Human Impact Project

Sergio Garcia Silva, a 65-year-old chef who lived in the United States for 36 years, was deported to Mexico by ICE on March 25, 2025. He had no criminal record and owned a Mexican restaurant business in Waco. Garcia had entered the U.S. in 1989 and spent 25 years attempting to become a U.S. citizen before being arrested at his food truck and deported within one day. The deportation was based on a two-decade-old deportation order for illegal re-entry that had never been previously enforced. After deportation, Garcia was held captive by an extortion group in Mexico and was apprehended by Border Patrol when attempting to return, resulting in a second deportation in June 2025. The deportations separated him from his family, including four children, who remained in the United States.

An undocumented Maryland mother whose teenage son died of cancer while she was in ICE custody has requested deportation to Mexico. Officials did not release Martinez-Carrada in time to see her son before his death in late January, though she was permitted to attend his funeral.

At least 15 people were detained this week through targeted arrests conducted by ICE agents in Southern California. The post credits advocacy organizations for their continued support of reporting on immigration enforcement activities.

Julio Vargas, a coconut vendor in El Corredor Salvadoreño, was detained by immigration officers two months prior to the article's publication without a stated reason or warrant. He has since been released and returned to his work selling coconuts at the same location.

Jorge was detained by ICE on March 23 when he arrived for a scheduled biometrics appointment as part of his U visa application, a pathway to legal status for crime victims. According to his wife, staff delayed him, told him to wait, and then contacted immigration authorities. ICE agents entered and detained him immediately. Jorge has no criminal record and is a survivor of gun violence. He is currently held at Delaney Hall, a privately run immigration detention facility in Newark, and has not received an initial court date to determine if his detention is lawful.

Nine members of a Queens church music ministry were detained by ICE during a traffic stop on their return trip from an out-of-state church event. While in detention, they signed documents for voluntary departure to Guatemala. All nine were primary breadwinners who left behind spouses and young children.

Raúl Tapia, a Mexican immigrant who has lived in the United States for about 25 years, was detained by ICE agents on Wednesday morning as he and his son drove to work near their Georgetown, Delaware home. According to his family, three unmarked black trucks surrounded their van at a stop sign, and six masked agents broke the van's windows and forcibly removed Raúl without presenting a warrant or arrest warrant. His son Dante, who was in the vehicle, said agents questioned him about his birthplace before releasing him, then handcuffed and removed his father. Delaware court records show Raúl has no criminal history. His wife Beth said the family has been working for years to resolve his immigration status and had just begun working with a new attorney the previous week. Raúl is now held in a detention center in Philadelphia and is expected to be transferred to Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania, with an immigration hearing scheduled for later in February. Community organizations including La Esperanza and the ACLU of Delaware expressed concerns about the warrantless stop and aggressive tactics used.

Rubén González, a Venezuelan national with pending asylum who entered the U.S. in 2022, was detained by ICE on March 22 following a traffic accident in Clermont, Florida. González had valid temporary documentation, work authorization, and regular legal status at the time of the incident. After police reviewed his documents at the accident scene, he was transferred to ICE custody and taken to an immigration detention facility in Jacksonville. Human rights organizations and immigration attorneys have since questioned the legality of detaining someone with active protected status immediately following a traffic accident.

Asad Esmaeily, a 35-year-old Iranian political activist, was detained and tortured by Iranian authorities for organizing protests and distributing materials opposing the regime—officials fractured the bone above his eyebrow and subjected him to waterboarding. He fled Iran with his pregnant wife, Farzaneh Nazi, traveling through South and Central America and arriving at the U.S. border on March 20, 2025. Nazi was released on parole due to her pregnancy, but Esmaeily remained in ICE detention. His asylum claim was denied, and his case is being appealed through an immigration court system that has denied relief to hundreds of others.

ICE began moving a person named Cristofer from Strafford County Jail in New Hampshire to Louisiana, which is described as a deportation flight hub for ICE. Advocates are urging constituents to contact Senators Andy Kim and Cory Booker demanding his immediate return and release.

ICE detained two teenagers in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania on March 20 while they were riding their bikes to work. Coraopolis police stopped the teenagers and may have called ICE to detain them around 9:00 AM. Frontline DIGNITY shared the report to support community awareness and preparedness.

An Iraqi citizen and national was detained by ICE on March 18, 2025 after serving sentences for felony firearm possession and assault convictions. He was informed he would be deported to Iraq pursuant to an administrative removal order, but claimed he could not return due to fears of torture. Despite an initial credible fear finding, an Immigration Judge denied his Convention Against Torture relief and ordered his removal to Iraq on November 20, 2025. The court granted his habeas petition and ordered his immediate release from immigration detention.

José Eliezer Martínez-Andino, a young Honduran man with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and a work permit, was stopped by Border Patrol agents in a car crossing Montana in March 2025 over an alleged forged license plate. Despite trying to withdraw a voluntary departure form he says he signed out of fear, he was deported to Honduras in April, separating him from his 3-year-old U.S.-citizen daughter and family in Raleigh, North Carolina. A federal judge later ordered the government to bring him back, calling his removal a case that 'boggles the mind,' but when he returned in August he was sent to an ICE detention facility in Texas rather than home, and DHS has filed a new removal case against him.

A 43-year-old Mexican citizen who has lived in the U.S. since 1997 was detained on March 17, 2025, at the GEO Group's ICE Processing Center in Aurora, Colorado. She is the mother of three U.S. citizen children. In 2011, an Immigration Judge denied her cancellation of removal application but granted her voluntary departure with 60 days to leave. She appealed that decision, which tolled her departure period. In September 2012, while her appeal was pending, she traveled to Mexico to see her dying mother; her departure was deemed a withdrawal of the appeal, triggering her timely compliance with the voluntary departure order. She returned to the U.S. in April 2013 without inspection and was subsequently apprehended and charged criminally. On July 24-25, 2013, ICE issued a Form I-871 purporting to reinstate her prior removal order, but the petition alleges the reinstatement was procedurally deficient because it was signed before she was notified of her right to challenge it. ICE granted her a stay of removal on August 8, 2013, which has been repeatedly extended since then. She is now challenging her detention through a habeas corpus petition, arguing she has no valid removal order and therefore no statutory authority supports her detention.

Ricardo Navarrete, an 18-year-old Chicago high school senior, and his mother Liliana were detained outside Chicago Immigration Court on March 16 after being told to come sign papers. Both had active asylum cases and no criminal records. They were from Colombia and arrived in the U.S. in 2022. Ricardo has been transported multiple times between facilities and placed in solitary confinement; he and his mother are currently separated in different facilities in Kentucky.

Gladys Yoleida Caricote Tovar, 28, a Venezuelan with Temporary Protected Status and mother of three young children, was arrested in Colorado on December 10, 2024 in front of her mother and children. Her children were placed in foster care and only returned to their grandmother weeks later. On March 15, 2025, she was deported despite a federal judge's order halting deportations. She was told she was being flown to Venezuela but was instead taken to El Salvador, where she was kept on the plane and sent back to the United States the same day. Since returning from El Salvador, she has been held in a Texas detention center where she was beaten a few days ago, covered in bruises, and is locked in solitary confinement following a panic attack.

Scarleth Rodríguez, 21, a Venezuelan with Temporary Protected Status, was arrested in August 2024 after turning herself in to border authorities and held in detention for nine months without being allowed to leave. On March 15, 2025, she was deported despite a federal judge's order halting deportations. She was told she was being flown to Venezuela but was instead taken to El Salvador, where she was kept on the plane and sent back to the United States the same day. Since returning from El Salvador, she has been held in a Texas detention center where she was recently beaten. Her mother in Venezuela had prepared a meal expecting her arrival.

Maikol Gabriel López Lizano, a Venezuelan migrant working as a mechanic in Chicago, was arrested in February 2025 on suspicion of gang membership in Tren de Aragua. He was deported on March 15, 2025, via charter plane to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 without due process or the opportunity to challenge the allegation. Maikol Gabriel López Lizano, 23, was arrested in Chicago in August 2023 on misdemeanor charges for riding his bicycle on the sidewalk while drinking a beer. He was deported to CECOT prison in El Salvador on March 15, 2025, as part of the Trump administration's mass deportation of 238 Venezuelans. His partner, Cherry Flores, described his deportation as a gross injustice for such a minor offense.

Franyeli Carolina Zambrano Manrique, 30, a Venezuelan with Temporary Protected Status, was arrested on February 8, 2025 during a traffic stop in Utah with her husband. Despite having valid TPS status, ICE officers accused them both of gang membership based on tattoos and refused to accept their denials. She was transferred to Henderson detention center in Nevada, then deported on March 15, 2025 despite a federal judge's order halting deportations. She was told she was being flown to Venezuela but was instead taken to El Salvador, where she was kept on the plane and sent back to the United States the same day. She was later deported to Venezuela on April 5, 2025, but her husband remains detained at CECOT in El Salvador.

Yoderlyn Daviana Acosta Peña, a 21-year-old Venezuelan migrant living and working in Chicago, was arrested in February 2025 on suspicion of gang membership in Tren de Aragua based on subjective criteria including tattoos. On March 15, 2025, while being deported via charter plane, an ICE officer physically assaulted her, grabbing her by the hair and punching her in the face. She was deported to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act without due process.

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.

Twelve restaurant workers at a Mexican restaurant in Liberty, Missouri were barricaded inside by armed Department of Homeland Security agents and arrested without warrants. According to legal documents filed by attorneys, federal agents allegedly created arrest documents retroactively to justify the warrantless arrests. The operation violates the Nava Settlement, which covers Missouri along with five other states including Illinois. Attorneys argue this represents an attempt to evade settlement protections limiting warrantless ICE arrests.

Abel Orozco-Ortega, 47, was detained outside his home in Lyons without a warrant as he arrived after buying tamales. A federal agent identifying as a police officer requested his driver's license; Orozco-Ortega showed a Temporary Visitor's license, after which he was arrested and handcuffed. Federal agents allegedly kept him in a vehicle and created an administrative warrant while he remained handcuffed. Orozco-Ortega has been detained at Clay County Jail in Indiana for approximately one month. Attorneys argue this represents a pattern of ICE agents evading the Nava Settlement by creating administrative warrants in the field after detaining individuals.

César Herrera Ferrer, a 24-year-old Venezuelan, was detained by ICE after his father-in-law, Óscar Antonio Castañeda, called immigration authorities during an escalating family conflict. The dispute began when Castañeda was confronted and expelled from the home, then returned to threaten Herrera with a firearm while he held his young daughter. After Castañeda was arrested but released within 72 hours, he allegedly used Herrera's immigration status as a tool of intimidation.

ImmigrationDefenders reports that parents attempting to reunify with children in federal custody are being arrested and placed into deportation proceedings. The organization represents 12 children in Southern California whose parents were detained shortly after initiating the reunification process, leaving children stranded in shelters.

Neiyerver Adrian Leon Rengel, a 27-year-old Venezuelan national, was detained by ICE on March 13, 2025, in Irving, Texas, based on suspected gang affiliation determined by his tattoos. His case record disappeared from ICE's online tracking system two days later. Authorities told his girlfriend he was deported, but he has not been located in Venezuela or on any public list of deportees sent to El Salvador.

Shirly Guardado, a Honduran immigrant married to Army Sgt. Ayssac Correa, was arrested by ICE agents in a parking lot on March 13 after being lured out under false pretenses by plainclothes officers claiming to be Department of Public Safety. Despite having a work permit and clean check-in record with immigration officials, and despite her husband's military service and pending sponsorship for her green card, Guardado was detained for nearly three months. The couple had also applied for military parole in place, but USCIS denied the application citing her expedited deportation order, and her subsequent ICE request sat unprocessed for over a year. On May 30—her 28th birthday—she was deported to Honduras, separated from her 10-month-old son and active-duty military husband.

Julio Noriega, a 54-year-old U.S. citizen born in Chicago, was arrested by ICE agents on January 31, 2025, after buying pizza in Berwyn. Agents surrounded him, handcuffed him, and confiscated his wallet containing his ID and Social Security card before transporting him to an ICE processing center in Broadview. He was detained overnight without being questioned about his citizenship status and released only after agents examined his identification. In March 2025, attorneys from the National Immigrant Justice Center and ACLU of Illinois filed a federal court lawsuit alleging that ICE violated the Castañón Nava settlement agreement by arresting Noriega and at least 21 others without proper warrants since January 2025. The lawsuit alleges constitutional and immigration law violations including arrests without probable cause and detention orders created after people were already detained.

Yolanda Perez-Magallón, a 50-year-old undocumented immigrant and caregiver for her 21-year-old daughter with cancer, was detained by ICE agents on February 24 as a collateral arrest during an immigration sweep targeting her son Jonathan. She was held for nearly two weeks before being released on a $1,500 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on April 10.

A Venezuelan couple were arrested by federal immigration agents and charged with misdemeanor unauthorized entry more than two years after crossing the southern U.S. border in October 2022. Despite having been granted Temporary Protected Status and pending asylum claims, they were arrested while returning home from work in Washington, D.C.

Diover Millan, 24, a construction worker, was arrested by immigration agents in the Atlanta suburbs on March 12 and transferred to Bluebonnet detention center in Texas. DHS classified him as a member of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua without providing evidence. Millan faces potential deportation to El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison under the Alien Enemies Act, though the Supreme Court temporarily blocked his deportation. He has a pending asylum case with a hearing scheduled for May 1.

Boun Morisath, a Bremerton father and longtime lawful permanent resident, was detained on March 11, 2025, during a routine check-in at the Department of Homeland Security office in Tukwila after 30 years of regular compliance with immigration officials. He remains in custody at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. His family says he poses no flight risk or danger to society and questions why ICE has suddenly detained him during a visit he had completed without issue for three decades.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Elmer Flores on March 9 after he dropped off his pregnant wife and children at a Mecklenburg County health office for a nutrition program appointment. According to advocacy group Siembra NC, Flores had no criminal record and is being held at a detention facility in Georgia.

Exclusive audio was obtained from a prisoner at a detention facility operated by ICE.

M.K., a lawful permanent resident and student at Columbia University, was arrested by ICE on March 8, 2025, at his student housing with no prior notice. According to his habeas corpus petition, DHS agents initially claimed his student visa had been revoked, but M.K. presented documents proving he is a green card holder. The agents arrested him anyway, claiming his green card had been revoked without providing any basis for the revocation. M.K. is married to a U.S. citizen who is 8 months pregnant. His petition alleges the arrest and detention violate his First Amendment and Due Process rights and claims the government is using immigration enforcement to suppress student activism and political speech.

A Venezuelan immigrant detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection near the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel attempted to take his life by hanging himself in early March 2025. CBP officers intervened and transported him to a hospital for evaluation before transferring him to ICE custody on March 15. The incident is part of a larger pattern where advocates report 213 immigrants were detained in Detroit between January and March 2025, with approximately 90% having accidentally taken the wrong lane onto the Ambassador Bridge or tunnel while attempting to return to the U.S.

Jose Guadalupe Jaimes, a 55-year-old Mexican national who had lived in the United States for 30 years, was arrested by ICE outside Arthur Middle School in Trenton, Michigan, after dropping off his eighth-grade son, who has Asperger's syndrome. Jaimes owns a painting business and has a valid work permit with no criminal record. His children, Ana and Hector (a college junior), described him as a devoted father who emphasized education and built a life in metro Detroit with his wife and five children. According to his son Hector, ICE agents approached with guns drawn during the arrest; an ICE agent reportedly told Jaimes, "I don't even know why you're here because you have no record, you didn't do anything bad." An ICE spokesman stated Jaimes had been "ordered removed by an immigration judge in 2014." He is being held in St. Clair County Jail pending immigration proceedings. His family expressed deep concern about surviving financially and emotionally without him.

A father was detained by ICE on March 6th and is being held in Canyon County with a hearing scheduled for April 10th. His family is seeking $5,000 in financial assistance to cover mortgage, legal fees, groceries, and other expenses while he is in custody.

Jensy Machado, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE agents on March 5, 2025, while driving to work in Manassas. The agents were searching for another man with a deportation order who had provided Machado's home address. Machado was handcuffed and questioned about his immigration status before being released after showing his driver's license.

Issa Salma Baouna, a 49-year-old green-card holder from Niger, was denied reentry to the United States at John F. Kennedy International Airport on March 6 after CBP determined he was inadmissible due to a prior removal order from 2022. Baouna had been ordered removed following an arrest for assault and visa overstay, and was paroled back into the country multiple times in 2023. After voluntarily returning to Niger, he contracted malaria that led to kidney failure. His wife left the U.S. with their two children to reunite with him.

ICE agents detained an employee at a Minneapolis business owned by Nesta Rodriguez. Rodriguez spoke to Sky News about the incident.

Jhoan Bastidas, a 25-year-old Venezuelan national, was deported from the United States and detained for 16 days at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba before being transferred to Venezuela. During his detention, he was confined to a small cell, shackled when leaving the cell, allowed sunlight only three days per week, and had minimal access to food, books, or activities. The U.S. government alleged Bastidas was a member of the Tren de Aragua gang based on his chest tattoos, a claim he denied. He has since returned to his hometown in Maracaibo and begun working at a hot dog stand.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations Kalispell, with support from Spokane Border Patrol, conducted a worksite operation at a construction site in Bigfork on March 4, 2025. Acting on a tip, agents served a notice of inspection and encountered 17 undocumented immigrants. All 17 were taken into custody and found ineligible to remain in the United States.

Bryan David Tasiguano Leon, an Ecuadorian citizen, was arrested by ICE on March 4, 2025, following his release from NYPD custody despite an ICE detainer request. He had been arrested by NYPD on February 14, 2026, on suspicion of assault. An immigration judge issued a final deportation order against him on February 27, 2025, and federal authorities designated him a public safety risk. He is scheduled for deportation to Ecuador.

A man went to the Broadview ICE facility searching for his wife of five years after she was taken to another room during a court hearing and disappeared. He tracked her phone to the facility but the signal cut off, and police offered no assistance in locating her.

Kamal Morales, a counselor at Community Healthcare Network South Bronx clinic, was detained on March 2 during a routine immigration appearance and subsequently deported to Venezuela after 12 years out of the country. He was held in detention centers across five different states before deportation. Community members in the South Bronx and Queens are rallying in support.

In Maryland, a federal agent sitting outside a church, waiting for the target of his operation to leave his house, acknowledged to journalists that they could never have conducted such an operation before the sensitive locations policy was rescinded.

The Trump Administration has reopened family detention centers in Texas and is detaining immigrant families, including some who have been living in the United States for years. Legal advocates report that children in these facilities are experiencing hunger, sleep deprivation, and psychological distress. The government is potentially planning to detain thousands more at military bases like Fort Bliss.

A Pasco mechanic and father of three was arrested by a federal immigration agent on his way to work in March 2025. He may have been targeted because of a 2020 DUI charge and minor resolved traffic violations. A federal work permit he had previously applied for was approved while he was detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. After months in detention, he was deported to central Mexico in June 2025.

Wendy Brito, an asylum-seeker from El Salvador and mother of three living in the New Orleans area, was detained after attending a routine check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She has been in the U.S. for 15 years and volunteers at a local elementary school. Her partner Kremly Marrero said officials told the family she was taken because of "new regulations under the new administration." Brito is now held in Basile, Louisiana, nearly 200 miles away from her home and children.