Human Impact Project

Vanessa Valdez, a Ventura-based attorney and legal observer, was shot six times with rubber bullets and exposed to tear gas during a raid at Glass House Farms in July 2025, despite identifying herself as a legal observer. The raid, conducted by ICE and Border Patrol agents, resulted in more than 360 arrests at farm sites in Carpinteria and Camarillo, northwest of Los Angeles. Valdez reported severe pain, sleep disruption for three weeks, inability to see, and crawled on all fours to escape. She has filed a tort claim against the federal government seeking compensation for hospital visits, lost wages during recovery, anxiety medication, and mental health treatment.

Mitch Lillie, a volunteer with grassroots organization VC Defense, was at the Glass House Farms facility in Camarillo when federal agents raided the site on July 10, 2025. Lillie was shot in the temple with a rubber bullet during the operation. He witnessed workers trapped in the facility and family members distraught on their phones.

Two federal ICE agents arrested 27-year-old Jack Randmaa and pepper sprayed 80-year-old attorney Doug Hayes during a chaotic scene in downtown Santa Barbara. Randmaa, a volunteer ICE observer, was allegedly arrested after approaching an ICE vehicle on Carrillo Street, with agents accusing him of slashing a tire, though his father claims the charges are false.

Deivi Jose Molina-Pena, a 33-year-old Venezuelan on Temporary Protected Status, was arrested by ICE agents at a Walmart on July 7, 2025, while working as a delivery driver for Walmart's Spark service. Video captured agents using a Taser to subdue him as he fell and struck his head. Molina-Pena remained in ICE custody in El Paso with reported head pain and no medical evaluation. His arrest followed tensions between American-born and immigrant delivery drivers, with American drivers reportedly calling ICE hotlines to report immigrants' locations.

Nine anti-ICE protesters were tried for their roles in a July 4, 2025 demonstration outside an ICE detention facility in Prairieland, Texas. Eight defendants were convicted of material support for terrorism charges, with prosecutors arguing that wearing black bloc clothing assisted in the shooting of a police officer by protester Benjamin Song. Song was convicted of attempted murder for shooting the officer in the neck and faces up to life in prison, while other defendants face up to 15 years on the terrorism charges.

Milagro Solis Portillo was detained by ICE agents on July 3 outside her home in Sherman Oaks and hospitalized at Glendale Memorial Hospital. Detention officers have maintained a presence at the hospital. Community leaders and elected officials have stated concerns about this presence at the hospital. Her family alleged she was left handcuffed and covered in vomit for over eight hours without proper medical care.

In North Palm Beach, Florida, an 18-year-old U.S. citizen pulled over in a traffic stop was told by an officer: 'You don't have any rights here. You are a Migo, brother.' He was taken into custody despite his mother, who was also a passenger, reportedly telling officers that he was a U.S. citizen and showing them a picture of his Social Security card. Florida Highway Patrol and Border Patrol agents had stopped a van with him, his mother, and two other workers, one of whom was tased and each put in a chokehold.

In San Francisco, federal agents drove through protestors outside immigration court with one protestor still holding on to the car, flinging that protestor into the street and nearly running them over.

Are we in Moscow or Beijing ?Unmarked vans. Masked agents. Beating protesters into the concrete. And for what? For speaking out against ICE. They call it “impeding federal operations.” We call it what it is: kidnapping. All 3 were released with no charges. So why brutalize them in the first place? This is America in 2025. 👀 🎥This video is from July 2025 #usa #abolishice #humanity #abusive #power

ICE conducted raids on cannabis farms near the California coast in summer 2025, resulting in the detention and rapid deportation of more than 300 undocumented workers. More than a dozen US citizen children were left stranded without parents. In one case, a 15-year-old was left alone with his two younger brothers, ages 8 and 9, after their mother was deported to Mexico only three days after the raid. A 10-month-old was left with family friends when her single mother was arrested. During the raids, federal agents used riot gear, flash bang grenades, and smoke bombs; a worker fleeing the facility fell 30 feet from a greenhouse roof and died.

Attorney Vanessa Valdez, identifying herself as a legal observer, was shot six times with rubber bullets and exposed to tear gas during an ICE raid on Glass House Farms cannabis company. The injuries caused severe pain, rib damage, and sleep disruption lasting weeks, leading to hospital visits and ongoing mental health treatment costs included in her tort claim.

A 60-year-old Afghan migrant, Baqir Rezaei, died in an Iranian detention camp in Zabol after being intercepted despite holding an official exit permit. He was held without food or water and forced to work under extreme heat conditions. According to his family, at least eight migrants died in the camp out of 35 who lost consciousness from heat and thirst.

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.

Luis Hipolito, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested by ICE agents conducting street sweeps in downtown Los Angeles after interfering with their detention of street vendors near Main and 9th streets. Video footage shows agents pepper-spraying Hipolito at close range, then tackling and restraining him for over two minutes as he struggled to breathe. After being restrained, Hipolito convulsed and his legs buckled. He was charged with assault on a federal officer and released on $10,000 bond. A federal judge ordered his release at a Thursday hearing.

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran spoke out after witnessing video of his father, Narciso Barranco, being beaten by masked Border Patrol officers during an immigration arrest in Santa Ana. Barranco, a landscaper who came from Mexico in the 1990s without legal status, was arrested outside an IHOP restaurant. While DHS claimed Barranco swung his weed trimmer at agents, witnesses posted videos showing officers punching him repeatedly as he lay on the ground.

Adrian Martinez, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen and Walmart employee, was detained by federal agents on June 18, 2025, during an immigration enforcement operation at a Pico Rivera Walmart parking lot. When agents began detaining an elderly maintenance worker, Martinez intervened by blocking the agents' vehicle with the worker's cart in an attempt to help. Agents shoved him to the ground twice. Federal officials initially claimed Martinez punched agents, but security camera footage from the store showed no punches were thrown and that agents initiated the physical contact. Martinez was charged with conspiracy to impede or injure an officer, a felony, rather than assault. He spent three nights in jail following his arrest. A federal judge ordered his release on a $5,000 bond.

ICE agents detained a gardener working in Long Beach's University Park Estates neighborhood who told agents he was a dual citizen and showed identification. A video of the incident shows the man claiming U.S. citizenship and stating he was born at Memorial Hospital in Long Beach. Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson condemned the operation as an "abduction," stating ICE was not given prior notice and criticized the enforcement as rooted in "fear and intimidation."

A video circulating online allegedly shows ICE agents in Harlingen, Texas following a family in an unmarked vehicle, making contact with their car, pulling the father out, and striking him while his children were present. The incident was posted on Instagram with hashtags related to ICE and immigration enforcement.

Narciso Barranco, a 5'7", 150-pound landscaper who has lived in the United States since the 1990s, was detained by ICE and Border Patrol agents on June 21, 2025, during a workplace enforcement action at an IHOP in Santa Ana, Orange County, California. Video footage of the arrest shows multiple masked federal agents repeatedly punching Barranco in the head and neck and tackling him to the ground in a busy intersection as he was pinned by three officers. His oldest son, Alejandro, a 25-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran with two active-duty Marine brothers, said his father was scared when plainclothes armed agents approached him and expressed concern about the excessive force used by multiple larger officers. After speaking with his father by phone the following day, Alejandro reported that Barranco was injured, had not received medical attention, was very thirsty, and had not eaten. Barranco is being held by ICE at a detention center in Los Angeles. The Department of Homeland Security claimed Barranco swung a weed whacker at an agent and refused to comply with commands, though videos show him running with the tool and attempting to open a car door before being tackled.

Federal agents conducted an immigration enforcement action at Xpress Wash in Maywood on the same day as the Bell raid. A minor collision occurred when federal agents opened a vehicle door into a slowly moving BMW; the BMW's driver was detained and later released after onlookers protested. As crowds gathered, federal agents threw flash bang grenades at people standing near Riverfront Park who were recording and asking for badge numbers. No one was ultimately taken from the Maywood business, according to the councilman.

Federal agents conducted an immigration raid at Jack's Car Wash in Bell, detaining at least three people. A U.S. citizen employee wearing a white long-sleeved shirt was tackled and detained after attempting to defend a coworker, according to his brother Jesús Rafael Cervantes. The raid sparked protests, with crowds confronting masked federal agents and property damage to federal vehicles occurring amid the confrontation. Federal agents used tear gas and flash bang grenades to disperse protesters.

A plainclothes federal law enforcement officer drew a weapon on a man attempting to photograph his vehicle's license plate at a stoplight in Pasadena. The incident occurred Wednesday morning around the same time federal immigration agents conducted enforcement operations at a nearby bus stop, detaining multiple day laborers. Masked plainclothes agents arrested at least two men and several other day laborers, transporting them in an unmarked minivan.

Senator Alex Padilla was handcuffed by federal agents after interrupting a news conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles. Padilla attempted to question Noem's characterization of federal military deployment in response to protests over immigration enforcement actions targeting undocumented immigrants. The senator was physically removed, placed on the ground, and restrained in handcuffs after identifying himself and asserting his role.

During an immigration sweep on June 19 outside a Lowe's store in Pacoima, Border Patrol agents arrested a 54-year-old woman selling tamales. She suffered a heart attack during the detention after agents bear-hugged her to the point she struggled to breathe. A U.S. citizen recording the incident was also arrested and detained. A federal judge later ruled the sweeps violated the 4th Amendment due to racial profiling.

Job Garcia, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and PhD student, was arrested and detained for over 24 hours on June 19, 2025, while filming an ICE immigration raid at a Home Depot in Hollywood, Los Angeles. CBP agents tackled Garcia without warning, smashed his phone, and restrained him as he attempted to document the arrest of day laborers and inform them of their rights. Garcia was released without arraignment or court date notification. MALDEF and Garcia are seeking $1 million in damages from the Department of Homeland Security through a Federal Tort Claims Act notice, citing wrongful arrest, detention based on race, assault, battery, false imprisonment, and interference with his right to document government actions.

An ICE agent drew a gun on a man who was photographing a vehicle's license plate during an enforcement operation at a bus stop near Orange Grove Boulevard and Los Robles Avenue in Pasadena on Wednesday morning. Video footage posted by immigration advocacy account Stop ICE Mobile Alerts shows the agent jumping out of an unmarked car and pointing the gun directly at the individual before returning to the vehicle without making an arrest or explanation. Multiple people were reportedly taken away from nearby Dena's Burgers by masked agents in unmarked vehicles during the same operation.

Juan Ramirez Diaz, a U.S. citizen from Oxnard, was detained by ICE agents on June 17, 2025, while filming video of federal immigration agents arresting his father during an ICE operation. According to his family and attorney, Ramirez Diaz was tased, maced, punched, and beaten before being transported to a hospital and then the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles. He was released on June 18 before 3 p.m. and returned to his family.

Juan Carlos Ramirez, a U.S. citizen, was pepper-sprayed, slammed onto vehicle hoods, punched and kneed by armed immigration agents who raided his father's auto body shop in Oxnard on June 16, 2025. Ramirez and dozens of other U.S. citizens and immigrants are seeking financial compensation through tort claims against the federal government for injuries, trauma, and deaths sustained during recent immigration enforcement operations, with claimants seeking at least $260 million collectively.

Juan Carlos Ramirez, a U.S. citizen, was pepper-sprayed, slammed onto vehicle hoods, punched in the face, and kneed by armed immigration agents during a raid on an auto body shop where his father was arrested. Ramirez filmed the incident and subsequently filed a legal claim against the federal government seeking damages for injuries and trauma.

A man was arrested by ICE on June 15, 2025, in Anaheim, California, while entering a store. He has been detained for over 7 months despite being in the process of obtaining residency through USCIS and having no criminal record. He has suffered serious health complications including hospitalization for oxygen deprivation, legal injustices including attorney abandonment, and needs funds for legal representation before his final asylum hearing in June.

Border Patrol agents questioned Brian Gavidia, a U.S. citizen born in East Los Angeles, at his workplace on West Olympic Boulevard. Despite Gavidia showing his Real ID and repeatedly asserting his citizenship, agents held him against a fence, twisted his arm, and confiscated his ID and phone. The incident was captured on video.

Mason Lake, an independent journalist and videographer based in Portland, was shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents with a pepper round that struck his right arm while he covered a protest outside an immigration detention center on June 13, 2025. Lake was filming officers deploying crowd-control munitions during a protest over the arrest of Moisés Sotelo, a Newberg business owner detained by federal immigration agents. Despite wearing clear press markings on his coat, helmet, and belt, ICE agents shot at him multiple times. Lake believes the ICE Special Response Team was responsible based on uniform patches visible in his footage. Since 2020, Lake has been assaulted at least 14 times while covering Portland protests. In November 2025, Lake and fellow journalist Hugo Rios filed a federal class-action lawsuit against President Trump, the Department of Homeland Security, and its head Kristi 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.

Javier Diaz Santana, a 32-year-old deaf DACA recipient with no criminal history, was arrested by ICE agents during a raid at a car wash in Temple City, California on June 12, 2025. Despite being deaf and unable to communicate, agents confiscated his phone and wallet, handcuffed him, and transported him to an El Paso detention center without explaining his detention or accommodating his disability. He was released on July 8 after his attorney provided proof of his DACA status to authorities.

Jason Brian Gavidia, a 29-year-old US citizen born in Montebello, was detained by armed border patrol agents in an unmarked car near his auto body shop. Video footage shows agents pressing him against a fence, twisting his arm, and interrogating him about his birthplace despite his repeated statements that he was born in the United States and offered to show his ID. Witnesses described the encounter as racial profiling based on appearance. Gavidia was eventually released, but the incident occurred amid a series of ICE raids across southern California targeting people based on their appearance.

Democratic US Senator Padilla was forced to the ground and handcuffed by federal agents. He was released shortly after the incident. The FBI defended the agents' actions in response to questions about the Department of Homeland Security's response.

Brian Gavidia, a U.S. citizen born and raised in East Los Angeles, was pinned against a gate at his car lot by armed federal agents who refused to accept that he was a citizen. He was forced to close his used-car business after agents kept returning to the neighborhood. He joined an ACLU class-action lawsuit challenging ICE's racial profiling. He also had to tell his nine-year-old daughter she couldn't visit from Portland because it wasn't safe.

A 23-year-old electrician from Brentwood was pulled over by ICE agents while driving a work van in Westbury and was handcuffed and detained for approximately 25 minutes. The agents claimed he looked like someone they were searching for but provided no specific basis for the stop. After finding his ID confirming his U.S. citizenship, the agents released him without explanation or apology.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police announced in October that they are resubmitting cases for review related to nearly 100 arrests made during a June 11 anti-ICE protest in downtown Las Vegas. Most charges had been dropped by the City Attorney's Office in September, but police are now resubmitting cases amid questions about whether dispersal orders were properly communicated to demonstrators. Attorneys representing arrested protesters argue many did not receive adequate notice to disperse and are calling for investigation into police conduct during the event.

ICE agents rammed a white sedan with two unmarked vehicles in Boyle Heights, pinning it between them during an arrest operation. The vehicle contained a male driver, female passenger, toddler, and baby. Federal agents drew weapons and deployed tear gas before dragging the male driver from the car. The arrested man was identified as Christian Damian Cerno-Camacho, though family members claimed he is a U.S. citizen.

A mass protest occurred at Spokane's ICE facility after former City Council President Ben Stuckart called for people to prevent two asylum-seeking immigrants from being transported to a Tacoma detention center. Federal Homeland Security Investigations agents used physical force against protesters, while Spokane police later arrived and employed dialogue-based tactics. Three protesters—Bajun Mavalwalla II, Justice Forral, and Jac Archer—were charged with conspiring against ICE agents, and their trial examined the differing enforcement approaches.

Christian Cerna, a 28-year-old US citizen and carpenter, was arrested by ICE on June 11, 2025, after participating in an anti-ICE protest days earlier. Officers used aggressive tactics including ramming his vehicle, detonating flash-bang grenades, and pointing assault rifles at his car while his two young children were inside. Cerna was charged with felony assault for an alleged altercation with a border patrol agent, though he and his lawyers contested the circumstances. In December 2025, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor simple assault and was sentenced in March 2026; a federal judge later criticized the case as a "vindictive effort" to impose extrajudicial punishment, and the ICE filming and social media posting of arrest footage became a subject of controversy.

ICE agents detained approximately 10 men outside an immigration court in Sterling, Virginia. Video recorded by activists shows an ICE agent grabbing one activist and knocking a phone out of another's hand while they were filming the detention operation.

Nine News US correspondent Lauren Tomasi was shot by a rubber bullet while reporting on the LA protests in Downtown Los Angeles. She was clearly identified as press and was speaking on camera when she was hit, yelling in pain from the impact. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese later confirmed she was sore but otherwise unharmed.

Federal immigration officials conducted a raid targeting day laborers in the parking lot of a Home Depot in Santa Ana on Monday. A 50-year-old man from Peru was detained after agents arrived and began taking workers into custody, but was released after producing asylum seeker documents. The man said agents pointed guns at the group and took several people into custody in front of the store on MacArthur Boulevard.

Protesters gathered in Los Angeles to demonstrate against ICE raids, with police in riot gear firing flash bangs and rubber bullets to disperse crowds. Multiple demonstrators were arrested and loaded onto police buses with zip-tied hands after being warned to disperse near the Arts District and Little Tokyo. President Trump doubled the National Guard deployment to the area, activating an additional 2,000 service members alongside approximately 700 Marines, prompting California to file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the deployment.

Freelance photojournalist Ted Soqui was shot in the back with three rubber bullets in rapid succession by federal officers while covering anti-deportation protests at LA's Federal Building on June 9, 2025. Soqui, who had covered protests throughout his decades-long career, took precautions after being struck with crowd-control munitions the previous day, wearing personal protective equipment and positioning himself 50 to 100 feet from officers and protesters while using a long lens to photograph from afar. The federal officers who shot him were identified as ICE or DHS agents based on department patches visible on their uniforms. The Los Angeles Press Club filed a lawsuit against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem characterizing the shooting as a "misuse of militarized weapons" that could cause significant and serious harm.

Robert Rosado, 54, was charged with robbery, impersonating a public servant, and other offenses after entering an auto repair shop on June 8, 2025, wearing tactical gear and a fake ICE badge, claiming he would take undocumented employees into custody. He zip-tied a woman employee and stole approximately $1,000 before fleeing in an unmarked van. Investigators identified Rosado through license plate readers and surveillance footage, discovering a fake badge, airsoft gun, and other items at his residence. He is being held on $800,000 bail with a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 8, 2025.

Grammy-winning musician Finneas was tear-gassed while participating in a peaceful protest against ICE immigration raids in Los Angeles on June 8, 2025. He shared his experience on Instagram, criticizing law enforcement's response to the demonstration. The protest was among thousands across the city expressing frustration with the Trump administration's immigration enforcement actions.

On June 7, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and ICE agents conducted enforcement operations in Paramount and Downey, California, with a staging area near a Home Depot store. The operations targeted individuals with active arrest warrants and criminal histories, resulting in at least 44 detentions. Word of the federal presence spread on social media, drawing over 1,000 protesters to the scene. Clashes erupted between federal agents in riot gear and demonstrators, with law enforcement deploying tear gas, flash-bang grenades, and pepper balls after protesters blocked vehicles and threw objects. The incident prompted the Trump administration to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles.

An ICE agent was recorded on video pulling a gun on a young woman whose father was being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Berclair area of Memphis.