Human Impact Project

Roberto Chilavert Olmedo was held at 26 Federal Plaza for days during the summer 2025 surge in ICE arrests. In written testimony presented to the federal court, he described the experience as a nightmare, stating: "My time at 26 Federal Plaza still haunts me. It is a nightmare and I cannot believe that human beings can be treated like that in a place like the United States."

Rep. Yassamin Ansari visited the Eloy Detention Center in late May and spoke with over 20 detainees who reported forced outdoor walking until fainting, manipulated air conditioning, and sickness. Ansari requested information from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the reported conditions.

Gonzalo Ladron de Guevara, a lawful permanent resident since 2003, was detained by ICE in May 2025 after returning to Chicago from Mexico where he had scattered his mother's ashes. He was held for seven days by CBP for secondary screening before being transferred to ICE custody and charged federally. The detention is linked to a dismissed felony fraud charge from approximately 13 years prior related to prescription fraud.

Marta Alicia Dominguez, 51, from El Salvador, was arrested by Dallas Police in May 2025 on a family dispute charge. After her criminal case was dismissed, ICE placed a detainer and transferred her to custody. She presented herself at the Paso del Norte port of entry in 2017 and was granted entry after a credible fear interview. A judge granted her asylum in October 2025, but DHS filed an appeal and continues to hold her in Eloy Detention Center. She has contracted Hepatitis A and B, lost 30 pounds, and her health has significantly declined while in detention.

A.D., a teenager from Guinea arrested by Suffolk County Police on May 16, 2025, has been held in adult ICE custody at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center for nearly two months, turning 17 during his detention. ICE has disputed claims that he is a minor, with a spokesperson saying he is not, and the agency has cited dental X-rays conducted June 17 and alleged forged Guinean identification documents to support its determination that he is an adult. His attorneys have presented a passport, birth certificate, New York Family Court records and federal HHS records all listing his birth year as 2009. Federal Judge Marilyn J. Horan has ordered ICE to transfer A.D. into the custody of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement while a new age assessment is conducted.

Iris Dayana Monterroso Lemus, a Guatemalan woman, lost her son to a stillbirth while detained by ICE at Richwood Correctional Center in Louisiana. The Trump administration publicly disputed her account, claiming she received full prenatal care, but federal documents later obtained by The Intercept show a lack of prenatal care and no record of a scheduled OB-GYN visit or ultrasound. Ten days after the stillbirth, Monterroso Lemus was shackled, put on a plane, and deported to Guatemala, causing her postpartum visit to be canceled. An OB-GYN physician who reviewed the records said the administration's denial appeared aimed at covering itself, while a senator called the treatment of pregnant women in custody unconscionable.

Viktoriia Bulavina, a Ukrainian immigrant married to a U.S. citizen, was handcuffed and detained by federal immigration agents immediately after a marriage-based green card interview at the USCIS office in downtown San Diego. She was held for five days in poor conditions, including an open toilet in view of guards, expired food, and denial of medication, before being released following media coverage and attorney intervention. She now faces removal proceedings.

Nestor Alejandro Umana Barquero, a 23-year-old Honduran citizen, was arrested by Durham police in May 2025 on misdemeanor charges, none of which required notification to ICE under North Carolina's new referral law. He was nonetheless referred to ICE, which issued a detainer on May 8, 2025, and he remained in the Durham County jail for more than 60 days. His attorney filed a habeas petition arguing he was being held on an improper judicial order; the same day the petition was filed, prosecutors dismissed the charges against him, but the judge denied his habeas petition. He was later confirmed to be in ICE detention in Texas before disappearing from the detention system, and could not be reached for comment.

Two U.S. citizen children, ages 5 and 4, were deported to Mexico after their mother was lured to an immigration processing appointment under false pretenses. The mother, who was told she would be eligible for asylum and a work permit if she appeared for a routine check-in, was instead deported to Reynosa, Mexico along with her three children. The two youngest children are U.S. citizens who were deported without proper legal process or opportunity for informed consent from their mother.

A 37-year-old Guatemalan woman, identified in court papers as D.N.N., was arrested by masked ICE agents at a routine immigration check-in in Baltimore on May 7, 2025. She had previously been granted withholding of removal in 2012 after an immigration judge found she would likely face torture or persecution if returned to Guatemala, but ICE sought to deport her to Mexico as a third country. She was transferred from New Jersey to a tent facility in Texas and then to New Mexico, losing contact with her husband, young daughter, and lawyer along the way.

Bryan José Rojas Galofre, a Venezuelan immigrant married to a U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE on January 27, 2025, following a security checkpoint stop at Trump National Doral hotel during a honeymoon trip. Agents discovered an airsoft gun and marijuana grinder in his vehicle, leading to local drug paraphernalia charges and questioning about gang ties based on his tattoos. Despite an immigration judge granting him bond in April 2025, Rojas remained in federal detention until his release on May 6, 2025. His nearly three-month detention resulted in job loss, expiration of his work permit, loss of his home and vehicle, depletion of retirement savings, over $80,000 in debt, and significant family financial hardship. His immigration case remains pending with a hearing scheduled for 2028.

Abelardo Avellaneda Delgado, a 68-year-old construction worker who had lived in the United States for 40 years, died on May 5, 2025, while being transported from Lowndes County Jail to Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. The coroner suspected an aortic aneurysm as the cause of death, though the exact cause remained under investigation. According to his family, Delgado had no prior health conditions but was placed in a wheelchair during his detention and given medications he had never taken before. He had been detained multiple times since 1979 as an undocumented immigrant.

As the Trump administration accelerates deportations, child welfare advocates have stated concerns about potential violations of children's rights. Cases include a 2-year-old kept in U.S. custody after her mother was deported to Venezuela.

The Trump administration has expanded immigration detention by moving hundreds of immigrants to federal prisons run by the Bureau of Prisons, including facilities in Atlanta, Miami, Philadelphia, Berlin, and Leavenworth, where detainees report moldy food, overcrowding, denial of legal access, and being cut off from attorneys and families. At Miami's Federal Detention Center, detainees, their lawyers and relatives describe cockroach infestations, broken toilets overflowing with waste, extreme heat, and medical complaints being ignored, conditions corroborated by a prison employee. ICE data show an average daily population of 460 at the Miami facility as of early April, with numbers rising after detainees were relocated there following fires near the Krome detention center. The Bureau of Prisons said it was addressing air conditioning issues, while families say many detainees had already completed sentences for past convictions before entering immigration custody.

Sen Miao Lin, a 67-year-old Chinese man, was detained at Delaney Hall ICE detention center where he repeatedly asked for but never received medication for his Type 2 diabetes and hypertension for nearly a month. At one point during his detention, he collapsed, lost consciousness, and was rushed to the emergency room. His attorney filed a federal lawsuit alleging this medical neglect in May 2025. His case is one of over 70 lawsuits filed by detainees at Delaney Hall alleging medical neglect and deficiencies at the facility.

Marisol Ordonez Vargas, a transgender woman originally from Central America, was detained by ICE in October 2023. She alleged she was denied toilet paper and medical treatment for a badly broken nose, and said she was sexually assaulted during her month in custody but did not report it because she did not trust guards and feared it would delay her release.

ICE deported at least two families including three U.S. citizen children aged 2, 4, and 7 from New Orleans in early morning operations on April 25, 2025. The families were held without legal access. One child with metastatic cancer was deported without medication and a pregnant mother was deported without prenatal care arrangements. The deportations occurred after ICE reversed course and expedited the process before courts reopened. A habeas corpus petition had been filed.

A 4-year-old U.S. citizen child with Stage 4 cancer and his 7-year-old sister were deported to Honduras with their mother on Friday morning. ICE was aware of the child's active cancer treatment in the United States but deported him without his medication. Attorneys say the mother did not sign or write any consent, did not speak with lawyers or family before deportation, and wanted to make alternative arrangements for her U.S. citizen children.

Marie Ange Blaise, a 44-year-old Haitian woman, died on April 25, 2025, at the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, Florida, while in ICE custody. She had been detained since mid-February after being stopped at Saint Croix International Airport for attempting to board a flight without a valid visa, and was issued an expedited removal notice before being transferred through multiple facilities including San Juan, Krome North Processing Center in Miami, and a Louisiana facility. Fellow detainees said Blaise had complained of chest pains for hours; staff checked her blood pressure, found hypertension, gave her pills, and told her to rest. She later began shaking and screaming, and when other detained women cried out for help, guards reportedly ignored their pleas, with one officer approaching, looking at her, and walking away. It took roughly eight minutes for a medical provider and 15 to 20 more minutes for a rescue team to arrive; she was pronounced dead at 8:35 p.m. Facility staff reportedly told the women afterward to stop discussing what they had witnessed.

Detained immigrants at Adelanto ICE Processing Center in San Bernardino County, which holds about 2,000 people, continue to report contaminated drinking water, with vector control experts identifying the worm-like creatures as drain fly larvae. The claims follow a federal judge's order weeks earlier requiring major changes at the facility, including 24-hour access to clean drinking water. Detainees, including one identified as Carlitos Ricardo Parias, have documented the contamination on video to show family members, saying they fear retaliation if they report it to staff. Some detainees say they strain water through clothing, boil it, or buy bottled water from the commissary, and several reported illness and vomiting they attribute to the water; the facility has previously faced complaints about murky water and improperly cooked food.