Human Impact Project

Laurie Eckman, 84, and her husband Richard Eckman, 84, a Vietnam war veteran, say they were knocked to the ground and struck with a projectile by federal agents on October 5, 2025, while peacefully protesting outside an ICE building in South Portland. The couple, who live nearby and walk past the building daily, joined the protest spontaneously after seeing it from their kitchen window. Laurie Eckman said the officers charged at them with "no warning" and "no apparent reason," knocking Richard down despite his use of a walker. Eye-witnesses confirmed their account to The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Francisco Miranda, a U.S. citizen born in California, was arrested by ICE agents outside his workplace in Milwaukie, Oregon. While being detained, Miranda repeatedly told agents he was born in California, but they questioned his claim and took him into custody. Miranda recorded part of his arrest before agents confiscated his cellphone. His attorney, Michael Fuller, characterized the arrest as an illegal abduction. Miranda appears to be the first known U.S. citizen arrested by ICE in Oregon this year.

Leilani Payne was pepper-sprayed at point-blank range by a Federal Protection Service officer on October 2, 2025, while protesting outside the Portland ICE facility. She was 19 at the time of the incident. Video footage captured the officer spraying her in the face, and witnesses reported her screaming in agony and struggling to breathe. A nearby Portland Police officer was so concerned for her well-being that he called for an ambulance. Payne, now 20, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Federal Protection Service seeking at least $350,000 in damages. The DHS stated that protesters had been given lawful verbal commands to back away and refused to comply.

A federal agent sprayed mace at a woman protester standing in front of him outside the Portland ICE facility. The incident was captured on video and occurred amid ongoing demonstrations against federal immigration enforcement. Portland Police liaisons were seen collecting video from witnesses, though the PPB stated they lack authority to investigate federal officers operating within the scope of their employment.

Daryn Herzberg, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, alleges he was assaulted by Department of Homeland Security personnel outside an ICE facility in South Portland on August 13, 2025. According to video evidence and his attorney's account, federal agents tackled him to the ground, with one officer grabbing him by the hair and slamming his face into the ground multiple times. Herzberg sustained injuries including a concussion, abrasions, bruising, chest contusions, and breathing issues. On August 27, Herzberg filed a federal lawsuit against DHS alleging battery and unconstitutional use of force. Federal authorities also charged Herzberg with obstructing the facility and throwing objects; his attorney characterizes these charges as bogus and retaliatory.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stopped a U.S. citizen of seven years on Jan. 29 while she was driving to pick up a cake for her grandson's birthday, shattering her car window, dragging her from her vehicle and throwing her to the ground before leaving without calling for medical help. She sustained a torn rotator cuff, a concussion and bruised ribs. On July 28, U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas raised her case at a congressional hearing on ICE accountability, calling for body cameras on immigration agents and independent investigations when agents injure people. Salem Police told her daughter they could not investigate federal officer misconduct and referred her to the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, which has not responded to questions about the stop.

Cottonwood School of Civics and Science relocated from its location next to a Portland ICE facility. The school experienced exposure to chemicals, munitions, and gases on its grounds during summer 2025, prompting cleanup efforts and enrollment decline. The K-8 charter school moved to a new location on Southwest First Avenue before the school year began on September 2.

Miguel Alvarado-Lopez, a worker at Moonshot Tavern in Portland, was apprehended by immigration enforcement agents on January 24 while sitting in his car at a gas station in Northeast Portland. He was transferred to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, then to Arizona, and as of the report was awaiting deportation to Guatemala where his wife and son reside.

J-M-L, a 57-year-old father from Guatemala, was detained by ICE on August 12, 2025, when he and his son arrived at the Eugene Federal Building for an administrative check-in. Both were transported to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. J-M-L had previously entered the United States without authorization on multiple occasions and was considered subject to a final removal order since 2007. The family had been living in Lebanon, Oregon since 2019.

S-M-J, a 19-year-old with a disability from Guatemala, arrived at the Eugene Federal Building on August 12, 2025, for an administrative check-in and was detained by ICE along with his father. An ICE officer presented him with options to sign a voluntary departure order or receive a notice to appear, which U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai characterized as "coercive conduct." The judge's ruling ensured the voluntary departure order would not be enforced. S-M-J had lived in Lebanon, Oregon since 2019 and was a high school graduate.

Roxanne, a 32-year-old transgender woman from Mexico, crossed the Texas border in January 2024 seeking protection from discrimination and violence. She was detained by ICE in Eugene and spent a month in detention. She testified in federal court on August 8, 2025, describing her experiences of physical, sexual, and psychological violence in her home country. U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken found her testimony credible and ruled for her release through a habeas corpus petition, criticizing ICE's written statements as containing "serious inaccuracies."

On July 15, 2025, ICE agents arrested Mahdi Khanbabazadeh, a 38-year-old chiropractor, outside a Montessori preschool in Beaverton, Oregon, while he was dropping off his child. According to ICE, Khanbabazadeh lawfully entered the U.S. in 2017 but overstayed his student visa. His immigration attorney states he married a U.S. citizen who filed a green card application, and they were awaiting approval at the time of arrest. Video of the arrest by masked ICE agents was subsequently published. Khanbabazadeh was detained and held at an immigration detention center in Tacoma, Washington. The arrest marked the first confirmed case of an immigration enforcement action at an Oregon school.

Mahdi Khanbabazadeh, a 38-year-old Iranian chiropractor, was detained by ICE on July 15, 2025, while dropping his child off at Guidepost Montessori School in Beaverton, Oregon. Video footage shows Khanbabazadeh pleading with ICE agents to allow his child to exit the car before his arrest. After he stopped cooperating, ICE officers broke his car window to take him into custody. Khanbabazadeh entered the U.S. on a student visa; ICE claims he overstayed it, while his family states he is married to a U.S. citizen and has already applied and interviewed for a green card. He is currently held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. His detention occurred as part of a broader surge in ICE arrests of Iranian immigrants under the Trump administration.

Jackie Merlos, an undocumented immigrant mother from Honduras with a pending U-visa, was detained by CBP agents on June 28, 2025, at Peace Arch Park near the U.S.-Canada border during a family picnic. Merlos, a well-regarded local business owner who had lived in Portland, Oregon for decades, was held in a CBP facility for 12 days. An ICE agent then called Merlos' friend Mimi Lettunich, demanding she immediately pick up Merlos' four U.S. citizen children—9-year-old triplets and a 7-year-old—or they would be placed in foster care. Lettunich, who had not cared for young children in years and had a full-time job, took the children into her home. Federal authorities attempted to deport Merlos without proper documentation or due process, but a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the children's removal. As of July 2025, Merlos remained in ICE custody at a facility in Tacoma, Washington, separated from her children and facing formal removal proceedings.

Mason Lake, an independent journalist and founder of the Portland-based outlet Channel Heed, was shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents with a pepper round that struck his right arm while he filmed a protest outside an immigration detention center around 10 p.m. on June 13, 2025. The protest followed the arrest of Moisés Sotelo, a Newberg business owner detained by federal immigration agents the day after at least four asylum-seekers were detained outside a Portland courthouse following immigration hearings. Despite wearing clear press markings on his coat, helmet, and belt, ICE agents shot at him multiple times, and Lake believes the ICE Special Response Team was responsible, identifying agents' badges as belonging to the Houston Field Office. Since 2020, Lake has been assaulted at least 14 times while covering Portland protests. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin later said in a statement that journalists should be cautious while covering what she called 'violent riots,' adding that President Trump and Secretary Kristi Noem are 'committed to restoring law and order.' In November 2025, Lake and fellow journalist Hugo Rios filed a federal class-action lawsuit against President Trump, the Department of Homeland Security, and Noem, alleging indiscriminate, retaliatory violence by DHS agents. In March 2026, Lake and Rios won a preliminary injunction protecting journalists against retaliatory violence by DHS agents in Portland.

Jesus, a Venezuelan seeking asylum, was detained by ICE while on his way to work in Southeast Portland. He has no criminal record and has complied with asylum process requirements. His detention has left his Guatemalan partner, who is pregnant and caring for a 9-year-old son, without her partner and primary breadwinner.

A 24-year-old transgender asylum seeker from Mexico was detained by ICE officers outside a Portland immigration courtroom on June 2, 2025, after appearing for a scheduled court hearing. The woman, who fled Mexico after being raped and threatened by cartel members, had applied for asylum in February 2025 and was arrested in the courtroom lobby without being offered legal counsel or opportunity to be heard before detention.

Juan was detained on January 12 and deported in March, separating him from his 2-year-old daughter in Oregon and his 10-year-old daughter in Colombia. His partner Verónica is now struggling to pay for rent, food, diapers, and medical expenses for his daughter's heart surgery.