Human Impact Project

Ward Sakeik, a 22-year-old stateless Palestinian woman married to a U.S. citizen, was released from ICE detention on July 2, 2025, after being detained for nearly five months starting in February when she returned from her honeymoon. Sakeik, who has lived in the U.S. since age 8, was arrested at St. Thomas Airport in the U.S. Virgin Islands while under an order of supervision and with a green card application pending. The government attempted to deport her twice, including once while a federal court order was in place, before releasing her.

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.

Outside San Francisco's immigration court, federal agents drove a vehicle through a crowd of protesters, with one protester clinging to the car before being flung into the street and nearly run over. Video also shows agents in body armor clashing with demonstrators and using pepper spray before the vehicle left the scene. One protester, who gave her first name as Sorin, said she was cut and bleeding after falling from the vehicle's hood.

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

Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juárez's wife, Cristy Maryori Villafranca Trejo, was detained outside a Walmart near Fort Bliss, Texas in July 2025 after missing an immigration court appearance, with the couple's 6-year-old daughter present. She has since been held at Camp East Montana, a detention facility on Fort Bliss, where Turcios said she developed an infection and went about a week without clean clothing. In August 2026, authorities attempted to deport her but removed her from the flight after a legal appeal was raised; Turcios said neither he nor his lawyer have received updates on her case from immigration officials.

Alexis, a 15-year-old from Chiapas, Mexico, was detained on July 1 when Florida Highway Patrol stopped a vehicle he was traveling in with friends and handed him over to federal authorities. He had no criminal record. The teenager spent three days at Alligator Alcatraz, a controversial temporary detention facility consisting of tents and chain-link pens, housed with adults and handcuffed during transfer. Officers said he misrepresented his age upon arrest because he feared being separated from his group. His father, Ignacio, learned of his detention only after three days when one of Alexis's friends called from the facility. After Ignacio sent a photo of Alexis's birth certificate and authorities confirmed his age, the boy was transferred to a federal shelter for migrant children on July 4. Ignacio, who fled Chiapas in 2018 due to violence, is working to reunite with his son. State officials have said minors are not held at Alligator Alcatraz, though a draft operational plan for the facility included provisions for separating and supervising minors if present.

A client of attorney George Rios was detained in July 2025 during a scheduled green card interview at the Fresno USCIS office. The client arrived with his wife, a U.S. citizen, but she was asked to step into the waiting area before ICE agents detained him. He was driven across the border at age four and presented himself to immigration officials, which counted as legal entry. Rios believes the real reason for detention was the client's criminal history, though the client has no criminal convictions and has been in the U.S. for at least 10 years, maintained good moral character, and is eligible for his green card. He is currently detained at a McFarland detention facility. His wife is a U.S. citizen, and his youngest child is less than a year old. Rios must prove several requirements at a hearing to give his client a chance to stay in the country, arguing that deportation would cause extreme hardship on his wife and children.

An undocumented single mother was arrested during a workplace raid at a cannabis farm in Southern California in July 2025. Her 10-month-old US citizen child was left with family friends as a result of her arrest and detention.

ICE conducted raids on cannabis farms near the California coast in summer 2025, arresting 361 workers and detaining 14 teen minors; more than a dozen US citizen children were left 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 three days after the raid, while a 10-month-old was left with family friends when her mother was arrested. During the raids, federal agents used riot gear, flash bang grenades, and smoke bombs, and a worker fleeing the facility fell 30 feet from a greenhouse roof and died. Months later, nonprofits report roughly half of those arrested have been deported, many remain in federal custody with only a few released on bond, and federal officials have denied requests for information about the detainees' whereabouts.

Kenia Perez, who had lived and worked in Texas for 10 years, was deported to Honduras by ICE after her arrest, leaving her three children without a caregiver. Her 14-year-old son, Isaac, could not immediately join her because he lacked a passport, so he later traveled to Honduras on his own about a month after her deportation. Her two younger children, both US citizens, eventually obtained passports and also joined their mother in Honduras.

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.

Miguel Silvestre, born in Stockton, California, claims he has been deported four times since 1999, despite possessing a valid birth certificate proving his U.S. citizenship. ICE issued an expedited removal order against him in 2025, the same year a prior removal order from 2004 had already confirmed his citizenship status. DHS stated Silvestre has no active immigration case, though the San Francisco Chronicle reported his account of the recent deportation notice and his emotional distress upon learning of it.

Miguel Silvestre, a U.S. citizen born in Stockton, California, claims he has been deported four times since 1999, most recently facing an expedited removal order in 2025 despite a 2004 court order confirming his citizenship. After the San Francisco Chronicle published his account, the Department of Homeland Security stated Silvestre has no active immigration case and is not subject to ICE enforcement action, though the agency maintains that in 1999 he had claimed to be a Mexican citizen with no legal status.

Johnny Noviello, a 49-year-old Canadian lawful permanent resident who had lived in Florida for nearly four decades, died on June 23, 2025, while in ICE custody at the Federal Detention Center Miami. Noviello was arrested by ICE on May 15, 2025, following drug trafficking and related criminal convictions, and was awaiting removal proceedings. During his approximately five-week detention, Noviello—who had epilepsy, hypertension, and mental health concerns—reported health issues and symptoms of illness but did not receive adequate medical monitoring or treatment. He was found unresponsive in the afternoon and pronounced dead after CPR and emergency response efforts failed. An autopsy determined the cause of death was acute kidney failure caused by calcium oxalate crystal deposits, which experts concluded was preventable with appropriate medical care. A complaint alleges that Bureau of Prisons health staff failed to properly evaluate, document, or create a treatment plan for Noviello despite observable symptoms. The FBI is investigating his death.

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.

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.

An Iranian national and his U.S. citizen wife pleaded guilty following a June 21, 2025 confrontation with ICE agents at their Tempe home. Mehrzad Asadi Eidivand pleaded guilty to being an immigrant in possession of firearms and ammunition, while his wife, Linet Vartaniann, pleaded guilty to threatening a federal law enforcement officer. A federal grand jury had indicted the couple on June 24 on these charges after ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers arrived to arrest Eidivand for failing to comply with a 2013 removal order he had unsuccessfully challenged before the Board of Immigration Appeals on several occasions. When officers arrived, Vartaniann refused to open the door, called Tempe police, and threatened to shoot anyone who entered the home; a search warrant executed the next day by ICE Homeland Security Investigations and ERO found two loaded firearms inside. Both face potential prison sentences at their November sentencing hearing.

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 pregnant U.S. citizen was detained by Border Patrol agents approximately two weeks prior to this report. The individual stated they did not believe they had done anything wrong. The article documents this immigration enforcement incident involving a U.S. citizen.

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.