Human Impact Project

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested multiple undocumented immigrants convicted of serious crimes including murder, sexual assault of children, kidnapping, and robbery across the United States. The arrests included individuals from El Salvador, Honduras, Burma, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Laos, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, Peru, and Costa Rica. The DHS spokesperson stated that these enforcement actions removed dangerous criminals from communities.

Federal immigration enforcement agents conducted raids in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood and Cicero on Wednesday, resulting in at least seven detentions including U.S. citizens and staff members of a city alderman. A crash occurred near Cermak Fresh Market involving a civilian vehicle and agents, followed by a tense standoff between federal agents and community members. DHS reported three undocumented immigrants were detained and six U.S. citizens were arrested for impeding and threatening federal agents.

A September 30 ICE raid in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood detained dozens of Venezuelan migrants, with officials claiming they were members of the Tren de Aragua gang designated as a terrorist organization. A ProPublica investigation found that many of those arrested had no criminal records and the government provided no evidence tying them to terrorism or gang membership. No criminal charges have been filed against any of the 37 individuals detained in the raid.

The ACLU of Ohio filed a federal lawsuit alleging that ICE agents repeatedly violated federal law by making warrantless arrests without determining flight risk, detained individuals for weeks or months, and mistreated detainees. The lawsuit details cases involving people with valid visas, work permits, and U.S. citizens from Puerto Rico, suggesting possible racial profiling. The plaintiffs seek class action status and want courts to stop warrantless arrests and require compensation for those improperly detained.

Eight noncitizens were arrested during a U.S. Customs and Border Protection and ICE operation at a solar farm on Riches Corners Road in Albion, New York on July 30, 2026. Seven of the men are from Venezuela and one is from Jamaica. All were working on the solar farm project at the time of the operation, which was conducted after ICE received a tip through its tipline. The arrested individuals were processed at Rochester and Buffalo CBP stations before being transferred to ICE for deportation proceedings. Nearly three weeks later, nearly 20 people marched in Albion to protest the detention and deportation of immigrants and farmworkers, an event organized by the nonprofit Rural & Migrant Ministry after a local youth group member, Analiah Figueroa, and her family said they encountered federal agents near the same field during the operation. Figueroa said her family, who are U.S. citizens, were stopped by an agent at a stop sign and later saw agents repeatedly drive past their home, which she said felt intimidating.

ICE conducted a raid at an Abbeville manufacturing facility in Louisiana. A warehouse manager described the operation as chaotic, though specific details about the number of people detained, their identities, or the circumstances of their apprehension are not provided in the available article text.

ICE conducted a targeted operation at a construction site off Franklin Road in Nampa on July 30, 2026, arresting and detaining six undocumented immigrants. DHS stated the individuals will remain in ICE custody pending removal or removal proceedings and will receive full due process.

On July 25, 2026, ICE agents detained nine undocumented workers installing fiber-optic cables at a construction site near North Center Road and Summit Drive in Saginaw Township, Michigan. Witnesses described the men as hard workers who had been part of the construction crew for months. Plainclothes agents in tactical vests arrived in unmarked vehicles, and the operation lasted approximately 15 minutes; three workers attempted to flee but were quickly apprehended. The workers' vehicles and equipment were left behind at the site. DHS confirmed the arrests on July 28, stating the men would remain in ICE custody pending removal or removal proceedings, but did not disclose their names, ages, nationalities, or detention location. Sources indicated the men may have been taken to the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin. Community members left handmade signs and flowers at the site in solidarity, and demonstrations followed the arrests.

Two brothers working as kitchen staff at El Nopalito restaurant in Haddonfield were taken into ICE custody in late July. A GoFundMe organized by Inkwood Books owner Julie Beddingfield, at the request of the brothers' families, has raised $26,742 from 478 donors, surpassing its $15,000 goal, though donations are now paused. The funds support the brothers with expenses in custody, including phone calls, legal communications, and hygiene items, as well as their families' housing, food, and utility costs while they are out of work. The brothers have legal advisors and additional legal and travel expenses are expected as they continue through the immigration process.

ICE agents, working with the U.S. Forest Service and Caldwell County Sheriff's Office, set up a checkpoint on the only road into Wilson Creek, a popular swimming spot in Pisgah National Forest, on July 26, 2026, detaining 13 people. Among them was Argenis Eduardo Torres Rosales, a 32-year-old Venezuelan asylum seeker with a work permit and no criminal record, according to his aunt Wuendy Rosales; he is now held at a detention facility in Folkston, Georgia, 433 miles from his wife and stepson. ICE said many of those detained had criminal histories including DUI and illegal reentry charges. Witnesses described the operation as "terrifying," with families separated during the stops, including one whose wife and children were left stranded roadside without cell signal. Sandra Salazar, co-founder of Hands of Hope y Adventurous Latinos, said her cousin's partner was among those detained and that families with pending asylum cases were caught up in the action. Sheriff Kevin Bean denied reports that children were separated from families, while advocates said the raid, following North Carolina's new law mandating state-ICE cooperation, has discouraged Latino families from visiting the forest.

ICE agents conducted an enforcement operation at a Chevron gas station on Atlanta Highway in Forsyth County, detaining approximately 15 day laborers seeking work. Surveillance video shows agents chasing men through the parking lot and forcibly detaining them, with one agent knocking a man into a wall before handcuffing him. Business owner Jose Arellano, who had hired some of the detained men for his pressure washing company, expressed concern about the impact on local businesses and the community. The raid has left the area's day laborer population fearful, affecting local businesses that relied on this workforce.

From July 27 to August 29, 2026, ICE's Operation Rotten Apple detained 2,197 immigrants across New York state, including in Democratic-led 'sanctuary' cities, according to DHS's official count. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin publicly announced the results on September 1, framing the operation as a response to New York's political leadership and its new Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, which bars local police from partnering with ICE. Legal aid attorneys in Queens and Brooklyn say the arrest figures obscure that Latino immigrants were disproportionately affected, contrasting with DHS's public-safety framing of the sweep.

A 32-year-old Hickory resident and legal resident, described by family as an honest, hard-working man, was detained by ICE along with Caldwell County Sheriff's Office personnel and the U.S. Forest Service during a July 26 raid at Wilson Creek, one of 13 people arrested. His aunt, Wendy Rosales, said he followed all legal processes and did not deserve to be treated this way, speaking at an Aug. 2 vigil and car caravan organized by Siembra N.C. and Methodist clergy at Hudson United Methodist Church. He is currently being held at the Folkston ICE Processing Center in Georgia, though his name did not initially appear in ICE's online detainee locator. His cousin continues raising funds for his legal defense.

A group of construction workers was detained by ICE agents while working at a construction site in Brownsville, Texas. According to a video recorded by the work supervisor, ICE agents arrived at the location and asked about two specific people; when workers said they did not know who those people were, agents began detaining other workers. The person recording the video was also detained after approaching one of their coworkers who was being questioned by agents.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested at least six people in Western Kentucky on Thursday. Several of those arrested are now being held at the Hopkins County Jail, where 185 other immigrants are awaiting deportation. Community members, including a former Hopkins County judge, have criticized the arrests, raising concerns about racial profiling and due process.

Five landscaping workers were arrested by ICE on July 23, 2026, during operations on Rutgers Street and Van Reyper Place in Belleville. Each person is accused of being unlawfully present in the United States. ICE stated all will remain in custody pending removal. Belleville Mayor Frank Vélez confirmed that township officials were not given advance notice of the arrests or ICE presence, and the town's police department was not involved in the operation.

More than 50 employees at Premier Packing, a seafood processing plant in Lynden, Washington, have been detained by ICE since March 2026 through a series of coordinated arrests designed to bypass a new state law requiring employers receive five business days' notice before I-9 inspections. The detentions have occurred through multiple methods: roadside stops and checkpoints on county roads using unmarked vehicles with flashing lights, arrests during employees' commutes, and on July 22-23, ICE agents posed as members of a religious organization handing out free water bottles across the street from the business to lure workers off the property before arresting at least two to four employees. Local volunteers documented an uptick in ICE detentions in Whatcom County, increasing from two to four individuals per week to approximately two arrests per day, with advocates estimating about a dozen of the detained workers have since been deported. The business owner acknowledged that while some detainees may have committed crimes, "a lot of people that haven't done anything wrong are getting picked up too," and said there is "a better way." Immigration advocates characterize the operation as a pattern of intimidation tactics designed to circumvent legal workplace raid procedures.

Immigration agents detained and deported at least 50 employees of Premier Packing in Lynden, Washington, over a five-month period beginning in March, with the most recent incident on July 23, according to the nonprofit Racial Unity Now. The group said agents tracked workers' commute routes, waited near a grocery store service road, and detained some as they crossed the street for water offered on a hot day, in what it called the first 'soft raid' in Whatcom County. Racial Unity Now said the agents appeared to come from multiple federal agencies under the Department of Homeland Security rather than solely ICE, and that neither ICE nor Premier Packing responded to requests for comment. The organization's executive director, Jeremy Dorrough, said he worried Whatcom County was being used as a 'soft target' for tactics that could spread elsewhere, and raised concerns about children facing poverty, trauma and hunger when a parent is detained.

Multiple people were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during a migration enforcement operation in Canton, Georgia. According to a Facebook Live recording by a witness, the detainees were transported in different vehicles to a parking lot, where agents made them exit the vehicles and gathered them before transferring them to a van for continued transport.

Two brothers from Mexico who worked as kitchen staff at El Nopalito restaurant in Haddonfield were arrested by ICE agents on July 20, 2026, while walking near their home in East Camden. The longtime employees, who sent money home to support family members including children, were taken into custody and are believed to be detained at Delaney Hall in Newark. Local police confirmed they were not involved in the operation, and a fundraiser organized by nearby bookstore owner Julie Beddingfield is collecting donations to help cover the brothers' legal, travel and living expenses while they remain in custody.