Human Impact Project

Will Castillo was released from the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma after a federal judge ruled his nearly 11-month detention unlawful. Castillo, who has no criminal history and was detained during a routine DHS appointment while seeking asylum, has been readjusting to life outside detention and experiencing lingering psychological effects from his time in custody. An immigration judge granted him Convention Against Torture protection, which prevents his deportation to Venezuela but does not provide immigration status.

A Laotian refugee from Raymond, Washington, who arrived in the U.S. in 1981 with a green card, was detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma after ICE requested an unscheduled check-in in March. He faced a decades-old deportation order, and for over 20 years Laos had refused to accept deportees, though pressure from the Trump administration has recently increased deportation flights. His lawyers discovered he was not informed of immigration consequences when he entered a prior guilty plea, leading to that conviction being overturned and his green card status restored. An immigration judge terminated the deportation case, and he was released after months in custody; his family, including daughter Melissa Ekkaphanh, described their roots in Pacific County's Laotian refugee community, where relatives settled after the Vietnam War to work in canneries and logging.

Michael Opeoluwa Egbele, a Nigerian migrant who entered the U.S. in 2003, was released from ICE custody on February 20, 2026, after a federal court ruled the government acted unlawfully by revoking his supervised release without due process. The U.S. District Court in Minnesota granted his habeas corpus petition and ordered his immediate release, noting he had remained in compliance with his supervision conditions for over a decade before his January 2026 detention during a routine check-in.

Greggy Valerio Sorio, a 37-year-old green card holder, was deported to the Philippines after ICE denied his stay request despite severe medical conditions including inflammatory bowel disease, anemia, and a toe amputation requiring wheelchair use. Sorio's deportation stemmed from criminal convictions dating back over a decade, and ICE determined he was medically fit to fly despite advocates' warnings and his recent hospitalization. Community groups and immigrant-rights advocates condemned the deportation as a systemic failure, with 60 protesters rallying outside the detention center, and airline staff initially removing him from the flight after being alerted to his condition.

Greggy Sorio, a 37-year-old man from the Philippines held at Tacoma's Northwest ICE Processing Center, was released following a federal court order that deemed his detention unconstitutionally punitive. While in ICE custody, Sorio developed a serious bone infection that resulted in the amputation of one of his toes and part of his foot, along with other serious health conditions including ulcerative colitis and acute blood loss anemia. U.S. District Judge Tana Lin found that the detention center staff engaged in unreasonable treatment and failed to provide adequate medical care. Sorio still faces a deportation order despite his release from detention.

ICE detained a husband in Tacoma and coerced him to sign self-deportation papers while threatening to apprehend his wife and children within four days. In response to the threats, the entire family voluntarily returned to Venezuela.

EWS | Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided a Foggy Bottom restaurant in a GW-owned building Wednesday afternoon, detaining and questioning several people, the University confirmed Friday. Officials said in a Federal Updates email Friday that agents detained “a number of individuals” from Circa, located across the street from the Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro stop, but did not specify how many and said they have no information suggesting any are affiliated with GW. Friday’s announcement followed a Thursday post by the Immigrant Liberation Coalition at GW, which alleged that ICE pulled between six and 15 people from the restaurant during the raid, detaining some and checking immigration papers of others. York Van Nixon IV, Circa at Foggy Bottom’s senior general manager, declined to comment on the raid or answer questions about the incident and the number of employees ICE detained. A spokesperson from Circa Bistros, which operates Circa at Foggy Bottom, did not immediately return a request for comment on the raid. A University spokesperson declined to comment on when the University learned of the raid, why officials did not issue a GW Alert and whether ICE contacted GW — which owns the building Circa operates in — ahead of the raid.

Iván Guzmán, head cook at El Cubano To Go restaurant in Shoreline, Washington, was detained by ICE agents on Aurora Avenue North on January 25 while driving his 2-year-old son to daycare. The child remained alone in the vehicle for approximately 40 minutes while armed officers surrounded the car. Guzmán was subsequently deported to Mexico, his country of birth. Restaurant owner Verónica Castañeda described him as 'my right hand, a hardworking man, dedicated to his family.' The child is now with his mother. A GoFundMe campaign was launched to raise funds for legal assistance, childcare, and food.

ICE agents detained a father driving his two-year-old son to daycare in Shoreline, Washington. The child was left alone in the vehicle surrounded by armed agents for approximately 30 minutes while waiting for a family member to pick him up. Community volunteers arrived at the scene and documented the incident while supporting the child until a family friend arrived to take him to the father's workplace.

A 10-year-old girl and her father, Guatemalan asylum-seekers with six years of U.S. residency and an active asylum claim, were detained by federal agents in Spokane on January 9 after a school drop-off and transferred to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. The father holds a valid work permit and has no criminal history. Washington state leaders condemned the enforcement action, noting the family's community ties and scheduled 2027 court hearing.

ICE agents detained Brayan Morales Bermudez, 26, outside the Clark County Courthouse in Vancouver on Monday during a lunch break in his criminal trial. Morales Bermudez came to the U.S. seeking asylum in 2024 after receiving death threats in Guatemala and was being held at a Tacoma detention facility. His girlfriend stated the detention may have violated Washington state law, which typically prohibits civil arrests by ICE within a mile of courthouses without a judicial warrant.

Border Patrol detained Guatemalan father Arnoldo Tiul Caal and his 10-year-old daughter Karla on January 10 in Spokane, alleging he missed multiple required immigration check-ins while seeking asylum. The pair were transported to a detention facility in Texas but were released Friday by a federal judge. The father had been living in Spokane since 2019 with his daughter, who was a fourth-grader at Logan Elementary School.

A man with valid asylum status, no criminal history, and a valid work permit was detained by ICE agents in a Walmart parking lot in Yakima, Washington on Christmas Eve while placing groceries in his vehicle. Yeimi Ortiz, a volunteer with the Yakima Immigrant Response Network, witnessed and filmed the arrest. The incident occurred as part of a pattern of federal enforcement actions in the Yakima area during the Christmas holiday period, prompting Ortiz and local activists to hold a boycott protest of Walmart on December 28, alleging the corporation's cooperation with immigration authorities.

Donna Hughes-Brown, a green card holder who has lived in the U.S. since age 11, was detained by ICE upon returning from a trip to Ireland to visit relatives. She was held for nearly 5 months over two overdrawn checks totaling less than $80 that she had written over 10 years prior. She was released last week and stated she will not visit Ireland again until becoming a full U.S. citizen due to fear of deportation.

U.S. Army veteran Zahid Chaudhry, a green card holder and disabled veteran who has lived in the U.S. for 25 years, was released from ICE detention at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma after more than three months. A federal judge ordered his release following a habeas hearing on December 22, 2025, calling his detention "flat out wrong." Chaudhry had been detained since August 2025 after being taken into custody at a citizenship interview, during which time he was separated from his wife and two young children and lost vision due to untreated thyroid eye disease. The government acknowledged it had cited an incorrect statute but maintains the detention was lawful, and the case continues before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Greggy Sorio, a 37-year-old lawful permanent resident from the Philippines, was detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington for eleven months, during which he developed severe medical conditions including ulcerative colitis, a bone infection that required toe amputation, and kidney disease due to alleged medical neglect. On December 7, 2025, as he was being deported on a Philippine Airlines flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, union members and Tanggol Migrante activists coordinated to alert the airline of his status as a medical liability. Philippine Airlines subsequently cancelled the deportation flight, stopping his removal.

Jose Paniagua Calderón was detained in front of a Mexican restaurant on East 4th Plain Boulevard in Vancouver, Washington. Videos on social media show him screaming in pain as a silver-colored SUV drives over his legs during the detention. ICE denies that its agents ran over Paniagua's legs, while his family alleges ICE agents denied him medical care and forced him into their vehicle. He is reportedly being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma.

Jose Argueta, a 37-year-old Maryland resident, was detained by ICE for approximately one month after D.C. police called him to pick up his recovered stolen vehicle at the Fifth District police station. According to his attorney, D.C. police coordinated with federal immigration agents to lure Argueta into custody, which violates the city's Sanctuary Values Act. The incident is under investigation by both D.C. police internal affairs and the Office of Police Complaints.

On November 14, 2025, ICE agents detained Wilmer Toledo-Martinez, a 28-year-old Vancouver resident married to a U.S. citizen with three American-born children. One agent posed as a construction worker to lure Toledo-Martinez outside his home, after which another agent released a dog that attacked him on the arms and torso. Toledo-Martinez was hospitalized and received stitches for his injuries. He was denied medical care while in federal immigration detention at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. Senator Patty Murray condemned the use of force, noting that Toledo-Martinez did not resist arrest or attempt to flee.

A man was forcibly removed from a car by federal immigration officers near West 157th Street and Broadway in Washington Heights on Wednesday morning around 8:15 a.m. The officers, including some appearing to be Homeland Security Investigations agents, placed the man into an unmarked black SUV. No immediate information was available about the person's identity or the reason for the detention.