Human Impact Project

On July 15, 2025, ICE agents arrested two men in a Walworth County, Wisconsin courtroom during traffic court proceedings. Court Commissioner Peter Navis demanded to see a warrant from sheriff's deputies before allowing the arrest, citing lack of lawful authority and a court order requiring warrants be presented before detention. Following the incident, three county judges confronted Navis over his handling of the arrests, told him he had misstated their position, and gave him an ultimatum to resign or be fired. Navis subsequently resigned.

Eduardo Guzman Garcia was pulled over in Henry County for a broken brake light on July 9, 2025, and subsequently taken to jail for driving without a license. The Henry County Sheriff's Office notified DHS after discovering an immigration detainer on him, and ICE agents arrested him at the jail. He has been held in an ICE facility in Atlanta since July 12, 2025, while his family continues working on his green card application.

Deivi Jose Molina-Pena, a 33-year-old Venezuelan on Temporary Protected Status, was arrested by ICE agents at a Walmart on July 7, 2025, while working as a delivery driver for Walmart's Spark service. Video captured agents using a Taser to subdue him as he fell and struck his head. Molina-Pena remained in ICE custody in El Paso with reported head pain and no medical evaluation. His arrest followed tensions between American-born and immigrant delivery drivers, with American drivers reportedly calling ICE hotlines to report immigrants' locations.

Miguel Silvestre, born in Stockton, California, claims he has been deported four times since 1999, despite possessing a valid birth certificate proving his U.S. citizenship. ICE issued an expedited removal order against him in 2025, the same year a prior removal order from 2004 had already confirmed his citizenship status. DHS stated Silvestre has no active immigration case, though the San Francisco Chronicle reported his account of the recent deportation notice and his emotional distress upon learning of it.

Broadacres Marketplace, a nearly 50-year-old flea market and cultural hub in North Las Vegas, closed on June 21, 2025, due to fears of ICE raids. The 45-acre marketplace serves thousands of Latino customers weekly and employs hundreds of vendors. Ana Bernal Hernandez, whose family operates two food stalls at Broadacres (Gorditas El Fogón and Chilorio's) plus a standalone restaurant with nine employees, reported decreased foot traffic and a shift to takeout orders as customers fear detention. Peter Guzman, president of Las Vegas's Latin Chamber of Commerce, confirmed other Latino restaurants are experiencing slowdowns. The closure comes amid escalated immigration enforcement under the Trump administration and a partnership between Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and ICE, following an ICE raid at a similar swap meet near Los Angeles. Latinos comprise about one-third of Nevada's population and generated $46 billion in goods and services statewide in 2022.

Felipe de Jesus Hernandez Marcelo, a 28-year-old father from Mexico, was shot twice during an attempted robbery in Muscatine, Iowa on June 21, 2025, suffering injuries to his arm and leg that nearly killed him. After recovering in the hospital, he visited the police station on June 24 to retrieve his seized belongings. Police arrested him on an old traffic warrant and transferred him to ICE custody within hours. He has been detained since late June pending removal proceedings. His case is among a growing number of crime victims arrested and detained for removal following the Trump administration's January 2025 rescission of a policy that had shielded many victims from detention.

Over three days in late June, ICE detained 14 people at the Chesterfield County Courthouse while they were attending court proceedings on criminal charges. Six people were detained on June 20, six more on June 23, and two additional people on June 24, according to Chesterfield County Sheriff Karl Leonard. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin defended the detentions as part of a statewide collaboration between Virginia State Police, ICE, and other federal agencies, stating that the detainees were in the country illegally.

Caroline Dias Goncalves, a 19-year-old University of Utah nursing student from Brazil, was detained by ICE on June 5, 2025, following a traffic stop by a Mesa County Sheriff's deputy on Interstate 70 near Fruita, Colorado. The deputy shared information about her in a group chat used for drug interdiction efforts, which ICE agents then used to target her for immigration enforcement. Goncalves, who immigrated to the U.S. at age 7 and has a pending asylum application, was held at an ICE facility in Aurora, Colorado for 15 days, where she reported receiving poor quality food and confusing schedules, and observed differential treatment based on English proficiency. She was released on bond on June 20, 2025, and became a named plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against ICE leadership.

ICE agents detained an estimated 12 to 15 people in Danbury on June 17, 2025, in what Greater Danbury Unites for Immigrants described as a significant enforcement operation. According to witnesses, one woman was removed from her car (which contained children's toys) on a residential street, and at least one man was taken from outside the Danbury Superior Courthouse. The detentions, which occurred across 5th Street, Moss Avenue, and White Street near the courthouse, sparked fear in the community and prompted a rally organized by immigrant advocacy groups. The operation was part of stepped-up immigration enforcement across Connecticut in recent days.

On June 11, 2025, ICE agents coordinated with Chatham County police to conduct traffic stops targeting immigrant workers near a mobile home park outside Savannah. Eight immigrant laborers were apprehended during two traffic stops. Body camera footage reveals ICE agents proposing ongoing collaboration with local police, with one agent offering to respond to future stops.

ICE conducted a raid on Glenn Valley Foods meatpacking plant in Omaha, Nebraska on June 10, 2025, detaining approximately 76 undocumented workers. The operation involved roughly 80 federal and local agents. One year after the raid, community leaders reported ongoing negative economic and social impacts in South Omaha's business district, including loss of business activity, reduced consumer traffic, and increased fear among immigrants. Of the detainees, close to 10 self-deported, others were granted bond and temporary work permits while facing immigration proceedings.

Federal immigration agents conducted coordinated raids at over 100 car washes and Home Depots across Los Angeles County, detaining nearly 400 workers. The operations involved armed, masked agents who surrounded businesses and chased down workers, resulting in widespread family separations. Some detainees were held at detention facilities pending court dates while others were deported, leaving families without income and caregivers for extended periods.

On June 5, 2025, ICE agents conducted a sweep of the Rio Rancho Walmart parking lot, detaining approximately a dozen delivery drivers from Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia, and elsewhere. The operation was prompted by calls to ICE hotlines from American-born delivery drivers reporting the locations of immigrant workers. Sandoval County Sheriff's Office provided support to the operation. At least three of those detained remain in custody, though none have been confirmed deported.

Reyes's husband, an undocumented construction worker, was detained last June when Florida Highway Patrol stopped his car over a plastic cover obscuring his license plate. He was charged with unlawful alteration of vehicle registration and driving without a license, then transferred to ICE custody and held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego. Reyes, who had been a stay-at-home mother of two children (ages eight and twelve), began working as a babysitter and selling homemade food to support the family and pay for her husband's legal fees, which totaled approximately $13,000. The family nearly faced eviction before relatives contributed $5,000 in back rent. After about one year in detention, an immigration judge granted her husband bond of approximately $1,500 in July 2026. A non-profit group outside the detention center and El Pueblo Unido provided additional funds for his plane ticket home. He arrived in Sarasota in the middle of the night, and for the first time in a year, reunited with his children. The family continues to fight his deportation case amid mixed emotions of relief and uncertainty.

Edgardo David Campos, a 55-year-old Salvadoran man who has lived in the United States for 30 years, was arrested by ICE agents in tactical gear at a gas station in South Nashville in early May on his birthday. A Tennessee state trooper was present during the arrest, which was captured on video by bystander Dinora Romero, who helped locate his family and return his vehicle to his home. Campos is a construction and tire installation worker and devoted family man married with a wife. His cousin Laura Campos described him as "the first to arrive and the last to leave" at his church, always willing to volunteer and help others. The Nashville Catholic Diocese and local parishioners rallied around him, with a parish petition describing him as the "heart of our parish" who has faithfully served in multiple church ministries for years. The arrest was part of "Operation Flood the Zone," a coordinated week-long effort between Tennessee state police and ICE targeting Latino neighborhoods, during which over 600 vehicles were stopped and ICE claimed nearly 200 arrests. Campos was held at Putnam County Jail over the weekend with no charges filed, then transferred to Knox County Jail where charges remained unfiled. Spanish-speaking parishes in Nashville saw a 50% drop in Mass attendance following the operation.

Early Sunday morning, Tennessee Highway Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Department of Homeland Security conducted a joint operation in South Nashville, pulling over approximately 150 people for alleged traffic violations. Federal ICE agents used the stops to investigate immigration-related matters, and those detained were transported to a federal immigration facility in Louisiana. Advocacy groups including Hijos de Immigrantes and the Tennessee Immigration and Refugee Rights Coalition criticized the operation as racial profiling, with organizers noting that officers stopped people for minor infractions like broken tail lights and tinted windows in the heart of the immigrant community. As of the article, advocacy groups had verified about 40 detainees and were working to provide legal assistance to all those affected.

An undocumented landscaper known as Esdras was detained during a May 2 traffic stop by Florida Highway Patrol and Border Patrol agents while driving to a landscaping job with his coworkers. Video footage shows officers pulling him out of the van by his leg and neck, forcing him to the ground while he was rigidly resisting, and tasering him twice in the stomach despite no indication of a threat. He spasmed and fell crying to the pavement. Esdras was transferred to the Krome Detention Center in Miami and faces deportation proceedings, though he has been released on bail.

Kenny Laynez, an 18-year-old U.S. citizen born in West Palm Beach, was detained for six hours by Florida Highway Patrol and Border Patrol agents on May 2 after being stopped while driving to a landscaping job with his mother and two undocumented coworkers. Video footage captured officers using physical force against Laynez, twisting his arms and pushing him face-down to the pavement, while tasering one of his coworkers twice. An officer told Laynez, "You have no rights here. You are a 'Migo,' brother," after Laynez asserted his citizenship. Laynez was eventually released from a Riviera Beach federal facility after agents confirmed his citizenship status, but was charged with misdemeanor obstruction without violence and entered a pretrial diversion program.

After months in ICE detention in Tacoma, Rakesh Rakesh volunteered to self-deport to India but was mistakenly placed on a flight to Sitka, Alaska instead of New York. Alaska Airlines staff assisted him with meals, lodging, and rebooking at no charge. Upon his return to Seattle, ICE re-detained him at the Northwest ICE Processing Center for an additional 16 days before completing his deportation, prompting him to conduct a hunger strike to protest the situation.

Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen born in Georgia, was arrested by Florida Highway Patrol on April 16, 2025, following a traffic stop for speeding. He was charged under Senate Bill 4C, a state immigration enforcement law that had been temporarily blocked by court order. Despite presenting valid identification documents including a birth certificate and Social Security card, he was held on an ICE detainer at Leon County Jail without food. A judge verified his citizenship and confirmed he had committed no crime, but initially stated the court lacked jurisdiction to release him due to ICE's detainer request. He was released after approximately 24 hours following public advocacy from civil rights advocates, journalists, and elected officials.

A Florida woman, Latrance Battle, impersonated an ICE agent and kidnapped her ex-boyfriend's wife from her workplace on April 10. The victim, who was in the process of becoming a legal U.S. resident, believed Battle was an ICE agent when approached. Battle took the victim to an apartment complex instead of the sheriff's office, where the victim escaped and contacted law enforcement. Battle was arrested and charged with kidnapping, robbery, impersonating a law enforcement officer, and felony probation violation.

On April 1, state and federal police raided a party at an Airbnb in an Austin suburb, arresting nearly 50 people including nine children. The FBI, ICE, Texas Department of Public Safety, and Hays County Sheriff's Office claimed they targeted individuals connected to a Venezuelan gang, but offered no substantiating evidence. ICE arrested 35 individuals on unauthorized entry charges; federal court records suggest these were not prosecuted as criminal charges but rather processed through civil immigration detention, with many subsequently deported.

Jeankey Jhonayker Castro Bravo, a 24-year-old barber from Caracas, Venezuela, was stopped while driving for DoorDash in the Austin area on April 1. After showing his Venezuelan passport, a DPS trooper called in ICE. DPS accused him of gang affiliation based on his tattoos and arrested him for drug possession. He was held in jail for six months before the felony ketamine charge was dropped in October. He was subsequently deported to Venezuela.

Antonio Vizcaino González, a dual Venezuelan-Spanish citizen, was stopped by Texas Department of Public Safety for ignoring a stop sign while driving near an Airbnb in an Austin suburb on April 1. ICE agents arrived and found narcotics in his inner waistband, leading to a ketamine possession charge. He bonded out into ICE custody but was deported to Spain in May. The drug charge was later dropped by prosecutors due to lack of cooperation from federal law enforcement.

Maksym Chernyak, a 44-year-old Ukrainian man who fled Russia's invasion of Ukraine, was arrested on a domestic battery charge in January 2025 and transferred to ICE custody at Krome North Service Processing Center in southwest Miami-Dade County on February 2. On February 18, he suffered a stroke; Krome staff delayed calling 911 for over 40 minutes despite his seizures and non-responsive state. He was transported to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital where doctors confirmed a hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage. He died two days later. Medical experts who reviewed records said the delayed emergency response and treatment of his symptoms as intoxication fell below standard of care and may have contributed to his death.

Duran Valdivias, a Mexican citizen working for a local property manager, was arrested by ICE agents on February 13 after a Great Falls Police Department detective called an ICE agent to a suspected trespassing scene. According to court documents, ICE discovered that Valdivias had been detained by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol five times in 2012 and had been ordered to stay out of the country.

Maria Gonzalez, a 32-year-old Venezuelan mother, and her two children (ages 7 and 9) were deported to Mexico within hours of being stopped for a traffic violation in Tucson, Arizona on February 15, 2025. Tucson Police conducted an SB-1070 immigration check during the routine traffic stop, leading to expedited deportation by U.S. Border Patrol without court hearings or opportunity to seek asylum.

Jose Alvaro, an undocumented immigrant from Central America applying for a green card, was detained by ICE after a Lubbock police officer pulled him over for a license plate issue and called federal immigration authorities. The traffic stop has left his U.S. citizen wife Ashley and their three U.S.-born children facing deportation proceedings. Advocates have noted that routine police interactions can lead to deportations.

Doris Flores, a Honduran immigrant who entered the U.S. in 2023 and applied for asylum after being threatened in Honduras, was arrested by Polk County Sheriff's deputies in late January 2025 after they responded to a school threat report involving her 8-year-old daughter Briana. During the investigation, deputies discovered Flores and her fiancé had deportation orders and contacted ICE. Flores was detained, and her 4-month-old baby Briany was placed in the care of her pastor and his wife to avoid foster care. Flores had a deportation order issued in May 2025 for a missed asylum hearing that she said was due to computer issues.