Human Impact Project

Miguel Angel Lopez Luvian was deported to Mexico on June 7, 2025, after being detained by ICE in San Francisco during a routine immigration check-in. His wife, Rosa Lopez, contends the deportation was wrongful despite his nearly 30-year legal battle and previous green card grant. The family is now separated, with Rosa struggling financially as the sole provider while fighting through the U.S. District Court to bring her husband back.

Valentina Galvis, a Colombian asylum seeker, appeared at Chicago Immigration Court on June 5, 2025, hoping for a hearing on her asylum case. Her husband Camilo had been granted asylum in the same court two weeks earlier after they both fled far-right paramilitary violence in Colombia in 2022; Galvis had also survived a brutal assault from the paramilitary group. Instead of a hearing, federal prosecutors asked the judge to dismiss her case. Plainclothes agents detained her immediately upon leaving the courtroom. Galvis and her seven-month-old son Naythan, a U.S. citizen, were taken to the Sonesta Chicago O'Hare Airport Rosemont hotel, where they were confined to a two-room suite for five days with the phone removed, monitored by private guards contracted by ICE, and given no information about their whereabouts or release. Her attorney filed a habeas corpus petition and a judge ordered her not be removed from Illinois, but ICE did not inform her of these legal developments. On the fifth day, she was released to ICE's Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office in Chicago and fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet. The contractor MVM Inc. transported her during her detention. Her original asylum case dismissal is now on appeal and she has a new case pending.

Marina Lopez, a woman seeking asylum from Guatemala, was detained by ICE on June 4, 2025, during a routine check-in appointment and spent seven months in a Kentucky detention center. The federal government provided no evidence or explanation for her detention, and she was released on December 23, 2025, after a judge found the government had no record justifying her continued imprisonment. During her detention, her church community provided extensive support to her family, organizing fundraising, childcare, and daily assistance.

Maria Isidro, a 52-year-old Mexican immigrant known as 'Nana Maria' who had lived in the U.S. since 1998 and held an annual stay of deportation, was detained and deported to Mexico after what she believed was a routine immigration check-in in Tallahassee on June 3. She was held for eight days before being transported by van and plane to Matamoros, Mexico on June 11, where she was dropped off at the border with no support. Isidro, who had never missed an immigration check-in and was approved for an I-130 family petition in 2023, described harsh conditions during detention and transport, including shackling, minimal food and water, and bathroom restrictions. She has been married for 31 years and has four children and a husband remaining in Florida.

Arzou Hami, an Iranian woman suffering from serious mental health issues, was detained in June 2025 as part of a sweep of Iranian migrants following U.S. military action against Iran. She was detained by Buffalo ICE agents at the Niagara County Jail before being transferred to Texas. Her attorney alleged in court filings that her detention prevented her from receiving mental health medications. Her attorney reported she has received some medication, but it is not the same as what she was previously prescribed.

Johane Morel, 47, arrived in the U.S. at age 5 and had no memory of Haiti. In June 2025, while attending an order of supervision appointment in Titusville, she was detained and transported to Baker County Detention Center in Macclenny before being deported to Cap-Haïtien, Haiti two weeks later. Unable to speak Haitian Creole, without family support, and with no knowledge of the country, she struggled to adapt and reported sexual assault, homelessness, and severe difficulty building a new life.

Joselyn Chipantiza-Sisalema, age 20, was detained at 26 Federal Plaza for 10 days where conditions included lights that were never shut off and unbearable summer heat. She was provided minimal food—often just cookies thrown into the detention area—and had to beg staff for food and water. She was eventually released from ICE custody following a federal judge's order. She stated: "We had to beg the people working there that they gave us something to eat, they didn't even give us water. Sometimes a few cookies they'd throw in there. A human being doesn't deserve to be treated that way. They had us in there like animals."

Roberto Chilavert Olmedo was held at 26 Federal Plaza for days during the summer 2025 surge in ICE arrests. In written testimony presented to the federal court, he described the experience as a nightmare, stating: "My time at 26 Federal Plaza still haunts me. It is a nightmare and I cannot believe that human beings can be treated like that in a place like the United States."

Documents revealed in a federal lawsuit show that ICE officers detained up to 100 people at a time in a makeshift facility on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan in 2025, despite the Trump administration denying overcrowding. Internal emails and testimony from ICE officials themselves acknowledged the deteriorating conditions, including detainees lying on cement floors, inadequate food, lack of medical care, and failure to comply with a judge's order limiting occupancy. Detainees including Nuvia Ventura Martinez and Carlos Lopez Benitez testified about days spent in cells designed for only 12-hour stays, with no beds or showers.

ICE agents arrested Paola Clouatre, a 25-year-old mother of two and wife of a Marine Corps veteran, at a USCIS office in New Orleans on May 27, 2025, following her permanent residence status interview. She was detained based on a final order of removal issued in 2018 that she was unaware of due to a missed immigration hearing by her mother. Her husband, Adrian Clouatre, is caring for their two young children while seeking to overturn the removal order through an emergency motion.

Dong Van Nguyen, a 64-year-old Vietnamese refugee who fled to the U.S. in 1980, was detained by ICE on May 21, 2025 during a scheduled check-in appointment at the Burlington ICE office. He was enrolled in the alternatives to detention program. Greater Boston Legal Services filed a habeas corpus motion to challenge his detention. Nguyen now faces deportation to Vietnam after 45 years in the United States.

V.M.L., a 2-year-old U.S. citizen born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on January 4, 2023, was detained by ICE on April 22, 2025, during a routine check-in at an Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office in New Orleans. She was apprehended alongside her undocumented mother and 11-year-old sister. When her father provided citizenship documents and his attorney filed emergency motions for habeas corpus and a temporary restraining order to prevent deportation, an ICE officer told the father they would deport his family anyway. The child and her mother were deported to Honduras on April 25, 2025, before the court could rule on the legal motions. The mother was held in an undisclosed location, cut off from family and counsel, and reportedly coerced into accepting deportation under duress. Federal Judge Terry Doughty expressed strong suspicion that the government deported a U.S. citizen "with no meaningful process" in violation of due process protections and scheduled a hearing for May 16 to investigate.

Carlos De La Garza, a 55-year-old Berkeley resident and green card holder, was arrested in December at the end of a routine appointment related to his green card application by ICE officer Nolan De Long, who had been on the job for less than a month. De La Garza was wrongfully detained due to paperwork errors made by De Long. After De La Garza challenged his detention in federal court, government attorneys dropped their opposition to his release upon discovering the case relied on the officer's misrepresentations. De Long apologized for the errors.

Viktoriia Bulavina, a Ukrainian immigrant married to a U.S. citizen and applying for permanent residency, was arrested by ICE immediately after a green card interview in downtown San Diego. She was detained for three days in poor conditions, including an open toilet in view of guards, expired food, and denial of medication. Federal immigration officials released her after media coverage and attorney intervention.

Two U.S. citizen children, ages 5 and 4, were deported to Mexico after their mother was lured to an immigration processing appointment under false pretenses. The mother, who was told she would be eligible for asylum and a work permit if she appeared for a routine check-in, was instead deported to Reynosa, Mexico along with her three children. The two youngest children are U.S. citizens who were deported without proper legal process or opportunity for informed consent from their mother.

An evangelical pastor, construction business owner, and father of five U.S.-citizen children was detained at a routine ICE check-in in Florida despite having a stay of removal and years of regular reporting. He was deported to Guatemala weeks later.

A man was detained by ICE in February 2026 during a scheduled check-in and deported to Laos in early May, leaving his wife and five sons in South St. Paul without their primary financial provider. His deportation came after ICE agents confronted his wife while driving to work, warning of the impending arrest. The family has since relocated and relied on extended family support to manage the financial hardship resulting from his removal.

America Perez Ramirez, 52, was ordered by DHS to check in at an ICE field office and bring airline tickets for deportation to Mexico with her 11-year-old U.S. citizen daughter Yoselin, who has Maple Syrup Urine Disease, a life-threatening rare genetic disorder. Yoselin requires her mother's care to survive and her University of Florida doctor stated she cannot live without current treatment. Perez Ramirez, who came on an H2-B labor visa and was trafficked by her employer, had received four previous stays of deportation under prior administrations, but was denied another stay this time.

A 2-year-old U.S. citizen was apparently removed to Honduras on Friday with her mother, who had been ordered deported, according to a federal judge in Louisiana. The child's mother, a Honduran national, was seized by ICE on Tuesday morning in New Orleans while attending a scheduled check-in appointment with an Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office. During approximately three days in ICE custody, the mother and her two daughters were separated from family and legal counsel. U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty wrote that the child was sent to Honduras "with no meaningful due process" and expressed "strong suspicion that the Government just deported a U.S. citizen." The mother's attorney stated that ICE mischaracterized the removal as the mother's voluntary choice and that she was pregnant and prevented from contacting lawyers or family to make arrangements.

Sergio Cerdio Gomez, a 42-year-old Pasco food truck owner and father of three, was detained by ICE agents on April 24, 2025, during a scheduled immigration interview in Yakima. Gomez was attending the interview with his U.S. citizen wife, Gabrielle Cerdio, regarding his pending green card and citizenship application, which they had filed in 2022. He was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant. Gomez co-owns the Kennewick food truck Hibachi Explosion with his wife. He was subsequently deported to Chiapas, Mexico in June 2025.

Terez Metry was detained by immigration agents during a routine meeting at the Department of Homeland Security office on Brick Church Pike in Nashville. She had submitted Form I-130 as the first step toward obtaining a Green Card to become a U.S. citizen like her husband of three years. Her husband believes she is being taken to Louisiana for removal proceedings despite following immigration procedures carefully.

The wife of an active-duty Coast Guard officer assigned to USCGC Mohawk was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations during a routine security screening at Naval Air Station Key West on Thursday. The couple had married in early 2025 and were preparing to move into on-base family housing when the woman's name was flagged during visitor control processing. Her work visa had expired around 2017, and she had been marked for removal several years prior. NCIS contacted HSI, and agents entered the base housing to take her into custody. The woman's country of origin and current detention status remain unclear, though officials believe she is still being detained.

Amilcar Lisser-Posadas, a 29-year-old Honduran national and former DACA recipient with two U.S. citizen daughters, was apprehended in Shelby County, Tennessee in March 2025 for driving with an expired license and transferred to ICE custody. He was moved between multiple detention facilities over four weeks and filed a legal request citing fear of persecution in Honduras, which received no response. At Alexandria Staging Facility, he was detained for approximately 12 days in overcrowded conditions with inadequate sanitation, food, and medical care—arriving sick with chest congestion, fever, and ear infection but receiving no medication until the final two days. On April 23, 2025, he was deported to Honduras on GlobalX charter flights despite his pending legal request. He was later apprehended again at the southern border in May 2025 attempting to reunite with his family and is now facing deportation again from a federal prison.

Rosmery Alvarado, 42, a Kansas resident born in Guatemala, was arrested by ICE agents immediately after completing a spousal green card interview at the USCIS office in Kansas City on April 23, 2025. She is now facing deportation to Guatemala and is being held in detention, despite her family believing her petition had been approved. The arrest occurred after ICE agents waited for her husband to step out of the interview room before detaining and handcuffing her.

Daniela, known as Ari on social media, was detained by ICE agents on April 22 while attending her scheduled monthly immigration check-in appointment. Her family and friends have launched a fundraising campaign to cover legal fees and support efforts to secure her release.

Adrian Gil Rojas, a Venezuelan national, holds Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and has been detained at El Valle Detention Center for more than two months. He has a two-year-old son in the United States whose mother witnessed ICE officers illegally arrest Mr. Gil Rojas approximately two months ago, leaving their young son alone and traumatized. Mr. Gil Rojas also served as a trial witness in a murder case in Clinton County, New York, where he testified despite fears of retaliation and helped secure a conviction. He is challenging his detention through a habeas corpus petition, arguing that 8 U.S.C. § 1254a(d)(4) explicitly prohibits detention of individuals with TPS status on the basis of immigration status. The government claims it can detain him based on speculative predictions that his TPS may expire on April 2, 2025, and that a pending motion to reopen his removal case may be denied, but the petition argues this violates the TPS statute's unambiguous prohibition and that his removal is automatically stayed while the motion remains pending.

In Louisiana, ICE detained two mothers during routine check-ins and deported them within days to Honduras with their children. Three of the children — ages 2, 4, and 7 — were U.S. citizens. One mother was pregnant, and one child had a rare form of cancer. ICE deported the child without medication or a chance for doctors to advise on care.

Tim, a Nigerian man, was transferred to the Batavia ICE detention facility in April 2025 after suffering a major concussion from a fall while finishing a federal prison sentence. He was discharged from a Massachusetts hospital with nine prescribed medications and orders for inpatient physical therapy. At Batavia, he went at least a month without medication and received only one physical therapy session before being deported in summer 2025. He now requires a walker and reports severe mental health issues and insomnia.

A Nicaraguan asylum seeker is a citizen and national of Nicaragua who has lived in the United States since September 2021. He is married and living with his wife in California. He fled Nicaragua after police beat him for participating in anti-government protests, fracturing his arm. He was detained by DHS upon arrival in the US but released in October 2021 on reporting requirements to ICE, which he never missed. On September 14, 2023, he applied for asylum and received work authorization. In April 2025, he reported for a routine ICE appointment and was detained without notice or hearing despite full compliance with check-in requirements. He was transferred between multiple detention facilities where he suffered inhumane conditions, including excessive heat in transport vehicles, contaminated food and water, and injury from handcuffs. An immigration judge released him on a $5,000 bond in June 2025, and he was placed in ICE's Intensive Supervision Appearance Program. On July 13, 2026, the immigration judge denied his asylum application and ordered removal to Nicaragua. He timely appealed. The federal court granted his preliminary injunction, prohibiting ICE from re-detaining him without a pre-detention hearing where the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that he is a flight risk or danger.

Alicia arrived for a routine ICE check-in in Louisiana in April 2025 and was detained without warning at Basile detention center. She soon discovered she was pregnant. In detention, she received inadequate food and in May began experiencing severe abdominal pain, cramping, and bleeding. At an emergency room, medical staff performed an invasive uterine test without her consent and informed her she had miscarried. ICE returned her to Basile that same night, where she remained detained for two more months despite continued heavy bleeding, swelling, fever, and severe uterine pain. Repeated sick call requests went unanswered. ICE deported her in July 2025, separating her from her children, and she later required hospital care for a severe infection acquired in custody.

Rudy Villeda Mejía, a Honduran immigrant who was kidnapped and held for ransom by Los Zetas cartel members for six months in 2010, was arrested by ICE at Denver International Airport on March 30, 2025, while in transit. Villeda Mejía entered the U.S. without authorization following his kidnapping and has since built a roofing business in Washington state with his U.S. citizen wife Mabel Shaffer, caring for her three children. He attended routine immigration check-ins consistently from August 2018 until his arrest and has no criminal history. His attorney filed a T visa application—the legal pathway available to human trafficking victims—which represents his only lawful way to remain with his family. Since his detention at an ICE facility in Aurora, Colorado, his wife has struggled to manage their roofing business while dealing with a hip displacement that requires his full-time care, the business has lost contracts, and Villeda Mejía has experienced health concerns including weight loss due to limited food options and outdoor access. A federal judge denied his habeas corpus petition and request to pause deportation pending appeal, and ICE has indicated he will remain in custody pending deportation despite the pending T visa application.

A 28-year-old Venezuelan man was detained by ICE agents during his final interview for permanent residency at a USCIS office in Phoenix, Arizona, despite having valid work permits and approval of his family petition. He was separated from his U.S. citizen wife and 3-year-old daughter during the interview and subsequently arrested and deported.

Jorge was detained by ICE on March 23 when he arrived for a scheduled biometrics appointment as part of his U visa application, a pathway to legal status for crime victims. According to his wife, staff delayed him, told him to wait, and then contacted immigration authorities. ICE agents entered and detained him immediately. Jorge has no criminal record and is a survivor of gun violence. He is currently held at Delaney Hall, a privately run immigration detention facility in Newark, and has not received an initial court date to determine if his detention is lawful.

Luis Muñoz Pinto, a 27-year-old college student from Venezuela, had a scheduled appointment with Customs and Border Protection as part of the CBP One program but was detained from that appointment. He was deported to El Salvador's CECOT prison on March 15, 2025, under the Alien Enemies Act where he was beaten, forced into stress positions, denied adequate food and medicine, and subjected to 24/7 lighting. He said 'lights were on in the cells 24/7, food and medicine were withheld and the same water they had for bathing and going to the bathroom had to be used for drinking.' He was released on July 18, 2025, and returned to Colombia. He had no criminal record in the U.S.

Andry Omar Blanco Bonilla, a 40-year-old food delivery driver and mechanic from Venezuela, was detained at an ICE office in Dallas in February 2024 after notifying them of an address change and being asked about his tattoos—which he said represented his family, not gang affiliation. Released pending deportation when Venezuela would not accept deportees, he was detained again after Trump's inauguration and deported to El Salvador's CECOT prison on March 15, 2025. He endured four months of beatings and humiliation before being returned to Venezuela on July 18, 2025. He had no criminal record in the U.S. and came to the country to support his seven children.

Juan José Ramos Ramos, a 39-year-old former telephone technician from Venezuela, was detained during an ICE appointment and deported to El Salvador's CECOT prison on March 15, 2025, under the Alien Enemies Act. The Trump administration alleged he was a Tren de Aragua gang member, but he was detected by immigration agents riding in a car with a Venezuela sticker. During his four months in CECOT, he said he endured severe beatings, humiliation, and psychological abuse. He was returned to Venezuela on July 18, 2025. ProPublica's investigation found he had no criminal convictions in the U.S.

Shirly Guardado, a Honduran immigrant married to Army Sgt. Ayssac Correa, was arrested by ICE agents in a parking lot on March 13 after being lured out under false pretenses by plainclothes officers claiming to be Department of Public Safety. Despite having a work permit and clean check-in record with immigration officials, and despite her husband's military service and pending sponsorship for her green card, Guardado was detained for nearly three months. The couple had also applied for military parole in place, but USCIS denied the application citing her expedited deportation order, and her subsequent ICE request sat unprocessed for over a year. On May 30—her 28th birthday—she was deported to Honduras, separated from her 10-month-old son and active-duty military husband.

Alma Lopez Diaz accompanied her sons Jose, 20, and Josue, 19, to a routine ICE check-in at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan in March 2025, where they were unexpectedly detained and subsequently deported to El Salvador. Neither brother had criminal records, and both were pursuing green cards through Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. The deportation separated them from their mother and 8-year-old nonverbal brother Mateo, a U.S. citizen with Moebius syndrome who requires constant care.

Boun Morisath, a Bremerton father and longtime lawful permanent resident, was detained on March 11, 2025, during a routine check-in at the Department of Homeland Security office in Tukwila after 30 years of regular compliance with immigration officials. He remains in custody at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. His family says he poses no flight risk or danger to society and questions why ICE has suddenly detained him during a visit he had completed without issue for three decades.

Wendy Brito, an asylum-seeker from El Salvador and mother of three living in the New Orleans area, was detained after attending a routine check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She has been in the U.S. for 15 years and volunteers at a local elementary school. Her partner Kremly Marrero said officials told the family she was taken because of "new regulations under the new administration." Brito is now held in Basile, Louisiana, nearly 200 miles away from her home and children.

Val, a Mexican national, was apprehended during a Department of Homeland Security check-in in March and deported under expedited removal, leaving behind his 7-year-old son Alex and partner Renee in Baltimore. The deportation is one of thousands of ICE enforcement actions in Maryland under the Trump administration—arrests surged 165% compared with 2024—causing widespread anxiety and stress among immigrant families in the region.

A 33-year-old Guatemalan man was returned to the United States in June 2025 after a federal judge ordered his reinstatement following an unlawful deportation. Despite an immigration judge's February 2025 order barring his removal, ICE deported him to Mexico two days later, violating due process protections. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy criticized the action as "blatant lawlessness" and ordered his return. He was granted withholding of removal after demonstrating he would face serious harm in Guatemala.

Sering Ceesay, a Gambian man with serious heart conditions, was detained by ICE on February 19, 2025, after showing up for a routine immigration appointment in New York City. He was shackled and transferred to the Batavia facility, where he went two weeks without his heart medications. He subsequently suffered a stroke-like syndrome. A physician noted that without strict adherence to his medications, he faced risk of recurrent heart attacks, worsening peripheral artery disease, and strokes. A U.S. District Judge later ordered his release.

Chidi Nwagbo, a Nigerian migrant who had lived in the U.S. for 37 years, was detained at the Buffalo Federal Detention facility in Batavia on February 10, 2025, after attempting to cross into Canada. He arrived at the facility with frostbite and was under doctor's orders to see a specialist at Kessler Burn and Trauma Center in Rochester within a week. ICE staff never took him to the appointment. By the time he saw a doctor 16 days later, portions of six fingers had to be amputated due to untreated frostbite.

Franco Jose Caraballo Tiapa, a 26-year-old barber from Venezuela, migrated to the United States in 2023 with his wife seeking asylum due to political persecution and had no criminal history. He presented himself to ICE for a routine check-in in early February 2025 and was detained without being informed of the reason, though he reported being questioned about his tattoos. Without notifying his attorneys or family, he was deported to El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison under a Trump executive order allowing ICE to send noncitizens to third countries willing to accept them. His family learned of his deportation only after seeing videos of his arrival on social media, having expected him to be sent to Venezuela instead. His attorneys provided documentation proving his clean background and pending asylum claim.

In New Orleans, ICE called Arely Westley, a trans-Latina immigrant advocate, into the field office after telling her they wanted to offer her less restrictive monitoring in recognition of her community leadership. She was detained when she arrived at her check-in. She had received the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center annual human rights award in 2024 and was in the process of obtaining a visa for trafficking survivors.

In Maryland, ICE agents arrested Apr. Amaya-Luis, a transgender woman married to a U.S. citizen, after she appeared for a routine probation check-in. She was then transferred to an all-male detention facility in Miami even though her lawyers said they had provided a passport listing her name as Apr. Amaya-Luis and her gender as female.

A 56-year-old British man with diabetes, pancreatitis, and heart disease was detained at a routine annual ICE appointment in early February 2025 and shackled on a bus outside Krome for up to three hours. His family delivered a three-month supply of medications including insulin he needs four times daily, but staff failed to administer them consistently. When transferred to FDC, he received some heart medication and minimal insulin but nothing for pancreatitis. During his April 15 transfer to BTC, guards sent his medications to Krome instead. At BTC, a doctor dismissed his asthma diagnosis, saying 'No one has asthma over 18,' and refused to hear his medical history. Five days later, he collapsed in the dinner line. His family discovered he had been registered at the hospital under a false name. ICE refused to share any information about his condition. He was returned to BTC in shackles after three days.

Ashley's husband was detained during a Green Card interview in February 2025 at a USCIS office in Broward County, despite legal assurances he would not be. He was taken to Krome in Miami and subsequently deported to Honduras. Ashley, a mother of four daughters, initially remained in the U.S. but traveled to Honduras in March 2025 to reunite with him. The family now navigates separation with Ashley working multiple jobs while managing the instability caused by his deportation.

Ashley's husband was detained during a Green Card interview in February 2025 despite having no criminal record and his lawyer's assurance that detention was unlikely. He was taken to Krome in Miami and eventually deported to Honduras. The family remains separated, though Ashley visited Honduras with their four daughters in March 2025.