Human Impact Project

ICE agents detained Mayra Vaca Latacunga, 25, a single mother from Ecuador, after stopping her car while she was getting groceries in Biddeford, Maine on Friday, January 24, 2026. The detention left her five-year-old daughter Keyli Camila Espin Vaca without a caretaker. Vaca Latacunga, who entered the U.S. two years ago fleeing domestic violence and works in Maine's seafood industry, has no criminal record. She was transferred to Massachusetts and held for several days before being released on Tuesday with an ankle monitor and reunited with her daughter.

Heidy Sánchez was separated from her one-year-old daughter during an immigration appointment when ICE agents took the child away while she was breastfeeding. Sánchez was subsequently deported to Cuba and remains separated from her daughter and American husband eight months later.

Iván Guzmán, head cook at El Cubano To Go restaurant in Shoreline, Washington, was detained by ICE agents on Aurora Avenue North on January 25 while driving his 2-year-old son to daycare. The child remained alone in the vehicle for approximately 40 minutes while armed officers surrounded the car. Guzmán was subsequently deported to Mexico, his country of birth. Restaurant owner Verónica Castañeda described him as 'my right hand, a hardworking man, dedicated to his family.' The child is now with his mother. A GoFundMe campaign was launched to raise funds for legal assistance, childcare, and food.

An ICE enforcement action in Minneapolis resulted in tear gas being released near a family vehicle containing six children. A local couple reported the incident, including concerns about officer conduct and the presence of minors during the enforcement operation.

Mirian, a legally present resident of the United States who recently graduated from college, was followed by ICE from Westbrook to Scarborough, Maine. She was ordered to pull over during a traffic stop and was subsequently detained by ICE. Her family is seeking community support for her release.

ICE agents detained a father driving his two-year-old son to daycare in Shoreline, Washington. The child was left alone in the vehicle surrounded by armed agents for approximately 30 minutes while waiting for a family member to pick him up. Community volunteers arrived at the scene and documented the incident while supporting the child until a family friend arrived to take him to the father's workplace.

Francoise Makuiza, a 32-year-old asylum seeker, was arrested by ICE on Friday morning while leaving for work at an assisted living facility in Portland. According to her attorney, Makuiza has no criminal history in Maine, has lived there for over 12 years, is the mother of a U.S. citizen, and was previously granted refugee status by Colombia after fleeing genocide in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her detention is part of an ICE enforcement surge that has resulted in more than 200 arrests in Maine, including asylum seekers complying with immigration officials and immigrants married to U.S. citizens.

Anthony Paredes, an 18-year-old deaf high school senior at Ramón C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts in Los Angeles, was chased and tackled to the ground by Department of Homeland Security immigration officers on January 24, 2026, during a peaceful protest outside a federal building in downtown Los Angeles. Multiple bystanders shouted that Paredes was deaf and could not hear the officers' verbal commands, but he was taken into custody without a sign language interpreter provided. While in custody, Paredes' requests to use a restroom were denied. His mother, Guadalupe Diaz, expressed concern about the lack of interpreter access during the encounter. Educators and organizers plan to file a claim and lawsuit against the government and seek to have charges dropped, with a court date scheduled for April 1.

A protest occurred Saturday at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley when detainees, including many children, demonstrated in solidarity with 5-year-old Liam Ramos who was taken into custody in Minnesota. Attorneys were ordered to leave the facility as approximately 80 percent of detainees poured into open areas chanting "Libertad" (Freedom). Detainees expressed concerns over the child's treatment and the circumstances of his apprehension from a car in his family's driveway.

Two brothers, ages 17 and 16, from West Chicago traveled to Minneapolis to document U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. The brothers have been recording Border Patrol activities, including the use of tear gas and pepper spray, and uploading footage to a public Google Drive folder. They witnessed the aftermath of Alex Pretti's death on January 24, when Border Patrol agents shot and killed the VA nurse while he was recording them. The brothers also witnessed the death of Renee Macklin Good at the hands of federal agents. They describe the enforcement actions in Minneapolis compared to what they had previously witnessed in Chicago.

Hassan Hamka, a lawful permanent resident, has been held in ICE detention for over six months while his legal case proceeds. His daughter created a petition seeking community support and character testimonials to present to the judge at his trial.

A 2-year-old girl and her father, both Ecuadorian nationals, were arrested by ICE in south Minneapolis and flown to Texas within hours, despite a federal judge's order to release the child. The judge issued an order at 8:11 p.m. Thursday to release the child by 9:30 p.m., but ICE placed them on a commercial flight to Texas at 8:30 p.m. The child was later returned to Minnesota and reunited with her mother on Friday.

ICE enforcement operations in Minnesota during January 2026 resulted in the detention of at least seven students from Columbia Heights Public Schools, including a five-year-old boy. The operations included stops of individuals without confirmed identity verification and stops of off-duty police officers, with agents staging on school grounds and in neighborhoods. St. Paul and Brooklyn Park police chiefs acknowledged concerns about racial profiling and potential civil rights violations. School officials reported the year was "tumultuous," with students and families experiencing ongoing negative impacts and fears about student retention.

Johny Merida Aguilara, an undocumented immigrant detained by ICE in September 2024, accepted deportation to Bolivia after nearly five months in custody. His wife, Gimena Morales Antezana, and their three U.S. citizen children plan to depart with him this month. The family's decision comes after financial hardship and the need to care for their 5-year-old son who has brain cancer, autism, and severe feeding difficulties. Aguilara's family lawyer won a temporary deportation stay in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, but the family chose voluntary departure amid mounting economic pressures and uncertainty over pending asylum and T visa applications.

Elvis Tipan-Echeverria and his 2-year-old daughter, both Ecuadorian citizens, were detained by ICE agents on January 23, 2026, after agents pursued their vehicle in a targeted enforcement operation near their Minneapolis home. Agents entered the family's driveway without a warrant, broke the vehicle window while the child was inside, and transported both father and daughter to a federal facility. Despite a court order issued at 8:11 p.m. on January 23 requiring the child's immediate release, ICE placed them on a commercial flight to Texas by 8:30 p.m. The child was returned to her mother in Minnesota on January 24, but her father remains in custody. A federal court order has barred ICE from removing the father from Minnesota during ongoing proceedings.

Elvis Tipan-Echeverria, an Ecuadorian citizen, and his 2-year-old daughter were taken into ICE custody on January 23, 2026, during a vehicle encounter at their home in Minneapolis. Despite a federal court order issued that evening requiring the child's immediate release, both were flown to Texas the same night. The toddler, who has lived in Minneapolis since arriving as a newborn and has a pending asylum application, was returned to her mother on January 24. Her father remains in ICE custody. The detention was part of a broader ICE operation in Minnesota that resulted in at least nine children being detained in January 2026, including a 5-year-old detained on his way home from preschool and several other minors ranging from elementary school age to teenagers. Federal judges ordered the return of several other children and parents to Minnesota after they were transferred to a detention center in Texas.

Cecil Elvir-Quinonez, a 25-year-old Honduran national who has lived in the U.S. since 2014, was arrested on New Year's Eve 2025 after being stopped for speeding in Louisiana. She was separated from her two American-born children, including a five-month-old still breastfeeding at the time of arrest. While in ICE custody, Elvir-Quinonez discovered she was pregnant with her third child. She experienced heavy bleeding and cramps but received limited medical care beyond one emergency room visit. Her youngest child has been repeatedly sick since her arrest, and her five-year-old has developed new speech difficulties. Advocacy groups including the ACLU and National Immigration Project report that Elvir-Quinonez's case is part of a documented pattern: more than a dozen women have suffered medical neglect and mistreatment while pregnant in ICE custody, including cases of women shackled during miscarriages, denied prenatal care, and given inadequate nutrition. The advocacy coalition has urged ICE to release all pregnant detainees.

Makengo Nzeza was detained by ICE on January 23, 2026, while returning to the hospital after his wife gave birth via C-section to their newborn daughter. Nzeza, a member of First Parish Congregational Church in Saco, was arrested as part of Operation Catch of the Day. He had been granted asylum. DHS stated that Nzeza entered the country on a tourist visa in 2017 that expired in 2018. His wife was left alone at the hospital with their newborn and three other children ages 3, 6, and 11. A fundraiser was created to support the family and cover legal fees and bond costs.

ICE agents detained five-year-old Liam Ramos and his father at their home in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, using the child as bait to gain entry despite the family having an active asylum case and no deportation order. Federal agents have detained children as young as four years old in ICE custody.

Francisco Gaspar Andrés, a 48-year-old Guatemalan immigrant, died on December 3, 2025, at The Hospitals of Providence East in El Paso after 93 days in ICE custody at Camp East Montana detention facility. He was arrested in Florida on September 1 and transferred to the facility on September 19, marking the first confirmed death there. His health deteriorated in mid-November with complications from alcoholic hepatic cirrhosis, low sodium levels, and kidney failure. He was hospitalized on November 16 and placed on dialysis and a liver transplant list before being pronounced dead on December 3. His daughter said during weekly phone calls he reported suffering from lack of food, lack of medical care, and terrible conditions, and stated: 'My dad was taken to the hospital when he was already dying, and it was too late.' Another detainee confirmed he had asked for help but did not receive it. His wife, Lucía Pedro Juan, was deported to Guatemala on November 28 before learning of his death. An immigration judge had ordered his removal on November 14, two days before his hospitalization. The El Paso County Medical Examiner attributed his death to natural causes stemming from advanced alcoholic liver cirrhosis with renal failure and internal bleeding, though conflicting reports indicate authorities also ruled it a homicide.

A 16-year-old Ecuadorian asylum seeker named Sebastian was detained by ICE agents in North Minneapolis in mid-January while on a food run. He was moved between multiple holding facilities, including a guarded hotel, before being flown to a youth shelter in Grand Rapids, Michigan. During his detention, his family and ICE's own attorneys reported having no record of him in custody. Lawyers located him after a week-long period.

A 10-year-old girl and her father, Guatemalan asylum-seekers with six years of U.S. residency and an active asylum claim, were detained by federal agents in Spokane on January 9 after a school drop-off and transferred to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. The father holds a valid work permit and has no criminal history. Washington state leaders condemned the enforcement action, noting the family's community ties and scheduled 2027 court hearing.

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.

Micheline Ntumba, a Portland resident and mother of four from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was detained by ICE agents on January 21, 2026, after dropping off her child at Portland High School. According to her daughter, agents followed Ntumba home to her apartment parking lot near Deering Oaks Park, took her phone and wallet, and placed her in their vehicle without asking for identification or explanation. Ntumba has been in the United States for almost 10 years, has no criminal record, and has a pending asylum application.

ICE enforcement operations, including Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago, have created widespread fear in immigrant communities, with documented impacts on children's mental health, school engagement, and family stability. Testimony before the Illinois Accountability Commission described children avoiding school activities, families considering guardianship transfers, and reduced use of healthcare and educational institutions due to enforcement actions.

A five-year-old U.S. citizen named Génesis Ester Gutiérrez Castellanos disappeared after being transferred to ICE custody following her mother's arrest on Monday morning. The child does not appear in ICE, ORR, CPS, or any Central Texas immigration detention facility databases. Family members are calling on the San Antonio ICE field office to locate the child so custody arrangements can be made while her mother remains detained.

A leaked ICE memorandum reveals that federal immigration agents are entering private residences without judicial warrants, using administrative orders to detain people with final deportation orders. The memo, signed by interim ICE director Todd Lyons on May 12, 2025, authorizes use of force to enter homes based only on administrative orders, which immigration advocates argue violates Fourth Amendment protections. The disclosure comes amid reports of ICE operations in Austin involving minors and allegations of abuse, as well as an incident in St. Paul, Minnesota where ICE agents forcibly entered a U.S. citizen's home without a warrant.

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.

Jean-Pierre Obiang, an 18-year-old University of Southern Maine student, was detained by ICE agents on January 21, 2026, after a minor vehicle accident near a Market Basket parking lot in Westbrook. The agents ran the license plates of the vehicle Obiang was in and detained him despite having no criminal record and being enrolled in school. Obiang's family are asylum-seekers from Gabon who have been living in Maine for three years.

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.

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.

ICE removed Jose Serrano-Maldonado, a Maryland father with no criminal record, to El Salvador on January 20, 2026, despite two court orders prohibiting his removal and a clear "do not remove" banner in his file. Federal authorities admitted the mistake during an emergency hearing but did not provide explanation for why the deportation occurred. The judge ordered daily status updates and the government is working to return him to the United States.

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 six-year-old girl was found wandering the streets alone after her father, Adonay Mancia Rodríguez, was detained by ICE agents in Morristown, New Jersey. The father left their apartment to pick up food when he was arrested during an immigration enforcement operation that resulted in the detention of 11 individuals. According to family statements, Rodríguez arrived in the U.S. as a teenager and had been employed and living in the community for over ten years with no criminal record.

Ann Salas laid out toys, clothes, furniture and appliances on her Skokie driveway Friday morning, selling everything in preparation for permanently leaving the United States.⁠ Some shoppers were happy to just give her cash, because her 49-year-old husband, who was brought here from Guatemala as a 5-year-old, was deported to that country last month. She plans to take their young son to Mexico to reunite with her husband, Antony “Tony” Salas, and live there as a family.⁠ A check of court records in Cook County and San Francisco County, California, where Antony Salas lived for a time, did not show any arrests for him.⁠ The family doesn’t plan on coming back, though Ann Salas and the couple’s 3-year-old son are U.S. citizens, and Antony Salas has lived in the U.S. for decades.⁠ Tap on the link in our bio to read more. ⁠

Lazaro G.J., a immigrant who has lived in the United States for over thirty years, was arrested and detained by ICE on January 19, 2026, pursuant to immigration proceedings. He is the father of three U.S. citizen children, the youngest of whom is entirely dependent upon him. He has no criminal history and maintains community ties. After requesting a custody redetermination hearing under 8 C.F.R. § 1236, an Immigration Judge denied jurisdiction over his bond request on May 19, 2026. Lazaro filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court contending he is entitled to a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) and that the statute and regulations require custody determinations and bond hearings, prohibiting indefinite detention without a hearing. The court granted his habeas petition in part, ordering that respondents must either hold a bond hearing before a neutral decisionmaker within seven days or cease detention. The court found the case mirrored numerous analogous cases previously decided by the Eastern District of California.

An 18-month-old girl named Amalia was held with her parents at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas. In January, she became critically ill with pneumonia, Covid-19, and RSV and was hospitalized with respiratory failure. After discharge, she was returned to detention and denied prescribed medication by doctors, remaining confined for nine additional days before being released following an emergency habeas corpus petition.

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.

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.

A family of three from Venezuela—parents Yohendry De Jesus Crespo and Darianny Liseth Gonzalez De Crespo, and their 7-year-old daughter Diana—were detained by immigration officers in a parking lot at Portland Adventist Health on January 16, 2026, while attempting to seek medical care for the child's nosebleed. The family, who entered the U.S. through a port of entry in California and have a pending asylum application, is now being held at ICE's South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas.

Juan Daniel Mendoza, a 17-year-old Morristown High School senior, was arrested by ICE on Sunday while doing laundry at a Speedwell Avenue laundromat. U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin ordered his release on January 15, 2026, ruling that he was unlawfully detained in violation of his due process rights. Federal authorities are prohibited from re-arresting him without first demonstrating he poses a risk of flight or danger to the public.

ICE agents detained Sebastian, a 16-year-old Ecuadorian asylum-seeker, in Minneapolis in January 2026 during an interior arrest while he was driving alone, seizing his phone after he called his father. Despite his father living in the U.S., Sebastian was labeled an "unaccompanied minor" and transferred to the Bridgeway shelter in Michigan, making it difficult for his family and attorneys to locate him. The case illustrates how the "unaccompanied minor" designation can impede family unity protections and legal access even when a parent resides in the country. While in custody, Sebastian reported receiving vaccines without consent.

Ramon Menera, a naturalized US citizen born in Mexico, was detained by a US Border Patrol agent outside his home in a Minneapolis suburb on January 14, 2026, while walking with his five-year-old daughter. The agent cited Menera's accent as the reason for questioning. His citizenship was verified through federal records and he was released. The incident, part of Operation Metro Surge, has prompted legal challenges alleging racial profiling and civil rights violations, with lawsuits filed by the Minnesota Attorney General and the ACLU.

Danna, who had legal immigration status, was detained by ICE in mid-January 2026 after being racially profiled. She and her 6-year-old child were transported to Texas while her 2-year-old remained with a guardian. It took one month to secure their release and reunite the family. Her husband was deported during this period, leaving Danna as sole provider.

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.

Jose Oleaz, 34, was detained by ICE during a raid in Pomona on Wednesday while serving as the sole caregiver for his 13-year-old nephew Bryan. Oleaz immigrated from Mexico over 20 years ago and had been raising Bryan following the deaths of his wife Yesenia and sister Alejandra in a DUI crash two years prior. According to family members, Oleaz is a landscaper with no criminal record who also cares for his father with cancer.

ICE agents conducted multiple enforcement activities in St. Paul, Minnesota involving immigrant communities. In one incident, agents knocked on a resident's door in the North End neighborhood and asked her to identify Hmong and Asian households, without clearly displaying badges. In a separate incident at a downtown bus stop on 6th Street and Jackson, ICE agents were photographed surrounding a man with his head covered by a black bag. These incidents occurred as part of broader ICE enforcement operations.

A parent was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Wednesday morning while waiting at a bus stop with their child in Crystal, Minnesota. The incident occurred at Northport Elementary School's bus stop, and multiple students and the bus driver witnessed the detention. The school district stated that all students, including the child of the arrested parent, were able to safely board the bus and provided support services to affected students and staff.

Laura, a 24-year-old asylum applicant from Honduras, gave birth in January 2026 but remained isolated in her apartment with her newborn daughter due to fear of ICE enforcement. Her stress about immigration authorities was so severe that it affected her physical health during labor, reducing oxytocin production critical for delivery and breastfeeding. Her boyfriend rarely visited after the hospital stay, fearing detention if he left his mother's home. Fear of immigration enforcement continues to isolate Laura from the family and community support typically available to new mothers.