Human Impact Project

A Honduran father who worked in construction in the Dallas suburbs was detained without explanation in January 2026 when his family attended a routine ICE check-in. The family had requested asylum at the border in 2022 after gang members, wrongly believing his wife had testified against a killer, murdered a young woman they likely mistook for her. Transferred from Texas to a Mississippi detention center, he learned from ICE's online portal that he was being deported for allegedly skipping a court appointment he had not been given the chance to attend, and he was removed to Honduras, where the gang patrols his village. His wife, who cleans buildings at night, skipped her next ICE check-in and moved apartments without telling the government to avoid being separated from their 12-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son; the father now watches the children by video call from Honduras while she works. The son asks visitors when his father is coming home and waits at the window each afternoon for his truck.

Magdalena Callejas had full custody of her 4- and 6-year-old children and a pending visa application when she was arrested at a Border Patrol checkpoint in Texas in March 2024. She says ICE officials told her the agency "did not do that" when she asked to be reunited with her children, so she agreed to leave the country voluntarily, hoping to recover them once she reached El Salvador. Her undocumented ex-partner — who had multiple DUIs and against whom she held a restraining order for abusing her and her son — took the children and filed for custody while she was detained. After a months-long trial, a judge ordered the children returned to her in El Salvador following a 30-day stay and renewed her five-year restraining order, but when the children's neutral caregiver quit, the judge ordered the father to care for them until a pro bono lawyer with Public Counsel could arrange volunteers to transport them.

Angel, a 13-year-old unaccompanied migrant boy from Honduras, appeared without an attorney at a deportation hearing in immigration court in Harlingen, Texas. He told the judge that his mother and most of his family live in the United States and that returning to Honduras would be dangerous, but the judge ruled he did not qualify for asylum. Crying, Angel said he had "no one" and "nothing," and the judge gave him until the end of the month to appeal his deportation order. Dozens of other migrant children, some as young as 2, appeared in the same court without legal representation. Advocates say his case reflects a broader pattern of unaccompanied children nationwide facing an accelerated, confusing immigration process after the Trump administration ended funding for legal service programs for migrant children.

ICE's Dallas field office conducted a summer-long enforcement operation around Lake Lewisville, Texas, running from June 27 through Labor Day weekend, resulting in 121 arrests. The operation was carried out with state and local partners, including the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, U.S. Marshals Service and Lewisville Police Department, allowing local agencies to focus on boating safety enforcement while also supporting investigations into an alleged illegal livery operation on the lake. Officials said those arrested were unlawfully present foreign nationals, many with prior criminal records including assault, theft, burglary, DWI, evading arrest, family violence, criminal mischief and sexual assault of a child, and that two were alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang. During one arrest, officers said they found a 13-year-old girl in a vehicle with Diego Gomez Hernandez, 22, a Mexican national; her legal guardian was contacted and Lewisville police opened a follow-up investigation under Texas law.

Teresa de Jesus Ochoa Briseño, 31, a cook at Carmelita's Restaurant in Alamo, Texas, was arrested by ICE agents outside her workplace around 5 a.m. on September 21, 2026, and deported to Reynosa, Mexico, later that day. Her 17-year-old son, Luis Ochoa, a U.S. citizen, had witnessed an ICE apprehension near a Marine Corps recruiting office days earlier and was himself detained after speaking out publicly; he said agents offered him money to stay quiet and threatened to detain his undocumented relatives. Luis believes his mother was targeted because of the attention her public criticism of ICE generated in local media. ICE said Teresa had a prior removal order from a July 2025 arrest for alleged illegal reentry and denied the deportation was retaliatory, describing it as part of a 'targeted operation.' Advocacy groups We the People RGV and Carnalismo Brown Berets are calling for a congressional hearing and independent investigation into the family's case.

Luis Ochoa, a 17-year-old U.S. citizen, and his friend JC were detained by ICE agents in Alamo, Texas, after stopping to film an immigration enforcement action near Santos Livas Elementary School. The teens said they were on their way to meet with a Marine Corps recruiter when agents pulled Ochoa from his vehicle, breaking his wrist, pepper-sprayed both boys, and struck JC in the face despite their stating they were U.S. citizens. Video of the encounter showed the strikes to JC's face before Ochoa was taken into custody; Ochoa said an agent told him 'don't resist' though he was not resisting, and another reportedly said, 'I don't give a damn... Your parents can't help you now.' Ochoa's mother, Teresa Ochoa, said she went about eight hours without information about her son, calling it one of the most frightening moments of her life, and said the ordeal made both teens reconsider plans to enlist. DHS disputed the account, describing the teens as 'anti-ICE agitators' who became combative and said two officers suffered minor injuries. The Alamo Police Department forwarded the teens' complaint to the DHS Office of Inspector General, and Teresa Ochoa was deported days after speaking publicly about the incident.

Patricia Valdez, a 37-year-old Venezuelan engineer from Mérida known to loved ones as Patty, was detained by ICE while attending a scheduled check-in with immigration authorities as part of her asylum application process, and was transferred to a detention facility in Oklahoma. Valdez, who became a mother three months ago, worked for the City of Dallas and previously taught at the Engineering Faculty of the Universidad de los Andes in Venezuela. In the U.S. she has passed the FE exam and holds the Engineer in Training (EIT) and Project Management Professional (PMP) certifications, recently passing the PE Civil Construction exam, and is active in communities of Venezuelan engineers. Her family says she has no criminal record, is seeking reunification with her infant son, and has started a GoFundMe campaign to cover her legal defense and her baby's care.

Misael Ramos, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America running for Austin city council, was arrested Saturday morning on a misdemeanor charge of "riot participation" tied to a protest against the shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a Venezuelan asylum seeker with a valid work permit who was shot by an ICE officer. Ramos denies any wrongdoing and plans to contest the charge; his attorney said, "I didn't see any riots... I saw people out there chanting and protesting." His campaign manager said Ramos joined the protest to show solidarity after hearing that an ICE officer had shot someone in the back.

Jessica Trevino (also spelled Treviño), a DACA recipient in her mid-30s who arrived in the U.S. from Mexico as a young child and lived in Texas her entire life, was arrested by ICE agents on December 28, 2025, as she left church with her family in the Rio Grande Valley. Unmarked vehicles rammed the family's car in a Home Depot parking lot, agents struck her husband Juan with a baton, and shoved their 14-year-old daughter against the vehicle hard enough to bruise her. Trevino worked in an elementary school cafeteria and had no criminal record; her DACA status remained valid at the time. After nearly three months in ICE custody, she was deported to Matamoros, Mexico on March 25, 2026, despite disputing that she consented to a 'voluntary departure' order. Her three U.S. citizen children, ages 16, 14, and 13, remained in Texas with relatives. USCIS later moved to terminate her DACA status, citing unauthorized travel. Her family filed a federal lawsuit seeking her return and restoration of her status, though a federal judge has since recommended dismissal on jurisdictional grounds.

Pedro Mendoza Chávez, 63, was violently taken down by ICE agents during a landscaping shift in the Fresno and I-10 area of San Antonio, Texas, suffering a cracked skull and a broken arm. His wife, Ruvelina Vega, said he had already surrendered and stopped running when an agent kicked him to the ground, causing his head to hit the concrete; agents have claimed he was resisting arrest. Vega was initially barred from seeing him or learning his location, and an officer falsely told her he had merely fallen. Mendoza Chávez, who has lived in the U.S. more than 22 years and has three minor children with Vega, received staples for his scalp wound before being discharged and is now held in ICE detention, still in severe pain and without having received a full medical exam.

Pedro Herrera, a 15-year-old in Houston, began cleaning car windshields with his 10-year-old sister to pay for hotel rooms and food after his mother, María Chica, was deported to El Salvador. His father, who lost his sight in a workplace accident, said "Se nos cayó el mundo" ("Our world fell apart") after losing his wife, the family's main breadwinner. The family had lost their home and was staying in a hotel room they had to pay for nightly. After a video of Pedro's story went viral, a GoFundMe campaign raised more than $125,000 in donations for the family.

A Houston-area man was detained by ICE, leaving his wife Saira and their three daughters struggling with housing costs, bills, and legal fees. The couple's daughters have started therapy to cope with the impact of their father's detention. The family has turned to crowdfunding to help cover immediate expenses and attorney costs.

Ariel Arias, a husband, father, and grandfather, was taken into custody by ICE agents in Houston on the morning of September 23, 2026 as he was leaving for work in his residential parking lot. His family says the arrest was unlawful and were unable to locate him within ICE's standard 24-48 hour processing window. Arias has a heart condition and relies on sublingual medication to prevent a heart attack, and his family is urgently trying to confirm his location so he can access it. They have appealed to Representatives Sylvia Garcia, Greg Casar, and Joaquin Castro for help.

A father seeking asylum in the United States with his wife and three children, ages 2, 8, and 10, was detained by ICE a few days before a GoFundMe was launched on his family's behalf. The family had fled their home country due to political persecution and had an active asylum case. His wife, who does not speak fluent English and has no income, was left alone to care for the children and is struggling to pay rent, utilities, and buy food.

Bulmaro, a father and husband who has worked in construction labor for 23 years to support his family of seven, was pulled over by ICE officers while heading to work with his son on September 22, 2026. He was then taken into custody by ICE. His family says he has no criminal record and is now raising funds to secure legal representation to fight for his release.

Malena Chacón Santos, a 24-year-old Cuban woman who entered the U.S. legally in November 2024 through the CBP One app and applied for asylum, was detained by ICE in November 2025 after voluntarily attending a routine immigration supervision appointment in Dallas. She was transferred to the Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, Texas, more than 175 miles from home, where she has remained for nearly 10 months. In February 2025, she married Juan Carlos Alvarez, a U.S. Army veteran who lives with disabilities including depression, anxiety and arthritis, and became stepmother to his three children. Alvarez drives three hours every Sunday to visit her, and the couple speaks by phone daily. Her attorney filed a federal habeas corpus petition in May 2026, which a judge denied with prejudice on August 4. Chacón Santos says she has no criminal convictions and is still awaiting a decision on her case.

A man with a pending asylum application and a valid work permit was detained by ICE and remains in detention. He had been working legally with a Social Security number before his detention, and his family says they are struggling financially and emotionally without him. His son started a fundraiser to help pay for a lawyer, bond, and household bills as the family awaits upcoming court dates.

Lucas Santiago, a carpenter from San Luis Potosí, Mexico, was detained by ICE agents in South Austin on September 21, 2026, while driving to a job with his brother and a friend, one day after an ICE agent fatally shot 28-year-old Wilber Garces Perez in the area. His wife, Yesenia Esquivel Santiago, a lifelong Austin resident who met Lucas at Cristo Rey Catholic Church in 2016, said agents gave no explanation for his detention; the couple married in 2021, bought a home together, and had begun paperwork years ago to secure Lucas's legal status, which remains unresolved. Yesenia is now caring alone for their 14-month-old son, Yadiel, and preparing to give birth to their second child, after previously losing a first pregnancy at 19 weeks. Lucas remains held at a detention facility in Taylor, Texas, as Yesenia seeks legal help, income and child care while advocating publicly for his release.

A crowd gathered at the scene of the ICE shooting in Austin throughout the afternoon, and officers fired pepper ball-like projectiles at the crowd after some demonstrators threw rocks and water bottles at law enforcement while people were leaving the area. A 14-year-old boy was among those affected by the chemical agent, according to his father, who spoke to Austin police. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson called for an independent investigation into the earlier shooting, citing the chaos it caused in the city.

A single mother in La Marque, Texas, was detained by ICE, leaving her three children, including two minors ages 11 and 14, without their primary caregiver. Her eldest daughter, 21, is now caring for her younger siblings while the family raises funds for an immigration lawyer to fight the case and help their mother remain with them. The family describes her as a hardworking, loving mother with no prior criminal record who has always provided for her children.