from detention on October 13, thanking the community for its support.

Fatou Traore, a custodian at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and member of AFSCME Council 61, Local 12, was detained by plainclothes ICE agents on September 24, 2026, while driving to pick up her sister for work in Iowa City. She held a 2011 'withholding of removal' order, but ICE said she had a final 2011 removal order and had used fraudulent travel documents to enter the country. She was moved through detention facilities in Cedar Rapids, Hardin County, and Omaha before being transferred to ICE's Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana, where her son Esoumaila Diallo said she was denied access to an attorney, a judge, and phone calls before being told she could leave 'peacefully or by force.' She was deported on October 12 to Sierra Leone, a country she had never visited, before a federal judge ruled on her attorneys' pending motion to stay removal, and her request for a credible fear interview was ignored. She leaves behind her husband, Oumar Diallo, and four U.S.-citizen sons ages 3, 8, 14 and 19, and had worked at the hospital for over a decade. Coworkers, the worker center Escucha Mi Voz Iowa, the Iowa City Catholic Worker, the Immigrant Welcome Network, faith leaders, and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks organized petitions and rallies calling on DHS to facilitate her return, while the family raised money for legal fees and resettlement costs.

Jean Wilson Brutus, a 41-year-old Haitian man, died in December 2025 at the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, less than a day after being detained. ICE initially described his death as an unexplained "medical emergency" and attributed it to "natural causes," but a medical examiner later determined he died from a pulmonary embolism. An ambulance transporting him to University Hospital was delayed by five minutes as officials prioritized allowing a van of new detainees into the facility. His death came amid widespread complaints from detainees at Delaney Hall about contaminated water, spoiled food, and inadequate medical care, and was one of at least two deaths at the facility and one of 23 deaths in ICE custody during the year. ACLU of New Jersey Executive Director Amol Sinha later cited his death during congressional testimony about medical neglect and denial of medication at the facility.

Molis Augustave, 33, a pastor at Iglesia de Dios Voz de Alerta in York, Pennsylvania, and a DoorDash driver and former community organizer with We Are CASA, was pulled over by West Manchester Township police for a burned-out headlight and expired registration after losing his work permit when Haiti's TPS protections ended. He was turned over to ICE under a local 287(g) agreement and says he was handled roughly, leaving him with lasting neck and back pain. Despite an approved I-130 petition, a pending green card application, and a federal habeas petition, he was held at Louisiana facilities and moved toward deportation; his wife, U.S. citizen Omara Augustave Nunez, church members, and immigrant advocacy groups succeeded in getting him pulled from an initial flight, while 89 others aboard were deported. While detained he led Bible study and counseled fellow detainees, including one considering suicide. Days later, USCIS denied his green card application, and after 19 days in custody he was deported to Haiti, the country he had fled a decade earlier due to gang violence, leaving behind his wife and three children, with his motion to reopen still pending.

Daniela Leiva and her husband, José Gregorio Chacón Pérez, were detained by ICE, according to a GoFundMe campaign started by Daniela's sister, Marlin Leiva. The family describes the emotional toll of the detention, including a young niece who misses her aunt, and mothers in Venezuela and Chile who are unable to be with their children. The campaign aims to raise $10,000 to cover legal expenses and other costs related to the couple's detention.

A man was detained by ICE while working, according to his son, who launched a fundraiser to pay for legal assistance. The detention cut the family's income in half, and the son is seeking a lawyer quickly to try to secure a court date before his father can be deported. The family says the detention has upended their lives within days.

A man was detained by ICE agents at 5:45 a.m. outside an Albertsons grocery store in Carpinteria, California, according to video filmed by volunteers with Carpinteria Sin Fronteras, a group that documents ICE activity in the area. Employees at a nearby Mexican bakery, Case Don Roge, said they recognized the man as a past customer. The incident frightened nearby residents, with some customers hiding inside local businesses and many regulars staying home from the bakery in the days that followed.

ICE agents chased and tackled a man inside an H-E-B grocery store in Alamo, Texas, in Hidalgo County's Rio Grande Valley, with video of the arrest circulating widely on social media. Agents and an Alamo police officer apprehended the man in a store aisle, handcuffing him while he lay face down on the floor. H-E-B said the pursuit began off its property before the man was taken into custody inside the store, and that the company had no prior knowledge of or involvement in the incident. No details on the man's identity or the reason for his arrest have been released.

Andrei Mikhailov, a Russian immigrant who fled with his wife Kseniia Volkova to escape danger after criticizing the Russian government and the war with Ukraine, has been held at Folkston ICE Processing Center in Georgia since being detained by Border Patrol while on vacation in Florida in February. His wife said he was on the seventh day of a hunger strike as of Monday and that his mental and physical health has deteriorated while he awaits a new asylum hearing date. Volkova, who was released with an ankle monitor after the same encounter, said she has spent $40,000 in legal fees and remains hopeful he will be freed. A spokesman for Rep. Bill Foster's office said they are seeking his release or a transfer to a facility closer to family.

Local activist Grace Graybill attempted to film a police traffic stop of a contractor's pickup truck while sitting in her own vehicle, far back along a public stretch of Route 15 in Carroll Township, Pennsylvania, where police have been making arrests under a 287(g) cooperation agreement with ICE. Police Sgt. Terry Williams rushed over and ordered her to stop recording, telling her "You're interfering with our traffic stop! Go! ... Stop following the police department around" and that she had "no business being here," before warning her to "move, or you're going to get yourself in trouble." Courts have repeatedly ruled that Pennsylvania citizens have a right to film public traffic stops. A township resident later cited the video of Williams as an example of how the ICE partnership was changing the character of the police department.

A Haitian man with Temporary Protected Status, married with an 18-month-old child, left home one Sunday evening in late summer to withdraw cash at an ATM in West York Borough, Pennsylvania, and never returned. His wife issued a public plea for help, prompting local community activists to track him down at the overcrowded Moshannon Valley Detention Center. He is among roughly 12,000 Haitians in York County who lost protected status after the Trump administration ended TPS in late July.

Miguel Parra-Hernandez, a 48-year-old Mexican man who has lived in the U.S. for 34 years since age 14 with no criminal record, was struck by an unmarked, tinted ICE SUV on Clay Road in west Houston while heading to work. ICE agents were pursuing Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, who had a final removal order and prior DUI and firearm arrests, when both men fled on foot after the vehicle used no sirens. Parra-Hernandez suffered a shattered ankle, a leg broken in three places, and hip injuries requiring hospitalization and surgery, and remains in ICE custody at the hospital, where his attorney said officers limited her visit and recorded their conversation. ICE said he was not the operation's target but was in the country illegally and ran in front of the vehicle, while Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said video shows an intentional strike and is considering aggravated assault charges; ICE has refused to cooperate with the investigation or release the vehicle's data recorder. His family, FIEL Houston executive director Cesar Espinosa, and Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones, who said she was 'horrified,' have demanded his release, video release, and an investigation.

Idris Makhmudov, a Russian citizen of Chechen origin born in Kazakhstan, was detained by immigration authorities at the Nogales, Arizona border crossing on July 13, 2024, after requesting entry, and spent nearly 27 months at the GEO Group-run Folkston D. Ray James ICE Processing Center in Georgia without being charged with a crime. He helped organize a mass hunger strike involving at least 73 detainees from countries including Russia, China, Sudan, Afghanistan, Nepal and Yemen, protesting prolonged detention and conditions such as inadequate medical care, moldy food and dirty water, and helped prepare a June collective appeal signed by 45 detainees. His attorney, Samantha Hamilton, said he and others who spoke out in a video about conditions were placed in segregation as retaliation. A federal judge denied his motion challenging the legality of his detention on September 28, overruling a magistrate's recommendation for a bail hearing, and he was deported on a commercial flight through Morocco after refusing food and water for four days, reportedly losing consciousness during the journey. His representative said ICE indicated his appeal would continue to be reviewed and he could be returned if it succeeded, though this has not been independently verified.

Alexander José Concho Medina was detained by ICE agents in Fayetteville, Arkansas on October 11, 2026. His girlfriend raised and paid an $800 bond in hopes of securing his release, but authorities did not release him and his situation has since become more complicated. The family is now trying to raise $3,000 to retain an attorney to fight for his release, describing him as hardworking and honest.

Luis Delfín Enríquez, 48, a Houston small business owner who employs people from his community, was apprehended by ICE while on his way to breakfast with employees on Saturday and handcuffed in the backseat of an ICE vehicle. His sister, Nidia Delfín, said he has no criminal record or arrest warrants and was in the process of applying for a green card when he was detained. Delfín witnessed the same ICE vehicle strike and injure Miguel Parra Hernandez as Parra fled on foot, and his family says they are speaking out despite fear of retaliation so that Parra "can get justice." Advocates are pushing to ensure Delfín and another man who witnessed the incident are not deported before they can be interviewed by investigators.

Doorbell camera footage captured three ICE agents tackling Juan Saldana, a Colombian asylum seeker, outside his Mill Creek apartment as he tried to scan his key fob to get inside. A friend said Saldana was heading to work when agents arrested him. Saldana has no criminal history and has never been issued a deportation order.

In early October 2026, immigration enforcement agents conducted a series of arrests across California's San Joaquin Valley and surrounding areas, including Chico, Madera, and Chowchilla. In Chico, agents arrested a Mexican immigrant at his home on Oct. 9, later transporting him to Sacramento and then the California City Immigration Processing Center; agents also went to his daughter's elementary school. A neighbor described him as 'a hard-working person' who 'didn't bother anybody.' In Madera, community member Maira Gonzalez witnessed and livestreamed agents detaining a man outside a Home Depot, later seeing detainees transferred into vans at a nearby fairgrounds parking lot until a representative asked agents to leave. In Chowchilla, a resident named Angel said he saw federal officers pull a man from his vehicle near a Dollar General, calling it 'a sad, sad situation' and noting the town grew unusually quiet afterward. Footage of the Chowchilla incident circulated online and helped prompt local youth to organize a protest.

Blanca Ortiz is working to secure the release of her husband, Carlos Ortiz Jara, 49, a Mexican national who was detained by ICE agents on May 12, 2026, in the parking lot of a USCIS office in Pomona, California, where he had gone for a fingerprinting appointment tied to his pending immigrant visa application. The couple, married since 1999, have four U.S.-born children, including a son who serves as a Marine Corps sergeant and has moved his own family into his parents' home to help cover the mortgage. Carlos co-owned an auto mechanic shop in Jurupa Valley, where he had worked for 20 years, and had previously been deported decades earlier following a 1998 border crossing attempt after fleeing cartel violence; he was pursuing a visa petition under the Violence Against Women Act when detained. He remains held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, where Blanca has visited him behind glass and described him as broken down. A habeas corpus petition challenging his detention was filed June 19, 2026, and remains pending, while the family has spent roughly $40,000 on legal fees. A DHS spokesperson said he was detained during an enforcement operation and noted that pending applications do not confer legal status.

Immigrant advocacy group Faith in the Valley reported that ICE agents detained an unidentified man near McNamara Park and a nearby church in Merced between 11 a.m. and noon on Sunday. The organization said it was still trying to confirm whether the man had been leaving church services or was simply in the area, and said he may have been taken to an ICE office in Fresno before being transferred to a detention facility, though his whereabouts had not been confirmed. Rev. Miguel Mancia of nearby Sacred Heart Church said he was unaware of anyone being detained after Sunday's service but had heard reports of enforcement activity in the neighborhood. Soccer league organizer Isaac Ramirez said families stayed away from the park afterward, with two teams forfeiting games out of fear.