Human Impact Project

Godfrey Wade, a 65-year-old Jamaican-born U.S. Army veteran and lawful permanent resident who came to the U.S. at 15 in 1975, was deported to Jamaica on February 5, 2026, while his appeal remained pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals. Wade worked as a chef, tailor, tennis coach and fashion designer while raising six children and three grandchildren with his fiancée April Watkins. He was detained by ICE for nearly five months following a September 2025 traffic stop for driving without a valid license, held at Stewart Detention Center in Georgia and later Richwood in Louisiana, where he endured overcrowding, inadequate food, a water outage, and illness that caused significant weight loss. His deportation stemmed from a 2014 in absentia removal order tied to a 2008 misdemeanor bounced-check conviction, after immigration court notices were mistakenly sent to the wrong address. His daughter said he was removed without warning, arriving in Jamaica with only the clothes he wore before being hospitalized for pneumonia; his fiancée and daughter said he drew portraits of fellow detainees to lift their spirits and have since raised funds and a petition seeking him a day in court. In October, a Douglas County Superior Court judge granted his habeas corpus petition, voiding the 2008 conviction and giving him a new chance to fight his case, which remains pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Johnny Sebastián Lucas Barre, a 38-year-old Ecuadorian man held at the Folkston ICE Processing Center in Georgia, says agents handcuffed and beat him after he refused to sign a deportation order and provide fingerprints without a lawyer present. He said three agents threw him against a wall, struck him, and placed a foot near his head until he lost consciousness, later waking up in a wheelchair receiving medical attention and showing visible bruises on his wrists and body. His partner, Leidy Montalvo, said he had been working in the facility kitchen for a dollar a day when agents repeatedly pressured him to sign his deportation paperwork, and she has shared photos of his injuries publicly. Lucas Barre entered the U.S. through Texas in 2024 and was detained again in December after reporting a change of address at an immigration appointment in Orlando, Florida; he has a pending asylum/immigration appeal but no longer has a lawyer because he could not afford to continue paying for one. Immigration attorneys said fingerprints or a signature obtained while someone is unconscious would not be legally valid. Lucas Barre has since filed a federal habeas corpus petition against the facility's warden, which remains pending after the warden moved to dismiss it and his attorney filed a response opposing dismissal.

An Iranian woman in her early 30s who fled Iran after converting to Christianity was detained by ICE and ultimately deported to the Central African Republic, a country she had never visited and that the U.S. government warns citizens to avoid due to violent crime and civil war. She entered the U.S. without authorization at the southern border in 2024 and had settled in Atlanta before being held at Stewart Detention Center in South Georgia. Speaking to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after learning of the planned deportation, she said, "I just started shaking. I was just so scared. I don't have anyone (over) there. I don't know the language, or anything." She was deported only three days after her arrest, one of the few Iranian nationals removed since fighting between the U.S. and Iran began, as deportations of Iranians have otherwise nearly halted because Iran and other countries have been unwilling to issue travel documents.

A woman's husband has been held in ICE detention for six months while legal efforts to secure his release have been unsuccessful. She is now caring alone for their four daughters, ages 1, 2, 4, and 7, and has launched a fundraiser to cover household expenses, travel costs, and money for her husband to communicate and buy necessities while detained.

Edgar Cabrera Gomez was struck by an ICE agent's patrol vehicle after a traffic stop of a van on the Liberty Expressway in Dougherty County, Georgia. Authorities said all occupants fled the van on foot toward a wooded area, and Gomez fell in the median where he became lodged under the ICE vehicle. His family disputes claims that he was driving, saying he was only injured because agents ran him over while he was running. ICE agents were still searching for the other two occupants of the van.

Angel Ivan Chavez Salas, a father of two who works as an HVAC technician in Decatur, Georgia, was arrested by ICE agents outside his home on August 16. He arrived in the U.S. lawfully on a visa in 2016 and applied for asylum after fleeing political persecution in Peru, regularly attending immigration interviews but never having had a hearing before a judge. His attorney, Peter Isbister, said Chavez Salas has no criminal history. He was held at the D. Ray James Processing Center in southeast Georgia awaiting a court date. Students at Decatur High School, including a friend of his son, organized an online fundraiser that raised nearly $20,000 from more than 300 donors to support his family. A judge later granted him a $10,000 bond, allowing his release while he continues fighting his asylum case.

Anthony Tyrone Higgs, a Bahamas national who was admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident in October 1976, was arrested by ICE Homeland Security Investigations agents on September 3 in Decatur, Georgia. DHS said Higgs has a lengthy criminal history including weapons offenses, grand larceny, armed robbery, domestic violence and assault on a police officer, and has been placed in removal proceedings seeking to revoke his residency status. DHS also said an investigation confirmed Higgs illegally voted in the 2020 election, and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Higgs would be removed from the country as a result. The agency noted the arrest follows a June directive instructing ICE to pursue stricter penalties, including deportation, for noncitizens who vote illegally. Higgs remains in ICE custody while removal proceedings continue.

A federal magistrate judge in the Southern District of Georgia denied the Trump administration's attempt to dismiss a habeas petition filed by Ya'akub Vijandre, who has been held in ICE detention for nearly a year over his speech and advocacy. The ruling allows his case to proceed to a district judge for further review. Advocates say the decision is a step toward his potential release from custody.

Indi Veitia, a 47-year-old Venezuelan asylum-seeker who lives in Indianapolis with her wife and worked her way up from a warehouse job to a corporate position, was detained by ICE officers while walking to her gate at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport during a work trip. She said plain-clothes officers slammed her against the jetway wall, handcuffed her, and transported her in an unmarked vehicle before transferring her to a detention center in Lumpkin, Georgia, where she spent 21 days in a windowless dormitory with more than 60 other women sharing four toilets and showers, at times without running water or power, describing the conditions as 'inhumane.' Veitia entered the U.S. on a work visa in 2019 and later applied for asylum, holding a valid work permit and driver's license while her application had been pending since 2020. She was released on bond after friends and her employer wrote supporting letters and secured lawyers, but now wears a GPS ankle monitor and must report to the ICE field office in Indianapolis under a court order. Her attorney said asylum applicants like her are 'low-hanging fruit' for detention despite following legal processes, while DHS said a pending asylum application does not confer legal status. Veitia said, 'I have done everything that the government have asked me to do.'

John Phillips, a U.S. citizen and frequent traveler with TSA PreCheck, was handcuffed by ICE agents at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport while boarding a Delta flight to Las Vegas. Delta employees had directed him to board last, citing technical issues, before agents stopped him on the jetway, pinned him against the wall, and handcuffed him despite his telling them he was a citizen. Agents held him for several minutes, using facial recognition on his phone and showing him a photo of a British national who shared his name and birthdate, before confirming his identity and releasing him to board his flight. Phillips said the experience was a "big awakening" that gave him new empathy for immigrants who fear being targeted by ICE. He is seeking clarification about Delta's role in the incident, including what information the airline may have provided to ICE. DHS acknowledged the case, saying the agency takes responsibility for protecting the public and conducting operations professionally and lawfully.

Sofía Pineda Cardona, 20, and her parents, Nora Elena Cardona Bravo and Leonardo Pineda Hernández, were detained by ICE agents at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on August 13 while preparing to board a flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a birthday celebration. The family, originally from Armenia, Colombia, had chosen to fly instead of drive for the trip. Sofía's boyfriend, Nicholas Kim, a U.S. citizen she had been dating for about eight months, was traveling with them but was not detained. The family had legally entered the U.S. on tourist visas and later filed an affirmative asylum application with USCIS; their attorney, Julio Moreno, said they had work permits and no criminal record. DHS confirmed the three had overstayed their authorized period and said their cases would go before an immigration judge. They are being held at Stewart Detention Center in Georgia, and their attorney has requested bond so they can continue their case outside detention.

Mikel Junior Sanchez Ortiz, a 24-year-old Venezuelan man, was beaten and taken into custody early on August 19 while driving to work with his girlfriend, Haklin Olivares, 22, on Dawsonville Highway in Gainesville, Georgia. Olivares said several men in a truck stopped them, demanded their licenses, forced open the car doors, and struck Sanchez Ortiz until he bled before pulling him out; she was released after the men said her immigration status was in order but his was not. Sanchez Ortiz later told her by phone that his nose and mouth were injured internally, with a cut on his forehead and marks on his neck from being grabbed. Olivares said the men confiscated her phone and demanded she delete photos of the incident, and said she is uncertain whether they were ICE agents or bounty hunters. The couple has a pending asylum case with a court date scheduled for 2027, hold valid work permits and driver's licenses, and say they have no criminal record. Sanchez Ortiz is being held at Stewart Detention Center in southwest Georgia, and Olivares started a GoFundMe seeking $1,600 to support him.

A 24-year-old Venezuelan man, identified as Mikel Junior Sanchez Ortiz, says he suffered a broken nose and other injuries when he was pulled from a car and beaten while heading to work in Gainesville, Georgia. His girlfriend, who was in the vehicle, says six black SUVs surrounded them, agents forced open the door, and his phone was taken. He is now held at the Stewart Detention Center, and his girlfriend has started a GoFundMe to help cover costs. The incident comes the same week members of Congress visited Stewart Detention Center and raised concerns about overcrowding, lack of care, and poor conditions there.

An 18-year-old and his father were detained during a required immigration check-in, according to the ACLU of North Carolina. The pair were held at a detention facility in Georgia before being granted bond, and the son was released on Aug. 7, 2026.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement concluded Operation Safe Community-Atlanta on August 7, 2026, with 1,226 arrests across Georgia in one of the largest single-state immigration enforcement operations in recent memory. According to ICE, 720 of those arrested had been charged with or convicted of crimes in the United States, including sex crimes, crimes against children, assault, drug violations, burglary, weapons offenses, and impaired driving. All 1,226 people arrested violated U.S. immigration law. The operation was conducted across multiple Georgia jurisdictions with participation from federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, including five arrests at a local trucking company. The operation occurred during a period of increased ICE enforcement, as the agency set a new monthly record high for detentions in July with more than 46,000 arrests nationwide.

A Guatemalan man was arrested by ICE during what his family describes as a violent encounter that left him with a broken nose, missing and chipped teeth, and cuts and bruises on his head and hands. He was Tasered during the arrest and subsequently hospitalized. After being taken into ICE detention, his family reports he has not received proper medical care and struggles to breathe.

ICE agents conducted an enforcement operation at a Chevron gas station on Atlanta Highway in Forsyth County, detaining approximately 15 day laborers seeking work. Surveillance video shows agents chasing men through the parking lot and forcibly detaining them, with one agent knocking a man into a wall before handcuffing him. Business owner Jose Arellano, who had hired some of the detained men for his pressure washing company, expressed concern about the impact on local businesses and the community. The raid has left the area's day laborer population fearful, affecting local businesses that relied on this workforce.

Tangieth Paola Carrasquero Lopez, 23, a Venezuelan asylum seeker with polycystic ovary syndrome, hepatic steatosis, and obesity, has been held at Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia since her July 27, 2026 detention during a scheduled immigration check-in. She says she has received only ibuprofen for abdominal pain and numbness, and that detention food is heavy in carbohydrates her doctor warned she cannot tolerate. A DHS spokesperson said she initially denied needing urgent care at intake but has since tested positive for PCOS and been placed on a chronic care list; her gastroenterologist, Dr. Arnaldo Jimenez, continues to request access to her prescribed Tirzepatide and ongoing monitoring. Her partner, Andres, said she remains unable to continue her necessary medical treatment.

A Latino man was arrested by ICE agents in Smyrna, Georgia while walking to cash his weekly paycheck. According to witnesses, a federal agent exited a vehicle with his gun drawn and pointed at the man without stated cause, followed by other agents who tackled him to the ground and handcuffed him. The man has lived in the U.S. since 2001, has no criminal record, and communicated to family members that the arrest was a traumatic experience.

Kiko, a construction worker who has lived in the Atlanta area for nearly twenty years, was arrested by ICE agents on Tuesday morning while stopped at a QuikTrip with five coworkers on their way to a job site. According to his niece Victoria Garcia, agents surrounded the parked van with Tasers drawn before taking Kiko into custody. He has been held at the Atlanta ICE field office and was briefly transferred to Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin before being returned to Atlanta. Kiko supports himself and sends money to family members in Mexico, and had previously avoided travel out of caution regarding immigration enforcement.