Human Impact Project

Pilar, a Peruvian woman, told immigration attorney Migladys Bermudez that she had tried to escape an abusive boyfriend and had used makeup to cover marks he left on her face, but he accused her of being the abuser, leading to her arrest. She was detained at the North Lake Processing Center in west Michigan, where charges against her were dropped or never filed. While detained, she connected with other immigrant domestic violence victims, passing around a tablet so others could seek legal help.

Leya, a recent immigrant from Cuba with a pending immigration case, said her boyfriend repeatedly abused her, including punching her in the face and isolating her from friends and family. In April, after police responded to an argument at their apartment complex in Wyoming, Michigan, officers arrested Leya rather than her boyfriend on suspicion of domestic assault and interfering with a 911 call. She was later detained at North Lake Processing Center and separated from her nursing daughter, who she said stopped calling her 'Mamá' during video visits.

Enrique Hernández Díaz, a lawful permanent resident and owner of a roofing company, was detained by ICE agents at a gas station in Ypsilanti, Michigan, after agents intercepted a group of his workers while searching for someone with a criminal record allegedly connected to the vehicle they were traveling in. One of his employees was detained and taken away by agents. Hernández Díaz was handcuffed and held because he did not have his green card with him, and he said agents threw him to the ground, injuring his elbow, knee, and forehead, requiring a hospital visit. His wife, Roxanna Álvarez Cruz, arrived minutes later with his residency card; agents told her he would not be released until his immigration status was confirmed. After his status was verified, Hernández Díaz was released.

A green card holder was detained by ICE officers outside a Speedway gas station on West Michigan Avenue in Ypsilanti Township on the morning of Sept. 30, 2026. Witness Lanae Bass said she saw the man handcuffed on the ground with three immigration officers on top of him, screaming, and that he asked her to call his wife. After the man's wife arrived and showed his identification and green card, officers slowly released him; Bass said he had a bruise on his knee and red marks on his wrists. A crowd of community members gathered, blocked ICE vehicles from leaving, and Washtenaw County Sheriff's deputies were called to the scene to de-escalate the situation after ICE reported it as unsafe.

A man identified by the initials OBP, a Mexican citizen previously removed from the U.S. in 2022, was approached by Border Patrol agents near Washtenaw Avenue and Pittsfield Boulevard in Ann Arbor on the night of May 28. He fled, tripped, and struck his face on the pavement, sustaining cuts and a contusion, and was taken to Trinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital for treatment while remaining in custody. Nurse Chloe Renae Freeman, 33, has been criminally charged with helping him escape after allegedly directing staff to keep him in a CT scan room, removing his IV, and guiding him out through the ambulance bay doors. Freeman told investigators she disagreed with ICE's practice of separating families and acknowledged the man could have died from his untreated injuries. He has not been located since his disappearance.

Salman FNU, an Indonesian man who came to the U.S. on a work visa in 2015, was taken into ICE custody on Sept. 25, 2026 while on his way to Kabucki Japanese Restaurant in Flint, Michigan, which he co-owns with his wife, U.S. citizen Ashley Parker. Five other restaurant employees, four from Indonesia and one from Mexico, were also detained in the preceding weeks, including two who held valid work visas; two of the employees have since been deported. Parker said Salman had reapplied for his work visa and had not heard back before his detention, and described him as the family's breadwinner who pays for his children's tuition and provides free meals to the community weekly. The restaurant has closed, putting seven U.S. citizens out of work, and Salman is being held at an ICE detention facility in Baldwin, Michigan awaiting a bond hearing.

Mario David Coronado Juarez, a 36-year-old Guatemalan construction worker from Tuichilupe village in Comitancillo, San Marcos, died Sunday, Sept. 20, when his vehicle struck a tree and burst into flames in Grand Rapids, Michigan, while fleeing an attempted ICE traffic stop. He had worked in the U.S. for six to seven years to support his wife, two daughters and a son, and was building a house for his family. DHS said ICE officers had been trying to stop him to confirm his identity, mistaking him for a different Guatemalan man they were seeking, and that officers discontinued the pursuit and tried to render aid after the crash. Community members, including volunteer Karla Barberi of Cosecha Grand Rapids, described him as "a hard-working man for the working class" and "an honest man" who "was not a criminal." Grand Rapids Police Chief Joseph Trigg requested that Michigan State Police investigate, citing limited cooperation from federal agencies, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered an independent review. Rep. Hillary Scholten sent a letter to ICE demanding a transparent investigation, and the Guatemalan Consulate is coordinating repatriation of his remains while a GoFundMe and community vigil were organized to help his family, who could not initially afford the trip to begin repatriation proceedings.

Retired Wayne County judge Michael Callahan said a convoy of eight armed ICE officers arrived at his metro Detroit home in August, falsely claiming they only intended to place an ankle tether on his foster son, a Congolese refugee who had lived in the U.S. for more than seven years, attended every required ICE check-in, had no criminal record and worked full-time as a truck driver. The officers had no warrant or court order, according to Callahan, and took the foster son into custody once he stepped outside. DHS disputed that officers used a ruse, saying they identified themselves as law enforcement, and a federal court declined to block the deportation after the government cited a 2019 final removal order. About two weeks after his arrest, he was flown to Cameroon, a country where he has no known ties, despite having been granted protection from return to his native Democratic Republic of Congo, which he had fled due to violence tied to his father's political opposition activity.

Mamady Camara, 21, fled Guinea after police allegedly beat him during a crackdown on anti-government protesters, leaving him with a lasting scar. He crossed the southern border in 2023, was released to pursue an asylum claim, and built a life in Ypsilanti, Michigan, earning a high school diploma, attending community college, and working as a caregiver for Hal Rothbart, a disabled Navy veteran. In January, ICE agents arrested him when he arrived for a scheduled appointment in Detroit, and he has remained in detention at North Lake Processing Center for nearly nine months despite having no criminal record. An immigration judge denied his release as a flight risk, his asylum claim was later denied, and he is now appealing to the Board of Immigration Appeals while the Rothbart family raises funds for his legal defense.

A 16-year-old minor was chased by several ICE agents in Livonia, Michigan, and climbed onto a residential rooftop with his hands raised while an agent pointed a gun directly at him. Video shared by @metrodetroitnews shows additional agents then climbing onto the roof and taking him into custody.

Six employees of GLC Property Maintenance, a landscaping company in Highland Township, Michigan, were stopped by nine ICE vehicles while driving to work, an encounter partly captured on video by one worker. The company says all six are legally employed on H-2B visas, and agents released them after reviewing their paperwork. Owner Tyler Ralko, whose parents founded the business 25 years ago, said the employees are hardworking and pay taxes, described the stop as what he believes was a targeted raid, and has contacted an immigration attorney and U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin's office, which he says has been helpful. Ralko said he reached out to ICE for an explanation but has not heard back, and other local landscaping businesses have since contacted him, taking the incident as a reminder for H-2B workers to keep their paperwork on hand at all times.

Vic Bud, who has lived in the United States since 1987, is being held in ICE custody at the Northlake Detention Center under a final deportation order to Romania. He is married to a U.S. citizen and has five U.S. citizen children, ages 2 to 14, who depend on him as the family's sole breadwinner. His wife launched a fundraiser to cover rent, daily expenses, and relocation costs as the family prepares to move to Romania to stay together.

Wilmar Quintero, a 50-year-old transgender woman from Venezuela, fled her home country after she said police officers tortured her, carved out her breast implants and left her for dead for speaking out against civil rights abuses. She sought asylum in the United States and was detained for about three months in Michigan, where she said she was sexually assaulted by another migrant and mistreated by staff. Immigration officials deported her to Venezuela in April 2025, where she went into hiding, saying she remains afraid of police there.

On July 25, 2026, ICE agents detained nine undocumented workers installing fiber-optic cables at a construction site near North Center Road and Summit Drive in Saginaw Township, Michigan. Witnesses described the men as hard workers who had been part of the construction crew for months. Plainclothes agents in tactical vests arrived in unmarked vehicles, and the operation lasted approximately 15 minutes; three workers attempted to flee but were quickly apprehended. The workers' vehicles and equipment were left behind at the site. DHS confirmed the arrests on July 28, stating the men would remain in ICE custody pending removal or removal proceedings, but did not disclose their names, ages, nationalities, or detention location. Sources indicated the men may have been taken to the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin. Community members left handmade signs and flowers at the site in solidarity, and demonstrations followed the arrests.

Sanan Atou, 43, says he was placed in solitary confinement for about three weeks in January at North Lake Processing Center after sharing food with detainees who could not afford commissary items. He described poor heating in the isolation cell, saying, "I felt like I was going to freeze to death. I didn't know if I was going to wake up." A federal data analysis found North Lake recorded only 13 uses of solitary confinement in all of 2025, compared with 30 in March 2026 alone. The facility has also faced scrutiny following the death of detainee Nenko Stanev Gantchev and a hunger strike over conditions.

Luis Jaime-Fortin, 29, was involved in a traffic crash in Zilwaukee on July 7, 2026, after allegedly failing to yield while driving without a license, insurance, registration, or identification. Zilwaukee Police Chief Jason Wise contacted federal immigration authorities to verify his identity, then cited him for driving without a license and failing to yield before releasing him at the scene without arrest. Jaime-Fortin was later among nine workers arrested in the July 25 ICE raid at a Saginaw Township fiber optic worksite. The Latino Caucus of the Saginaw County Democratic Party criticized Wise's decision to involve federal immigration authorities, while Wise defended his actions by citing public safety concerns.

Alejandro Emilio Visbal Mendoza, an asylum-seeker from Ann Arbor, Michigan, was deported to Venezuela and died when the building where deportees were being housed collapsed following devastating earthquakes. His family spent days searching through hospital lists, morgues, and social media after losing contact with him following his deportation flight.

A lawful permanent resident with a valid green card was unexpectedly detained by ICE at an airport in Michigan while returning home from a family vacation. He has lived in the United States since childhood. He is now facing immigration proceedings that could separate him from his home and family. His supporters are fundraising for legal representation to help him fight his case.

A male from El Salvador was detained by ICE agents during a targeted vehicle stop on June 19, 2026, at 303 E. Cesar Chavez Ave. in Lansing. According to DHS, the individual admitted to unauthorized entry in 2020 and had a final judicial order of removal to Guatemala issued June 9, 2026. He is currently in ICE custody at North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan.

A mother of a student at Scarlett Middle School was detained by ICE around 8:30 a.m. on June 3, 2026, in a business parking lot in the 3500 block of Washtenaw Avenue in Ann Arbor, Michigan, according to the school's parent-teacher organization. As of June 5, the school community had raised about $4,800 to support the family, and Ann Arbor Public Schools said it is working with them. ICE did not respond to requests for comment, and Ann Arbor police confirmed they did not make an arrest in the area that morning. The PTSO president said this is the second known detention of a Scarlett Middle School parent and that she has been hearing of near-daily immigration enforcement activity around Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.