Human Impact Project

Alma Guadalupe Nunez-Quijada, a 45-year-old Mexican national who has lived in the U.S. since age 4, was arrested by multiple masked ICE agents on North Stone Avenue around 10:15 a.m. Tuesday as she left a hearing at Pima County Consolidated Justice Court for a noise-ordinance violation. The mother of three U.S. citizens was called by name, surrounded and handcuffed; her eldest daughter said she was calm and compliant. The arrest has raised questions about whether it violated a Pima County Board of Supervisors resolution limiting immigration enforcement on county property, and about how agents knew she would be there. An ICE spokesperson cited a 2006 domestic violence conviction, while Pima County records show only minor traffic charges in 2004 and a 2017 failure-to-pay-fine charge.

Cristobal S. was forcefully detained by ICE agents on November 10, 2024, at 7 a.m. when agents smashed the window of his truck and cut him while removing him from the vehicle. He is the sole breadwinner for his family, leaving behind three children and his mother. His family is seeking financial assistance through a GoFundMe campaign to cover bills, legal fees, food, and other basic needs during his detention.

Aurora, 24, and her six-year-old daughter were detained by ICE and sent to a family detention center in Texas. The daughter had arrived at the U.S. border alone and spent more than six months in a child migrant shelter before reuniting with her mother in late March. The detention occurred after the Office of Refugee Resettlement shared information about unaccompanied children, their sponsors, and household members with ICE.

A 14-year-old Brazilian girl with an expired visitor visa was detained by ICE agents on March 11 in a parking lot outside Bethel Presbyterian Church in Marlboro, Massachusetts, after a car was pulled over. Her attorney stated she was with her U.S. citizen brothers, though DHS disputed this account, claiming she was with two Brazilian men suspected of gang ties with no familial relationship to her. ICE said the men's vehicle was connected to an alleged attempted home invasion in Walpole. The girl was taken to the JFK federal building in Boston for 10 hours, then transported overnight to a children's detention facility in New York. At a hearing, Federal Judge Leo T. Sorokin expressed concern about the detention and overnight transfer, stating it was the first time in his 22 years on the bench that he had seen agents detain a juvenile solely because no appropriate person was available to release her to. He ordered her immediate return to Massachusetts, and she was reunited with her maternal aunt, a U.S. citizen, at the JFK building in Boston.

ICE agents, working with the U.S. Forest Service and Caldwell County Sheriff's Office, set up a checkpoint on the only road into Wilson Creek, a popular swimming spot in Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, detaining 13 people. Among them was Argenis Eduardo Torres Rosales, a 32-year-old Venezuelan asylum seeker with a work permit and no criminal record, according to his aunt Wuendy Rosales; he is now held at a detention facility in Folkston, Georgia, far from his wife and stepson. ICE said many detained had criminal histories including DUI and illegal reentry charges, while Sheriff Kevin Bean denied reports that children were separated from families. Witnesses described the operation as terrifying, with some families separated during stops, including one left stranded roadside without cell signal after a father was taken into custody. Sandra Salazar, co-founder of Hands of Hope y Adventurous Latinos, said her cousin's partner was among those detained and that families with pending asylum cases were caught up in the action. Advocates called it the first known ICE raid at a national forest in North Carolina, and said it has discouraged Latino families from visiting the forest.

Two brothers from Mexico who worked as kitchen staff at El Nopalito restaurant in Haddonfield were arrested by ICE agents on July 20, 2026, while walking near their home in East Camden. The longtime employees sent money home to support family members, including children, and are believed to be detained at Delaney Hall in Newark. Local police confirmed they were not involved in the ICE operation. At the request of the brothers' families, Inkwood Books owner Julie Beddingfield organized a GoFundMe to help cover legal, travel and living expenses. By July 28, the fundraiser had surpassed its $15,000 goal, raising $26,742 from 478 donors, with funds supporting the brothers' needs in custody as well as their families' housing, food and utility costs while they remain out of work.

Maria, a U.S. citizen of seven years, was driving near Salem, Oregon on January 29 to pick up her paycheck, pay rent, and buy her grandson a birthday cake when she was boxed in by unmarked ICE vehicles. Agents smashed her car window, dragged her from the vehicle, and threw her to the ground despite her presenting a valid passport; an agent told her to renew the passport before leaving without calling for medical help. Her child witnessed the encounter and called 911. She suffered a concussion, a torn rotator cuff, and bruised ribs. Salem Police told her family they lacked jurisdiction to investigate federal officer misconduct and referred them to the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, which has not responded to questions about the incident. On July 28, U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas cited her case at a congressional hearing on ICE accountability in Houston, calling for body cameras on immigration agents and independent investigations when agents injure people.

On July 25, 2026, ICE agents detained nine undocumented workers installing fiber-optic cables at a construction site near North Center Road and Summit Drive in Saginaw Township, Michigan. Witnesses described the men as hard workers who had been part of the construction crew for months. Plainclothes agents in tactical vests arrived in unmarked vehicles, and the operation lasted approximately 15 minutes; three workers attempted to flee but were quickly apprehended. The workers' vehicles and equipment were left behind at the site. DHS confirmed the arrests on July 28, stating the men would remain in ICE custody pending removal or removal proceedings, but did not disclose their names, ages, nationalities, or detention location. Sources indicated the men may have been taken to the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin. Community members left handmade signs and flowers at the site in solidarity, and demonstrations followed the arrests.

A 30-year-old Colombian citizen who has lived in the United States since March 2023, when she was admitted on a B-2 visitor visa. She filed an asylum application in June 2023 that remained pending for over one year. She has been employed since April 2024 as a Distribution Analyst with Cordiasla USA in Texas and has a partner residing in California. She has no criminal history and has been treated for depression and anxiety with bupropion medication since 2024. On July 28, 2026, while traveling for work from Houston to Ontario, California, ICE agents detained her upon her arrival at Ontario International Airport without advance notice or a pre-deprivation hearing, and confiscated her documents. She was transferred to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center where she has been held for over one week without receiving her required psychiatric medication, which her physician warned could result in serious health risks if interrupted. She filed an ex parte application for a temporary restraining order seeking immediate release from detention. On August 10, 2026, the federal court granted her application, ordering her immediate release under the same terms as before her detention, requiring return of seized property, and prohibiting re-detention without notice and a pre-deprivation hearing before a neutral adjudicator.

Ezzat Adel Abdalla Magly, an Egyptian national, is detained at the Western Tennessee Detention Facility pending removal proceedings. He filed a habeas corpus petition seeking release from custody or a bond hearing, along with a motion for temporary restraining order to prevent transfer outside the district. The court denied his motion for temporary restraining order, finding he failed to demonstrate irreparable harm from a potential transfer.

Fatima Ameaka, a public health researcher at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health and a native of Cameroon who previously held a Fulbright scholarship, was detained by ICE agents at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport while attempting to board a domestic flight. Officials cited an alleged overstay of a visa she entered on in June 2023, which had permitted her to stay until mid-2024, with her arrest reportedly facilitated by a data-sharing agreement between the TSA and ICE. She had a pending asylum application and was rapidly transferred through multiple facilities, from Maryland to Virginia, then to Louisiana, and finally to Texas, all within days. She was released shortly after and returned to Maryland, where she awaits her next court hearing. Johns Hopkins University described her as 'a respected member of our community,' said it was troubled by her arrest and the anxiety it caused, and stated it is providing her legal representation and support.

Khandaker Nazmunnessa Ullah, a Bangladeshi native who came to the U.S. in 1994, is a married mother of four and owns a convenience store with her family in Nashua. Federal prosecutors are seeking to strip her of U.S. citizenship, alleging she lied about her immigration history when applying for naturalization in 2007. Authorities claim fingerprint records show Ullah was ordered deported in 1995 under a different name before being granted lawful permanent residency in 1996. No court records suggest she committed any crime or human rights abuses.

A Mexican woman, known in the Stockton music scene as DJ Reina Azteca, was detained at Otay Mesa Detention Center starting December 18, 2025, for nearly four months. She first came to the U.S. as a child, self-deported to Mexico in 2020, and re-entered in August 2021; she was later detained during an immigration check-in while enrolled in the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program and had a pending U-Visa and open asylum case. She says she requested deportation but was told she had to remain in detention, and alleges she was forced to take a pregnancy test after initially refusing, was held in a cold holding cell without adequate clothing, and faced other harsh conditions; CoreCivic disputes some of her claims, including about phone access. She lost her DJ music library when her account was deactivated and is now borrowing music from friends to resume gigs, but cannot fully rebuild her library or open a bank account until the federal government returns her confiscated identification documents.

Hunger strikers at the Adelanto detention center in California faced retaliation from ICE officials after staging protests, according to attorneys with the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef). Detainees were zip-tied, threatened with teargas, placed in solitary confinement, and transferred to other ICE facilities. ICE officials denied that detainees were forgoing food and denied that retaliation was occurring, instead claiming that one detainee who led the hunger strike faced disciplinary actions for vague facility violations.

An unnamed detained immigrant who began a hunger strike between October and December 2025 was subjected to forcible medical treatment in ICE custody, including force feeding, forced hydration, forced urinary catheterization, and involuntary blood draws, according to an ICE Health Service Corps document reviewed by the Guardian. The document confirms the Trump administration's use of forced medical treatment on hunger strikers since Trump began his second term. Healthcare associations and international human rights groups have described such practices as torture. An ICE Health Service Corps budget forecast noted at least seven detained people were on hunger strike in February 2026.

ICE agents conducted an enforcement operation at a Chevron gas station on Atlanta Highway in Forsyth County, detaining approximately 15 day laborers seeking work. Surveillance video shows agents chasing men through the parking lot and forcibly detaining them, with one agent knocking a man into a wall before handcuffing him. Business owner Jose Arellano, who had hired some of the detained men for his pressure washing company, expressed concern about the impact on local businesses and the community. The raid has left the area's day laborer population fearful, affecting local businesses that relied on this workforce.

A Venezuelan influencer known on social media as "La Real Muñeca" was detained by ICE agents at Orlando International Airport while preparing to board a flight. According to reports on social media, the agents were in plain clothes and were waiting near the boarding gate. She had been participating in a digital program called "La Prisión de Destino" and was heading back to her residence. A person close to the case reported that she has retained a lawyer. Immigration authorities have not publicly disclosed the reasons for her arrest or additional details about her legal situation.

Elzon Lemus, a 23-year-old Hispanic U.S. citizen and electrician from Brentwood, Long Island, was stopped by ICE and Homeland Security agents on June 3 while riding as a passenger on his way to work in Westbury, one of six vehicles halted that day. Agents told him he "looks like somebody we are looking for" but would not identify themselves or specify whom they sought. When Lemus declined to hand over ID without information from the agents, they opened the car door, confiscated his phone, and handcuffed him for 20 to 25 minutes before finding his ID in his pocket; he and the driver were held at the scene for about an hour. Video recorded by Lemus and the driver captured the encounter, and agents released him without explanation or apology after confirming his citizenship. His attorney, Frederick Brewington, called the stop racial profiling and a breach of federal civil rights and is evaluating a lawsuit, while State Assembly Deputy Speaker Phil Ramos said the video showed a clear rights violation and called for a Department of Justice investigation.

Elaine Miles, an Indigenous actor best known for roles in 'Northern Exposure,' 'Smoke Signals,' and 'The Last of Us,' was detained by four ICE agents at a bus stop in Redmond, Washington, while walking to Target. When she presented her tribal ID from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation—a form of identification recognized by federal agencies—the agents called it fake and claimed anyone could make one. Miles said the agents did not identify themselves when asked for names and badge numbers, and attempted to take her phone when she tried to call the tribal enrollment office to verify her ID. The agents left after a fifth agent whistled them back to their vehicles. Miles's son and uncle were also detained by ICE agents who initially rejected their tribal IDs before being released.

Carrera Macias, a Venezuelan national who entered the United States at age 17 and applied for asylum, was arrested by police in Salt Lake City, Utah in July 2026 and subsequently transferred to the ICE Processing Center in Adelanto, California. He filed a habeas corpus petition, Carrera Macias v. Warden, Adelanto ICE Processing Center, challenging his detention as unlawful under the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause and immigration statutes, and sought a temporary restraining order for his immediate release. The court denied the temporary restraining order application, finding that his alleged harms could be addressed through the court's expedited habeas corpus process.