Human Impact Project

On September 12, ICE officers attempted to arrest Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, a 38-year-old Mexican immigrant, during a traffic stop in Franklin Park, Illinois. After the officers approached his vehicle, Villegas-Gonzalez reversed and then drove forward; an officer fired two shots, striking him in the neck. The vehicle crashed approximately 170 feet away, and Villegas-Gonzalez was pronounced dead at a hospital. Video analysis found no evidence of contact between the vehicle and an officer. An officer sustained injuries including a knee injury and hand lacerations.

Óscar Rascón Duarte, 58, a Mexican national, died on September 8, 2025, at Banner Desert Medical Center in Arizona while in ICE custody. He suffered from advanced-stage Alzheimer's disease, right kidney cancer, and hepatitis C. Rascón Duarte entered the United States in September 1976 as an undocumented immigrant near Douglas, Arizona. In 2004, while in Arizona Department of Corrections custody, ICE initiated deportation proceedings against him and transferred him to Eloy Detention Center. On January 15, 2025, ICE arranged long-term care for him at a medical facility due to his advanced medical conditions. He remained hospitalized in long-term medical care until his death. ICE stated that the cause of death is under investigation and that the Mexican Embassy was notified of his death. His death was one of 17 Mexican immigrant deaths in ICE custody or during immigration enforcement operations during the Trump administration's mass immigration crackdown, prompting Mexico's government to file complaints and demand investigations.

Oscar Rascon Duarte, a 58-year-old Mexican national, died on September 8, 2025, while in ICE custody at Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa, Arizona, where he had been hospitalized for an extended period. According to ICE, Rascon Duarte had advanced-stage Alzheimer's disease, right kidney cancer, and hepatitis C. On January 15, 2025, ICE arranged long-term care for him at Promise Hospital in Mesa. ICE stated that the cause of death was under investigation and notified the Mexican Embassy of his death.

Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas, a 32-year-old Mexican national, died on August 31, 2025, at Mountain Vista Medical Center near Phoenix while in ICE custody at Central Arizona Florence Correctional Complex. He was arrested by Flagstaff police on August 2 on drug paraphernalia charges, then transferred to ICE custody in Phoenix before being moved to the Florence detention facility. During detention, Vargas, who had diabetes, contracted COVID-19 and developed respiratory problems. He was found unresponsive and resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful. He was declared dead at 7:02 a.m. His family remembered him as a loving and tender person with a generous heart who brought joy to those around him. His death marked the 14th migrant death in ICE custody in 2025, the highest number in five years.

In August 2025, ICE confirmed the arrests of 24 construction workers in Centre County, Pennsylvania, who were on their way to a construction site at Mount Nittany Medical Center's patient tower project. On August 19, around 7 a.m., ICE agents pulled over a van of workers on Interstate 99 near Bellefonte; other workers from the same site were stopped near the Milesburg exit on Highway 220 about an hour later. Advocates said the 24 to 26 men detained were from Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras, and described them as fathers, sons and brothers whose arrests disrupted their families and the local workforce. A foreman driving several workers said he was pulled over by two unmarked vehicles and that many detained had valid identification and work permits. The men were reportedly taken to Pike County Correctional Facility, Clinton County Correctional Facility, and Moshannon Valley Processing Center, with advocates and a state lawmaker saying they struggled to obtain information about detainees' whereabouts and alleging some may have been misled or coerced into signing self-deportation orders. The raid preceded a similar operation near Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, and advocates described both as part of a pattern of immigration enforcement near hospitals in central Pennsylvania.

Jaime Alanís Garcia, a 56-year-old farmworker at Glass House Farms, died from blunt-force head and neck injuries sustained during a July 10 ICE immigration raid. His wife and daughter filed wrongful death claims against ICE alleging agents used excessive force including rubber bullets, tear gas, and stun guns, causing Alanís to fall 30 feet from a cannabis greenhouse roof. The family is seeking $47 million in damages per claim and answers about what transpired during the operation that resulted in 361 arrests.

Sheikh Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir, a 46-year-old green card holder and Imam from Eritrea, died at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center on December 14, 2025, after spending 215 days in ICE custody. The Council on American Islamic Relations stated his death was related to detention system issues regarding medical care, transparency, and conditions.

A human smuggler guided a group of undocumented migrants through the Arizona desert in extreme heat and allegedly instructed them to abandon one member who became dizzy and fell into a ravine, resulting in death. U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended the smuggler, Miguel Salomon-Lugo, on June 21.

An 82-year-old man from Pennsylvania was deported to Guatemala after being apprehended during a visit to an ICE office to replace his lost green card. He had lived in the U.S. for nearly 40 years and was granted political asylum in 1987. His family initially could not locate him and later learned he was in a hospital in Guatemala. Guatemala has an agreement with the Trump administration to receive deported immigrants of other nationalities.

Hector González, a 38-year-old construction worker, was crushed to death by falling building materials on July 21, 2025, during construction of Camp East Montana at Fort Bliss. OSHA cited three subcontractors in January for safety violations involving powered industrial trucks, while declining to cite prime contractor Acquisition Logistics; one of the cited subcontractors, Base International, is owned by Nathan Albers, a Trump campaign donor whose companies had prior infractions including employing undocumented workers and violating wage laws. A report released by the watchdog group Public Citizen detailed the violations and noted the camp has since been linked to the deaths of three detainees in December and January amid allegations of inhumane conditions. ICE replaced Acquisition Logistics with Amentum Services as the facility's prime contractor last month.

In mid-July, ICE agents conducted raids in Passaic, New Jersey, arresting dozens of residents, including Guatemalan national José Efraín Chajón Raxón, who was taken to the Delaney Hall detention facility. He died soon after suffering a medical emergency, becoming the second person to die connected to the facility within a month. The Department of Homeland Security says he was released from custody on July 22 and died weeks later, but reporting from Status Coup and ABC News, along with accounts from immigrant-rights organizers, indicates he was released almost immediately after being detained and died shortly afterward. New Jersey Congressman Rob Menendez has said ICE can avoid reporting a detainee's death if the person is released from custody beforehand. At least 75 people, including one U.S. citizen, were arrested by ICE in Passaic that month, with arrests spiking 4,200% compared to the previous year.

Federal authorities conducted immigration enforcement raids on Glass House Farms facilities in Southern California between July 10-14, 2025, resulting in over 360 arrests. Jonathan Anthony Caravello, a California State University Channel Islands math lecturer, was arrested during the July 10 raid in Camarillo and charged with allegedly throwing a tear gas canister at law enforcement, though some accounts indicate he was attempting to dislodge a canister stuck under a wheelchair. Caravello was released on a $15,000 bond with arraignment scheduled for August 1. During the broader enforcement operations, one farmworker died after falling from a greenhouse roof.

Federal ICE agents raided Glass House Farms facilities in Camarillo and Carpinteria, California on July 10-11, detaining 361 adults and 14 minors. Hundreds of community members and family members of farmworkers gathered to protest, throwing rocks at enforcement vehicles while agents deployed tear gas, smoke bombs and pepper bullets, injuring protesters including at least one city council member. Workers inside the facility, fearing separation from their families, hid in underground water tanks and on rooftops during the raid. A 56-year-old farmworker died after falling 30 feet from a greenhouse roof, and the FBI opened a search for a man reported to have fired a gun at the scene. Judith Ramos, a 22-year-old certified nurse assistant, was sprayed with tear gas when she arrived to support her father, a detained farmworker. Rep. Salud Carbajal was denied entry while attempting congressional oversight, and National Guard troops in military vehicles also responded. Three men—farm worker Santiago, security guard and Iraq veteran George Retes, and professor John Caravello—were arrested during the operation.

ICE conducted raids on cannabis farms near the California coast in summer 2025, arresting 361 workers and detaining 14 teen minors; more than a dozen US citizen children were left without parents. In one case, a 15-year-old was left alone with his two younger brothers, ages 8 and 9, after their mother was deported to Mexico three days after the raid, while a 10-month-old was left with family friends when her mother was arrested. During the raids, federal agents used riot gear, flash bang grenades, and smoke bombs, and a worker fleeing the facility fell 30 feet from a greenhouse roof and died. Months later, nonprofits report roughly half of those arrested have been deported, many remain in federal custody with only a few released on bond, and federal officials have denied requests for information about the detainees' whereabouts.

A 60-year-old Afghan migrant, Baqir Rezaei, died in an Iranian detention camp in Zabol after being intercepted despite holding an official exit permit. He was held without food or water and forced to work under extreme heat conditions. According to his family, at least eight migrants died in the camp out of 35 who lost consciousness from heat and thirst.

Isidro Perez, a 75-year-old Cuban man who arrived in the U.S. in 1966, died on June 26, 2025 after 21 days in ICE custody at Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami-Dade County. He was arrested on June 5 during a law enforcement operation in Key Largo and charged with inadmissibility under the Immigration and Nationality Act, based in part on prior drug convictions from 1981 and 1984. On June 17, he was admitted to Larkin Community Hospital with unstable angina and chest pain with EKG changes; he was discharged on June 25. On June 26 at approximately 7 p.m., he reported chest pains while in the Medical Housing Unit at Krome. Miami Dade Rescue responded with life-sustaining interventions including CPR and defibrillator shock, and he was transported to HCA Kendall Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:42 p.m. His cause of death is under investigation, with medical reviewers suspecting acute myocardial infarction. He is the fifth person to die in ICE custody in Florida since January 2025.

Johnny Noviello, a 49-year-old Canadian permanent resident and U.S. citizen since 1991, died on June 23, 2025, in ICE custody at Federal Detention Center Miami after being detained for approximately 40 days. He was arrested by ICE on May 15 in Daytona Beach and transferred to the Miami facility on May 19 following a 2023 drug trafficking conviction and faced removal proceedings. An autopsy determined he died from acute kidney failure caused by calcium oxalate crystal deposits. Six kidney specialists concluded the death was preventable, noting symptoms would have been detectable for days and treatable through dialysis. ICE records documented he had health issues including hypertension, convulsions, and abnormal vital signs during detention. A complaint alleges Bureau of Prisons medical staff failed to document an evaluation or create a treatment plan after he appeared dizzy and unstable. The FBI is investigating his death.

Johnny Noviello, a 49-year-old Canadian lawful permanent resident who had lived in Florida for nearly four decades, died on June 23, 2025, while in ICE custody at the Federal Detention Center Miami. Noviello was arrested by ICE on May 15, 2025, following drug trafficking and related criminal convictions, and was awaiting removal proceedings. During his approximately five-week detention, Noviello—who had epilepsy, hypertension, and mental health concerns—reported health issues and symptoms of illness but did not receive adequate medical monitoring or treatment. He was found unresponsive in the afternoon and pronounced dead after CPR and emergency response efforts failed. An autopsy determined the cause of death was acute kidney failure caused by calcium oxalate crystal deposits, which experts concluded was preventable with appropriate medical care. A complaint alleges that Bureau of Prisons health staff failed to properly evaluate, document, or create a treatment plan for Noviello despite observable symptoms. The FBI is investigating his death.

A 41-year-old man from Guatemala drowned in the American Canal near El Paso after crossing the border fence without authorization with two other individuals in June 2025. Border Patrol agents and Department of Defense personnel observed the three individuals enter the canal and rescued two of them. The third man was found unresponsive approximately two-tenths of a mile away. Despite CPR efforts by Border Patrol and fire department personnel, he was pronounced dead at University Medical Center.

Carlos Roberto Montoya Valdez, a 52-year-old day laborer from Guatemala, died after being struck by an SUV on the 210 Freeway while fleeing a federal immigration enforcement operation at a Monrovia Home Depot in 2025. He worked to support his wife and four daughters. The Department of Homeland Security has denied that its agents chased him. One year later, community members held a vigil and marched to the store demanding Home Depot release security footage to his family, while state lawmakers renewed calls for SB 1103, the REPAIR Act, which would require large retailers to disclose immigration enforcement activity on their property.