Human Impact Project

On August 23, 2025, about 40 people gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center to protest ICE raids. Jessica Ramirez Vasquez, a social worker and community volunteer, was detained after using a bullhorn during the protest. Officers fired pepper balls and rubber bullets at the crowd. Jessica was arrested and charged with felony assault on a federal officer. Livestream video documented the incident.

Andranik Grigoryan, a New York resident detained at Miami Correctional Facility in Indiana, suffered a severe seizure on January 22 after correctional medical staff failed to provide his prescribed anti-seizure medication (Keppra), which he had relied on for years to control epilepsy. He hit his head during the seizure and was left lying in a pool of blood before being taken to a local hospital for treatment. Upon returning to the facility the same day, officers pepper-sprayed him through a cell port while he was still recovering from the seizure and had difficulty standing, causing intense burning and respiratory distress. Grigoryan was then moved to another cell without being allowed to wash the pepper spray from his face and body. He has filed lawsuits against Centurion Health of Indiana and unidentified correctional officers, alleging violations of his rights under the 14th Amendment.

Juan Sebastián Carvajal-Muñoz, a Colombian civil engineer lawfully working in the U.S. on an H-1B visa after earning a master's degree from the University of Maine, was violently arrested by ICE agents on January 22, 2026, while driving to work in Maine. Agents in unmarked vehicles surrounded his car, smashed his driver's side window with a crowbar, and dragged him out at Taser point despite his attempts to show proof of his lawful status. He was placed in full-body shackles, transported around for hours, and held in a windowless cell at an ICE facility in Massachusetts for approximately 15 hours before being released in Burlington, MA, 105 miles from his home. Carvajal-Muñoz filed a federal lawsuit against ICE agent Jack Cory Ravencamp of Lenexa, Kansas, and two unidentified agents, alleging excessive force, warrantless arrest without probable cause, unlawful detention, racial discrimination, and violations of his Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights.

A 21-year-old woman who was eight months pregnant and in medical distress was deported to Colombia by ICE on January 22, 2026, despite a temporary restraining order issued too late to prevent her deportation. The woman, Zharick Daniela Buitrago Ortiz, had crossed the border seeking asylum in November 2025 and was reportedly denied adequate medical care while in custody. A federal judge issued the order enjoining ICE from deporting her, but she had already been boarded on a plane by that time.

Nasra Ahmed, 23, a U.S. citizen born in Minnesota, was detained by ICE agents on January 15, 2026, after being caught in a parking lot during agents' pursuit of two other men. Ahmed sustained injuries including cuts, bruises, and a head injury during the arrest. While in custody at Sherburne County Jail, she experienced a seizure and was transported to a hospital in shackles for an MRI. She was released after two days without charges. Ahmed reported that ICE officers used forceful tactics and that an officer used a racial slur against her. Rep. Samakab Hussein held a press conference where Ahmed shared her account.

Department of Homeland Security agents were involved in a shooting during an immigration enforcement operation in Los Angeles County's Willowbrook area on Wednesday morning around 7:20 a.m. Agents were pursuing a vehicle that crashed, and shots were fired when agents approached to detain suspects. No one was struck by gunfire and all suspects were taken into custody.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers handcuffed and detained two teenagers in south Minneapolis on Wednesday afternoon. One teenager was detained on Blaisdell Avenue while their passenger, who witnessed the incident, was left crying in their vehicle.

ICE agents arrested Hassane Barry, a 38-year-old asylum seeker from Guinea, on Preble Street in Portland on January 21st. Agents shattered the driver's side window of his car, spraying glass over his 1-month-old baby's car seat, and left his wife Nene and the infant alone in the vehicle in freezing conditions. The arrest was part of an intensified ICE enforcement operation in Maine, though Barry has no known criminal history and had filed for asylum upon arriving in the U.S. in 2023.

Federal immigration agents in Minnesota stopped an off-duty police officer, drew guns, and prevented her from recording the interaction, according to local police chiefs. The chiefs stated that immigration agents have been stopping American citizens without cause. The incidents occur as part of "Operation Metro Surge," which federal authorities describe as an immigration enforcement operation.

Five-year-old Keyli Camila Espin Vaca's mother, Mayra Vaca Latacunga, was detained by ICE agents while her daughter was at school in Biddeford, Maine. The mother was handcuffed and transferred to Massachusetts after agents found she lacked proper documentation. This incident is part of a Trump administration immigration enforcement operation in Maine that has arrested over 200 individuals.

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.

An ICE agent entered a Thai restaurant in St. Paul, Minnesota with his handgun drawn while searching for a person who had run past the restaurant. The agent accused the restaurant owners of hiding "a kid" and conducted a search of the establishment. Multiple customers and staff members were present during the incident, with some employees subsequently expressing reluctance about returning to work.

A 62-year-old Somali elder was detained by ICE agents at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis on December 31 without a warrant. ICE officers remained at the patient's bedside for approximately 28 hours while she received medical care. During her detention, the patient was allegedly shackled to her hospital bed and denied family visits. She was subsequently transported to the ICU where she remains unresponsive.

On Sunday, January 18, ICE agents broke a driver's side truck window while detaining a man on Tucson's south side, first using a device to break the window and then using an elbow and fist to break the rest. According to a video witness, the man had work tools in the back of his truck and groceries in the front seat. ICE did not respond to inquiries about why the man was detained or why agents needed to break the window.

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 family of eight returning from a basketball game in Minneapolis on January 17, 2026, became trapped between ICE agents and protesters. After being surrounded by federal agents and unable to leave, tear gas canisters were deployed into their vehicle, forcing the mother to administer CPR to their 6-month-old infant who stopped breathing. The family was ultimately rescued by bystanders who helped evacuate the children from the tear gas-filled car.

Two protesters were blinded by less-lethal munitions fired by federal officers during an anti-ICE protest in Santa Ana, California. Kaden Rummler, 21, was shot at close range in the face, causing blindness in his left eye with glass shards and metal fragments lodged in his skull. Britain Rodriguez, 31, suffered a similar close-range shot to the face at the same protest.

ICE agents conducted an enforcement action in Minneapolis that resulted in the detention of a man and caused injuries to multiple children present at the scene. During the incident, ICE agents smashed a car window containing six children, including a 6-month-old who lost consciousness and was hospitalized after exposure to tear gas and a flash bang device. A 16-year-old U.S. citizen was allegedly placed in a chokehold during the encounter, and his phone was reportedly confiscated and sold to a used electronics vending machine. The family was returning home from a basketball game when they became trapped in the area where the enforcement action was occurring.

Sophie Watso, a 30-year-old Mdewakanton Dakota woman, was detained by ICE agents on January 14, 2026, after monitoring immigration enforcement activity in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. During her arrest, agents broke her truck windows and physically restrained her while she held her dog. She was charged under U.S. Code 18 Section 111 for allegedly obstructing a federal investigation, though no formal charges were filed. She was held for over 48 hours at Fort Snelling's Whipple Building and Sherbourne County Jail before being released on January 16, 2026, without charges being formally filed.

ICE agents detained a person outside a Costco store in Kyle, Texas on Thursday morning. According to Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra, the individual sustained injuries including facial bleeding. The person was transported to the hospital by emergency medical services accompanied by Homeland Security personnel.

Recent violent incidents involving ICE agents in Minneapolis and other cities have prompted scrutiny of federal immigration officer training and use-of-force protocols. An ICE officer fatally shot U.S. citizen Renee Macklin Good, and another Department of Homeland Security officer shot a man in the leg during an arrest. Experts and advocates are questioning how officers are trained to conduct arrests and engage with citizens and protesters.

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.

Photographer John Abernathy was detained by federal ICE agents outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis on January 15 while documenting protests. During the confrontation, Abernathy threw his camera to a fellow photojournalist. He sustained injuries including chemical burns, pepper bullet wounds, and abrasions, and received a citation but no court date.

Kaden Rummler, 21, was permanently blinded in his left eye after a federal agent shot him in the face with a less-lethal crowd control weapon during an anti-ICE protest in downtown Santa Ana, California on January 9, 2026. Rummler was protesting ICE deportations and the death of Renee Good at the hands of an immigration agent in Minneapolis. The impact caused severe injuries: doctors removed plastic, glass, and metal fragments from his face and skull, found pieces of plastic and glass embedded in his skull, metal in his stomach lining, and a piece of plastic the size of a nickel in his injured eye. A piece of ammunition narrowly missed his carotid artery. Rummler underwent six-hour surgery to remove shrapnel from his injuries. Officers did not call paramedics immediately and at one point pushed his face into a pool of his own blood. Rummler was one of two protesters shot in the face that night. A protester lost an eye after being struck by a scattershot munition fired by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department during immigration enforcement protests in Los Angeles. The case, Castellanos v. City of Los Angeles, resulted in litigation against local authorities under state negligence laws. PHR and UC Berkeley identified scattershot munitions as inherently indiscriminate weapons that make it impossible to prevent significant unintended harm, recommending they never be used for crowd control.

ICE agents deployed tear gas at a family vehicle containing eight people, including six children aged 6 months to 11 years old, during Minneapolis protests after the family became trapped between ICE agents and protesters. All six children were hospitalized with breathing problems, and the mother performed CPR on her 6-month-old infant. The incident occurred during protests following an ICE shooting in the city.

The Jackson family, including six children and an infant, was caught between protesters and federal immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis. An officer rolled a tear gas canister under their family's SUV, flooding the vehicle with toxic fumes. The family, including the infant, required hospital treatment for tear gas exposure.

ICE agent Christian Castro was arrested in Texas on May 29 and charged with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime for shooting Venezuelan national Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg on January 14 during Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis. Castro fired through a front door, with the bullet striking Sosa-Celis and traveling into a child's room. Federal assault charges against Sosa-Celis and another man were previously dropped after prosecutors determined the initial accusations against them were false.

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.

Dylan Linet, a Minneapolis resident and photographer, was sprayed in the face with chemical irritant by an ICE agent while photographing federal officers conducting an arrest on Lake Street. Linet was standing approximately 10 feet away from officers when one agent screamed profanities and immediately sprayed him, causing blindness and extreme pain. This declaration is part of a class action lawsuit against DHS, ICE, and other federal agencies challenging their enforcement activities.

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.

Thousands of Minneapolis residents have organized into rapid response groups called ICE Watch to monitor and document Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in their neighborhoods. The groups, coordinated through organizations like Defend the 612, witness arrests, record incidents on video, and document community member interactions with ICE. Federal agents have conducted vehicle box-ins, window breaking, and surveillance of observers' homes during these operations.

On January 14, 2026, an ICE agent shot and wounded Julio Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan immigrant, during an enforcement operation in north Minneapolis following a traffic stop pursuit. The Department of Homeland Security initially claimed Sosa-Celis attacked an agent with a shovel and broomstick for three minutes, but video footage contradicted this account, showing only a 12-second confrontation with no sustained attack. Prosecutors had access to the video within hours but did not review it until nearly three weeks after charging Sosa-Celis and his housemate; both charges were subsequently dropped. Two federal ICE agents were placed on administrative leave after DHS determined their testimony was untrue, and they faced possible termination or criminal charges for apparent perjury.

Tenth grader Arnoldo Bazan, a 16-year-old U.S. citizen, and his father were stopped by immigration agents while getting McDonald's before school. During the encounter, agents slammed the father to the ground and put Arnoldo in a chokehold, causing him to struggle for breath. ProPublica found over 40 cases of immigration agents using banned chokeholds and other moves that restrict breathing.

Christina Rank, a 25-year-old U.S. citizen classroom assistant, was arrested by ICE agents outside Concord Education Center in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota on Monday, January 12, 2026, around 7:30 a.m. ICE agents claimed Rank rammed an agent's vehicle, but witnesses disputed this account, stating the agent ran into her white Honda and broke her window. Rank was held in custody at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling for almost 12 hours before being released. As of Monday afternoon, no charges had been filed against her. Her mother, Sarah Rank, questioned the purpose of ICE agents at the school and the use of force employed during the arrest.

Gage Diego Garcia, a U.S. citizen, was held for six hours on Monday after ICE officers approached him in an alleyway and demanded identification. When Garcia refused and began to blow a whistle, officers pushed him against a car, pointed a Taser at him, and accused him of assault by spitting. Video recorded by a friend documents the physical altercation. Officers told Garcia he was picked up because he "looked like someone who committed a crime" and said "we'll figure it out" when asked what crime. Officers later referenced a fatal shooting by another agent, saying "things could have gone really south for you like those agents did to Renee Good." The incident occurred as ICE has deployed approximately 3,000 officers to Minneapolis.

ICE agents arrested a woman in Minneapolis who was attempting to drive through a street where the agency was conducting a raid to reach her doctor's appointment. When the woman refused to move her car, agents broke her car window, cut her seatbelt, and dragged her out before arresting her. The incident occurred amid a broader ICE enforcement operation in the city.

Ryan Ecklund, a U.S. citizen and Twin Cities realtor, was detained by ICE agents for approximately 10 hours on Monday after following and recording their movements from his vehicle in Woodbury. According to Ecklund, five agents boxed in his vehicle, forcibly removed him, threw him to the ground, and one agent placed him in a chokehold. He was taken to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling and released without charges.

Nasra Ahmed, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested and detained by ICE for two days. According to the post, ICE agents handcuffed her, used racial slurs, and knocked her to the ground so forcefully that she sustained a concussion.

A ProPublica investigation identified over 40 cases in which immigration agents used chokeholds and other neck restraints on civilians, citizens, and protesters during deportation enforcement operations. Former police officers and law enforcement experts reviewed the footage and stated the tactics resulted in apparent seizures, loss of consciousness, and serious injuries. The Department of Homeland Security has not publicly reported any disciplinary action against agents despite a federal ban on such tactics since 2023.

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.

Minneapolis City Council President Elliott Payne was shoved from behind by an ICE officer on October 31, 2025, while legally observing an ICE enforcement action at a bus stop on Central Avenue. Payne was standing with fellow council member Jason Chavez when they witnessed ICE officers stop a person waiting for the bus. Video footage captured an ICE officer pushing Payne from behind as he was recording and attempting to speak with the agents. Payne said he introduced himself as the council president and tried to de-escalate the situation, calling the officer's behavior "reckless."

During an anti-ICE protest outside an ICE building in Santa Ana, California on January 13, 2026, a 21-year-old college student named Kaden Rummler was struck in the face by a projectile fired by a federal officer at close range. The incident resulted in permanent blindness in his left eye, skull fractures, and required six hours of surgery. The demonstration was organized in response to the shooting death of Renee Good by a federal agent in Minneapolis. Rummler's family has spoken out about the incident.

Federal ICE agents raided a residential home in Minneapolis on Sunday, ramming the door to arrest a man inside. Agents pepper-sprayed protesters who had gathered outside the home to disrupt the operation. The raid occurred as part of a massive enforcement campaign in Minnesota that has resulted in more than 2,000 immigration arrests since early December, and took place in a city reeling from the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer on January 7.

ICE agents rammed into Christian Molina's car in south Minneapolis on January 12, 2026, then questioned him about his immigration status. Molina, a U.S. citizen, refused to comply and was not detained. The incident occurred two blocks from where an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good on January 7.

On January 12, 2026, federal immigration agents stopped Christian Molina, a U.S. citizen, in Minneapolis. As agents questioned Molina, residents emerged onto snow-lined streets to protest, filming the encounter. When someone threw a snowball toward the agents, federal officers responded by deploying tear gas into the crowd, pepper-spraying protesters and news photographers at close range, and firing pepper balls that struck journalist A.C. Thompson three times, including above the right eye. Additional team members from FRONTLINE and ProPublica, including director Gabrielle Schonder and director of photography Tim Grucza, were pepper-sprayed as agents departed. A former Department of Justice official later characterized the response as "use of excessive force after use of excess force."

ICE agents rammed a Latino man's car during an enforcement operation in south Minneapolis. The agents released him after determining he is a U.S. citizen. The incident occurred as federal immigration agents conducted operations across the Twin Cities.

Brandon Sigüenza, a volunteer legal observer documenting ICE enforcement activities in Minneapolis, was pepper-sprayed, arrested, and detained for eight hours after ICE agents surrounded his car while he was legally recording their operations on a public street. He was released without charges. His detention was part of a pattern of intimidation against community members observing and reporting on ICE activities in the area.

Border Patrol agents smashed a car window and dragged a Honduran man from a vehicle during an immigration enforcement operation at a gas station in St. Paul, Minnesota, on January 11, 2026. Video posted by Ford Fischer of News2Share shows agents surrounding the parked vehicle, breaking the window, pulling the man out, forcing him to the ground, and taking him into custody as a crowd gathered. DHS said the man had a final order of removal issued in 2020 and refused to obey orders. After multiple warnings, agents broke the window and arrested him. During the arrest, bystanders surrounded the agents, who fired pepper balls toward the crowd. A U.S. citizen who hit an officer was also arrested. Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino was present at the scene and was heard ordering bystanders to move back. A second individual was also detained during the incident.

A 21-year-old protester named Kaden Rummler was struck in the face by a nonlethal round fired by a Department of Homeland Security agent during a protest outside a federal building in Santa Ana. The impact left shrapnel embedded in his eyes and face, resulting in permanent blindness in his left eye and a fractured skull. The incident occurred during demonstrations against the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a federal immigration agent in Minnesota.