Human Impact Project

Sae Joon Park, 57, a Korean-born US Army veteran awarded a Purple Heart after being shot in the spine during the 1989 US invasion of Panama, self-deported to South Korea last year after ICE threatened to detain him at a routine immigration check-in over old criminal convictions. Park, who moved to the US at age 7 to join his mother, later settled in Hawaii, where he raised his two adult children, cared for his elderly mother and worked at the Aloha Kia auto dealership before his removal order led to deportation. He developed untreated PTSD after his military service, leading to a crack cocaine addiction, a 2007 drug possession conviction in Queens, N.Y., and a later bail-jumping conviction after he was apprehended in Hawaii and extradited to New York. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pardoned Park for the bail-jumping conviction last week, one of six pardons she granted after his legal team petitioned since January; his attorneys said the pardon does not guarantee his return, and Park remains in Busan, South Korea, separated from his family.

Khalil, a 24-year-old Afghan man whose brother served alongside U.S. forces in the Afghan Army and another brother died fighting the Taliban as a pilot, was deported to the Central African Republic despite having been granted 'withholding of removal' by a U.S. immigration judge in August 2025. His family in Afghanistan had received threats from the Taliban because of his brothers' work supporting the U.S. military, according to court documents. The flight that landed in Bangui also carried 12 Afghans, eight Iranians, and several people from Nepal and Nicaragua; it was the second such flight to the Central African Republic since June, when two dozen migrants including an Iranian woman facing persecution were deported there. He crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in 2024 and was held in ICE custody throughout his time in the U.S.; he did not qualify for asylum due to a Biden-era policy requiring migrants to seek protection in other countries first. A retired Marine colonel who supervised his brother said he fears Khalil could be killed if eventually returned to Afghanistan.

Venkata Vasamsetty, a 59-year-old green card holder who moved to the U.S. from India in 1999, works as a special-needs substitute teacher with Wake County Public School System in Cary, North Carolina, and is a grandmother with a husband, two U.S.-citizen daughters, and grandchildren. Her immigration troubles began after a 2022 trip to India to care for her ill father, during which she contracted COVID-19 and remained abroad for more than seven months, prompting DHS to allege she had abandoned her permanent residency. An immigration judge dismissed that case in May after DHS missed a court deadline, but she was detained anyway during a check-in at the Charlotte ICE office her attorney said she was not legally required to attend, and was transferred to the Irwin County Detention Center in rural Georgia. Her daughter Teja, an immigration attorney, said she was shackled during the arrest while family pleaded with officers. Family and her attorney, Helen Parsonage, said her type 2 diabetes worsened in custody, with low blood sugar, weight loss, and the facility largely ignoring requests for an adequate vegetarian diet respecting her Hindu dietary restrictions. After more than two weeks in detention, an immigration judge in Georgia granted her release on a $7,500 bond, citing her long-standing U.S. ties, a home, tax returns dating back to 2012, her teaching job, and her history of never missing a court appearance or check-in.

Jianxian Yu, a 52-year-old asylum seeker from China who has lived in the United States since December 2019, was arrested by ICE immediately after attending a scheduled interview on his pending asylum application at a USCIS office in Tustin, California on April 9, 2026. He had entered lawfully on a B-2 visitor visa, filed for asylum in 2021, and was granted employment authorization while his case remained pending; during his time in the U.S. he started his own business, held a valid driver's license, paid taxes, and became an active member of his church, being baptized in 2025. He had no criminal convictions and had complied with all immigration appointments. His arrest was based on a claimed foreign warrant referral from Chinese authorities, though the government never submitted the warrant or supporting evidence, and his notice to appear listed only a visa overstay. An immigration judge denied him bond on April 29, 2026, citing flight risk, after which he was transferred to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. Yu filed a federal habeas petition arguing his detention violated due process, and on August 21, 2026, a magistrate judge granted the petition, ordering his immediate release and barring re-detention without prior notice and a hearing; the case was then dismissed with prejudice.

ICE agents detained a Cambodian man Tuesday morning while he was working at Veranda Asian Market in Woodfords Corner, Portland, Maine. His name has not been publicly released, but Khmer Maine, a nonprofit in contact with him, described him as "quiet, kind and a hard worker." Marpheen Chann, executive director of Khmer Maine, said the arrest has sparked fear in local Asian immigrant communities and is "hurting Maine's local economy and making our communities feel less safe." Khmer Maine says it is working with his family and immigration advocates to ensure transparency. ICE has not released statistics on its recent operations in Maine, though national ICE detention numbers reached a record high of more than 65,000 last month.

Nazira Haji Zada, a 47-year-old Afghan lawful permanent resident, was arrested at her home in Fort Worth, Texas, in July 2026 after prosecutors alleged she supported a plan by her son and son-in-law to carry out an ISIS-inspired mass shooting on Election Day 2024. Rather than face criminal charges, the Justice Department pursued the first-ever case against her in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, a specialized federal tribunal created in 1996 but never previously used, which permits the use of classified evidence. Her court-appointed public defenders challenged the proceedings on due process grounds and questioned the court's constitutionality, arguing evidence had been withheld from her defense, though the judge allowed the case to proceed. Haji Zada ultimately waived her right to contest the proceedings and consented to removal, and a federal judge ordered her deportation to Afghanistan on August 20. Her son Abdullah was separately sentenced to 15 years in prison, and her son-in-law pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges.

Masuma Khan, 64, a Bangladeshi immigrant with no criminal history who arrived in the U.S. in 1997 and has long worked at a local restaurant, was detained at the California City Detention Facility after a routine ICE check-in in October 2025. During her month in custody, she intermittently or never received medications for high blood pressure, hypothyroidism, prediabetes, and glaucoma, receiving asthma medication only two days before release and never getting eye drops; staff told her to buy medications from the commissary, which did not stock them. Since her release, Khan has suffered PTSD and ongoing health issues, and has become fearful of leaving her home. Advocates allege ICE uses intimidation tactics on detainees nearing release, including driving them to airport tarmacs to pressure self-deportation. Supporters are now urging California lawmakers, including Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, and Governor Gavin Newsom, to pass SB995, the Masuma Khan Justice Act.

Jun Qiu, a Chinese national who runs Fantasy Nails on Low Street in Newburyport, was detained by ICE agents who entered the salon "with guns drawn," according to Mayor Sean Reardon. Eyewitnesses reported the operation left customers shaken, and the mayor called it "incredibly frightening and traumatic," adding that the city does not condone the manner in which the operation was carried out. DHS said Qiu is in ICE custody pending removal proceedings; he had been arrested days earlier by local police on misdemeanor harassment and threat charges and had pleaded not guilty. The city said it did not participate in or receive advance notice of the ICE operation, and Reardon said officials are continuing to gather information from those involved or who witnessed the incident.

A Filipino man who had lived in the United States for over 20 years as a lawful permanent resident, having first arrived through California in April 2004, was deported by DHS on August 18, 2026, following a final removal order issued by an immigration judge on July 2. DHS cited his affiliation with the Asian Boys gang and a California criminal record including convictions for voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault with a firearm, and drug possession, stemming from the 2018 death of a US Navy sailor on a San Diego freeway. He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and related charges and was sentenced in 2020 to nine years and eight months in California state prison.

A 24-year-old Afghan man identified in court records as Khalil, who had previously been granted legal protection against removal to Afghanistan by a U.S. immigration judge due to the threat of Taliban persecution, was deported to the Central African Republic despite his protected status. His attorney, Alma David, said his family faced direct threats from the Taliban because of his brothers' history of supporting U.S. military operations: one brother, who lives in the United States, served in the Afghan National Army, while another, trained as a pilot by the U.S. military, was killed by the Taliban. He was among 12 Afghans on a flight that arrived in Bangui, alongside eight Iranians and individuals from Nepal and Nicaragua. It was the second deportation flight to the Central African Republic since June, when roughly two dozen migrants, including an Iranian woman fearing persecution, were sent there under similar arrangements.

A Filipino national from Cebu, identified in recent reporting as Raul Raagas, was arrested by ICE during a traffic stop in Jersey City following a July 24 family court hearing, and has since been transferred from the Elizabeth, New Jersey facility to a detention center in Mississippi. According to the Philippine Consulate General in New York, he entered the United States decades ago on an athlete visa through the Gintong Alay sports program, and the Consulate reported he is in good spirits and good condition. Raagas, 30, is the father of two U.S. citizen children, and Hudson County officials are investigating possible cooperation between county employees and ICE in connection with his detention. His bond hearing, originally set for Aug. 20, was postponed twice before finally taking place on Sept. 30.

Jack Chung, a lawful permanent resident and asylee who fled China after participating in pro-democracy protests, was taken into ICE custody on August 8 following what his family describes as a retaliatory report from a business associate. Chung, a father of three including a newborn, was transferred through Washington State and Virginia before being detained at a facility in Natchez, Mississippi, thousands of miles from his wife and children in Alaska. His wife Mojo is now caring for their newborn and two young sons alone in Alaska without his income, and the family is raising money for legal representation to fight the detention.

Jewish Family and Community Services of Pittsburgh (JFCS) filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration alleging policies push unaccompanied immigrant children toward deportation even when they qualify for legal status. The suit names six teen plaintiffs from Vietnam, Guinea, El Salvador and Guatemala, all described as victims of abuse, abandonment, neglect or trafficking. Among them is KTN, a 19-year-old from Vietnam who fled severe, repeated physical abuse by his father and was approved for Special Immigrant Juvenile status in May, yet was ordered deported in July. Another plaintiff, 17-year-old Guatemalan trafficking survivor FYCT, was ordered deported despite applying for T nonimmigrant status after being confirmed as a trafficking victim. The lawsuit alleges immigration judges have been instructed to deny children meaningful time to pursue pending applications, citing government data showing removal and voluntary departure orders against minors have nearly quadrupled. JFCS staff say hundreds of their young clients are at risk, and the filing coincided with two Pittsburgh-area members of Congress questioning the administration's decision to end a contract funding attorneys for roughly 20,000 unaccompanied children nationwide, including about 700 in Pennsylvania.

Kuya Rob, a Filipino migrant father, was detained by ICE in California and has been held for more than 400 days at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington. His detention has separated him from his son and elderly mother. Advocates with the Tanggol Migrante Movement have organized a petition campaign, gathering over 439 signatures, citing detention conditions and what they describe as neglect by the Philippine Consulate.

Paul, an Indian national with an order withholding his removal based on Convention Against Torture protections, was detained by ICE officers at Dulles Airport after returning from a family trip to Hawaii. As he was being processed at an ICE field office in Virginia, Paul suffered a heart attack, was hospitalized and treated, then released back to ICE custody. He was subsequently released under a preexisting ICE supervision arrangement with his next check-in scheduled for September. His attorney, Jay S. Marks, noted that Paul has protection from removal to India but could be deported to a third country.

ICE arrested Jaime Tan Francisco, a 55-year-old man from the Philippines, and took him into custody on August 2 pending removal proceedings. He was admitted to the U.S. in Detroit in April 2000 but overstayed his authorized admission period, which expired in October of that year. Las Vegas police had previously arrested him in July on charges including domestic battery, attempted arson, drug possession, resisting an officer, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He also has prior criminal convictions for harassment and methamphetamine possession.

Pritesh Walia, a rising Indian jazz guitarist born in New Delhi, was arrested at Los Angeles Airport on August 2 for overstaying his O1B visa, which was set to expire in August 2025. Walia arrived in the U.S. in January 2019 and has studied at Musician's Institute, Berklee College of Music, and New England Conservatory, earning degrees in music. He is now being held at Adelanto ICE processing center in Southern California. According to his friend and former classmate saxophonist Joey Rosin, Walia suffers from persistent postural perceptual dizziness, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, and chronic vestibular migraines requiring aggressive physical therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and carefully balanced medication regimens. Rosin expressed concern that the detention facility's fluorescent lighting and conditions may prevent Walia from sleeping and worsen his chronic health conditions. Walia's newest album, "Journey to Nowhere," featuring a 27-piece ensemble, is being released this month.

A father has been detained by ICE and is facing deportation to Laos after spending most of his life in the United States. He is the primary financial provider for his family, leaving his wife to care for their younger son and manage household expenses alone. His daughter organized a GoFundMe to help cover legal and immigration expenses, travel and communication costs to stay connected with him, and basic living expenses while the family adjusts to losing his income.

Khandaker Nazmunnessa Ullah, a Bangladeshi native who came to the U.S. in 1994, is a married mother of four and owns a convenience store with her family in Nashua. Federal prosecutors are seeking to strip her of U.S. citizenship, alleging she lied about her immigration history when applying for naturalization in 2007. Authorities claim fingerprint records show Ullah was ordered deported in 1995 under a different name before being granted lawful permanent residency in 1996. No court records suggest she committed any crime or human rights abuses.

Raul Raagas, a 63-year-old Filipino immigrant from Cebu City who has lived in the U.S. for over three decades and worked in sanitation in Jersey City, was detained by ICE on July 24, 2026, and held at the CoreCivic Elizabeth Detention Center. As of August 22, 2026, advocates with the Tanggol Migrante Movement said they could no longer locate Raagas through ICE's custody information and that his attorney believes a transfer out of state, possibly to Louisiana, may be imminent. Supporters monitored activity at the Elizabeth facility and Newark Liberty International Airport while the group contacted the Philippine Consulate General in New York for assistance and planned a protest outside the consulate. Raagas's family and local officials, including Jersey City Councilman Rolando R. Lavarro Jr. and Assemblymember Steven Raga, continue pushing for his release amid concern that a transfer could hinder his contact with family and legal counsel.