Human Impact Project

Idris Makhmudov, a Russian citizen of Chechen origin born in Kazakhstan, was detained by immigration authorities at the Nogales, Arizona border crossing on July 13, 2024, after requesting entry, and spent nearly 27 months at the GEO Group-run Folkston D. Ray James ICE Processing Center in Georgia without being charged with a crime. He helped organize a mass hunger strike involving at least 73 detainees from countries including Russia, China, Sudan, Afghanistan, Nepal and Yemen, protesting prolonged detention and conditions such as inadequate medical care, moldy food and dirty water, and helped prepare a June collective appeal signed by 45 detainees. His attorney, Samantha Hamilton, said he and others who spoke out in a video about conditions were placed in segregation as retaliation. A federal judge denied his motion challenging the legality of his detention on September 28, overruling a magistrate's recommendation for a bail hearing, and he was deported on a commercial flight through Morocco after refusing food and water for four days, reportedly losing consciousness during the journey. His representative said ICE indicated his appeal would continue to be reviewed and he could be returned if it succeeded, though this has not been independently verified.

Approximately 500 detainees at the GEO Group-run Folkston ICE Processing Center in Charlton County, Georgia, launched a hunger strike protesting poor living conditions and alleged violations of asylum protocols while they await judicial hearings, according to family members, legal representatives, and detainee accounts. Attorney Samantha Hamilton of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta said about 372 men in the facility's F building and K5 pod are striking, along with an estimated 150 more in other buildings, with the protest timed ahead of an Oct. 6 facility inspection. Detainees reported undrinkable water causing rashes and hair loss, inadequate food, sleep conditions and medical care, and said many have been held for months or years despite following legal asylum procedures. The facility, where a detainee died in 2024 after what ICE's own report called inadequate medical care, is being expanded under a $47 million contract to become the largest permanent ICE detention center in the country.

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.

Federal agents from ICE, Border Patrol, FBI, DEA, IRS, and ATF raided the Hyundai-LG battery plant megasite in Bryan County, Georgia, in September 2025, detaining about 450-475 workers in what Homeland Security Investigations called the largest single-site immigration enforcement action in its history. Roughly 300 of those detained were South Korean nationals, mostly employed by HL-GA Battery Company LLC and LG Energy Solutions, with ICE alleging many had overstayed visa waivers or held B-1 visas not authorizing manual labor; at least one worker with valid documentation was also arrested. Search warrants indicated investigators were probing a conspiracy to harbor undocumented workers, and agents seized employment records, computers, and storage drives. South Korea's president and foreign minister raised concerns over the workers' treatment and negotiated their return, while South Korean President Lee Jae Myung warned the raid could deter future Korean investment in the U.S. The raid halted construction, delaying the plant's opening by two to three months, though some South Korean workers later returned to Georgia and resumed their jobs by November 2025. One year after the raid, the Department of Justice confirmed no criminal charges had been filed and the federal court case was closed, with no consequences for the companies that employed the workers.

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 pulled from his car and beaten while driving to work with his girlfriend, Haklin Olivares, 22, on Dawsonville Highway in Gainesville, Georgia, on August 19. Olivares said men in trucks surrounded their vehicle, forced open the doors, struck Sanchez Ortiz until he bled, and confiscated her phone, demanding she delete photos; she said she is unsure whether the men were ICE agents or bounty hunters. Sanchez Ortiz suffered a broken nose, internal mouth injuries, a cut on his forehead, and neck marks from being grabbed, and is now held at Stewart Detention Center. The couple has a pending asylum case with a 2027 court date, hold valid work permits and driver's licenses, and say they have no criminal record. Olivares started a GoFundMe seeking $1,600 to support him. The incident occurred the same week members of Congress visited Stewart Detention Center and raised concerns about overcrowding and poor conditions.

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.