Human Impact Project

On May 6, 2025, ICE and HSI agents conducted unannounced visits to more than 100 Washington-area businesses, including nearly a dozen well-known restaurants, as part of a Trump administration immigration enforcement crackdown targeting employers suspected of employing undocumented workers. Agents requested I-9 employment verification forms and issued Notice of Inspection documents requiring record production within three business days at establishments including Chef Geoff's, Pupatella, Millie's, Chang Chang, Jaleo, Clyde's and Cynthia. DHS confirmed more than 100 Notices of Inspection were served and said no arrests were made during the operations. Restaurant owners, managers and industry members commented on the visits to the local food community.

ICE officers arrested dozens of delivery and rideshare drivers at the gates of Camp Pendleton military base in California as part of an "interagency security initiative" launched in May 2025. Many of those detained had temporary permission to work in the U.S. and were employed by apps like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and GrubHub. Federal judges have repeatedly found the detentions violated due process, yet the base and ICE continue the practice.

Martín Majín was detained by federal agents outside his barbershop in Pomona on Tuesday, with the arrest captured on security camera video showing agents approaching with weapons. He was released Wednesday after an immigration judge granted his release without bail. Majín, who was deported nearly 20 years ago and returned to the United States unauthorized months later, is scheduled to appear before an immigration judge again on May 29 in Los Angeles court.

Eight undocumented immigrants were arrested by ICE agents at a Las Vegas worksite, according to Laura Martin, executive director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. Plainclothes federal agents targeted the business, prompting immigrant advocates to warn of increased federal immigration enforcement activity in the Las Vegas area. The Nevada Immigrant Coalition, which includes PLAN, the Culinary Union, and ACLU of Nevada, organized a news conference and press briefing to alert residents and advise them on their rights during ICE encounters. Advocates noted that enforcement operations have been targeting workplaces, particularly construction sites. Undocumented immigrants make up 9% of Nevada's workforce, the largest share of any state.

ICE conducted a raid on a paint business in El Cajon on March 27, 2025, arresting Jorge Lopez Leon and approximately 14 other workers. Lopez Leon, a father of four whose wife is a U.S. citizen and who was in the process of obtaining a green card, was detained at Otay Mesa Detention Center. The operation involved dozens of agents with weapons and resulted in the deportation of at least three workers who chose not to contest their cases in immigration court.

Sergio Garcia Silva, a 65-year-old chef who lived in the United States for 36 years, was deported to Mexico by ICE on March 25, 2025, after being arrested at his food truck in Waco. He had no criminal record aside from a two-decade-old deportation order for illegal re-entry that had never previously been enforced; his restaurant, El Siete Mares, had once catered a breakfast for President George W. Bush's White House press corps. After deportation, he was held captive by an extortion group in Mexico and was later apprehended by Border Patrol while attempting to return, resulting in a second deportation in June 2025. The ordeal separated him from his four U.S.-born children, though his wife, Sandra, later reunited with him in her hometown of Monterrey.

A federal judge ruled that the February 2025 arrests of 12 employees at El Potro Mexican Restaurant in Liberty, Missouri by armed Department of Homeland Security agents were unlawful. According to court documents, ICE officers came looking for one person believed to have a felony narcotics conviction, then had the restaurant owner bring employees in one at a time without informing them they could decline to speak with agents. The judge found 11 of the 12 arrests lacked probable cause, ruling only one lawful due to prior removal history, and found agents had prepared forms justifying the arrests that did not include facts supporting probable cause.

ICE agents detained an employee at a Minneapolis business owned by Nesta Rodriguez. Rodriguez spoke to Sky News about the incident.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations Kalispell, with support from Spokane Border Patrol, conducted a worksite operation at a construction site in Bigfork on March 4, 2025. Acting on a tip, agents served a notice of inspection and encountered 17 undocumented immigrants. All 17 were taken into custody and found ineligible to remain in the United States. The investigation remains ongoing.

Sergio Garcia, a Mexican chef, was deported by ICE in March 2025 after 36 years living in the United States. Garcia had no criminal record besides a two-decade-old deportation order for illegal re-entry from 1989. He was apprehended while loading his food truck. His deportation separated him from his four U.S.-born adult children and wife. After deportation, he was held captive in Mexico and faced violence in Chiapas.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Emine and Celal Emanet, owners of Jersey Kebab restaurant in Haddon Township, New Jersey on February 25, 2025. The couple, who came from Turkey nearly two decades ago on visas, had fallen out of legal status and were being detained by ICE. Celal Emanet was released with an ankle monitor, while his wife remains in ICE custody awaiting a bond hearing scheduled for mid-March.

Sergey Kostenyuk, a longtime Spokane resident who came to the U.S. from Ukraine as a child refugee more than 30 years ago, was arrested by ICE agents who posed as customers on Facebook Marketplace seeking to buy a chicken coop from his shed-building business. He was detained for over two months based on two 2018 felony theft convictions before a judge ruled he did not meet federal criteria for deportation and ordered his release. Kostenyuk runs the business with his partner of more than 20 years, Mary Lesotti, with whom he has two sons.

Rafael Flores Martinez, a father and husband, was detained by ICE in February 2025 while working at his family's pupusa stand in Pacoima, California. He was held at Adelanto ICE Processing Center for over a year before being transferred to El Paso, Texas in June 2026, then to Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center. As of June 25, 2026, he was suspected to be at Alexandria International Airport awaiting deportation to El Salvador despite having legal grounds to file additional appeals.

ICE agents raided Ocean Seafood Depot at Adams and Delancey streets in Newark, New Jersey, on January 23, 2025, detaining both undocumented workers and U.S. citizens. The business owner said about a dozen agents entered without a warrant or court order around 11 a.m., demanded employee identification, and took three people into custody. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said one detainee was a U.S. military veteran whose military documentation was questioned by agents, and he denounced the raid as a violation of Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure. Rep. LaMonica McIver called for answers from the Department of Homeland Security about how the agency detained citizens and a veteran without a warrant. ICE confirmed the operation occurred and acknowledged U.S. citizens may have been detained during the enforcement action.

Pancho's Taqueria in Circle Pines temporarily closed after an employee was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers earlier in January. The restaurant states the employee held a valid work visa and was detained while taking out trash. The restaurant has since reopened with limited hours and restricted access.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducted a multi-day enforcement operation in Kern County that resulted in 78 arrests, including farmworkers in the Central Valley. The operation, called Operation Return to Sender, resulted in widespread fear among immigrant families and workers, with many staying home from work and struggling to locate detained relatives. Border Patrol officials stated the operation targeted transnational criminal organizations. Community advocates and elected officials raised concerns about potential racial profiling and the impact on the agricultural industry.

Alvaro Arias was detained by ICE on January 10, 2025, while working on a home near the Imperial and Garfield area in Southgate, California. His family is raising funds to cover legal representation and associated case expenses.

Federal immigration officers detained a contractor in a parking lot at General Mills' Chanhassen facility in mid-January, an incident captured in a video shared on social media. General Mills said it asked agents for identification and followed its safety protocols, while the Carver County sheriff's office said it had no record of the arrest. The Department of Homeland Security later said officers pulled over and arrested an individual in the lot who had entered the country in 2023. The incident occurred amid increased ICE activity across Minnesota, with companies including Target and Caribou Coffee also affected and state officials warning of strain on businesses' payrolls.

Juan Manuel Arellano Zepeda, a 48-year-old Mexican national and owner of El Fresco restaurant in Bloomington, was detained by ICE on January 6 and held in El Paso, Texas. Arellano Zepeda, who has lived in the U.S. for 25 years and has a pending Visa T application, was initially reported missing by his family after they found his car empty with the driver's side window rolled down. His daughter Laura Janyra Arellano Molina told Newsweek that her father called to say he was being taken to El Paso, and the family later identified him in ICE facility photos posted on social media. The restaurant described Arellano Zepeda as "always characterized by his kindness and respect toward his customers and the public." His family said he has no criminal record and has not had a court hearing as of the article's publication.

In January 2025, agents held a 21-year-old U.S. citizen at gunpoint and handcuffed him during an immigration raid at the Philadelphia car wash where he worked.