Human Impact Project

Elaina Aghayeva, an Azerbaijani national and senior neuroscience researcher at Columbia University, was detained by Department of Homeland Security agents at a university residential building on February 26-27, 2026. DHS agents entered without a warrant and falsely claimed to be searching for a missing child. DHS stated Aghayeva's student visa had been terminated in 2016 for failing to attend classes, though her attorney and the university stated she was a current student in good standing. After approximately nine hours in custody, Aghayeva was released following intervention by NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who met with President Trump regarding the case. Aghayeva's attorney filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court, and the detention prompted student protests at Columbia University.

Aldrin, a hardworking father and primary household provider, was detained by ICE in early January 2026 in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, after agents followed him and his wife home from work. His young daughters witnessed the detention from their home window. He was transferred out of state to El Paso, Texas, where he allegedly received poor conditions and was denied needed medical care, then moved to a detention facility in New Mexico. His wife has been unable to work out of fear of leaving their children parentless, creating severe emotional and financial hardship for the family.

On February 9, 2026, ICE agents conducted a raid at a home in Lower Providence Township, Pennsylvania, targeting Jose Manuel Cordova Lopez, 26, a Mexican national whose work visa expired in 2021. Agents arrived in unmarked vehicles and civilian clothes, forced entry by breaking down the door, and injured a woman identified as Lupe Lopez during the operation. She reported being hit in the head by an officer. Children in the home were left shaken. State Rep. Joe Webster stated agents did not initially have a warrant and described the operation as chaotic. Lopez was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and ramming an ICE vehicle. Following the raid, neighbors provided assistance with door repairs and supplies, and family members called for an independent investigation into the use of force. A GoFundMe established for the family raised more than $10,000.

Efrem Yemane Berhe, a Cincinnati business owner and father of two from Eritrea, was detained by ICE agents outside his home on February 16, 2026, after living legally in the U.S. for 15 years. His detention stems from a civil immigration matter related to a prior marriage. A judge denied his bond request on March 5 citing flight risk concerns, and his family is appealing the decision while he awaits a green card hearing scheduled for April 30.

Guillermo M.R. was arrested by ICE at his family home in San Jose on February 14, 2026, following an Immigration Judge's decision ordering his detention without bond. The IJ found by clear and convincing evidence that M.R. was a danger to the community based on recent incidents involving law enforcement in 2025. M.R. challenged his detention claiming violations of his procedural and substantive due process rights, but the court denied his habeas petition.

Jesus Flores, a Mexican mechanic and father of six children, was detained by ICE agents who faked car trouble outside his home in Columbia Heights, Minnesota on Thursday afternoon. Security camera footage shows two women pretending to have mechanical problems at the curb; when Flores came out to help, ICE agents in other vehicles surrounded the driveway and apprehended him. Two of Flores' children have autism and require special care. His family reports he was transferred to El Paso, Texas within 48 hours, allegedly in violation of a federal judge's order. Flores is undocumented and was previously deported approximately 16 years ago.

Adelso Bravo, a 39-year-old house painter from Guatemala, was arrested by ICE agents on February 10 near his Syracuse home. After 18 days in the Batavia immigration detention center, he had a court hearing. With support from his wife, community members, and lawyers, plus $18,000 raised by friends and supporters, he was released on bond after 21 days in detention. Bravo had been living in Syracuse for over 20 years and had started his own painting business with a work permit.

On February 9-10, 2026, ICE agents conducted an enforcement operation in Lower Providence Township/Trooper area of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, to apprehend Jose Manuel Cordova Lopez, a Mexican citizen who overstayed his H-2A visa. The operation involved over 20 unmarked vehicles and masked federal agents who pursued Cordova Lopez to a residential home, broke down doors, and detained him while two minors and other family members were present. Elected officials commented on reports that an ICE agent assaulted a family member, broken doors caused distress to children and families, and the operation disrupted the neighborhood and prevented school bus pickup.

Federal Border Patrol and Homeland Security agents took Jose Cordova-Lopez into custody after a hours-long operation at a home in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Cordova-Lopez, a Mexican national with no legal status, was wanted in connection with immigration proceedings and allegedly resisting an ICE officer's attempted traffic stop. Family members reported that agents broke down the door and used force, with claims that one family member was hit in the face. Children were present during the operation.

ICE agents entered a San Antonio home on Thursday morning while searching for a 34-year-old man with an arrest warrant for illegal reentry. Homeowner Maggie Guillen recorded video showing armed agents entering without presenting a judicial warrant, despite women and children being present. According to Guillen, all people in the home were either U.S. citizens or had legal status. Agents had earlier pulled over her roommate and roommate's boyfriend at an unmarked vehicle, then followed them back to the home. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro called for an investigation into the incident.

Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano, a 10-year-old fourth-grader from Columbia Heights Public School District in suburban Minneapolis, was detained by ICE agents on January 6, 2026, along with her mother Rosa Elena Caisaguano Cajilema while being driven to her school bus stop. Agents told Elizabeth they would take her to school but instead transported both of them 1,200 miles to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. The family had fled Ecuador and sought asylum in 2020; their asylum application was denied in September 2025, but they had a pending appeal. Both developed illnesses during their month-long detention—Elizabeth with flu-like symptoms and her mother with hives—with limited medical care provided. At least six other children from the same school district were sent to the Dilley detention center over the following weeks as part of Operation Metro Surge. After a habeas corpus petition was filed, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ruled on February 2 that they could not be deported while their case proceeds. Elizabeth and her mother were released on February 3 and returned to Minnesota with their asylum appeal remaining pending.

Linet Vartanniavartanians, a naturalized U.S. citizen, and her husband Mehrzad Asadi Eidivand, an undocumented Iranian national, were arrested in June 2025 when HSI agents executed a warrant at their Tempe, Arizona home. Vartanniavartanians called 911 and threatened to shoot the agents if they entered; Eidivand possessed firearms as an undocumented immigrant. Both pleaded guilty and were released with time served and two years' probation in late November 2025. However, Eidivand was immediately re-detained by ICE and held at Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Calexico for three months. His attorney reports ICE has pressured him to sign a deportation order to Iran without legal representation, despite him facing an execution order there due to his opposition to Iran's Islamist regime. The attorney believes ICE is retaliating against the family over his brother's hunger strike in immigration detention.

An Iranian couple seeking asylum was detained and interrogated by DHS agents less than a week after U.S.-Israeli military strikes against Iran in late February 2026. The husband, who arrived on a tourist visa in November 2024 and filed for asylum after his visa expired, was held for three weeks at an ICE detention facility in California City before an immigration judge granted his release on bond. His pregnant wife was questioned but not arrested. Immigration attorneys report the incident reflects a broader pattern of heightened scrutiny of Iranians following the strikes.

An Iranian man seeking asylum was detained by ICE agents at his apartment less than a week after U.S.-Israeli military strikes against Iran in late February 2026. The couple had entered the U.S. legally on tourist visas in November 2024, filed for asylum after receiving threats from the Iranian government, and held pending asylum applications with work permits. The husband spent three weeks at the ICE detention facility in California City before an immigration judge granted his release on bond. His pregnant wife was questioned for hours but not arrested due to her pregnancy.

An ICE enforcement action resulted in the detention of a father in Hopkins, Minnesota, in front of his three children at their apartment building. The incident disrupted the family, with his wife Estefany Escobar going to work at a Minnesota hospital an hour after the arrest.

Jose Flores, 47, was arrested during an ICE operation in Oakmont. The arrest occurred while Flores was preparing for work with his wife Harriett and their 8-year-old daughter Lily. The operation disrupted the family's morning routine.

A mother was detained by ICE after going outside to warm her car. She was able to contact someone to inform them that her children would be left alone as a result of her detention.

Francoise Makuiza, a 32-year-old asylum seeker, was arrested by ICE on Friday morning while leaving for work at an assisted living facility in Portland. According to her attorney, Makuiza has no criminal history in Maine, has lived there for over 12 years, is the mother of a U.S. citizen, and was previously granted refugee status by Colombia after fleeing genocide in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her detention is part of an ICE enforcement surge that has resulted in more than 200 arrests in Maine, including asylum seekers complying with immigration officials and immigrants married to U.S. citizens.

Ricky Chandee, an engineering technician for Minneapolis, was detained by ICE agents at his home in Brooklyn Park on January 24 during a surge of federal enforcement in Minnesota. Chandee, a Laotian refugee who was convicted of a drive-by shooting decades ago and never naturalized as a U.S. citizen, was transported to El Paso, Texas, where he faces possible deportation to Laos. The article describes how Laotian refugees who arrived after the Vietnam War are being deported at unprecedented rates under the Trump administration's mass deportation agenda, despite having built lives in Minnesota for decades.

Alberto Castañeda Mondragón, a 31-year-old Mexican citizen, sustained eight skull fractures during an ICE arrest on January 8, 2026, in a St. Paul shopping center parking lot. According to Castañeda, ICE agents pulled him from a vehicle, threw him to the ground, and repeatedly struck him in the head with a steel baton. He was hospitalized at Hennepin County Medical Center in intensive care with fractures to the front, back, and both sides of his skull along with brain hemorrhaging. Hospital staff told the Associated Press that the injuries were inconsistent with ICE's account that he fell against a concrete wall while attempting to flee while handcuffed. Castañeda filed a habeas corpus petition alleging federal agents interfered with his medical care and detained him based on his appearance. FBI and St. Paul Police are investigating the incident.

Elvis Tipan-Echeverria and his 2-year-old daughter, both Ecuadorian citizens, were detained by ICE agents on January 23, 2026, after agents pursued their vehicle in a targeted enforcement operation near their Minneapolis home. Agents entered the family's driveway without a warrant, broke the vehicle window while the child was inside, and transported both father and daughter to a federal facility. Despite a court order issued at 8:11 p.m. on January 23 requiring the child's immediate release, ICE placed them on a commercial flight to Texas by 8:30 p.m. The child was returned to her mother in Minnesota on January 24, but her father remains in custody. A federal court order has barred ICE from removing the father from Minnesota during ongoing proceedings.

ICE agents confronted Ecuadorian immigrant Cristian Vaca at his home in Maine, with an agent threatening on camera to 'come back for your whole family.' Vaca arrived from Ecuador in September 2023 and reported having a work permit and a scheduled immigration hearing. The incident occurred during ICE's 'Operation Catch of the Day' enforcement operation in Maine.

Elvis Tipan-Echeverria, an Ecuadorian citizen, and his 2-year-old daughter were taken into ICE custody on January 23, 2026, during a vehicle encounter at their home in Minneapolis. Despite a federal court order issued that evening requiring the child's immediate release, both were flown to Texas the same night. The toddler, who has lived in Minneapolis since arriving as a newborn and has a pending asylum application, was returned to her mother on January 24. Her father remains in ICE custody. The detention was part of a broader ICE operation in Minnesota that resulted in at least nine children being detained in January 2026, including a 5-year-old detained on his way home from preschool and several other minors ranging from elementary school age to teenagers. Federal judges ordered the return of several other children and parents to Minnesota after they were transferred to a detention center in Texas.

ICE agents detained five-year-old Liam Ramos and his father at their home in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, using the child as bait to gain entry despite the family having an active asylum case and no deportation order. Federal agents have detained children as young as four years old in ICE custody.

Micheline Ntumba, a Portland resident and mother of four from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was detained by ICE agents on January 21, 2026, after dropping off her child at Portland High School. According to her daughter, agents followed Ntumba home to her apartment parking lot near Deering Oaks Park, took her phone and wallet, and placed her in their vehicle without asking for identification or explanation. Ntumba has been in the United States for almost 10 years, has no criminal record, and has a pending asylum application.

Elinor Hilton, a Portland resident, was recording federal agents conducting an immigration enforcement operation at a Home Depot when agents captured her face and license plate with their phones. One agent told her, "I hope you know that if you keep coming to things like this, you are going to be on a domestic terrorist watchlist. Then we're going to come to your house later tonight." Fearful of the threat, Hilton did not stay at her home that night. She has since reduced how often she observes federal agents, now parking her car several blocks away from her home and family members' homes and leaving her personal phone at home when observing, fearing federal agents might recognize her car and detain her. She is a co-plaintiff in the federal class action lawsuit challenging DHS's surveillance and intimidation of observers.

On January 18, 2026, ICE agents conducted a raid on the home of ChongLy Scott Thao, a U.S. citizen with no criminal record, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Agents pointed guns at family members and handcuffed Thao without presenting a warrant; after confirming his citizenship through fingerprinting, ICE released him without apology or explanation. The incident occurred in front of his 5-year-old grandson. The raid prompted a protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, where one of the pastors worked for ICE. Subsequently, 30 protesters have been indicted on federal crimes, along with civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong and journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for their roles in the demonstration.

On January 18, 2026, ICE officers entered the home of Chongly "Scott" Thao, a 56-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen and Hmong American man, without a warrant and detained him for several hours. Agents removed Thao from his residence in minimal clothing during sub-freezing weather. ICE stated they were searching for two convicted sex offenders with ties to the property, but Thao denied knowing the men and one remained incarcerated. Ramsey County authorities launched an investigation into potential crimes including kidnapping, burglary, false imprisonment, and constitutional rights violations. Thao was released after ICE confirmed his U.S. citizenship and lack of criminal record.

A federal judge ordered the release of Garrison Gibson, a 37-year-old Liberian man, four days after heavily armed immigration agents broke into his Minneapolis home using a battering ram and arrested him. The judge ruled that the agents violated Gibson's Fourth Amendment rights by entering his home without his consent and without a judicial warrant. Gibson had been living legally in the U.S. under an order of supervision and had checked in with immigration authorities days before his arrest.

Ramon Menera, a naturalized US citizen born in Mexico, was detained by a US Border Patrol agent outside his home in a Minneapolis suburb on January 14, 2026, while walking with his five-year-old daughter. The agent cited Menera's accent as the reason for questioning. His citizenship was verified through federal records and he was released. The incident, part of Operation Metro Surge, has prompted legal challenges alleging racial profiling and civil rights violations, with lawsuits filed by the Minnesota Attorney General and the ACLU.

Alfredo A. Aljorna was detained by ICE agents at a Minneapolis home on January 14, 2026, and initially charged after agents claimed he and his cousin attacked an officer with a shovel and broom. Video evidence contradicted ICE's account, leading the Justice Department to drop charges in February. U.S. authorities have opened a criminal investigation into whether two ICE officers lied under oath about the shooting; the officers have been placed on administrative leave and may face termination and criminal prosecution.

ICE officer Christian Castro was charged with four counts of assault in the second degree and one count of falsely reporting a crime after shooting Venezuelan immigrant Julio Sosa-Celis in the leg through the front door of a residence during an attempted immigration arrest on January 14, 2026. Prosecutors determined that both Sosa-Celis and another man in the home were in Minnesota lawfully, making the shooting a case of mistaken identity. Video evidence contradicted the agency's initial claim that the men had attacked officers with a shovel and broom. The Hennepin County attorney's office issued a nationwide arrest warrant for Castro.

Tear gas was deployed into a home during an ICE arrest operation Friday night in the Berclair area of Memphis involving a family, ICE agents, and the Memphis Safe Task Force. Children were exposed to tear gas during the operation, though they were sheltered in a closet.

A Liberian man was arrested after armed immigration agents used a battering ram to enter his Minneapolis home. According to his attorney, the man had been checking in with federal authorities for years prior to the raid.

ICE agents surrounded a family's home with weapons drawn and pointed guns at an unarmed mother and her children. Agents briefly detained a U.S. citizen teenager without a warrant before releasing him after realizing they lacked authority to arrest him. The incident involved armed agents at an unarmed family inside their own home.

Kong Vang, a St. Paul resident, recorded federal immigration agents knocking on his door in the Frogtown neighborhood. Vang refused to open the door after agents did not explain the purpose of their visit, and they left after about 90 seconds. The video was posted to Facebook and received over 400,000 views.

Garrison Gibson, a Liberian national in his late 30s living in north Minneapolis, was arrested by ICE agents on January 11, 2026, when they used a battering ram to break down his door. Gibson had been regularly checking in with immigration authorities. According to Gibson's account, the agents took trophy photos during the arrest and held him in an overcrowded cell. The agents were armed with an administrative warrant rather than a judicial search warrant.

Parady La, a 46-year-old Cambodian refugee and longtime Philadelphia-area resident, died in January 2026 after being detained by ICE. La was arrested by ICE on January 6 outside his home and held at the Federal Detention Center (FDC Philadelphia), where he was treated for severe drug withdrawal. On January 7, officers found him unresponsive in his cell, administered CPR and Narcan, and transported him to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he was diagnosed with anoxic brain injury, shock, and multiple organ failures. He died on January 9. His family and organizations including the ACLU of Pennsylvania and CAIR-Philadelphia demanded accountability and transparency, with the ACLU filing a Freedom of Information Act request for records related to his detention, medical treatment, and death.

Thi Dua Vang, who legally came to the U.S. in December 2023 and is awaiting green card approval, was detained by ICE agents on January 8, 2026 at her St. Paul home. She was transferred to detention facilities in Texas for nearly two weeks before an immigration judge ordered her release on bond. Since her release and required check-in with ICE, agents have reportedly returned to her home three additional times attempting to make contact.

Rafael Vela, a 64-year-old from El Salvador who had lived in the U.S. for over 40 years, was detained by federal agents outside his Silver Lake home on January 7, 2026. Video footage shows masked agents struggling to detain Vela as he reached his doorstep before removing him in an unmarked vehicle. Vela believed he had permanent resident status, but a letter later confirmed discrepancies regarding his actual residency status. Neighbors described him as a friendly community member and expressed concern about the force used during the detention. DHS confirmed the arrest as part of an immigration enforcement operation.

A 17-year-old girl was detained by ICE agents along with her mother after agents entered their apartment complex. The family was transported to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, where the girl remained detained as of the article's publication.

Two dogs were left confined in an Oklahoma apartment without food or water for approximately a week after ICE agents detained their owners during an enforcement operation in January 2026. A neighbor alerted the property manager after noticing the distressed animals, and animal welfare officers found the dogs frightened, in a damaged apartment, and without sustenance. The responding officer stated that ICE did not notify local animal control of the pets' presence, despite what he said is standard protocol to inform animal control when animals are left behind during arrests.

In January 2026, federal agents posing as utility company employees knocked on several homes in Gresham, a suburb east of Portland, Oregon, with the goal of getting migrants to come out of their houses, according to complaints from three affected families. The families reported the incident to state lawmaker Ricky Ruiz, identifying the agents as ICE. Ruiz stated: "They are doing everything they can to deceive people, lie to our community and then detain them. They don't even follow the law." The incident prompted local utility companies Portland General Electric and Northwest Natural to issue statements warning about people using "pressure tactics to get into homes" and emphasizing that their employees carry official identification and never ask to enter homes.

Rafaela Neri Angel, a Mexican citizen who entered the U.S. in June 1998 with no criminal history, was detained by ICE on December 28, 2025, outside her home without any pre-deprivation process or notice, despite not being subject to a final removal order. She has cancer requiring monthly medical monitoring and is the primary financial support for her family. On June 18, 2026, the federal court granted her petition for habeas corpus and ordered her immediate release, finding that her detention without pre-deprivation due process violated the Constitution, and enjoined respondents from re-detaining her without written notice and a pre-deprivation hearing.

Dulce Consuelo Díaz Morales, a 22-year-old U.S. citizen born in Maryland, was detained by ICE near her home on December 14 and held for 25 days across five facilities. Despite her attorneys presenting a U.S. birth certificate and other documentation proving her citizenship, ICE disputed her status and asserted she was a Mexican citizen who entered unlawfully. A federal judge issued an order blocking her deportation four days after arrest, and she was subsequently released, though deportation proceedings remain open.

Jose Gomez and his 13-year-old son were detained by ICE agents in unmarked SUVs in Eden Prairie on Thursday morning while moving their car after a snowstorm. The boy was tackled, handcuffed, and questioned about his legal status; he later required medical attention for an abnormal heartbeat triggered by the stress. Both are undocumented immigrants from Mexico; Gomez's family believes he was randomly targeted and says ICE lacked a warrant for his arrest. The boy was released to his aunt's house, but Gomez remained in ICE custody.

ICE agents raided a home in Burnsville, Minnesota on Saturday, arresting four people including a couple whose 7-year-old son was left in the care of another arrested man's pregnant wife. Ring camera footage shows agents detaining the couple as they arrived home from the grocery store. Family members inside the home alleged that ICE agents entered without presenting a warrant and pointed guns at residents, including a pregnant woman and children.

ICE agents engaged in an hours-long standoff with a man who barricaded himself in a second-floor apartment unit in Elgin on Saturday. Federal agents deployed tear gas canisters and flash-bang grenades while protesters gathered to provide supplies to the man on the balcony. One person was detained around 3 p.m. after agents breached the building. Community members clashed with agents. State officials made statements regarding the incident.

A woman's security camera captured federal ICE agents chasing her home in Louisiana. She says she ran away from the agents after telling them she was a US-born citizen. CNN's Victor Blackwell interviewed the woman about the incident.

Jacelynn Guzman, a 23-year-old U.S.-born citizen, was chased by masked Border Patrol agents to her home in Marrero, Louisiana while walking from a corner store. The agents were conducting a targeted enforcement operation but mistakenly pursued Guzman, who was not the intended target. The agents stopped at the property line and left after the altercation.