Human Impact Project

Benjamin Marcelo Guerrero-Cruz, 18, a rising senior at Reseda Charter High School, was detained by federal immigration agents on Aug. 8 while walking the family dog in Van Nuys. A neighbor said masked agents in unmarked vests labeled "immigration police" took him from the scene, leaving the dog loose in an alley. He remains in Department of Homeland Security custody awaiting deportation proceedings, and on Aug. 19 educators, former teachers and community activists rallied outside LAUSD headquarters demanding his release so he can return to school. His family, including four younger siblings who miss him, has started a GoFundMe to support him.

A street vendor was detained by federal immigration agents outside a Ladera Heights Home Depot on June 23 after clinging to a tree in an attempt to avoid apprehension. She was arrested while still wearing her work apron, with video showing men pulling her from the tree and placing her in a vehicle. Her family says they have been unable to locate her for several days, with advocates noting it took more than two days for her name to appear in the federal detainee locator system during the June 2025 immigration enforcement operations across Los Angeles County.

Carlos Roberto Montoya Valdez, a 52-year-old day laborer from Guatemala, died after being struck by an SUV on the 210 Freeway while fleeing a federal immigration enforcement operation at a Monrovia Home Depot in 2025. He worked to support his wife and four daughters. The Department of Homeland Security has denied that its agents chased him. One year later, community members held a vigil and marched to the store demanding Home Depot release security footage to his family, while state lawmakers renewed calls for SB 1103, the REPAIR Act, which would require large retailers to disclose immigration enforcement activity on their property.

On June 6, 2024, federal immigration agents conducted a raid on Ambiance Apparel, a garment factory in downtown Los Angeles, arresting over 40 workers, many from Zapotec Indigenous communities. The operation separated families and triggered legal challenges and advocacy organizing. One year later, affected workers and families continue to face economic hardship, emotional trauma, and pending immigration proceedings. Advocates including Lucha Zapoteca secured the release of 11 of 14 initially detained family members and raised over $300,000 in support, though some workers remain in federal custody and others have been deported.

Mario and more than 40 other workers, many from Zapotec Indigenous communities, were detained during an ICE raid at Ambiance Apparel on June 6, 2025. A year later, some workers have been deported while others remain in immigration proceedings, with families facing ongoing economic hardship and trauma. Mario's daughter Yurien and other family members continue to struggle with the lasting consequences of the enforcement action.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted coordinated raids in Los Angeles's Fashion District on June 6, 2025, detaining more than 40 undocumented immigrants, including over 20 workers at a Korean-owned wholesale clothing business. Following the raids, some Korean American merchants closed their stores and protests occurred throughout the city. Business activity in the area was affected, with some workers departing and customers avoiding the location.

A 50-year-old El Salvador citizen who has lived in the U.S. for approximately 20 years was detained by ICE agents during a traffic stop in North Hills, California on June 3, 2025. ICE agents pulled over his vehicle, asked for documentation, and took him into custody after he could not establish lawful immigration status. The court granted a temporary restraining order requiring his immediate release from the Adelanto ICE Processing Center where he had been held for over 10 months.

In the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, agents returned to the Home Depot where they had detained dozens of day laborers earlier that month. Community observers recorded as agents detained two people; a masked agent aimed a handgun at close range; another sprayed a chemical irritant; and an agent jumped into an unmarked SUV as it began rolling forward after agents apparently had forgotten to put it in park.

In Oceanside, California, the Robles Ortega family was woken up by armed agents breaking their windows, deploying flashbangs, and sending a drone inside. Both parents were detained and the 17-year-old U.S. citizen son and 14-year-old daughter were taken out in handcuffs and only released after neighbors intervened in the driveway to remind agents they were minors and verify their citizenship.

In Huntington Park, California, federal agents set off an explosive device outside Jenny Ramirez's home, blowing off the front door and shattering a window while she and her 1-year-old and 6-year-old children were inside. Ramirez said agents gave no warning, that everyone who lived in the home was a U.S. citizen, and that she told them: 'You guys didn't have to do this, you scared my son, my baby.'

A dual citizen of Mexico and the United States was detained while working in California in June 2025. He was held for four days without access to a lawyer or his family.

A year after federal agents launched mass immigration raids across Los Angeles in June 2025, arrests in the region have increased roughly sevenfold compared with the same period the previous year, as agencies shifted resources from the border to local neighborhoods. One worker, Giovanni, was detained for six months at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center after being taken from the car wash where he had worked for years, while his wife and school-age children waited at home not knowing if he would be deported. Advocates say the raids have affected daily life, work and community safety efforts among Latino and immigrant families.

Jesús, a 10-year employee at Westchester Hand Wash and primary breadwinner for his family, was arrested during ICE raids in Los Angeles in June 2025 and detained in El Paso. Immigration agents pressured him to sign documents without his glasses, and he unknowingly waived his right to remain in the U.S. He was deported to Mexico, leaving behind his wife Noémi and their four U.S. citizen children—Dhelainy (16), Esther (15), Angel (11), and Gabriel (6)—in Inglewood. The family has submitted a green card petition, but the application is backlogged and could take six years or longer to process, leaving the family separated as the children continue their education and activities in California.

Alberto Perdomo was detained on June 1, 2025, by immigration agents in Riverside while on his way to work. He is currently held at Adelanto Detention Center. Perdomo, the sole provider for his wife and four young children, was taken into custody following a traffic stop. Multiple plaintiffs, including named detainees and immigrant advocacy organizations, filed a class-action lawsuit against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and other federal officials challenging the detention and recent enforcement sweeps.

Undocumented day laborers who volunteered to clear toxic fire debris in Altadena and Pasadena after the January 2025 Eaton wildfire were arrested in June 2025 ICE sweeps. Workers cleared roads and distributed water to fire victims without pay. ICE enforcement operations targeted job sites, Home Depot parking lots, and street vendors in wildfire-affected and recovery-zone neighborhoods. ICE arrested over 2,200 people in LA in June 2025 alone.

An immigration judge dismissed the deportation case against Narciso Barranco, a Mexican landscaper arrested in Southern California in June 2025 during a Trump administration immigration crackdown. Barranco, who came to the U.S. in the 1990s without legal status, is now eligible for legal permanent residency based on evidence that he is the father of three U.S.-born sons serving in the military. The Department of Homeland Security announced it would appeal the judge's decision.

Homeland Security Investigations agents raided two locations of Buona Forchetta restaurant in San Diego's South Park neighborhood on Friday evening, deploying flash bang grenades and detaining multiple employees. According to the restaurant manager, at least four workers were detained during the operation. Community members gathered outside to protest, and San Diego Police were called to assist with crowd control, though they did not participate in the enforcement action.

A Honduran mother and her two children, ages 6 and 9, were arrested by ICE agents at Los Angeles Immigration Court on May 29, 2025, as they left a courtroom. The 6-year-old boy has leukemia and missed a medical appointment for worsening symptoms. The family was transported to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas and placed in expedited removal proceedings. Their attorneys filed a lawsuit challenging the arrests as violations of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.

Federal immigration authorities deported a 9-year-old Torrance Elementary School student and his 50-year-old father to Honduras after they appeared for a routine immigration hearing on May 29, 2025. Both were undocumented, and an immigration judge had ordered their deportation in September 2022, though they remained in the United States and appealed. The boy had attended the school since first grade. The boy stated he was unhappy about separation from his friends and remaining family members in California.

A Watsonville resident was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials at approximately noon on Tuesday, May 28, 2025, according to Your Allied Rapid Response Santa Cruz County. The advocacy group confirmed the arrest appeared to target one individual rather than being part of a sweep or raid. The detainee is expected to be held until brought to immigration court to determine deportation eligibility.