Human Impact Project

Dennis Quiñonez, a 32-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested during a DHS immigration enforcement operation at a Home Depot parking lot in Cypress Park on November 4, 2025, while his 1-year-old daughter was in his car. ICE agents drove off with the toddler, who was later returned to her grandmother with a dirty diaper, a bruise and a developing rash after the family provided her birth certificate. Quiñonez was held for two days and released on $10,000 bond on November 6, reuniting with his daughter and family; he faces a federal charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of domestic violence, with court dates set for Nov. 20 and Dec. 1. His mother said she believes he was targeted because he is 'brown-skinned' and that agents did not identify themselves. DHS said the broader operation led to the arrests of five undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala, and the Immigrant Defenders Law Center has been assisting the family and seeking answers about the operation.

Jonathan Caravello, a lecturer at California State University Channel Islands, was arrested on July 10, 2025, during federal immigration enforcement raids at Glass House Farms cannabis facilities in Camarillo, Ventura County. He was charged with a felony count of assaulting an immigration agent with a deadly or dangerous weapon after allegedly throwing a tear gas canister at law enforcement; some accounts indicate he was instead trying to dislodge a canister stuck under a wheelchair during the confrontation between agents and protesters. The broader raids, conducted across Southern California cannabis facilities between July 10-14, resulted in more than 360 arrests and the death of one farmworker who fell from a greenhouse roof. Caravello was released on a $15,000 bond, and in November 2025 he pleaded not guilty in federal court to the charge.

A 32-year-old U.S. citizen was detained by federal immigration agents during a raid at a Home Depot in the Cypress Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Witnesses said agents accused him of throwing rocks at them, detained him, and then drove away in his vehicle, which still had his 1-year-old daughter inside. The child was later returned to her family with a bruised cheek but was otherwise unharmed. The father was held in custody for two days before being released.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

Luisa Rodriguez, a Mexican national who immigrated to the U.S. over 30 years ago and worked in courts, was detained by ICE agents on September 28, 2025, at Camp Pendleton's gate while visiting her pregnant daughter, a newly enlisted U.S. Marine. Rodriguez and her husband Esteban Rios were initially released with ankle monitors but were taken back into custody at a subsequent ICE check-in appointment. Rodriguez was held at Otay Mesa Detention Center for nearly three weeks before being released on October 30. Her husband was deported to Tijuana on October 31. The family has pending green card applications and no criminal history.

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.

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.

Federal authorities arrested 10 anti-ICE activists, including Isai Carrillo, and charged them with violence and property damage during immigration enforcement operations in Southern California between June and July 2025. The charges stem from three separate incidents: a June 6 incident in the Fashion District where a protester allegedly used pepper spray against federal agents; a June 8 downtown Los Angeles protest at Civic Center where demonstrators allegedly threw objects at officers; and a July 10 protest at a federal operation in Camarillo where protesters allegedly blocked vehicles, threw rocks, and damaged federal property. Two members of VC Defensa, an organization prosecutors said operates a rapid response network to impede immigration agents, were among those charged. Federal authorities arrested the suspects on October 29, 2025, with charges including conspiring to obstruct federal law enforcement.

Leticia Nevares, a mother of three who has lived in the U.S. for more than 35 years, was detained by ICE on September 16 after attending a scheduled green card interview at the USCIS office in Fresno, California. The appointment was supposed to be the final step in her legal residency application process. She was placed in handcuffs and transported to a detention facility in Bakersfield, then transferred to a facility in California City run by CoreCivic. Nevares works as an elderly caretaker and has no criminal history. According to her son Steven Rodriguez, she has devoted countless hours to community service, including helping at food drives, caring for sick neighbors, and providing end-of-life care to elderly community members. Her next court hearing was scheduled for October 28.

Community monitors documented federal immigration agents wearing Halloween masks while leaving Terminal Island in unmarked vehicles on October 28, 2025. Agents were observed wearing masks depicting characters such as Chucky, Momo, and Mr. Potato Head while staging for immigration enforcement operations. When L.A. TACO inquired about the incident, DHS responded with 'Happy Halloween!'

A Mexican citizen who has lived in the United States since 1970 and entered lawfully with a valid B1/B2 visitor visa in August 2009. He was arrested on October 27, 2025, and has been held in immigration detention at the Desert View Annex facility in Adelanto, California for nearly ten months. Petitioner has no prior criminal history. After an immigration judge denied his bond on May 6, 2026, and again on June 15, 2026, following an individualized hearing, Petitioner filed a habeas corpus petition seeking to prevent his removal from the United States and the Central District of California. He is experiencing health complications related to high blood pressure during his continued detention. On August 7, 2026, the federal court granted Petitioner's emergency motion for a temporary restraining order, enjoining respondents from deporting him or removing him outside the district while his petition is pending. The court scheduled oral argument on the preliminary injunction for August 13, 2026, and referred the case to the Federal Public Defender for consideration of appointed counsel.

Silvia Reyna Mendoza, who has lived in the United States for 40 years and is a mother of 8, reported sexual misconduct by an ICE contractor. A judge issued an order prohibiting her deportation. ICE deported her the following day. She is currently in ICE detention in Kern County while her family pursues her case.