Human Impact Project

Domer Jesus Martinez-Sifontes, a Venezuelan national who entered the U.S. in 2023, was arrested by ICE agents in unmarked vehicles in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood near Kedzie and Lawrence avenues. Witnesses said agents chased and tasered the shirtless man while he was already handcuffed on the ground; ICE said he assaulted officers while resisting arrest and attempted to flee on foot. During the operation, a black Nissan SUV believed driven by an ICE agent struck a woman's sedan stuck in traffic, and the driver fled the scene; agents also dropped a loaded magazine clip. About a dozen neighbors and at least one journalist gathered, blowing whistles and filming, and one agent pointed what appeared to be a Taser at the group while ordering them back. Martinez-Sifontes remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings, and organizers announced an emergency protest at Horner Park opposing the enforcement tactics.

Jorge Mata Campos, a 51-year-old Costa Rican man from Hatillo, San José, lived in the United States for 18 years, working in construction, buying a home, marrying, and raising a 16-year-old U.S. citizen son. On June 21, 2026, ICE agents detained him at his residence in Nashville, Tennessee, following a 911 call that led to confusion, after he had voluntarily gone to an ICE office to try to resolve his immigration status; he was then transferred to the Richwood Correctional Center in Louisiana, where he shares space with about 120 other men awaiting deportation. Mata, who says he held a U Visa and was in the process of applying for legal permanent residency, reported losing nearly 15 kilos over three months due to poor food, broken air conditioning, and unsanitary bathroom conditions, and said he has been unable to get his prescribed medication for injuries from a prior car accident that left him with metal plates in his hip, leg and foot. He agreed to waive his appeal and accept deportation to Costa Rica, but still has no departure date, saying immigration authorities reportedly lost his case documents while his lawyer continues trying to resolve his situation.

An immigration detainee who entered the United States without inspection in December 2022 was released on his own recognizance while removal proceedings were underway. On June 21, 2026, after three years of maintaining stable residence, valid employment authorization, and attempted compliance with ICE reporting requirements, he was detained without notice or process when he reported to ICE as instructed. The court granted his habeas corpus petition, finding the detention violated due process rights, and ordered his immediate release with a permanent injunction against re-detention absent constitutional protections including pre-deprivation notice and a hearing.

A volunteer with an immigrant activist group monitoring ICE enforcement activity was bear-sprayed by an ICE agent on Father's Day in Santa Barbara. The agent deployed bear spray through the open rear window of her vehicle after she stepped out to observe ICE activity near San Pascual and Sola streets. The woman covered her face with her arm to protect it from the spray and reportedly recovered well.

A U.S. citizen was detained by ICE agents on Father's Day in Santa Barbara after going outside to witness enforcement activity in his neighborhood. According to activists, he was racially profiled and detained when an agent ran after him as he approached the area. He was taken to the Camarillo ICE Field Office and subsequently released at St. John's Regional Medical Center in Oxnard after his citizenship was confirmed. He was treated for unspecified injuries sustained during the operation.

César is a hardworking father who has been detained by ICE for six months. He has no criminal record and no outstanding judicial warrants. He has three young children ages 6, 4, and 2 years old. Since his detention, his wife has struggled to cover legal fees for his attorney, send money for his food and phone calls at the detention facility, and provide for the family's basic needs including food, utilities, and childcare. César's family describes him as a responsible and dedicated man who has worked hard for ten years to support his family.

Seven ICE vehicles conducted an early-morning enforcement operation on Santa Barbara's Westside and Eastside on Father's Day, June 21, 2026, detaining 9 to 11 individuals on unspecified immigration-related charges. Three mariachi musicians were apprehended near San Pascual and Mulberry streets, either while performing or en route to perform Father's Day serenades. A fourth musician reportedly escaped. ICE agents were observed traveling at high speeds, exceeding 100 miles per hour on the freeway.

Pavel Snegir, a Russian asylum seeker, was detained at Otay Mesa ICE facility after refusing to self-deport at San Diego airport in May 2025. ICE separated him from his 11-year-old son Aleksandr during the incident, threatening deportation and stating he may never see his son again if he did not comply. Both Pavel and Aleksandr passed initial asylum screening. After 11 months in ICE custody, Pavel was released following asylum approval. However, Aleksandr remained in Office of Refugee Resettlement custody at a youth shelter over one year after separation. Pavel's sponsorship request to reunify with his son was denied due to lack of stable housing and employment documentation, citing Trump administration policies that create barriers to family reunification.

Approximately a dozen asylum seekers were deported by the U.S. to Sierra Leone in June 2026, marking the second deportation flight to the country. Despite prior U.S. court orders protecting them from deportation to their home countries due to credible fears of persecution, the deportees now face being returned to those countries where they risk harm. According to attorney Erica Reilly, who represents one of the migrants, this follows nine West African migrants who arrived in Sierra Leone the previous month. The Trump administration has struck third-country deportation deals with at least nine African nations as well as multiple Latin American and Caribbean countries. Legal advocates argue the policy creates a loophole that indirectly forces asylum seekers back to dangerous conditions with limited U.S. oversight or legal recourse.

A 24-year-old Honduran man and City University of New York graduate was surrounded by seven cars of immigration enforcement agents while walking to catch the Long Island Rail Road in Hempstead, New York. Officers arrested him without asking any questions and only later produced a warrant; ICE officials subsequently admitted they had arrested the wrong person. He was released from federal custody after lawyers filed an emergency lawsuit, and his case became part of a broader class action alleging ICE unlawfully arrests immigrants in New York based solely on race or ethnicity. Federal Judge Gary Brown, a Trump appointee overseeing the case, ruled that agents "grossly abused their authority" and found that similar illegal practices were occurring on a widespread basis.

Juan Carlos Quintero, 41, a longtime Staten Island resident of nearly two decades with two U.S. citizen children, was arrested by federal agents in three unmarked cars while playing dominoes with neighbors after saying he did not have an ID. He was released from custody after lawyers filed an emergency lawsuit challenging his arrest, though the experience left him in a state of constant anxiety about daily activities. The NYCLU, Make the Road New York, and the Legal Aid Society filed a class action lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of Quintero and seven other immigrants, alleging ICE unlawfully arrests people in New York based solely on race or ethnicity. The case is part of a broader pattern of street-based enforcement operations in Latino neighborhoods across the New York and New Jersey area between October 2025 and March 2026, during which over 93% of detainees who filed legal challenges were from Latin American countries.

Florencio, a Guatemalan immigrant who had lived in the U.S. for nearly 13 years and worked as a painter, was arrested by ICE agents in Corona, Queens while walking home from a job painting an apartment in Manhattan. His wife, Fidelina, and their three children witnessed the arrest from their doorway as agents tackled him, twisted his ankle, and handcuffed him before placing him in an unmarked vehicle. Agents had been searching for a different man of Ecuadorian descent but detained Florencio anyway, telling him his lack of papers made the mistake irrelevant. Court records show Florencio disputes ICE's claim that he admitted to illegally crossing the border, saying he was already restrained when questioned. He was held in detention for four months before being separated from his family. His case is among hundreds of street arrests in New York and New Jersey between October 2025 and March 2026, with more than 93% of detainees who filed legal challenges being from Latin American countries.

Francisca's partner and father of her five children was taken by ICE on June 20, 2026, and subsequently deported. Francisca now faces the burden of supporting her children—including a 2-year-old—while also navigating support for her deported partner. The family struggled to pay rent and basic necessities including food, diapers, and utilities after his removal.

An immigrant who entered the United States without inspection on November 17, 2023, was initially detained and released two days later. On June 20, 2026, he was re-detained by ICE during a routine check-in appointment without explanation. The federal court granted his habeas petition, finding that his prior release created a liberty interest in continued release and that re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing violated due process. The court ordered his immediate release and enjoined ICE from re-detaining him without notice and a hearing before an immigration judge.

José de Jesús Cortez Delgado, a Mexican national, was detained on June 20 after federal marshals dressed as municipal electrical workers approached him in South Los Angeles, claiming they needed him to move his vehicle so they could work on a light pole. When Cortez Delgado moved his truck, armed agents emerged from unmarked vehicles and arrested him at gunpoint. According to DHS, Cortez Delgado had been wanted on a murder charge from December 2020 in Nevada and had remained in the United States without authorization since his tourist visa expired in October 1999. However, activist Ron Gochez reported that Cortez Delgado's wife claimed the charges had been dropped and her husband had no outstanding legal issues. After his arrest, Cortez Delgado was transferred to ICE custody.

A Honduran national was deported to Honduras on June 20, 2026, following completion of a Texas prison sentence and a final removal order issued by a Department of Justice immigration judge. According to ICE, he entered the United States at an unknown time and location. He was arrested by Irving Police in January 2024 and again in June 2025 by the Colleyville Police Department, with charges later reduced by prosecutors. He was convicted in December 2025 and sentenced to two years in prison, after which the Texas Department of Criminal Justice transferred him to ICE custody in May 2026.

ICE conducted a targeted enforcement operation near Aurora Avenue and Shoreline Street in Seattle on June 20, 2026, resulting in the arrest of four Mexican nationals. Emmanuel Perez-Martinez, 33, was arrested and is pending voluntary departure to Mexico. Juan Ruiz-Perez, 61, and Jose Gutierrez-Diaz, 47, were arrested and detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center pending return to Mexico. A fourth individual, Jose Gutierrez-Villanueva, 24, was also detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center pending an immigration hearing.

Jander Alexander Cordero-Silva, 29, was stopped by Gainesville Police on May 18 for driving with a suspended license. He told officers a judge had told him his license was not suspended three days prior, but his license was under administrative suspension by Florida for accumulating points and financial obligations. He was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended or revoked license, a second-degree misdemeanor. On June 18, he pleaded no contest and was convicted; the judge imposed a time-served sentence but he remained in custody on an ICE hold. He was transferred to ICE custody two days later and held at Baker Correctional Institute.

A man was arrested after ICE officers disguised as electric company workers knocked on his door and asked him to move his pickup truck under the pretense of fixing streetlights. When he stepped outside, approximately eight additional officers emerged and apprehended him.

A Venezuelan woman with active Temporary Protected Status was arrested and has remained detained at Eloy Detention Center for nearly nine months. Court filings show a federal government attorney acknowledged her legal status, yet she continues to be held in custody.