Human Impact Project

U.S. citizens, including Native Americans and a military veteran, have been detained and questioned during Trump administration immigration raids. Witnesses report that those caught in ICE operations are being targeted based on race or skin color, with Navajo Nation citizens experiencing particularly problematic encounters. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said he has received accounts of "negative and sometimes traumatizing" encounters and advised tribal members to carry identification and their Certificate of Indian Blood. The seafood wholesaler owner in Newark reported that ICE targeted certain types of people while ignoring white and Portuguese workers, and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka denounced the raid, saying the detained veteran "suffered the indignity" of the encounter.

Brazil's government responded after 88 of its nationals arrived in the country handcuffed following their deportation from the United States. The Brazilian government called the treatment degrading and a flagrant disregard for fundamental rights and demanded an explanation from Washington. Colombia announced it would not allow US deportation flights to land in the country, turning away military aircraft carrying deported migrants.

Brazilian migrants deported from the United States arrived at Belo Horizonte International Airport on January 25, 2025, reporting abuse, threats, and degrading treatment by U.S. immigration agents during their deportation flight. The deportees reported they were handcuffed for 50 hours without air conditioning, subjected to poor conditions, and opened an emergency door to alert Brazilian authorities. The Brazilian government requested explanations from the Trump administration regarding the treatment of the passengers.

An Iranian national entered the United States on January 19, 2025, seeking asylum based on political and religious persecution. After an immigration judge denied his asylum application on May 6, 2025, he was granted withholding of removal and placed in mandatory post-final-removal-order detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1231. After 431 days in federal immigration custody, he filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the lawfulness of his prolonged detention, arguing removal was not significantly likely in the foreseeable future. On July 30, 2026, he voluntarily dismissed his petition after his asylum application was granted upon reconsideration by the immigration court.

An unnamed migrant who returned to a mountain town in Michoacán took a job managing a cattle herd for a local rancher. The rancher had not obtained required vetting and approval from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel before hiring the outsider. Upon discovering the unauthorized employment, sicarios arrived at the migrant's home and fired multiple rounds of bullets into the building. The worker fled out the back door as gunmen stormed in, losing all his possessions. He subsequently went into hiding in Michoacán's capital.