Human Impact Project

Yoderlyn Daviana Acosta Peña, a 21-year-old Venezuelan migrant living and working in Chicago, was arrested in February 2025 on suspicion of gang membership in Tren de Aragua based on subjective criteria including tattoos. On March 15, 2025, while being deported via charter plane, an ICE officer physically assaulted her, grabbing her by the hair and punching her in the face. She was deported to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act without due process.

Jhoan Bastidas, a 25-year-old Venezuelan national, was deported from the United States and detained for 16 days at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba before being transferred to Venezuela. During his detention, he was confined to a small cell, shackled when leaving the cell, allowed sunlight only three days per week, and had minimal access to food, books, or activities. The U.S. government alleged Bastidas was a member of the Tren de Aragua gang based on his chest tattoos, a claim he denied. He has since returned to his hometown in Maracaibo and begun working at a hot dog stand.

A 21-year-old Venezuelan man, Mayfreed Durán-Arape, was sent to Guantánamo Bay as part of a Trump administration policy to relocate detained migrants to the military base. DHS claimed he was a gang member. A review found he had no criminal record beyond unauthorized entry. His mother disputes the administration's characterization of a detention center altercation that led to his conviction.

Families filed an ACLU lawsuit against the Trump administration after their relatives were transferred to a newly established 30,000-bed immigrant detention camp at Guantanamo Bay without attorney access or communication with the outside world. The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of holding civil immigration detainees at the offshore facility and argues they are being denied due process rights. At least seven military flights from El Paso have transported detainees to Guantanamo, including individuals such as 25-year-old Yoiker David Sequera who have no criminal records beyond immigration violations.

Franco Jose Caraballo Tiapa, a 26-year-old barber from Venezuela, migrated to the United States in 2023 with his wife seeking asylum due to political persecution and had no criminal history. He presented himself to ICE for a routine check-in in early February 2025 and was detained without being informed of the reason, though he reported being questioned about his tattoos. Without notifying his attorneys or family, he was deported to El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison under a Trump executive order allowing ICE to send noncitizens to third countries willing to accept them. His family learned of his deportation only after seeing videos of his arrival on social media, having expected him to be sent to Venezuela instead. His attorneys provided documentation proving his clean background and pending asylum claim.

F.A. and her two minor children fled Turkey after her husband was targeted for membership in the Gülen movement. After entering the U.S. in early February 2025 and repeatedly telling officials they came to seek asylum, they were expelled after nine days in detention on a military plane to Panama. Panamanian officials told them they could go to a detention camp in the jungle or return to Turkey. Fearing they would not survive, F.A. accepted return to Turkey, where the family now lives in hiding.