Human Impact Project

ICE agents wearing masks boarded a Houston METRO bus to carry out arrests, prompting outrage among local residents. The incident drew public reaction over safety concerns for people using public transit in the city.

ICE agents detained four people working for tree removal companies in Stamford, part of enforcement operations that continued across the city Monday through Wednesday and extended to Danbury and Bridgeport, with a total of at least 21 people detained, according to CT Students for a Dream. Agents were reported operating near locations including Home Depot, Richmond Hill Avenue, Lockwood Avenue, Wilson Street, Harbor Point and the Stamford train station, and some detained individuals were later released after showing documentation. Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons said she was "horrified by the cruelty" of the actions, stating that the city's streets should not see people "randomly removed" with their rights violated, and reaffirmed Stamford as a welcoming city for immigrants. ICE said it does not discuss specific operations for security reasons.

At least 16 people were arrested by ICE agents in Danbury on Monday, according to community advocates, with about half detained at a day laborer site in Kennedy Park and others stopped outside residences or businesses. Advocates said agents returned to the park twice to make arrests, and that one detained man requires dialysis treatment while another is the father of a high school student. Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves said city officials were not notified in advance of the operation and said agents appeared to be 'pulling random people' who looked Latino. Gov. Ned Lamont said the arrests did not appear targeted at violent criminals, calling those detained 'laborers seeking work' and 'parents walking their children to school.'

A group of construction workers was detained by ICE agents at a job site in the Texas Heights residential development in Weslaco, Texas. A video recorded by a bystander shows workers telling agents they were on private property while officers restrained and detained several of their coworkers. "We couldn't do anything for our coworkers," one worker said.

Linda Wolff, a 72-year-old fashion stylist and longtime immigrant rights supporter from Manhattan, was pepper-sprayed in the face by a masked ICE agent while filming federal officers near Inwood Hill Park during what officials referred to as 'Operation Rotten Apple.' Wolff said she had learned of ICE's presence via social media and was recording from a distance, never touching or acting aggressively toward officers, when an agent approached and sprayed her without provocation. She said her eyes and skin burned afterward but continued documenting ICE activity in the neighborhood and said she would not be deterred from doing so again. DHS said agents used pepper spray to control an 'unruly, combative' crowd while recovering a vandalized government van, describing their response as appropriate and within training. Governor Kathy Hochul condemned the incident as part of a pattern of aggressive federal immigration enforcement tactics against New Yorkers, and Wolff's attorney filed a claim against ICE under New York's newly enacted Bivens Act, calling it one of the first tests of the statute and describing the pepper-spraying as 'purely punitive.'

Since the beginning of 2025, ICE has conducted extensive raids targeting day laborers seeking work at Home Depot stores across Los Angeles, with more than 500 workers detained according to estimates by the National Day Laborer Network. ICE operations have included a tactic called 'Trojan Horse,' where officers hid in a truck to enter a Hollywood branch, and raids have expanded to construction sites, traffic lights, and coffee shops where day laborers congregate. Home Depot has expelled day laborers from its facilities citing an old rule against offering services without authorization, while the company denies coordinating with ICE or sharing license plate reader data with authorities. Community groups have organized support efforts including the 'Adopt a Day Laborer Corner' documentation program and boycott campaigns.

Erwin, 31, from San Marcos, Guatemala, came to the U.S. in early 2020 seeking better opportunities and worked as a tractor driver at a recycling plant, earning $1,400 per week and sending money home to his wife and two children. After his employer discovered his fake Social Security card and fired him, and as ICE raids intensified across Los Angeles, he lost his apartment and now sleeps in an abandoned wagon in South Los Angeles, seeking day labor work at Home Depot stores despite the constant threat of detention. He visits two churches daily for food and has been unable to find steady employment, contemplating self-deportation as his situation worsens. More than 500 day laborers have been detained by ICE in Los Angeles since 2025 according to the National Day Laborer Network.

Immigration agents arrived in unmarked black vans around 8 a.m. on Friday, August 14, at a food vendor corridor on Sunset Avenue and Amar Road in La Puente, California, near the Don Chilaquiles stand. Witnesses and vendors, including David González and Gabriela Hoyos, said a fellow vendor selling chicharrones spotted the agents and alerted others, allowing workers to flee to their vehicles before any arrests. Two Don Chilaquiles employees told reporters that no one was detained this time because workers received the warning in time. The same location saw Border Patrol agents detain three workers in December 2025, and vendors say fear of enforcement persists even as they continue working to support their families.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 14 people on the morning of August 6, 2026, outside several Main Street businesses in Hackettstown, New Jersey, including Sunrise Dairy & Deli, Fruitimex Produce, and the post office. According to DHS, all 14 are in removal proceedings or being removed; this included Rafael Salazar, whose 2001 Miami-Dade cocaine possession case resulted in a deferred disposition rather than a conviction, and Luis Rivera Guillen, who has prior convictions in New York. Local activist groups have alleged that ICE used a private security firm, set an arrest quota of 40, and paid contractors $3,000 a day, though these claims have not been independently verified. In the operation's aftermath, some Hackettstown residents and business owners, particularly those serving Spanish-speaking customers, have described fear and a quieter Main Street.

On August 10, 2026, ICE agents detained at least 33 people across the Capital Region of New York, including Albany, Schenectady, and Colonie, in more than 15 separate incidents over roughly six hours. Among those detained was an Ecuadoran family of four — parents Kevin Ushiña and Veronica Saquillo and their children, ages 5 and 9 — who had lived in Albany for two years and had withdrawn from the asylum process the previous year over fears of detention at a check-in. The mother and children are being held at the Dilley Detention Center in Texas, while the father is held in a facility in western New York. Albany Mayor Dorcey Applyrs said she was “deeply unsettled” by the increased ICE activity and met with local advocacy coalitions supporting affected families.

Federal immigration agents conducted sweeps at more than 106 car washes across Southern California, including Los Angeles, Orange County, Inglewood, Culver City, Westchester, Bell, and Whittier, detaining at least 373 workers. Officers in masks and bulletproof vests arrived in pickup trucks and removed workers from their jobs within minutes. The enforcement operation targeted car washes as part of the Trump administration's aggressive immigration crackdown in the region. According to the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center, family members have been deported or remain in detention, and many workers live with ongoing fear of apprehension. The raids prompted protests against the enforcement operations.

José, a car wash worker at La Cienega Car Wash in Los Angeles, was detained by ICE agents in August 2025. José's wife is a U.S. citizen, and he had a pathway to citizenship before his detention. After a federal judge ordered his release on bond, the car wash had shut down, leaving José without employment. Rev. Andy Schwiebert of Immanuel Presbyterian Church noted that the enforcement operation destabilized families, congregations, workplaces, and entire communities across the region.

A Santa Ana car wash worker and 33-year U.S. resident who supported his three kids was arrested by ICE agents during a shift in August 2025 and held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center for two months. During detention, he slept on cold floors without blankets, toothbrushes, or basic medical care. His wife Alejandra reported agents treated him "worse than a common criminal, with chains binding his legs, arms and waist." He refused to sign deportation papers and is fighting to remain in the United States, a process that has drained his family emotionally and financially. He was one of seven workers detained that day but the only one released. At least 373 car wash workers have been detained across Southern California since raids began in summer 2025, with agents raiding at least 106 car washes region-wide. He said the experience left him traumatized, noting his life is no longer the same.

ICE agents arrested two roof repairmen without showing a warrant during a raid at a Cornwall, Vermont home on Aug. 8, according to Will Lambek of the immigrant advocacy group Migrant Justice. The men were taken out of state to face deportation proceedings; one has since been released and returned to Vermont. The arrests were part of a wave of workplace and commuting arrests across Vermont that advocates said was unusually large in scale.

Tonny Quesada-Ramirez, a Costa Rican national who has lived in the United States for approximately 26 years, was detained by ICE agents on August 7, 2026, while working on a home addition project near his South Orange residence. He lives with his wife and two children, one of whom has Down's syndrome, and had begun the green card application process when he was detained. Through efforts by South Orange Mayor Sheena Collum, Detention and Deportation Defense Initiative attorneys, immigration attorney Kate Reilly, and the group SOMA Community Cares, Quesada-Ramirez and two other local men were released from Delaney Hall detention center a few days after their arrest. ICE has stated he remains in removal proceedings, citing a prior 2001 removal order after he failed to appear in court and a 2010 arrest followed by release on bond in 2011; community members had raised over $50,000 to support him and others detained in the same enforcement action.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested at least nine people across Vermont over a weekend in August 2026, including five construction workers arrested in Londonderry, one person in White River Junction, and two roof repairmen in a raid in Cornwall. A Haitian man with employment authorization and an asylum application under review was arrested at his home in White River Junction after ICE agents arrived at 7 a.m.; his wife reported that an ICE agent pointed a gun at her while she was in her car when she asked where they were taking him. Immigration advocates say at least one additional arrest occurred in the Upper Valley, and a local volunteer group reported three people were separately detained by ICE in West Lebanon, New Hampshire. The arrests, described by advocates as rare workplace and commuting operations involving groups of workers, occurred amid months of heightened federal enforcement across the state; the ACLU of Vermont has filed federal claims against ICE over a separate March raid in South Burlington, alleging constitutional violations.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement concluded Operation Safe Community-Atlanta on August 7, 2026, with 1,226 arrests across Georgia in one of the largest single-state immigration enforcement operations in recent memory. According to ICE, 720 of those arrested had been charged with or convicted of crimes in the United States, including sex crimes, crimes against children, assault, drug violations, burglary, weapons offenses, and impaired driving. All 1,226 people arrested violated U.S. immigration law. The operation was conducted across multiple Georgia jurisdictions with participation from federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, including five arrests at a local trucking company. The operation occurred during a period of increased ICE enforcement, as the agency set a new monthly record high for detentions in July with more than 46,000 arrests nationwide.

Five individuals working on a construction crew were arrested by ICE agents during a targeted enforcement operation at a traffic stop in Londonderry on the morning of August 7, 2026, while traveling to a job site. The detainees were allegedly of Ecuadorian descent. Video footage captured by a local resident showed unmarked vehicles and multiple individuals being held against a vehicle near Route 11. The arrests occurred amid months of heightened immigration enforcement activity in Vermont that has drawn protests, lawsuits, and official reviews, including scrutiny of a March 11 raid in South Burlington that detained three people who were later released. The incident sparked community concern, prompting state representatives and local leaders to convene to discuss support and protection measures.

Eduardo Aguirre Esparza, a 53-year-old Mexican national and small business owner who has lived in the United States for over 20 years, was arrested by ICE on July 23, 2026, while working on a home remodeling project in West Seattle. Approximately 20 ICE agents in unmarked vehicles surrounded him, allegedly physically pushing him and threatening him when he refused to sign a voluntary departure form; he requested his lawyer instead. Without appearing before a judge or having contact with his attorney, Aguirre Esparza was transferred between multiple ICE facilities over three days and flown to El Paso, Texas, where he is detained at ERO El Paso Camp East Montana. His wife, Stacey Fitzpatrick, a U.S. citizen attorney, disputes ICE's claim that he has a 2005 DUI arrest from Kansas, noting he has never lived in Kansas and background checks show only a resolved 2015 traffic citation. Aguirre Esparza has a pending green card application and is married to a U.S. citizen with deep community ties. Community members organized rallies and fundraisers in West Seattle to raise awareness and support for his family, and Senator Patty Murray called the arrest "fundamentally wrong and un-American."

Four construction workers were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday, August 6, 2026, following a traffic stop conducted by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers outside Austin City Hall. DPS troopers, who are federally certified Designated Immigration Officers under the 287(g) program, pulled over a vehicle at Guadalupe Street and César Chávez Street after observing it driving the wrong way on a one-way street just before 9:30 a.m. The driver did not have a valid driver's license. After determining that all four occupants were not lawfully present in the United States, troopers contacted ICE agents, who arrived within three to four minutes and took the individuals into custody, confiscating their phones. The detention occurred while the Austin City Council was holding a budget meeting, and community members expressed outrage during public comment. By Thursday evening, family members did not know where the detainees had been taken. City Council members, including Mike Siegel, condemned the operation, with Siegel characterizing it as "state-sponsored kidnapping" and criticizing the collaboration between DPS and ICE.