Human Impact Project

Fatou Traore, a custodian at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and member of AFSCME Council 61, Local 12, was detained by plainclothes ICE agents on September 24, 2026, while driving to pick up her sister for work in Iowa City. She held a 2011 'withholding of removal' order, but ICE said she had a final 2011 removal order and had used fraudulent travel documents to enter the country. She was moved through detention facilities in Cedar Rapids, Hardin County, and Omaha before being transferred to ICE's Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana, where her son Esoumaila Diallo said she was denied access to an attorney, a judge, and phone calls before being told she could leave 'peacefully or by force.' She was deported on October 12 to Sierra Leone, a country she had never visited, before a federal judge ruled on her attorneys' pending motion to stay removal, and her request for a credible fear interview was ignored. She leaves behind her husband, Oumar Diallo, and four U.S.-citizen sons ages 3, 8, 14 and 19, and had worked at the hospital for over a decade. Coworkers, the worker center Escucha Mi Voz Iowa, the Iowa City Catholic Worker, the Immigrant Welcome Network, faith leaders, and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks organized petitions and rallies calling on DHS to facilitate her return, while the family raised money for legal fees and resettlement costs.

Paul Jack Cobby Essel, 51, a grants accounting manager at Missouri State University and a native of Ghana, was arrested by ICE off campus in Springfield around 1:20 p.m. on Oct. 7, 2026, and booked into the Greene County Jail, where he is being held without bond. Essel entered the U.S. legally on a student visa in 2003, earned two graduate degrees at MSU between 2008 and 2014, and has worked at the university since 2010, serving as grants accounting manager since 2019. His removal order stems from a 2015 immigration judge ruling that his first marriage to a U.S. citizen was fraudulent; he remarried a U.S. citizen weeks later, and though her 2018 petition on his behalf was approved, subsequent motions to reopen his case were denied, including by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in December 2023. Essel has no criminal record aside from two minor driving offenses, is married with three children, and is an active member of the Springfield Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, having recently offered a prayer at the groundbreaking for its new Springfield temple. Neighbors describe his family as 'humble, gracious, generous,' and Missouri State called him a 'valued, long-standing member' of the university community, placing him on paid administrative leave. A community petition titled 'Bring Paul Home' asks ICE to pause his deportation and allow him to remain with his family while his attorneys continue pursuing his case.

Fidel was detained by ICE, leaving his fiancée Ciara facing the prospect of raising their child alone. Ciara is raising funds to cover legal costs, bond, rent, and household bills as she fights to bring him home and keep their family together.

A St. Louis mother with no criminal history was detained by ICE three months postpartum, while still breastfeeding, despite an ICE policy against detaining breastfeeding mothers outside "exceptional circumstances." ICE ignored the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights' request to release her under the policy. It took days for social workers to set up an account on the detainee tablet system so she could message her family, and she went weeks without even seeing her infant.

Dammy Idowu, legally known as Ayomide Idowu, came to the United States at age six and was later granted federal humanitarian protection and deferred action valid through January 2028 due to neglect she suffered as a juvenile. She was homeless for most of high school yet achieved a 4.3 GPA, later graduated college with honors, and works full time as a data scientist. Despite having no criminal history, she was detained by ICE on September 21, 2026, and friends and family have retained a legal team across multiple states to fight for her release, restore her deferred action and employment authorization, and challenge a final removal order.

A Maryland Heights, Missouri man who worked as a U.S. military interpreter and cultural adviser during Operation Enduring Freedom was detained by ICE and FBI agents outside his home as he left for a morning run. He entered the U.S. legally in 2014 through the Special Immigrant Visa program and is a green card holder who built a life with his wife, Cata Estrada, and their children, including one born weeks before his arrest. A scientist with multiple degrees who hoped to become a doctor, he is also a plaintiff in a 2023 federal lawsuit over being placed on terrorist watchlists. ICE alleges he provided material support to a terrorist organization, citing a 2021 FBI search warrant linking him to a group associated with al-Qaida, and claims he lied on his 2019 naturalization application. He denies the allegations and says his rights as a permanent resident have been violated, seeking a jury trial. He is being held at the Ste. Genevieve County Detention Center in Missouri, with an immigration court hearing scheduled for September 14 in Kansas City.

Arturo Garcia Becerril was pulled over and arrested on August 21 while traveling between jobs, then taken into ICE custody where he has remained in detention. His children say he has a clean record and has always worked hard to support his family, but ICE is allegedly conflating him with another person who has had prior immigration issues. His family is worried about his well-being in detention because he has diabetes, and they are raising money to cover his attorney fees.

Angel Acosta Ramirez, 43, a former mechanical engineer from Venezuela who later worked as an Uber driver in Branson, was pulled over by the Christian County Sheriff's Office for allegedly speeding near Highlandville in January 2026. Despite holding a valid work visa, he was arrested and jailed on an immigration hold, spending six weeks in the Greene County Jail before being deported. He had fled Venezuela in 2022 with his wife, Maria Fernanda Arrioja Romero, their infant son Santiago, and his parents, believing he had a right to remain in the U.S. Acosta Ramirez said the hardest part of his detention was being separated from his wife and not knowing what would happen to their young son. His wife was later held for months in the same Greene County Jail, which contracts with ICE to detain hundreds of immigrants daily. Acosta Ramirez said life since his deportation has been 'really hard,' with his family now struggling to earn enough money to survive.

Laurentino Matuz Reyes, 39, a Mexican national, was detained by ICE agents at the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo after his lawful entry authorization expired in 2022. Local law enforcement encountered him at the event, and he was taken into ICE custody along with two other individuals. He remained in custody pending removal proceedings.

Melqui David Lopez Diaz, a 22-year-old Mexican national, was detained by ICE agents at the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo after local law enforcement encountered him at the event. His lawful entry authorization had expired in 2023. He was taken into ICE custody along with two other individuals at the rodeo and remained in custody pending removal proceedings. His family described his detention as their worst nightmare.

Four individuals were detained by ICE personnel at the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo during the weekend. The detentions occurred when attendees presented international identification at age-verification checkpoints for alcohol purchases. During verification of the identification documents, issues regarding immigration status were raised, prompting ICE agents already present at the rodeo to respond and detain the individuals. Law enforcement checks indicated all four had existing immigration-related matters in federal systems.

Luis Alberto Ramirez Zavala, a Chicago-area man who had spent most of his life working as a ranch hand in rural Illinois, was detained by ICE during a routine appointment with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Missouri on July 18, 2026, regarding his pending application for legal status. He had no criminal record and had been following the immigration process for years to adjust his status. Ramirez Zavala was detained based on a removal order issued more than 30 years ago. He was transferred from a county jail in Missouri to an ICE detention facility in Texas and deported to Mexico approximately two weeks after his arrest. His daughter, Air Force Tech. Sgt. Wendy Gbeve, was present at his USCIS appointment and has been advocating for his release. Ramirez Zavala was married for 30 years to a legal permanent resident. His family expressed being heartbroken by the separation and sought funds for legal defense and support.

Boanerges Flores-Bravo and his wife Alba Matamoro-Hernandez came to Missouri from Nicaragua in 2022 seeking asylum, saying it was unsafe to return because Flores-Bravo had worked for the Nicaraguan government. Both worked for the Maplewood-Richmond Heights School District, where staff described them as model employees, and their 8-year-old daughter attends school in the same district. The couple attended every scheduled ICE check-in, but during a routine appointment on May 18, 2026, agents detained Flores-Bravo despite assurances he would not be arrested, while Matamoro-Hernandez was placed on an ankle monitor under the Alternatives to Detention program. He was transferred from a Missouri detention center to Richwood Correctional Center in Louisiana, where Rep. Wesley Bell said he was coerced into signing voluntary self-deportation paperwork after being threatened that his family would be detained if he refused. He was deported to Nicaragua in June 2026, and Matamoro-Hernandez later signed up for voluntary departure, planning to leave with their daughter in summer 2026. Court records show no criminal history for either of them, and Matamoro-Hernandez said their daughter has struggled with the separation.

A man described by a St. Louis Archdiocese spokesman as living a devout Catholic life was arrested by ICE after helping his daughter enlist in the U.S. Army. The spokesman said he has been treated poorly despite being 'just like the rest of us.' Further details on the man's background and legal status were not provided.

Nixon Giovanni Pérez Paz, 43, and his wife Glendy Marisol González de la Cruz, 25, were found bound and shot dead in a sugarcane field in Guatemala weeks after González de la Cruz self-deported to rejoin her husband. Pérez Paz was arrested by ICE agents in an unmarked vehicle near his home in Overland, Missouri in March 2025 while driving to work with his brother; he and his brother were undocumented immigrants who had fled violence and poverty from Central America. González de la Cruz had an active asylum case but worked two manual labor jobs while raising their three young daughters, including a newborn born in June 2025. Fearing detention and separation from her children, she chose to self-deport to be with Pérez Paz in Guatemala. Their 14-month-old daughter was found crying beside her mother's body and showed signs of dehydration; she was taken to a medical center and is recovering. Her brother-in-law is now caring for the three orphaned children.

Federal ICE agents detained a man in St. Charles, Missouri. According to witnesses, an agent slammed the handcuffed man's face into a stone wall while he was restrained. The video also shows agents confronting a bystander who was recording from a public area, chasing him, pushing him backward, and pointing what appeared to be a taser in his direction. Courts have generally recognized a First Amendment right to record law-enforcement officers performing public duties.

Eight workers were detained during an ICE and Homeland Security Investigations operation at La Fontanella Foods, a food manufacturing warehouse in Kansas City's Historic Northeast, on July 9, 2026. The operation began around 9:45 a.m. and lasted approximately two and a half hours, involving seven to ten federal agents and Jackson County sheriff deputies. A worker reported that agents initially stated no one would be taken into custody and were there only to obtain documents, but later detained the eight people. Agents removed boxes of documents and computers from the facility. Federal officials claimed they were executing a federal criminal search warrant, but no witnesses or employees saw the warrant, and one officer acknowledged not personally carrying a copy. The operation was part of intensified ICE enforcement across the Kansas City metro during June and July 2026.

A stay-at-home father of four young children, including a 4-year-old, was detained by five ICE agents in tactical gear from his front yard on July 9, 2026, while mowing his lawn. His wife was asleep inside and his children woke to find him gone without any opportunity for him to explain what happened. Neighbor Stephen Parish witnessed the arrest, which took only minutes, and noted the family's distress. As of July 10, the man remained in custody. His case exemplifies the dozens of ICE arrests reported across the Kansas City metro during an intensified enforcement surge in June and July 2026.

On June 29, four ICE vehicles conducted operations across Kansas City, Missouri. Agents moved down Truman Road and Indiana in the Northeast, then to an apartment complex at 23rd and Topping, where they demanded identification and dragged residents from their own doorways.

A three-day joint operation between the Pettis County Sheriff's Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from June 23-25, 2026 resulted in 18 arrests in Sedalia, Missouri. ICE confirmed that five individuals from Mexico were arrested, some with prior criminal histories including DUI and failure to appear charges. Sheriff Brad Anders stated the operation targeted individuals previously identified as fugitives or connected to existing criminal investigations, including those with violent criminal histories, outstanding warrants, sexual offenses, and gang affiliations. The operation was conducted under an ICE Task Force Model agreement signed by the Pettis County Sheriff's Office in April 2026, which authorizes local officers to identify and arrest individuals believed to be undocumented under ICE supervision. Multiple residents reported observing arrests at several businesses in the area, and the operation drew criticism from some Sedalia residents concerned about economic impacts on local businesses and industries reliant on immigrant labor.