Human Impact Project

Daniel Angel Meléndez, an immigrant from El Salvador, was detained by ICE agents on November 4 during a yearly check-in in Cedar Rapids. His wife María Lozano, a U.S. citizen, and family members appealed to U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks at a town hall on November 10 to prevent his deportation. Meléndez has a U.S.-born child and has been in the country since 2017, having applied for asylum based on gang violence threats.

Julio Vargas, a 66-year-old Guatemalan, was detained by U.S. Border Patrol during an immigration raid at El Corredor Salvadoreño in Los Angeles on Sunday. He is being held at Adelanto Detention Center and has reported breathing problems and cramps due to cold conditions, worsened by his existing health conditions and lack of medication. His family is seeking legal assistance but faces financial and resource barriers.

Cole Sheridan, a protester accused of attacking Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, had his charges dismissed on November 3, 2025, after new video evidence emerged that contradicted the government's account of events.

Nazario Radilla Valdovinos, a Mexican citizen, was taken into ICE custody on November 3, 2025 and detained at Adelanto ICE Detention Center pending removal proceedings. ICE issued a custody determination continuing his detention without providing an opportunity for bond or release. The court granted his habeas petition in part, ordering that he receive a bond hearing within seven days under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a).

Berenice Garcia-Hernandez, a 25-year-old U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE for approximately seven hours after photographing unmarked ICE vehicles near a Chick-fil-A in Gresham. She was documenting the agents' presence to warn her community after seeing a Facebook alert. ICE agents broke her car window and removed her from the vehicle, though no criminal charges had been filed as of the article's publication.

Kenia Jackeline Merlos, a Honduran mother of four U.S. citizen children, was arrested by ICE agents in June at the U.S.-Canada border during a family outing. She had been granted deferred status to reside in the U.S. after being threatened at gunpoint by a man. Merlos was detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma for nearly four months. An immigration judge terminated the government's deportation case on October 14, and Merlos was released on October 28. Her husband was deported to Honduras, and her mother also resides there.

A man detained at the California City Processing Center filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus challenging his detention there. He is seeking release from custody through habeas corpus proceedings and a temporary restraining order. On May 7, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California issued an order consolidating the habeas petition with the temporary restraining order motion, requiring respondents to file a response within three calendar days and prohibiting deportation or removal from the district while the petition is pending.

The City documents five months of immigration enforcement activities at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City, where masked federal agents arrested immigrants in and around immigration courts. A photojournalistic report documents these activities and their effects on affected immigrants during this period.

Ricardo Rodriguez, a 53-year-old construction worker and father of two deaf teenagers, was arrested by federal agents on Sunday morning in Melrose Park, Illinois while riding his bicycle home from a grocery store. According to video footage, agents grabbed him in a stranger's driveway, pepper-sprayed him, placed him in a chokehold, and struck his head. He was gasping and saying 'Por favor, amigo' during the encounter. Rodriguez was taken to Gottlieb Memorial Hospital with head wounds and complaints of chest pains. While hospitalized, federal agents restricted visitation from his U.S. citizen sister and other family members.

In Maryland, Montgomery County Councilmember Kristin Mink filmed federal agents detaining a person behind a Prince George's County store. As she recorded, an agent grabbed her arm and ordered her to leave.

At an intersection in California, a plainclothes federal agent pulled his weapon on a woman following and recording him — until a local police officer driving by intervened, explaining to the federal agent that there was no crime being committed.

In Temecula, California, a 17-year-old U.S. citizen driving a friend home was ordered out of his car at gunpoint by an off-duty federal agent and interrogated before his mother arrived with his U.S. passport. The agent was later arrested.

Immigration agents forcibly entered a family's apartment in November 2025 searching for the mother's cousin, breaking down the door and using force against the mother while her children hid. The 10-year-old boy, identified as J., witnessed agents point a gun at him and his sister as they tried to film the encounter on an iPad. Months later, J. continues experiencing nightmares and flashbacks, struggling to focus in school and fearing for his parents' safety. The incident is part of a broader pattern of immigration enforcement affecting children's mental health nationwide, with studies showing significant psychological impacts on minors in immigrant families.

Maria Vargas, 6, was detained with her parents at Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas after her family was arrested during a September immigration check-in. The family had fled Colombia in 2022 and settled in New York, where they applied for special visas for human trafficking victims. At Dilley, Maria experienced severe trauma including regression (bedwetting and accidents), loss of appetite and weight loss, a staff member's accidental eye injury, and persistent psychological distress. Her parents reported officers pressured them to abandon their visa applications by threatening to separate Maria. After two months, the family agreed to self-deport and was sent to Colombia in November 2026. Maria continues to suffer vision problems, headaches, and behavioral changes including fear of police.

Alejandra's undocumented parents, who own a home and pay taxes in Nebraska, plan to self-deport to Mexico within six months due to fears of detention by ICE and concerns about conditions at ICE facilities that could jeopardize the mother's health. The family has lived in Nebraska for years as part of a Latino community that has been present for decades, but rising ICE enforcement operations and a new detention facility opening in the state have created an atmosphere of fear among undocumented immigrants.

Alejandra, a 30-year-old undocumented mother of four U.S.-born children, lives in fear of detention and family separation in Nebraska as ICE enforcement intensifies. In June 2025, ICE conducted a raid on a meatpacking plant in Omaha, detaining dozens of people including family friends and church acquaintances. A new ICE detention facility called "Cornhusker Clink" is opening in McCook with capacity for 300 adults. Alejandra's undocumented parents plan to self-deport to Mexico within six months due to fears of detention and concerns about ICE facility conditions.

A man who had lived in the United States for more than 24 years and is the husband and father of U.S. citizens was detained by ICE on November 1, 2025, and taken to Adelanto Detention Facility. He had previously been released on bond in 2013 after an earlier detention, received work authorization, and had been checking in with ICE regularly without missing appointments. The court granted a temporary restraining order ordering his immediate release, finding his re-detention violated due process since he was not informed of changed circumstances that would justify revoking his bond.

A 37-year-old man named Jose Argueta reported a stolen vehicle to Maryland police in November and was subsequently arrested by ICE at a DC police station. Argueta spent Christmas at an immigrant detention center following the arrest.

Maria, a Venezuelan mother in her 30s seeking asylum, was detained in November 2024 during a routine ICE check-in appointment in San Antonio along with her toddler son. They had entered the U.S. through the southern border in 2023. During two months in detention at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Maria reported seeing worms in food, experiencing 24/7 lights, and her son losing weight. In mid-January 2026, after refusing a $5,000 government offer to leave the country, she was released to Laredo with an electronic ankle monitor and required to continue periodic ICE check-ins as an alternative to detention.

Roberto López Falcón, a fifth-grade ESL teacher at Hart Elementary School in Austin ISD who was named Campus Teacher of Promise in January 2025, was detained by ICE on September 3, 2025, at an immigration check-in appointment in San Antonio. Falcón, 34, a Cuban national who entered the U.S. without inspection near San Luis, Arizona on March 22, 2022, was released by Border Patrol on an order of recognizance pending an immigration hearing. He was held at the Karnes County Immigration Processing Center to continue his immigration proceedings and remained in custody as of November 2025. At least four additional Austin ISD employees—a bus driver and lunchroom workers—were also detained in the same ICE enforcement sweep. Education Austin, the largest union representing district teachers and staff, confirmed the detentions. Falcón's family reported being devastated by his arrest and struggling without his presence and support.

A 39-year-old Ecuadorian woman who came to the U.S. nearly a decade earlier seeking asylum was detained by ICE in November after attending regular ICE check-ins every six months since 2020. Her detention forced her to miss scheduled surgery to remove a uterine myoma, and she struggled to obtain medical care for an infection. The detention also affected her now 9-year-old son who has severe autism and ADHD, causing him emotional distress and affecting his ability to focus at school. Her case was documented in habeas corpus petitions filed to challenge her detention.

A Mexican father caring for his 7-year-old son with kidney disease, hypothyroidism, and chronic respiratory failure requiring a feeding tube and ventilator was detained by ICE for 22 days. While he was detained, his son's medical care fell entirely to his mother. A federal judge ordered his release in November.

Hanne Daguman, a Norwegian national who arrived on an F-1 student visa in 2022, was detained by ICE in November 2025 during a green card interview after her visa lapsed. She was held for nine days at Otay Mesa Detention Center, where she alleges she was denied proper medical care for her Type 1 diabetes, experiencing dangerously high blood sugar levels and developing untreated infections. A judge terminated her removal case in January 2026, but she remains subject to an ankle monitor that ICE has not yet authorized for removal despite a court order.

A Mexican citizen who has resided in the United States since 1995 has been detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center since November 2025. She is the mother of three U.S. citizen children and has no criminal history. She was denied bond during immigration proceedings based on alleged flight risk, and the court denied her motion for temporary restraining order seeking release.

The Andre family—Carine, an activist from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and her three children Estafania, Olivia, and Joel—fled persecution and were initially vetted and released in 2022 to await asylum hearings. After deportation and denied entry to Canada, they were returned to the U.S. and detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley beginning in November 2025, violating the Flores Settlement requiring prompt release of children. Carine and Joel (17) were released in March 2026 after nearly four months in detention; Olivia (19) was released in June 2026 after over five months. Detainees reported inadequate conditions including contaminated food and water, mold, and sleep disruption.

Carlos Guerra Leon, an 18-year-old recent high school graduate from Spring Valley, New York, was arrested without a warrant by federal officers on August 9, 2025, and transferred to Jackson Correctional Facility in Louisiana despite holding approved Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) and deferred action status that protected him from deportation under the Biden administration. He came to the U.S. from Guatemala at age 10 after experiencing abandonment and neglect, and had built a stable life attending school and working legally in New York. The National Immigration Project, ACLU of Louisiana, and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights filed a federal habeas petition challenging his detention. After nearly three months in custody over 1,000 miles from home, Federal Judge Terry Doughty issued a temporary restraining order on October 31 ruling Guerra Leon's detention unlawful and that his release "serves the public interest by ensuring that the Government adheres to its own laws." Despite the court order, ICE officials at the Louisiana facility initially refused to release him, claiming to have "no knowledge" of the ruling and forcing an emergency motion before he was finally released and returned home to New York.

Ronald was arrested in November 2025 during what he believed was a routine appointment at the Centennial ICE field office. He had previously been arrested and released in spring 2024. His arrest and subsequent detention left his wife Cecilia as the sole breadwinner for three children, contributing to the family's financial collapse and eventual decision to self-deport.

Ronald, a Venezuelan immigrant, was arrested at what he believed was a routine appointment at the Centennial ICE field office in November 2025, two days before Thanksgiving. His arrest left his wife Cecilia pregnant and his three sons without a primary breadwinner, contributing to the family's financial collapse and eventual self-deportation decision.

An undocumented immigrant and his family, including three U.S. citizen children, hid in their apartment during a police response to a violent crime in Memphis, fearing ICE enforcement. The family remained on the floor in the dark for about 10 minutes, worried that police would knock on doors searching for suspects and potentially take the father into custody.

L.H., an Indigenous Quechua woman, fled Peru in 2021 with her minor son Y.V. after years of severe gender- and race-based domestic violence, including kidnapping, stalking, and a knife assault by her ex-partner. After settling in California and applying for asylum, DHS moved at a November 2025 hearing to pretermit her applications and seek their removal to Honduras under an Asylum Cooperative Agreement.

Beatriz Pastrana Candela, who was pregnant when arrested by ICE agents in November 2025, was held at Eloy Detention Center in Arizona where medical and corrections staff repeatedly dismissed her claims of pregnancy. She subsequently miscarried while in detention. Her case is part of a documented pattern of inadequate medical care for pregnant individuals in ICE detention facilities.

A Guatemalan immigrant who lived in Providence for 20 years was detained by ICE in November 2025 and transferred without warning to a New Hampshire facility ten days later, separated from his lawyer and family. During the overnight transfer in a cramped van, he was handcuffed tightly enough to draw blood and exposed to winter cold. He was ultimately released on bond in late December. Immigration lawyers report that rapid transfers between facilities increasingly deny detainees access to legal counsel, with 12% of detainees experiencing at least four transfers in 2025.

Hanne Engan, a Norwegian national, was arrested by ICE officers at her green card interview in November 2025 after her student visa expired and detained at Otay Mesa Detention Center for approximately one week. Medical experts told inewsource that the care she received for her Type 1 diabetes was at times substandard and potentially life-threatening. An inewsource investigation of court records and interviews with 10 former detainees identified dozens of migrants who described chronic conditions, deteriorating health, or inadequate care at the facility.

Federal immigration agents, including ICE and Border Patrol personnel, deployed tear gas and other riot control weapons against protesters during enforcement operations in Chicago and Illinois beginning in September 2025. On October 14, 2025, Border Patrol agents pursued a vehicle on Chicago's East Side, using a precision immobilization technique (PIT maneuver) to stop it at the intersection of 105th and Avenue N, resulting in a collision. Two undocumented immigrants fled on foot and were arrested. When residents gathered to protest the operation, federal agents deployed tear gas, exposing 13 Chicago police officers to the gas. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on October 9 limiting crowd-control tactics, but subsequent court filings alleged violations occurring almost daily. An analysis of 28 protest events found seven instances of riot control weapons use without apparent threats and 19 instances of excessive force.

Aleksei, his wife Anastasia, and their 5-year-old twins were detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley for over 120 days—six times the 20-day legal limit under the Flores Settlement Agreement. An ICE officer falsely told Aleksei that Flores protections were no longer in effect. The twins exhibited severe psychological distress, including meltdowns, sleep disruption, weight loss, and trauma responses such as asking if they were bad people or if guards would kill them. The family was released in February 2026 after securing legal representation and filing a parole request.

A CBP agent was recorded on video on October 31, 2025, repeatedly striking a man in the head while the man was pinned down on the street near Oakton and Asbury in Evanston. Witnesses reported the man saying he could not breathe during the assault. DHS stated agents were responding to a vehicle crash involving a red vehicle and a hostile crowd that surrounded the agents' vehicle. Three citizens were arrested during the incident.

Krzysztof Klim, originally from Poland and now a U.S. citizen, was briefly detained and handcuffed by Border Patrol agents on October 31, 2025, outside a home in Chicago's Edison Park neighborhood while they verified his identification. He was later released.

Two U.S. citizen plumbers working on a property on Harding Avenue in Skokie were approached and questioned by federal agents during immigration enforcement operations on October 31, 2025. Witnesses reported agents profiled and requested identification documents from the workers, though no detentions occurred. The homeowner, who hired the workers, stated the agents had no constitutional authority to conduct such stops and expressed concern about the targeting of American citizens.

A man, Jose Garcia-Sorto, was shot by an ICE agent near I-17 and Dove Valley Road in Phoenix on Wednesday morning. The ICE agent fired two shots at Garcia-Sorto's vehicle after he allegedly attempted to speed away following an initial traffic stop. Garcia-Sorto's wife reports being unable to obtain information from authorities about his condition, and states he is hospitalized under a different name.

Three U.S. citizens were arrested following a crash and confrontation during a federal immigration enforcement operation at the intersection of Asbury and Oakton in Evanston on October 31, 2025. A red vehicle rear-ended a federal agent vehicle; witnesses reported agents braked suddenly while the government stated agents were attempting a U-turn. During the confrontation, pepper spray was deployed and community members who intervened were also arrested. The three arrested individuals' identities and specific charges remain unclear.

Arthur Berto, a 13-year-old asylum-seeking boy from Brazil, was arrested by Everett, Massachusetts police on suspicion of making a violent threat at school. After his mother arrived to pick him up from the police station, ICE took him to a detention facility without informing her of his location or what would happen to him. According to the police chief, this was the first occurrence of this type in Everett.

Edgar Ruiz, a U.S. citizen born in Chicago, was tased in the face by ICE agents outside a 7-Eleven in Des Plaines on October 31, 2025. He was detained for approximately two hours before being released and hospitalized. His undocumented father remained in ICE custody following the incident. Edgar Ruiz, a U.S. citizen born in Chicago, was tased in the face by ICE agents outside a 7-Eleven store in Des Plaines on September 16, 2025, during an operation targeting his undocumented father. Ruiz attempted to hold his vehicle's door closed when agents arrived, and was tased when the agent tried to open it. He was detained for approximately two hours at a facility in Lombard before being released and taken to a hospital for medical attention. His father, Rigoberto Ruiz, who has lived in the United States for 30 years, remained in ICE custody.

Fernando Jaramillo Solano, a 45-year-old Colombian national seeking asylum, and his two children, Jana Michel Jaramillo Patiño (12) and Kewin Daniel Patiño Bustamante (15), were detained by ICE agents on October 27, 2025, while being driven to school near a mobile home park in Durango, Colorado. The family had lived in Colorado for over 18 months, possessed valid documentation showing an active asylum process since December 2024, a work permit request, and no criminal record. ICE officials stated during federal court proceedings that Jaramillo Solano was not their intended target. Hundreds of protesters gathered at the ICE field office in Durango on October 28 to demand their release. During the demonstration, ICE agents in tactical gear pepper-sprayed and fired rubber bullets at peaceful protesters. Protester Franci Stagi, 57, was knocked to the ground and subjected to a chokehold by an unidentified officer, and protester Drew Collie, 22, was sprayed at close range and struck twice with rubber bullets, sustaining bruises. Local Durango police attempted to intervene to secure the children's release and conduct a welfare check but were denied entry by federal agents. The father was transferred to a detention facility in Dilley, Texas, while the children were held at an ICE facility in southern Texas. Immigration officials later granted the family voluntary departure and stated ICE would facilitate their return to Colombia. The City of Durango requested assistance from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation regarding agent conduct, which formally declined.

Homeland Security Investigations agents raided an apartment in Lynden, Washington on October 29, detaining U.S. citizen Jocelyn Peña while arresting her undocumented partner, Jesus Alejandro Lopez Ruiz, on a federal warrant alleging he assaulted an officer during a vehicle pursuit on October 15. Lopez Ruiz was booked into Whatcom County Jail and transferred to federal immigration custody. Advocates and Lopez Ruiz's partner dispute the assault allegation, characterizing the arrest as retribution and intimidation, with claims that no evidence has been provided that the alleged car door contact occurred.

Victor Rodriguez Ocampo Sr., 54, owner of La Playa Taco Shop in Mission Beach, was detained by ICE on October 31 outside his National City home and deported to Mexico after approximately two months at Otay Mesa Detention Center. His son has taken over operations at the restaurant and established a GoFundMe fundraiser that has raised over $18,500 toward legal expenses and family support. Rodriguez Jr. recently joined the U.S. Navy while working a second job to keep the family business operating.

Border Patrol agents conducted immigration enforcement raids across Chicago and nearby suburbs on Halloween, detaining multiple individuals. Incidents included pepper-spray deployment in Albany Park, an agent pointing a weapon at protesters in Evanston, and an officer punching a detainee. Three U.S. citizens were arrested for allegedly obstructing the operations, while five Mexican nationals were detained.

Armando Garcia Picazo, detained by ICE in August without legal status, was ordered released by federal judge Leonard Strand after being denied bond approved by an immigration judge. Garcia Picazo was held at Woodbury County jail for over two months before filing a habeas corpus lawsuit. He was required to post $6,000 bond and will continue his immigration case on a non-detained docket.

Two employees of SUNY Upstate Medical University were detained by ICE on Wednesday while attending immigration hearings to finalize their legal status. The workers were taken into custody before entering the courtroom and are being held at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, facing possible deportation. Union officials from CSEA and UUP issued statements regarding ICE's actions.

Rian Andrianzah, an Indonesian national, was arrested by ICE agents while attending what he believed was a routine biometrics appointment in Philadelphia. His arrest occurred while his wife waited in another room, and he was subsequently sent to a Central Pennsylvania detention center where he now faces deportation. The arrest is part of the Trump administration's strategy shift to apprehend green card applicants, asylum seekers, and others engaged in legal immigration processes.

A 16-year-old boy named Diego had both parents taken in separate ICE raids. After being released from ICE custody, Diego's mother Yolanda shared her account of the experience. The incident was originally covered in November of the previous year.