Human Impact Project

Chicago TV producer for WGN-TV, Debbie Brockman, was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on Friday in a residential area during immigration enforcement operations. A federal judge had issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting DHS agents from arresting journalists without probable cause. Brockman was released from federal custody the same day with no charges filed against her.

Two women were arrested by ICE agents in front of an elementary school near the University of Illinois at Chicago campus on the West Side. DHS accused the women of stalking an ICE vehicle and attempting to impede a targeted operation. Officers forcibly removed one woman from her car, and the incident was recorded on video.

Guilherme Lemes Cardoso E Silva, a 35-year-old Brazilian visual artist and former attorney based in Sausalito, was detained by ICE agents on July 11, 2025, while driving on San Juan Island, Washington, to pick up his 4-year-old daughter. His wife, Rachel Leidig, who is an American makeup artist 7 months pregnant with their first child due in October, says ICE agents surrounded Silva's car with approximately six unmarked vehicles, refused to show a warrant, confiscated his phone while he was recording, and used physical force during the arrest, pushing him against the car and handcuffing him. Silva, who entered the U.S. on a valid six-month visa eight years ago and overstayed his status, had no criminal record and was in the final stages of applying for a green card through an I-130 petition filed by his wife after they married in April 2025. ICE agents claimed to have found illicit images on Silva's phone and charged him with possessing depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Silva was held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, where according to Leidig he was subjected to invasive searches, made to sleep on the floor with 35 other detainees, and shackled during transport. On July 29, a judge ordered Silva's release on bond, which Leidig paid in full, but ICE transferred him to Whatcom County without explanation, complicating his legal representation. On September 12, after 63 days in custody, Silva was released on personal recognizance. On October 6, a judge dismissed the criminal charges against him without prejudice, four days before the birth of his newborn son, Isidore. The Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney indicated charges could be refiled pending investigation completion. Leidig speculated that the detention may have been related to a custody battle Silva was involved in.

On February 7, 2025, ICE officers arrested 12 employees at El Potro Mexican Restaurant in Liberty, Missouri while searching for a registered sex offender. A federal judge ruled that 11 of the arrests were unlawful, finding that ICE lacked probable cause to justify warrantless arrests and violated a legal settlement agreement requiring probable cause that a person is likely to escape before making such arrests in the Midwest region. The judge found that the restaurant owner was not informed that employees had the option to refuse speaking with agents. The National Immigrant Justice Center brought the case challenging the raids. The federal judge extended the terms of the settlement agreement through February 2026.

An 18-year-old U.S. citizen was detained by ICE agents on October 10, 2025, in Hoffman Estates along with two others. Video footage shows agents pulling the teenager from a car and restraining her on the ground. The detainees were released without charges after a few hours.

A veteran and U.S. citizen was detained by ICE. During detention, the individual was placed on suicide watch in a cell wearing a hospital dress on a concrete bed with a thin mattress. The cell had a light on continuously and officers were stationed outside with a glass door. A psychiatric nurse conducted one check per day. The individual was held in these conditions from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon when released.

Federal officers took three people into custody outside the South Portland ICE facility on Thursday night during a protest against Trump administration immigration policies. The reasons for the federal arrests were not immediately clear. Portland police also arrested two people at the facility on separate charges.

Esteban Rios Sosa, who had lived in the United States for 28 years and was applying for a U visa for crime victims, was detained at the San Diego courthouse after arriving for a routine ICE check-in on October 9, 2025. He was held in the basement for one night in an 8-by-16-foot cell with six other men, where he slept on a thin yoga mat-like mattress and endured inhumane conditions. ICE agents told him he would be expedited removal without opportunity to appeal to a judge, and he was deported to Tijuana the next day. DHS later posted a tweet claiming he had been charged with domestic violence and aggravated assault, but Rios Sosa said those charges belong to his son with a different name, and some of his paperwork had his brother's name on it. His wife was also detained the same day and transferred between facilities. Rios Sosa says he experienced severe emotional and physical trauma and hopes to file a lawsuit claiming his deportation was unlawful.

ICE detained numerous asylum-seekers and migrants at the San Diego federal courthouse basement between October 9-21, 2025, after summoning them for routine check-ins. Detainees reported being held in crowded cells for up to four days in conditions they described as inadequate, including limited bedding (yoga mat-like mattresses), no privacy for bathroom use, cold temperatures, fluorescent lights kept on all night, inedible food, and lack of medical attention. Families were denied proper goodbyes, and detainees were not searchable in ICE's locator system. Some were subsequently deported or transferred to other detention facilities without proper legal proceedings.

Sunny Naqvi, a 28-year-old U.S. citizen from Skokie, was detained at O'Hare Airport after returning from a work trip to Turkey and held for nearly 30 hours at ICE facilities in Illinois and Wisconsin before being released. Federal agencies provided conflicting accounts of her detention, with CBP claiming she was released within 90 minutes while her family and elected officials reported she was transferred to multiple detention centers. Her case is part of a broader pattern, with ProPublica documenting over 170 U.S. citizens detained by immigration agents in recent years and advocacy groups reporting increased airport encounters in 2026.

Rueben Antonio Cruz, a 60-year-old lawful permanent resident from El Salvador, was stopped by ICE agents in Rogers Park and detained in an ICE vehicle while agents questioned him. After verifying through their databases that he was legally in the country, agents released him but issued him a $130 ticket for not carrying proof of permanent resident registration on his person. Cruz, a former dishwasher living in a government-funded apartment due to health issues, was given 60 days to pay the fine or face court.

Noor Nafea Salman, a 28-year-old lawful permanent resident and medical student at the University of Virginia, was detained by ICE on October 9, 2025, during what she believed would be a routine immigration check-in appointment. Salman, who arrived in the U.S. as a refugee from Iraq at age 17 and graduated from James Madison University, has been complying with ICE check-ins for six years prior to her detention. She is married to Khaled, a Palestinian-American U.S. citizen, and her mother and five siblings are all U.S. citizens. Since her detention at Diamondback Detention Center in Oklahoma and other facilities in Texas, Salman's health has deteriorated significantly over approximately ten months. She has been hospitalized multiple times for asthma complications, suffered a fall she believes caused a concussion, and has become extremely weak. Her husband visits weekly from 250 miles away, and her family continues to advocate for her release and access to proper medical care.

Despite having Convention Against Torture protection barring removal to El Salvador, C.O. was detained by ICE in May 2025 and pressured to accept removal to Mexico. After refusing, ICE transported him to the border and handed him to Mexican authorities, who drove him to Guatemala, which transferred him to El Salvador — all while shackled. Salvadoran authorities threatened to send him to CECOT. His family has had no contact since October 9, 2025.

Panchos Tacos in Mount Vernon, Ohio closed in early October 2025 after an ICE operation resulted in the arrest of five undocumented immigrants who were employees at the restaurant. After five months of closure, the restaurant reopened on March 3, 2026, with support from the local community.

Federal immigration enforcement agents have been documented driving unmarked vehicles without required license plates in Chicago and surrounding areas since September 2025. The Sun-Times identified four such vehicles operating from an ICE facility in Broadview, with agents wearing masks and no identifying badges. Civil rights advocates have expressed concerns about accountability and public safety. DHS states the vehicles comply with federal regulations.

ICE agents conducted an enforcement action at West Loop Elementary School in Chicago, Illinois during afternoon school pickup. Thirteen masked agents surrounded a car and removed two sisters who were DACA recipients and were eventually released after proving their legal status. One sister, Jocelyn, stated the agents did not have a warrant. The driver of the vehicle was also the other sister. A teacher exiting an Uber at the time recorded video of the incident after hearing children screaming.

Alandria London, a Black ride-share driver, was pulled over by a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper on October 8, 2025, while taking a passenger to the airport. The officer claimed he did not see her seat belt, though she was wearing one. After the officer said he needed to "call it in," an Immigration and Customs Enforcement van pulled up behind the motorcycle. London believes she was profiled as Hispanic and stopped as a pretext for an immigration check. She was not cited or arrested but posted about the incident on Facebook with a photo showing herself wearing the seat belt.

Daniel Greer and David Eichler, U.S. citizen cemetery workers at Concordia Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois, say they were pepper-sprayed and arrested by ICE agents on Tuesday afternoon while attempting to help an unidentified man struggling in the Des Plaines River. According to the workers, ICE agents breached the cemetery gate onto private property, immediately pepper-sprayed them with guns drawn, and tackled them to the ground after they questioned the agents' authority and noted the man was on the riverbank outside the cemetery property.

Maria Francisca Villanueva Caballero, 49, a longtime Firebaugh resident with no criminal record, was detained by ICE on October 8, 2025, while attending a scheduled USCIS appointment to adjust her status. She came to the U.S. in 2000 and settled in Firebaugh in 2001, where she worked at a packing plant, volunteered with the Catholic Church, and supported youth sports. She raised four children who became UCLA and UC Berkeley graduates pursuing careers in medicine, veterinary science, and law. On October 17, Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria and other state and local leaders held a press conference in support of her release, and a petition gathered 7,619 signatures. Caballero is being held at the detention facility in California City, which opened in August 2025.

A non-citizen was initially detained by ICE on February 27, 2018, and released on bond in June 2018. On October 8, 2025, ICE re-detained him without providing notice or a pre-detention hearing. A court granted his habeas corpus petition, finding that his prior release created a constitutionally protected liberty interest that required ICE to provide a pre-detention hearing before re-detaining him. The court ordered his immediate release on the conditions he was subject to prior to October 8, 2025, and enjoined immigration authorities from re-detaining him in the future without notice and a pre-detention hearing before an immigration judge.

José Medina, a 35-year-old tamal vendor, was arrested by immigration authorities on October 8, 2025, while selling tamales at a 7-Eleven in San Pedro. After his detention, his family feared additional raids and stayed home with 720 unsold tamales. Community members, including artist Rubén Ochoa and his girlfriend, mobilized to sell the tamales through personal deliveries. Medina signed a deportation order and was in Tijuana by October 10, leaving his family behind.

Federal immigration officers entered the Brooklyn home of Hayk Safaryan, a 44-year-old Armenian immigrant who has lived in the U.S. for over two decades, without a judicial warrant or consent and detained him while seizing his personal documents. According to court testimony from his wife, officers conducted a warrantless search after Safaryan answered the door. A federal habeas lawsuit challenges the arrest's legality under Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, part of broader litigation challenging ICE enforcement practices across the country.

Marie, a graduate student and lawful visitor to the United States, was detained for more than 20 weeks at Basile detention center during a high-risk pregnancy. Despite informing ICE officers of her pregnancy, she was placed in solitary confinement after being transferred thousands of miles from the U.S.-Canada border. Medical care was delayed until other detained women advocated for her. She was denied prenatal vitamins and provided inedible food. Marie was released only after legal advocates intervened. After her detention, she developed eclampsia, endured a difficult delivery, and continues to struggle with postpartum depression linked to her detention trauma.

Monica, 38, who has lived in the United States for two decades without legal immigration status, is expecting her fourth child in November. Her three older children are U.S. citizens but are experiencing stress related to their parents' immigration situation. Monica's husband also lacks authorization to live in the country. Although Monica has continued with prenatal care appointments, her anxiety about immigration enforcement and reports of ICE presence in hospital maternity wards have colored her pregnancy experience. She and her family have reduced their time outside the home and are taking precautions when they do leave.

Alejandro Suarez, 31, a gardener who has lived in the U.S. since age 11, was detained by ICE on October 7, 2025, following a routine USCIS appointment regarding his permanent residency at the Fresno office. Suarez had an approved I-130 petition and had kept his immigration paperwork current as advised by his attorney. He was escorted out through a back entrance and transferred to Golden State Annex detention center. Suarez's wife, Elida Herrera, 27, was recovering from a C-section and caring for their five children, including a newborn daughter and a son with autism. Suarez described harsh detention conditions including poor food and uncomfortable bedding. Between early October and mid-October 2025, ICE agents detained multiple immigrants attending USCIS permanent residency appointments at the Fresno office, many of whom were long-term residents married to U.S. citizens or military veterans with no criminal records.

An Indian citizen with a 2003 removal order was re-detained by ICE on October 7, 2025 after nearly two decades on supervised release. He had been released from detention in 2006 after six months because the government could not obtain travel documents from India. Despite complying with all supervision conditions for nearly 20 years, he was re-detained and has been held for over 5 months at Port Isabel Detention Center while India continues to refuse issuing travel documents.

Yaa'kub Vijandre, a Filipino-born DACA recipient and pro-Palestine activist who has lived in the Dallas area for over 20 years, was detained by ICE after his DACA status was revoked based on social media posts. ICE agents arrested him at his Arlington apartment on October 7, taking him to the Bluebonnet Detention Center. Vijandre has not been charged with any crimes, and his attorneys argue his speech is protected under the First Amendment and that the government's terrorism allegations are unconstitutional.

Yaa'kub Ira Vijandre, a 38-year-old DACA recipient and Filipino immigrant, was detained by ICE on October 7, 2025, after his DACA status was terminated citing social media posts. Vijandre, a freelance journalist and activist in the Dallas area, had spoken out against the Gaza war, ICE detention conditions, and human rights abuses. His attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition arguing his detention violates his First and Fifth Amendment rights, as his speech constitutes protected political expression rather than support for terrorism.

An 84-year-old couple, including a Vietnam veteran, were violently pushed to the ground by federal officers during a peaceful protest at an ICE facility in Portland. The woman sustained a concussion from the assault. The couple had spontaneously joined the neighborhood protest after seeing the rally from their home.

U.S. citizens, including Latinos, were detained during Trump's immigration enforcement operations in the Chicago area. Detainees reported being assaulted by officers who questioned them about their birthplace. The incident occurred when Diego Rosales was stopped by ICE agents while waiting for a school bus in Waukegan.

Willian Giménez González, who is suing a group of off-duty police officers for harassment and abuse of day laborers at a Home Depot in Chicago, was detained and taken into ICE custody. His lawyer states the timing suggests the detention may be related to his lawsuit.

A man entered the United States on March 31, 2023 and was encountered by immigration authorities. He was released on his own recognizance on April 3, 2023, but was re-detained by ICE on October 6, 2025. The court found that his prior release created a liberty interest and ordered his immediate release with conditions, requiring pre-detention hearings for any future detention.

P.R., a 42-year-old Cambodian national, was born in a refugee camp in Thailand after his family fled the Cambodian genocide. He entered the United States in 1985 at age three and lived there for 40 years. In 2010 he was ordered removed to Thailand, a country where he is neither citizen nor national. After completing his sentence in January 2025, he was held by ICE nine additional months before being deported to Eswatini on October 6, 2025.

K.V.V., a 49-year-old Vietnamese national, came to the United States as a refugee at age eight in 1984. After a criminal conviction he was ordered removed in 2007 and remained on supervised release for 18 years. ICE arrested him in March 2025 and deported him to Eswatini on October 6, 2025, without attempting deportation to Vietnam. His physical and mental health have deteriorated significantly in detention, with his family reporting weight loss and emotional distress.

Masuma Khan, a 64-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant living in Altadena, was detained by ICE on October 6, 2025, during a routine check-in appointment. Years earlier, Khan fell victim to a scam by a Bengali man who created a false identity for her, filed a fraudulent asylum application, and created a fake passport. Khan now faces deportation based on a 1999 removal order from an immigration judge, despite having worked with multiple attorneys to resolve her case.

Laurie Eckman, 84, and her husband Richard Eckman, 84, a Vietnam war veteran, say they were knocked to the ground and struck with a projectile by federal agents on October 5, 2025, while peacefully protesting outside an ICE building in South Portland. The couple, who live nearby and walk past the building daily, joined the protest spontaneously after seeing it from their kitchen window. Laurie Eckman said the officers charged at them with "no warning" and "no apparent reason," knocking Richard down despite his use of a walker. Eye-witnesses confirmed their account to The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Gustavo Santiago, a 13-year-old from Tamaulipas, Mexico, living in San Antonio, Texas, was detained with his mother on October 5, 2025, at a Border Patrol checkpoint. He has been sick multiple times in detention. When he had a fever, medical staff told his mother he was old enough to fight it off without medication. He was treated for a skin rash believed caused by poor water quality and suffered stomach pain and nausea attributed to unsanitary food preparation. He expressed fear of deportation and uncertainty about what he did wrong to be detained.

Aurelio was arrested on October 5, 2025, after a woman accused him of assaulting a child without providing evidence. Local police took him to the woman's house for identification, then booked him on assault charges and transferred custody to ICE the next day under a 287(g) cooperation agreement. The case was dismissed on March 26, 2026, after prosecutors could not obtain evidence from the arresting officer. Aurelio spent two months in ICE detention before posting bond in December 2025 and now wears an electronic ankle monitor while awaiting an asylum hearing.

Documents Allege a Federal Agent at Portland ICE Threatened to Shoot an Ambulance Driver

A U.S. citizen was detained by federal agents during the Brighton Park immigration enforcement operation on October 4, 2025. According to Alderman Julia Ramirez, the man was driving one of the vehicles involved in the incident with Border Patrol agents. His mother, Elizabeth Ruiz, stated her 21-year-old son was being held in an ICE vehicle and had nothing to do with the confrontation. At least one other protester was also detained during the clashes that followed the shooting.

Federal prosecutors moved to dismiss charges against Dana Briggs, a 70-year-old Air Force veteran, who was arrested during a September protest outside an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois. Briggs was accused of assaulting a federal officer after being pushed to the ground during a scuffle, but prosecutors determined the charges should be dropped. Briggs had no prior criminal history.

A video circulating on social media shows DHS agents arresting a woman outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles on October 4, 2025. The woman was arrested after she allegedly blocked a federal facility entrance and refused to comply with officers' orders. The woman's clothing became disheveled during the arrest. A witness account suggested the woman had pulled over to ask for directions.

Marimar Martínez, a U.S. citizen and teaching assistant, was shot five times by Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum during Operation Midway Blitz in Brighton Park on October 4, 2025. Prosecutors initially charged her with assaulting federal officers, claiming she rammed agents' vehicle and attempted to run over an agent as part of a convoy of protesters. Federal prosecutors abruptly dismissed all felony charges after her attorney argued agents caused the crash and that the shooting was unnecessary. A federal judge later ruled the agents' use of force against citizens "shocks the conscience."

A woman was shot by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Brighton Park on Chicago's Southwest Side near South 35th Street and California Avenue. According to DHS, agents claimed they were rammed by 10 vehicles and boxed in, and fired defensive shots after discovering the woman was armed with a semi-automatic weapon. The woman drove herself to Mount Sinai Hospital, was treated for her wounds, and discharged. The shooting sparked a protest of approximately 100 people, during which federal agents deployed tear gas and pepper balls. A woman was shot by Border Patrol agents during a protest outside the ICE detention facility in Broadview. According to DHS, agents claimed they were "rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars" and fired defensive shots when a suspect attempted to run them over. The agency stated one driver who rammed the law enforcement vehicle was armed with a semi-automatic weapon. The woman drove herself to the hospital for treatment and was later released according to Chicago police.

Debbie Brockman, a WGN News creative services employee, was detained by Border Patrol agents near Lincoln and Foster avenues on Chicago's North Side. Federal agents rammed their van into her car before detaining her. According to Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, agents claimed Brockman threw an object at them during enforcement duties. She was subsequently released with no charges filed.

Francisco Miranda, a U.S. citizen born in California, was arrested by ICE agents outside his workplace in Milwaukie, Oregon. While being detained, Miranda repeatedly told agents he was born in California, but they questioned his claim and took him into custody. Miranda recorded part of his arrest before agents confiscated his cellphone. His attorney, Michael Fuller, characterized the arrest as an illegal abduction. Miranda appears to be the first known U.S. citizen arrested by ICE in Oregon this year.

Emmanuel González García, a 15-year-old with intellectual disability, speech impediment, and partial deafness, went missing on October 4, 2025, after wandering away from his mother Maria García's fruit stand in northwest Houston. The Houston Fire Department found him at a McDonald's the next day, but Houston Police Department failed to connect him to the missing person report his mother had filed because he gave a slightly different name (Manuel instead of Emmanuel). HPD contacted ICE on October 5, and when no family was identified through initial searches, HPD personally transported Emmanuel to a federal children's detention center. Maria had no way to know her son's location for five days until an immigration attorney called the missing persons hotline on the boy's behalf. Emmanuel subsequently underwent emergency appendicitis surgery while in federal custody.

ICE agents deployed tear gas, pepper balls, and other chemical munitions against protesters and journalists outside a detention facility in Broadview, Illinois, a suburb near Chicago, on October 4, 2025. Federal agents attacked legal observers, journalists wearing press credentials, and lawful protesters, with chemical munitions also affecting nearby residents not participating in the demonstration. Local officials including congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss were arrested during the protest. Lawsuits were filed by journalists and demonstrators alleging excessive force and interference with First Amendment activities.

Marimar Martinez, a 30-year-old U.S. citizen, was shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in Brighton Park on Saturday morning during an incident where she and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz allegedly followed federal agents in their vehicles. Body camera footage, according to Martinez's attorney, appears to show an agent telling her to "do something" before shooting her. Both Martinez and Ruiz were released pending trial despite being charged with felony assault of a federal officer.

New video footage from May 9, 2025 reveals details surrounding the federal arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka at Delaney Hall, a migrant detention center. Rep. LaMonica McIver and House colleagues had arrived for an unannounced visit when the arrest occurred. McIver was subsequently indicted for allegedly impeding the arrest and assaulting federal officers; she has pleaded not guilty.