Human Impact Project

Seven people detained by ICE at a California immigration detention center filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on November 12, describing severe medical neglect and inhumane conditions. One detainee, Fernando Viera Reyes, reports being denied medication and urgent treatment for likely prostate cancer while in custody.

Meenu Batra, a 50-year-old Indian immigrant living in Texas since 1991, was detained by ICE agents at an airport on March 17, 2026, while traveling to Wisconsin for work as a court interpreter. She had been granted court protection against deportation in 2000 due to persecution concerns and was authorized to work legally in the US. After more than six weeks in detention, Batra was released when a court questioned the legality of her detention. She reported experiencing dehumanization during her time in custody and expressed ongoing fear of re-arrest.

A foreign national in removal proceedings was initially released by immigration authorities on October 4, 2023, and enrolled in alternatives to detention. He was re-detained by ICE on December 15, 2025, while attending a scheduled immigration appointment. After being ordered removed on June 8, 2026, he filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his re-detention. The court granted his petition, finding that his re-detention without notice and a pre-deprivation hearing violated due process, and ordered his immediate release on the conditions he was subject to prior to re-detention.

Six foreign nationals were arrested between November 2025 and January 2026 and charged with being inadmissible as persons present without admission in the United States. They were detained at the Adelanto Detention Center and Desert View Annex without individualized bond hearings. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring bond hearings within 7 days or immediate release.

A Guatemalan asylum seeker who fled to the U.S. in April 2024 was arrested on December 11, 2025, while attending a scheduled ICE check-in at 630 Sansome Street in San Francisco. She had been released on her own recognizance, complied with all supervision conditions, and had no criminal history. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring her immediate release, finding her detention likely violated her constitutional due process rights.

Viktoriia Bulavina, a Ukrainian woman with Temporary Protected Status, was detained for five days after being arrested during a green card interview at the USCIS San Diego Field Office on December 4, 2025. She spent three days in the downtown San Diego ICE facility where she reported harsh conditions including lack of sleep, inability to change clothes or shower, cold temperatures, expired food, and inadequate privacy. Her attorney stated she had complied with all immigration procedures and was renewing her TPS when detained; her TPS extension was approved the day she was released.

A Chinese activist who entered the U.S. on an F-1 student visa in May 2016 and engaged in publicly documented activism against the Chinese Communist Party was arrested on December 9, 2025, during a traffic stop in Yermo, California after immigration agents conducting surveillance identified him from a photograph. He had lived openly in the U.S. for over nine years without immigration enforcement contact. He was charged as deportable for visa overstay and detained at Adelanto ICE Processing Center. On June 16, 2026, an immigration judge denied his bond request, finding him a flight risk. The federal court denied his habeas petition seeking immediate release, finding that a post-deprivation bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) satisfied his due process rights.

A Mexican citizen who entered the U.S. on a B-2 visa in 2019 and overstayed was arrested during a targeted ICE raid in Los Angeles on December 8, 2025, without an arrest warrant. He was detained and received a bond hearing on April 30, 2026, where bond was denied. The federal court granted his habeas corpus petition, finding the arrest violated 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) requirements and ordered his immediate release, prohibiting re-detention without a pre-detention hearing before an immigration judge.

Immigration agents took a cash box from a taco stand in La Puente after arresting four people at the location, according to a witness account. The incident involved the confiscation of the business's cash box during the enforcement action.

ICE agents arrested Julio, a man with end-stage kidney failure requiring regular dialysis, as he returned home from a medical appointment. He was held in detention facilities and denied appropriate medical care, eventually suffering a severe stroke while hospitalized under ICE surveillance. His family, all U.S. citizens including a military servicemember, advocated for his release but ICE refused despite his critical medical needs.

An asylum seeker from Ecuador who fled extortion and death threats was detained by ICE on December 3, 2025 during a routine check-in at 630 Sansome Street in San Francisco. Despite having no criminal record and consistently appearing for immigration hearings, ICE alleged she missed a July 23, 2025 check-in that was not visible on her application. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring her immediate release and prohibiting re-detention without a pre-deprivation hearing.

Federal agents stopped a U.S. citizen, identified only as Maria, near Salem, Oregon, on Jan. 29, shattering her car window and pulling her from the vehicle despite her having a valid passport. She said agents pinned her against the van, injuring her, before finding the passport and leaving; one agent reportedly told her, in English, to renew it. Maria, a citizen for seven years, said she had been driving to pick up her paycheck, pay rent and buy a birthday cake for her grandson when she was stopped. Her child witnessed the encounter and called 911 during it.

A 32-year-old Turkish man was detained and transferred to ICE custody while working as a driver, before he could receive follow-up medical care despite blood tests indicating he needed prompt treatment. He has rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic autoimmune disease causing intense pain in his neck and ankles. His family attempted to deliver medication to Otay Mesa but was turned away. His sister, brother-in-law, cousin, uncle and a family friend submitted court declarations supporting his release and attesting to his community standing. A judge granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered a bond hearing within seven days, considering his documented medical conditions.

Noemi, a Guatemalan asylum seeker, witnessed ICE agents smash a window of her family's car and forcibly remove her Mexican national partner from the vehicle while she and their three children (ages 1, 7, and 9) were inside an ICE office for a check-in appointment in December. Her partner was sent to Adelanto ICE Processing Center. The three children subsequently experienced significant emotional and behavioral regression, including depression, sleep disturbances, developmental regression (the 1-year-old returned to crawling), and academic decline.

Noemi, a Guatemalan asylum seeker, was at an ICE check-in appointment when immigration agents smashed the car window and forcibly removed her Mexican national partner, who had lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years. Officers attempted to separate Noemi from her three young children (ages 1, 7, and 9) but the children's screams prevented separation. Her partner was sent to Adelanto ICE Processing Center. Since the detention, the couple's children have experienced depression, eating disorders, sleep disturbances, regression (including a 1-year-old reverting to crawling), and cognitive decline.

Diana Sanchez Ledezma, a Stockton-area DJ known as DJ Reina Azteca with pending asylum and U-visa applications, was detained by ICE officers at a check-in appointment on December 18, 2025, despite being enrolled in the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program and requesting deportation herself. During processing at Otay Mesa Detention Center, she initially refused a medical screening and pregnancy test out of fear, having heard accounts of forced abortions and hysterectomies in detention, and was held unclothed in a cold cell before relenting. Over nearly four months in custody, she witnessed medical emergencies including strokes and fainting, reported inadequate care and poor food, and faced retaliation from guards after filing grievances; she also lost her deactivated DJ account and entire music library. A federal judge ruled in her favor in April 2026, finding ICE lacked authority to detain her, and she was released, though she has struggled to rebuild her music career while awaiting the return of her identification documents.

From November 26 through December 1, 2025, ICE and HSI stopped and questioned approximately 25 people during Thanksgiving week, detaining at least 15 of them. Operations spanned multiple Southern California locations including the San Fernando Valley (Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, Carlsbad), San Bernardino area (San Bernardino, Ontario, Fontana, Montclair), San Diego, and Orange County, with at least two detentions confirmed on Thanksgiving Day itself. ICE employed increased vehicle stops, questioned people at gas stations and bus stops, and was observed near detention facilities in San Luis Obispo, Oxnard, Rialto, and El Monte.

Community organizers in Fontana, California are providing legal representation and mental health support resources to an Indigenous family in connection with immigration enforcement actions.

A person warned their community that ICE agents were staging outside houses and then parked at a trolley station to observe. When ICE agents returned to the station, they attempted to detain the person, who fled because the agents were masked and refused to identify themselves. The person claims to be an American citizen and states that other people were also detained at the scene.

San Diego Humane Society has taken in 18 pets from 11 owners since June 2025, operating at 173% capacity. Animals including Tita, a 4-year-old Chihuahua whose owners were deported, and Cata, a pit bull mix found in Mira Mesa after her owner's deportation, are among those left behind. The county Department of Animal Services has also received pets from deported individuals.