Human Impact Project

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 Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, Florida, after spending more than 10 weeks in ICE custody. She had been detained since mid-February after being stopped at an airport in Saint Croix, Virgin Islands without a valid immigrant visa, and was transferred through multiple facilities including San Juan, Krome North Processing Center in Miami, and a Louisiana facility. According to fellow detainees, Blaise experienced what appeared to be a seizure while in a kneeling position. When other women began screaming for help, guards ignored their pleas. One officer approached, looked at Blaise without intervening, and walked away. It took approximately eight minutes for a medical provider to arrive and another 15 to 20 minutes for a rescue team. She was pronounced dead shortly after. Following her death, facility staff told the women to stop making comments about what they had witnessed.

Amilcar Lisser-Posadas, a 29-year-old Honduran national and former DACA recipient with two U.S. citizen daughters, was apprehended in Shelby County, Tennessee in March 2025 for driving with an expired license and transferred to ICE custody. He was moved between multiple detention facilities over four weeks and filed a legal request citing fear of persecution in Honduras, which received no response. At Alexandria Staging Facility, he was detained for approximately 12 days in overcrowded conditions with inadequate sanitation, food, and medical care—arriving sick with chest congestion, fever, and ear infection but receiving no medication until the final two days. On April 23, 2025, he was deported to Honduras on GlobalX charter flights despite his pending legal request. He was later apprehended again at the southern border in May 2025 attempting to reunite with his family and is now facing deportation again from a federal prison.

A family of six asylum seekers from southwestern Africa — parents Josefina and José and their four children, ages 13, 10, 5 and 11 months — were held in a single windowless cell at a CBP facility in Blaine, Washington for about a month starting in April 2025, according to an ACLU complaint. Josefina, who was five months into a high-risk pregnancy, was hospitalized twice during the detention after CBP staff allegedly kept her in unsafe conditions despite hospital warnings, and she suffered pregnancy complications. The children reportedly went weeks without mental stimulation or physical activity, and the 13-year-old was allegedly handcuffed when taken to shower. The ACLU of Washington filed a federal claim seeking $15 million in damages from the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection, one of 54 such claims filed nationwide in July under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

A 52-year-old Chinese woman died by suicide while detained at the Yuma Border Patrol station in Arizona after overstaying her B-1/B-2 visitor visa. She was initially detained in California and transferred to Yuma. Surveillance footage documented the incident, showing she created a noose. CBP records indicate required welfare checks were not properly conducted or were falsely documented, and medical intervention did not occur for nearly two hours after she was found unresponsive. Representative Pramila Jayapal called for accountability regarding CBP's failure to follow detainee safety procedures.

Tim, a Nigerian man, was transferred to the Batavia ICE detention facility in April 2025 after suffering a major concussion from a fall while finishing a federal prison sentence. He was discharged from a Massachusetts hospital with nine prescribed medications and orders for inpatient physical therapy. At Batavia, he went at least a month without medication and received only one physical therapy session before being deported in summer 2025. He now requires a walker and reports severe mental health issues and insomnia.

Alicia arrived for a routine ICE check-in in Louisiana in April 2025 and was detained without warning at Basile detention center. She soon discovered she was pregnant. In detention, she received inadequate food and in May began experiencing severe abdominal pain, cramping, and bleeding. At an emergency room, medical staff performed an invasive uterine test without her consent and informed her she had miscarried. ICE returned her to Basile that same night, where she remained detained for two more months despite continued heavy bleeding, swelling, fever, and severe uterine pain. Repeated sick call requests went unanswered. ICE deported her in July 2025, separating her from her children, and she later required hospital care for a severe infection acquired in custody.

Ruben Ray Martinez, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen from San Antonio, was fatally shot by Homeland Security Investigations Agent Jack Stevens on South Padre Island while traveling with his best friend, Joshua Orta, to celebrate his birthday. Federal officials claimed Martinez struck an agent with his car after refusing orders, but bodycam footage obtained through public records requests and a FOIA lawsuit showed his vehicle stationary or barely moving, with brake lights on, when he was shot three times; he was then pulled from the car, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed before receiving medical care. Orta, the only civilian witness, told investigators Martinez was 'hesitant' and 'scared'; Orta died in a car crash less than a year later. Martinez's mother, Rachel Reyes, said Texas Rangers investigators told her the footage contradicted the agents' account, and her attorneys say no one was near the car when Martinez was shot. A Texas grand jury declined to indict Stevens, and the family filed a tort claim against the federal government.

Luis Muñoz Pinto, a 27-year-old college student from Venezuela, had a scheduled appointment with Customs and Border Protection as part of the CBP One program but was detained from that appointment. He was deported to El Salvador's CECOT prison on March 15, 2025, under the Alien Enemies Act where he was beaten, forced into stress positions, denied adequate food and medicine, and subjected to 24/7 lighting. He said 'lights were on in the cells 24/7, food and medicine were withheld and the same water they had for bathing and going to the bathroom had to be used for drinking.' He was released on July 18, 2025, and returned to Colombia. He had no criminal record in the U.S.

Fabian Schmidt, a 34-year-old German-born electrical engineer and green card holder living in New Hampshire with his U.S. citizen partner Bhavani Hodgkins and their 8-year-old daughter, was detained by CBP officers at Boston Logan Airport on March 7, 2025, upon returning from a trip to Germany and Luxembourg. According to his family, Schmidt was interrogated for hours and subjected to mistreatment including being stripped naked, placed in a cold shower, denied food and water, denied access to anxiety and depression medication, and deprived of sleep. He collapsed during the interrogation and was transported by ambulance to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was diagnosed with influenza. Schmidt was subsequently transferred to ICE custody at the Donald W. Wyatt detention facility in Rhode Island, where he remained in custody. His mother, Astrid Senior, stated she has no idea why he is being held and noted his green card was recently renewed with no active legal issues, though he faced misdemeanor marijuana-related charges approximately a decade ago and may have missed a hearing in 2022. CBP denied allegations of mistreatment, stating officers took "proper action" due to drug-related charges. The German embassy confirmed awareness of the case and stated it has been in close contact with relevant U.S. authorities and the family.

Maksym Chernyak, a 44-year-old Ukrainian man who fled Russia's invasion and entered the U.S. legally under a humanitarian parole program in August 2024, was arrested in January 2025 on a domestic battery/assault charge and transferred to ICE custody at the Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami-Dade County. In the days before his death, he reported fever, chest pain, an irregular heartbeat, and blood in his stool, but went several days without seeing a doctor and his elevated blood pressure went untreated. On February 18, while held in an overcrowded room with about 30 other detainees, he suffered a stroke with multiple seizures and became unresponsive; staff reportedly took 15 to 40 minutes to call 911 and initially accused him of drug use, though toxicology later showed no intoxication. He was hospitalized at HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, where doctors confirmed a hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage, declared him brain dead, and he died two days later. His wife said he had been in good health before detention and was pressured to sign documents without a translator. Medical experts reviewing his case for Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights concluded that delays in emergency response and higher-level care likely contributed to his death, and his case was examined as part of a broader look at rising ICE detention deaths.

Sering Ceesay, a Gambian man with serious heart conditions, was detained by ICE on February 19, 2025, after showing up for a routine immigration appointment in New York City. He was shackled and transferred to the Batavia facility, where he went two weeks without his heart medications. He subsequently suffered a stroke-like syndrome. A physician noted that without strict adherence to his medications, he faced risk of recurrent heart attacks, worsening peripheral artery disease, and strokes. A U.S. District Judge later ordered his release.

Harpinder Singh Chauhan, a 56-year-old British entrepreneur and father of two on an E-2 investor visa who had lived in the United States since 2016, was detained by ICE on February 11 despite lawful presence and serious medical conditions including diabetes, pancreatitis, asthma, and heart issues. He was shackled and transported seven hours to Krome North, where he spent nearly four days in overcrowded, freezing processing cells with no beds, showers, or privacy. ICE officers confiscated his insulin and asthma inhaler, which his family had delivered to the facility, and denied him prescribed medications and his dietary regimen. He contracted a respiratory illness amid an uncontained tuberculosis outbreak. At FDC, officers locked him in a cell without a functioning toilet or air conditioning and threatened him when he requested to move. On April 20, after nearly a week without insulin, Chauhan collapsed while standing in a dinner line at BTC and was hospitalized with signs of cardiac distress. His son Aaron could not obtain information from facility staff and discovered his father had been admitted under an alias name, "Hank Campbell." Officers transferred Chauhan back to BTC after three days in the hospital. Throughout detention, when he repeatedly asked about his personal possessions including his passport, staff responded with hostile all-caps messages. An officer mocked his name during roll call; the officer was briefly suspended with pay but returned to duty. In mid-May, facility staff informed Chauhan that his passport had been lost, further delaying his deportation. He was deported to the United Kingdom in June.

Arbella Rodríguez Márquez, a woman with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who held a valid green card for two years, was detained by ICE in February 2025 after returning to Arizona from Mexico. Her green card status was revoked by a federal immigration judge following her detention. She is being held at Eloy Detention Center where advocates say she is receiving inadequate medical care, having lost 55 pounds and coughing up blood while only receiving Tylenol and stomach ulcer medicine.

Chidi Nwagbo, a Nigerian migrant who had lived in the U.S. for 37 years, was detained at the Buffalo Federal Detention facility in Batavia on February 10, 2025, after attempting to cross into Canada. He arrived at the facility with frostbite and was under doctor's orders to see a specialist at Kessler Burn and Trauma Center in Rochester within a week. ICE staff never took him to the appointment. By the time he saw a doctor 16 days later, portions of six fingers had to be amputated due to untreated frostbite.

Arbella "Yari" Rodríguez Márquez, a 47-year-old lawful permanent resident with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, was detained by ICE on February 10, 2025, after crossing back into Arizona through Nogales. She has been held at Eloy Detention Center for six months without access to cancer treatment, losing 55 pounds and receiving only Tylenol and ulcer medication. An immigration judge revoked her green card after her detention, and Arizona Representative Yassamin Ansari has intervened, demanding immediate medical care and her release.

Arbella "Yari" Rodríguez Márquez, a 39-year-old former legal permanent resident with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, has been detained by ICE at the Eloy Detention Center since February 10, 2025. She has not received proper medical care for her cancer. Her health has deteriorated, including coughing up blood and losing 70 pounds. Detention center staff have denied her requests to see an oncologist and specialist. U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari visited the facility and documented conditions. The representative has called for immediate medical intervention and her release.

A woman from Honduras was detained at Krome's processing room where she reported the one toilet in her cell was covered in feces. Despite repeated requests for cleaning supplies, officers told her sarcastically, 'Housekeeping will come soon.' No one ever came. She was denied pain relief for menstrual cramps and provided only a menstrual pad. After transfer to the Broward Transitional Center, she fell from her bunk in March. Although an X-ray showed no fracture, her ankle became swollen and bruised. She walked in pain for a week before receiving crutches, after repeated requests for some form of relief.

In late February 2025, ICE transported several women to Krome North Service Processing Center, a male-only facility, and confined them for days in a tiny cell that grew from 25 to 31 women with a single exposed toilet. The toilet was visible through windows to adjacent rooms housing men. Officers denied the women showers, saying clearing a section was 'not feasible.' Officers refused to provide medications the women had brought, claiming they were not authorized to treat women. A woman with diabetes was hospitalized after being denied insulin. Another with gallstones was denied medication for days until she began vomiting green bile and lost consciousness, requiring emergency gallbladder removal. She was returned to the cell without prescribed medication. A third woman also had to be hospitalized. When all three returned, officers again refused their medications. Only after women posted signs saying they were being treated inhumanely were they taken — shackled — to shower after four days.

Andrea, a 31-year-old woman from Argentina with a Green Card who has lived in the United States since age three, was arrested in February 2025 after calling police during a domestic dispute with her partner. A judge approved her release on $1,000 signature bond, which her family paid, but ICE issued a detainer and transferred her to Krome North. She was shackled on a multi-stop bus journey and spent a night on the bus in shackles when Krome was closed. At Krome, a male-only facility, she was confined in a small visitation room with up to 30 women with no beds, showers, or privacy for the toilet. She was denied medical care and later transferred across the country to Houston Processing Center for two months, where officers repeatedly failed to inform her of court dates and cut off contact with lawyers and family for 48 hours. Andrea was postpartum, having given birth three months before detention and breastfeeding until arrest; her mother relocated to Florida to care for her children. She was released in late April after authorities retrieved documentation of an expunged cannabis conviction.

A 2-month-old infant was hospitalized with bronchitis while in ICE custody and was later deported to Mexico in February 2025. The case is documented in a June 9 analysis by MS NOW and The Marshall Project examining detention conditions for infants and toddlers, which found that ICE has detained more than 500 children under age three since January 2025, with inadequate medical care cited as a recurring problem.

A 45-year-old Ethiopian man died on January 29, 2025, from complications of untreated HIV while in ICE custody at Eloy Detention Center in Arizona. He had been detained for nearly four months after entering the country illegally and was not screened for HIV despite developing severe symptoms. Medical experts stated routine blood tests at initial intake or upon symptom development could have identified HIV through early diagnosis and antiretroviral treatment.

D.E., a 44-year-old Mexican national, was detained by ICE without a warrant just two blocks from his home in Long Branch, NJ, interrupting chemotherapy scheduled to begin the same week for a brain tumor he has had for 12 years. He was initially held at Delaney Hall in Newark before being transferred to the California City Detention Center, where a CoreCivic guard was more than five hours late delivering his twice-daily seizure medication, Keppra, leading to a severe nighttime seizure. D.E. said he jammed his arm between his bed frame and the wall to keep himself from falling into the nearby toilet during the episode, and later filed a written medical grievance requesting a cancer specialist that went largely unaddressed. His case was cited in a broader review finding that the immigration detention grievance system, meant to allow detainees to report medical neglect and abuse, has collapsed amid the dismantling of federal oversight offices.

A Brazilian man was caught up in a fight between detainees in the Krome canteen in late January. Staff took him outside and beat him. One guard choked him; when he bit in self-defense, another yanked his arm backwards, causing a serious injury. He was denied a sling and given only basic pain medication for a few days. In late March or early April, he sustained knee injuries during recreation. Despite visible swelling and signs of infection, he was denied timely care. By the time he was hospitalized, staff had to drain fluid from both knees. Hospital staff told him any further delay could have resulted in amputation. He required a wheelchair but was assigned to a top bunk at FDC despite repeated requests to be moved.