Human Impact Project

Monica Ryadi, a 30-year-old registered nurse at Riddle Hospital with Main Line Health in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, was detained by plainclothes ICE agents at Los Angeles International Airport on September 15, 2026, while traveling with her husband and 3-year-old son, both U.S. citizens, for a Disneyland vacation, with her son witnessing her being handcuffed. Ryadi fled religious persecution in Indonesia with her family at age 9 and came to the U.S. legally, later receiving a 2010 immigration judge's order granting her withholding of removal that her attorney says protects her from deportation, despite DHS's claim she is subject to a final removal order. She was held for about two weeks at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, where she was told she could be sent to a third country, before a federal magistrate judge ordered her release on September 29 under GPS ankle monitoring. She completed her first ICE check-in in Philadelphia surrounded by about 20 supporters, including friends, family, clergy, and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, saying, 'This is my home. I built a life here.' Ryadi is now seeking to have her ankle monitor removed, citing the burden it places on her nursing work, and says she fears being separated from her husband and son again.

Noelia Bautista and Cipriano Lopez, who had lived in Fresno for more than two decades working as a landscaper and house cleaner, were detained by ICE agents while on their way to work Monday morning amid an enforcement surge across California's Central Valley. Their son Gary Lopez said he and his oldest sister rushed from Oakland to Fresno after their father called telling them to come back, and the two older siblings are now caring for their two younger siblings. Gary described the shift from being a student to becoming the sole provider for his younger siblings as difficult. The family set up a GoFundMe to cover legal fees and visitation costs and contends their parents were racially profiled. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the couple had 'illegally entered the U.S. at unknown times and places,' would receive due process before immigration judges, and called the racial profiling allegations 'disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE.'

Prudencio Rivera Rios, 31, a farmworker who entered the U.S. in 2023 through the CBP One asylum process, was followed by an unmarked truck with Texas plates while driving home from a night shift at a poultry farm near Kerman. After he pulled over, agents told him he had a deportation order and that his work permit did not authorize him to live in the U.S.; when he refused to unlock his doors, they smashed his rear window, pulled him out, forced him to the ground, and handcuffed him. Rivera livestreamed part of the encounter on Facebook, showing agents his work authorization card and telling them in Spanish that his papers were in order. He was taken to the ICE office in Fresno, where agents later confirmed his documents were valid and he had no criminal record, and released without apology. His wife, Marisol Montiel, said she learned of the stop through his livestream and feared raising their two children alone if he were deported. Rivera, who checks in with ICE monthly and has an asylum appointment scheduled for next year, said the experience left him afraid to return to work.

In June, video footage showed an ICE agent dragging a U.S. citizen by her arms along the floor of the San Luis Obispo County Jail lobby to move her out of his way, according to rapid responder Jennifer Guernsey, who described agents at the jail as frequently 'get[ting] real aggressive.'

A San Diego-based transgender organizer who advocates for immigrant and transgender rights was pulled from their home at gunpoint in their underwear by Homeland Security Investigations agents during a predawn raid in mid-August. Agents handcuffed the activist and their partner, held them outside for about an hour and a half, and ransacked their home and car, confiscating a phone, journal, shoes, a dashcam and other belongings. The warrant the activist was eventually given had no case number, cited the activist's dead name and an alias they had never used, and gave no explanation for the search; the activist, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons, has been unable to find legal representation because they were never charged with a crime.

Federal immigration agents conducted a weeklong operation from Oct. 5 to Oct. 11 across San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, taking 114 people into custody according to data from 805 UndocuFund, a nonprofit that supports undocumented immigrants. Agents targeted workplaces, neighborhoods, busy streets and even people visiting ICE field offices to update their paperwork, arresting five people in San Luis Obispo, 75 in Santa Barbara County (mostly Santa Maria and Lompoc) and 34 in Ventura County. DHS described the activity as part of a 'nationwide public safety surge in sanctuary cities,' while Gov. Gavin Newsom and local officials condemned the tactics as instilling fear in communities.

Alfredo, a U.S. citizen in Victorville, California, was confronted by ICE agents while preparing to take his son, who has autism, to school. According to his wife, April Vélez, at least three agents grabbed and struck him and tried to remove him from his property after telling him he resembled someone they were looking for. The agents released him and left without explanation after neighbors and witnesses began filming the encounter. The family said the incident left their son deeply frightened and that Alfredo required medical attention.

Federal immigration agents conducted a week-long surge of warrantless detentions across California's Central Valley, targeting gas stations, Mexican bakeries, and residential areas as farmworkers started their day, according to local advocates and officials. Fresno city councilmember Miguel Arias said one constituent with no criminal record and legal status was detained while cutting his own lawn, and Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer condemned a video showing agents arresting a man in front of his screaming children. A nonprofit manager said the operation, which she called the largest in years, is targeting anyone who 'looks Hispanic,' leaving families afraid to send their children to school. The raids came amid a contested congressional race in California's 22nd District, with local Democrats alleging the enforcement surge is intended to suppress Latino voter turnout.

A man was detained by ICE while working, according to his son, who launched a fundraiser to pay for legal assistance. The detention cut the family's income in half, and the son is seeking a lawyer quickly to try to secure a court date before his father can be deported. The family says the detention has upended their lives within days.

A man was detained by ICE agents at 5:45 a.m. outside an Albertsons grocery store in Carpinteria, California, according to video filmed by volunteers with Carpinteria Sin Fronteras, a group that documents ICE activity in the area. Employees at a nearby Mexican bakery, Case Don Roge, said they recognized the man as a past customer. The incident frightened nearby residents, with some customers hiding inside local businesses and many regulars staying home from the bakery in the days that followed.

In early October 2026, immigration enforcement agents conducted a series of arrests across California's San Joaquin Valley and surrounding areas, including Chico, Madera, and Chowchilla. In Chico, agents arrested a Mexican immigrant at his home on Oct. 9, later transporting him to Sacramento and then the California City Immigration Processing Center; agents also went to his daughter's elementary school. A neighbor described him as 'a hard-working person' who 'didn't bother anybody.' In Madera, community member Maira Gonzalez witnessed and livestreamed agents detaining a man outside a Home Depot, later seeing detainees transferred into vans at a nearby fairgrounds parking lot until a representative asked agents to leave. In Chowchilla, a resident named Angel said he saw federal officers pull a man from his vehicle near a Dollar General, calling it 'a sad, sad situation' and noting the town grew unusually quiet afterward. Footage of the Chowchilla incident circulated online and helped prompt local youth to organize a protest.

Blanca Ortiz is working to secure the release of her husband, Carlos Ortiz Jara, 49, a Mexican national who was detained by ICE agents on May 12, 2026, in the parking lot of a USCIS office in Pomona, California, where he had gone for a fingerprinting appointment tied to his pending immigrant visa application. The couple, married since 1999, have four U.S.-born children, including a son who serves as a Marine Corps sergeant and has moved his own family into his parents' home to help cover the mortgage. Carlos co-owned an auto mechanic shop in Jurupa Valley, where he had worked for 20 years, and had previously been deported decades earlier following a 1998 border crossing attempt after fleeing cartel violence; he was pursuing a visa petition under the Violence Against Women Act when detained. He remains held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, where Blanca has visited him behind glass and described him as broken down. A habeas corpus petition challenging his detention was filed June 19, 2026, and remains pending, while the family has spent roughly $40,000 on legal fees. A DHS spokesperson said he was detained during an enforcement operation and noted that pending applications do not confer legal status.

Immigrant advocacy group Faith in the Valley reported that ICE agents detained an unidentified man near McNamara Park and a nearby church in Merced between 11 a.m. and noon on Sunday. The organization said it was still trying to confirm whether the man had been leaving church services or was simply in the area, and said he may have been taken to an ICE office in Fresno before being transferred to a detention facility, though his whereabouts had not been confirmed. Rev. Miguel Mancia of nearby Sacred Heart Church said he was unaware of anyone being detained after Sunday's service but had heard reports of enforcement activity in the neighborhood. Soccer league organizer Isaac Ramirez said families stayed away from the park afterward, with two teams forfeiting games out of fear.

Hipólito, described by his wife Ofelia as a hardworking family man, was taken by ICE on October 9, 2026, after leaving for work and never returning home. His wife says the family had permission to be in the U.S. He remains in immigration detention, leaving his wife to care for their children alone while covering rent, legal fees, and daily expenses.

ICE agents conducted enforcement activity at multiple Lennar construction sites across Fresno and Madera County over several days. At the Riverstone development, a construction worker's father, who has no criminal record according to his son, was detained while the two worked together. The son described watching three ICE agents detain his father, who is now held at the Golden State Annex detention facility in McFarland. At the nearby Tesoro Viejo development, a site supervisor confronted agents on video, stating the area was private property and that a signed warrant was required to enter; the agents left without detaining anyone. Construction worker Nick Rodriguez recorded the confrontation. A Madera County supervisor said he was concerned about the fear and anxiety the enforcement activity caused in the community.

Leonardo Pinzon Fernandez, a native and citizen of Colombia, entered the United States with his wife and stepdaughter in December 2022 and was released on humanitarian parole. He had a pending asylum application, valid employment authorization, and had lived for over three years with a fixed residence and steady employment. On June 27, 2026, ICE detained him at his home in Los Angeles without notice, days after briefly detaining and releasing him at a construction site. A federal judge granted his habeas corpus petition, finding his detention unlawful and ordering his immediate release from the Adelanto ICE Processing Center.

Baldemar Gutierrez, a 15-year-old U.S. citizen with significant hearing loss, speech delays, and developmental disabilities, was pulled from a car and handcuffed at gunpoint by masked federal agents outside Arleta High School in Los Angeles on August 11, 2025, while his mother, Andreina Mejia, was nearby enrolling his sister in school. Agents showed a photo of a Salvadoran national suspected of gang ties, mistaking Baldemar for him, and released him only after he repeatedly stated his name and citizenship during the roughly seven-minute encounter. Mejia, a San Fernando Valley resident of more than 20 years, said she intervened to protect her son and that an agent told him the mistake would make an 'exciting story to tell' his friends; she said he has since felt harassed and unsafe. School officials said agents left bullets at the scene, prompting increased school police patrols. The family's attorneys filed a $1 million claim against DHS, CBP, Border Patrol and ICE alleging racial profiling, false arrest, false imprisonment, and assault and battery; DHS denied racial profiling, calling it a case of mistaken identity. The case has been cited as part of a broader pattern of more than 500 U.S. citizens detained by ICE, despite DHS statements that ICE does not restrain or zip-tie children.

Andres Pacheco, who has lived in the United States for about 23 years and is the father of three daughters ages 15, 10, and 8, was detained by ICE agents on October 8, 2026, as he arrived for work at the Fanucchi Ranch Lennar development site in west Fresno. He was one of dozens detained that day, and video captured the moment of his arrest on his way to work. His wife said the family said goodbye that morning not knowing it would be the last time she saw him free, adding, "My whole life situation changed, especially for my girls. They are so attached to their daddy." He is being held at the Golden State Annex detention facility in McFarland, California, and his wife fears he could be deported. A Fresno city councilmember whose district includes the site called the enforcement action "heartbreaking," and the family is now raising funds to pay for legal services for his case.

Jackie Cordova, a 51-year-old U.S. citizen and longtime Santa Ana community member, said federal agents surrounded her while she was conducting her routine early-morning ICE watch outside the federal building, then chased and tackled her, breaking a tooth and leaving her bloodied. Cordova said agents maced her, pinned her against a wall, fingerprinted her, and detained her from about 5 a.m. until 9:45 a.m. before releasing her without clear charges. DHS later called her a 'known agitator' and said she had struck ICE vehicles with a metal object and thrown rocks earlier in the week, an account Cordova disputed as 'an outright lie.' Community members described Cordova as a mentor to local youth and an organizer of community events, and about 20 people protested her arrest outside the federal building afterward.

Sammy Rodriguez, a 22-year resident of North County, California and father of four, was detained by ICE agents while on his way to work. According to the fundraiser organized by his employer's family, agents attempted to pressure him into signing deportation papers in exchange for money, and he went without food for 29 hours. Rodriguez is the sole provider for his family, who are now facing financial hardship while his attorney works to secure his release.