Human Impact Project

Erika was arrested by ICE agents on January 10 during a traffic stop on County Road 42 in Burnsville, Minnesota, as part of Operation Metro Surge. She was transferred to federal immigration detention in El Paso, Texas. She had no prior removal order and only misdemeanor traffic infractions. She filed for cancellation of removal and is awaiting a second immigration court hearing, remaining detained over five months after her arrest.

Minnesota resident Nicole Cleland, who was observing ICE and CBP activity as a legal observer, was stopped by federal agents on January 10 after following their vehicle. An agent told her they used facial recognition technology to identify her. Three days later, her Global Entry and TSA PreCheck privileges were revoked, which Cleland believes was retaliation for her observation activities.

Federal immigration officers detained a contractor at General Mills' Chanhassen manufacturing facility in mid-January. Video of the incident circulated on social media. The detention occurred as part of increased ICE enforcement activity at Minnesota workplaces, affecting major companies.

Juan Manuel Arellano Zepeda, a 48-year-old Mexican national and owner of El Fresco restaurant in Bloomington, was detained by ICE on January 6 and held in El Paso, Texas. Arellano Zepeda, who has lived in the U.S. for 25 years and has a pending Visa T application, was initially reported missing by his family after they found his car empty with the driver's side window rolled down. His daughter Laura Janyra Arellano Molina told Newsweek that her father called to say he was being taken to El Paso, and the family later identified him in ICE facility photos posted on social media. The restaurant described Arellano Zepeda as "always characterized by his kindness and respect toward his customers and the public." His family said he has no criminal record and has not had a court hearing as of the article's publication.

Maria Trinidad Loya Medina was detained by ICE on January 10, 2026, after her arrest outside a store in Albany, Oregon, separating her from her family for four months. A federal judge ordered her release on May 7, finding that an immigration judge had abused discretion and violated her due process rights in denying bond. Loya Medina, who has lived in the U.S. for over 20 years and has no criminal record, was the primary caregiver for her husband who had suffered a stroke and her children, one of whom was diagnosed with depression following her detention.