Human Impact Project

In Berwyn, Illinois, a federal agent walked toward a pregnant driver with his gun raised after she honked to warn others that immigration agents were nearby. The woman said agents had been chasing two people when she began honking. DHS later called her conduct 'threatening and aggressive' and said she had been 'impeding' agents' pursuit. She asked them, 'You're really gonna shoot a pregnant woman?'

Pertissue Fisher, a U.S. citizen who lives in the South Shore apartment building, was handcuffed, held for hours, and released around 3 a.m. following the military-style federal raid. Fisher told ABC7 Chicago that this was the first time a gun had been put in her face.

Erick Pena, a 29-year-old from Honduras who came to the U.S. as a child, was detained by ICE in October while on his way to work. He had an approved petition for permanent residency through his U.S. citizen wife. After three months in ICE custody, he was released on bond while his deportation case is pending. His wife Synthea, a U.S. citizen, started a GoFundMe to cover legal fees and government costs as they pursue a hardship waiver.

On September 30, 2025, ICE and FBI agents conducted an operation at an apartment building at 7500 S. South Shore Drive in Chicago as part of Operation Midway Blitz, detaining approximately 37 people including Venezuelan migrants and at least one U.S. citizen. The operation involved helicopters, snipers, flash-bangs, and agents breaking down doors and zip-tying residents. The federal government has provided no public accounting of how many remain in custody, what happened to children present in the building, or whether any criminal charges were filed related to the raid.

Three women—Cynthia Raygoza, Sandra Carmona Samane, and Ashleigh Brown—have been federally indicted for allegedly following an ICE agent home and publicly disclosing his personal information on social media. On August 28, 2025, the women livestreamed their pursuit of the agent from Downtown Los Angeles to his residence on Instagram, then shouted to neighbors about his identity and posted his address online. Each faces federal charges of conspiracy and disclosing a federal agent's personal information, with sentences of up to five years in prison per count. Raygoza remains at large while her codefendants have been arrested.

Ian Roberts, superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on September 26, 2025, after authorities discovered he lacked valid work authorization. Roberts, a native of Guyana, falsely claimed U.S. citizenship when hired in 2023 and is expected to plead guilty to making false statements on employment verification forms. He was also found in possession of illegal firearms at the time of his arrest. Roberts is no longer serving as superintendent of the district.

Maikol Carreno, a 24-year-old Venezuelan barber in Yuma, Arizona, was detained by ICE agents while giving a haircut at Stay Faded Barbershop. Carreno, who is seeking asylum, was transferred to Eloy Detention Center. His U.S. citizen wife, who is three weeks away from giving birth, is pleading for his release with community support.

Leigh Kunkle was shot in the face with pepper balls by federal agents while protesting outside the Broadview ICE facility approximately one week before October 3. She recorded video of agents shooting weapons directly at protesters' faces and torsos. After being hit, Kunkle's hand filled with blood from the impact. She is planning to take legal action with her fiancé Kyle Frankovich to hold the federal government accountable for the assault and violations of rights during Operation Midway Blitz.

The National Immigrant Justice Center and ACLU of Illinois filed a federal court notice on behalf of 27 people arrested without warrants or probable cause by Department of Homeland Security officers since May 2025, with at least 20 arrested in September. The filing challenges violations of a consent decree that prohibits racial profiling and warrantless arrests, documenting incidents where people were arrested while walking in neighborhoods, at parking lots, during traffic stops, and at their homes.

Federal immigration agents intimidated two women who were documenting their activity on the west side this morning near Grand and Kostner. In a video posted to social media, they say agents boxed their car in a parking lot and surrounded it—but the women themselves never exited their vehicle. Agents threatened the women with arrest, and shined a flashlight into their vehicle.

Wesley Powers, a U.S. Navy veteran and U.S. citizen, was shot with chemical agent by ICE agents while protesting at Minnesota's Whipple Detention Center in January 2026. He was detained for 9 hours in an overcrowded cell, had his lawyer calls monitored, and was photographed by agents using personal phones before being released without charges. Powers reports subsequent incidents including vehicles at his home and lost work income.

An 11-year-old U.S. citizen girl recovering from a rare brain tumor was deported to Mexico on February 4, 2025, when immigration authorities arrested her undocumented parents at a checkpoint while the family traveled to Houston for her emergency medical checkup. The girl had undergone surgery to remove the tumor and requires specialized care every three months. Since deportation, her health has deteriorated significantly, with worsening seizures, muscle spasms, and loss of neurological functions. She has received only one MRI scan instead of the recommended quarterly monitoring. Four of the family's five children are U.S. citizens. The family filed humanitarian parole applications through the Texas Civil Rights Project, but USCIS has not yet responded. Congressional members including Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Sylvia Garcia, and Joaquin Castro are advocating for the family's return.

Joe Botello, a U.S. citizen born in Texas, was handcuffed and detained by federal agents during an immigration enforcement operation in Elgin on September 16, 2025. Agents forcibly entered his home, breaking down doors, and placed him in a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol vehicle before releasing him after scanning his driver's license. The operation, part of a larger immigration enforcement blitz in the Chicago area, also resulted in the detention of his roommates.

On the morning of September 16, 2025, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem led a military-style raid on an Elgin home, with camouflage-uniformed agents and helicopters breaking down the front door at approximately 5:30 a.m. Four people were taken into custody, but two of them were apparent U.S. citizens who were released shortly afterward. One released man stated he was relieved he had his wallet and ID and that he cooperated with agents. ICE claimed the detainees were violent criminals wanted for crimes including assault and DUI, though the accuracy of these characterizations was disputed by community members.

A single father of six U.S. citizen children applied for a special visa but was deported by ICE. The case involved family ties and legal efforts to prevent deportation.

An undocumented father, Silvero Villegas-Gonzalez, was involved in multiple federal immigration enforcement incidents in suburban Chicago. In one incident at a Sam's Club parking lot in Cicero, federal agents pepper-sprayed Villegas-Gonzalez and his 1-year-old daughter at close range, though the U.S. Department of Homeland Security disputed that pepper spray was deployed. Subsequently, Villegas-Gonzalez was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Franklin Park, Illinois during an arrest attempt. DHS stated the agent fired after Villegas-Gonzalez resisted arrest and attempted to drive his car into agents. Villegas-Gonzalez's attorney noted he had no criminal record, only minor traffic violations between 2010 and 2019.

Cary López Alvarado, a U.S. citizen, was arrested by ICE while nine months pregnant after exiting immigration court in New York City alongside her husband, a Guatemalan immigrant. ICE detained her overnight but released her after discovering her citizenship status. She experienced sharp stomach pains immediately after release and gave birth days later. She has filed a claim against the federal government seeking $1 million, citing unlawful arrest and unconstitutional conduct. Her husband has since been deported, leaving her without income and uncertain about childcare arrangements.

The Department of Homeland Security stated that filming and posting videos of ICE agents constitutes "violence" and threatened to charge people who take videos and photos of agents conducting raids. DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said that "videotaping ICE law enforcement and posting photos and videos of them online is doxxing our agents."

Darian Maldonado Medina, a Venezuelan with Temporary Protected Status, was detained by ICE during a routine check-in in Tampa on September 5, 2025, and deported to Venezuela three weeks later. He had valid TPS status at the time of detention, a pending family petition through his U.S. citizen mother, and a 15-month-old U.S. citizen son and partner remaining in Florida. A federal court order had extended TPS protections prior to his deportation. Lawyers have argued that the deportation violated federal law and court orders.

A California State University Channel Islands professor was charged with throwing a tear gas canister during an incident. In a separate immigration enforcement action in Southern California, a legal green card holder who was working toward U.S. citizenship was detained by ICE. The woman's husband expressed concern following her detention.

A couple expecting their third child is facing deportation. Their two other children, including a 5-month-old, have been placed with family members. LULAC has found legal representation and is seeking financial assistance to help care for their U.S. citizen children.

At the Broadview detention center in Illinois, a masked agent put a protester in a chokehold and had to be pulled off by another agent. The woman was sprayed in the face with a chemical irritant, shot with projectiles, and violently pushed and shoved to the ground before the chokehold.

In Broadview, Illinois, federal officers used force against photojournalists documenting protest activity from public streets. Dave Decker, a photojournalist visibly wearing press credentials, described agents about 20 feet away on the other side of a fence aiming weapons toward him and a photographer, Leigh Kunkel, as they were partially shielded by a van. He heard popping noises and was struck in the arm and back. Kunkel was also injured. He also photographed an agent pointing a long gun at his camera. The next day, as he recorded officers pushing people to the ground and laughing, an agent fired a pepper ball toward his face from about 30 feet away and hit his camera. He was later shot in the legs at close range after an agent said, 'Get him.' Decker, who had covered hundreds of protests, said he had never seen law enforcement hostility like what he witnessed at Broadview.

In Colorado, after Routt County Commissioner Angelica Salinas recorded agents from her vehicle stopping people and patrolling mobile home parks near Steamboat Springs, she reported that she was followed and boxed in at a nearby post office. Agents left when they saw her husband.

Ernesto Diaz, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen, was walking down Archer Avenue on Chicago's Southwest Side in late September when masked federal agents grabbed him, slammed him against a vehicle, and handcuffed him. Agents ripped out his earbuds and threatened to tase him when he moved. After about five minutes of questioning and inspecting his ID and Social Security card, agents threw his wallet on the ground and drove away. Diaz believes he was targeted based on his race and ethnicity during Operation Midway Blitz.

D.A., a political activist who was violently attacked in Nigeria and is married to a U.S. citizen, was granted protection from removal to Nigeria based on likely persecution or torture. ICE nevertheless deported him without paperwork to Ghana on a military cargo plane in the middle of the night, alongside a dozen other West African men and women. In Ghana he was detained in a camp under terrible conditions for more than two weeks, with limited phone access to call his wife, before Ghanaian authorities deported him to Togo.

A Chelsea, Massachusetts mother who is a U.S. citizen was detained by ICE in September 2025. Her 18-year-old daughter, Ana Michelle Ramirez Sanan, testified before a Senate committee about the encounter, describing finding their car with shattered windows and her mother being thrown to the ground during the incident.

Daryn Herzberg, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, alleges he was assaulted by Department of Homeland Security personnel outside an ICE facility in South Portland on August 13, 2025. According to video evidence and his attorney's account, federal agents tackled him to the ground, with one officer grabbing him by the hair and slamming his face into the ground multiple times. Herzberg sustained injuries including a concussion, abrasions, bruising, chest contusions, and breathing issues. On August 27, Herzberg filed a federal lawsuit against DHS alleging battery and unconstitutional use of force. Federal authorities also charged Herzberg with obstructing the facility and throwing objects; his attorney characterizes these charges as bogus and retaliatory.

On August 27, 2025, Vasquez (49) and Ramirez (40), a married couple from Mexico, were arrested by ICE during a traffic stop in Tulsa despite having pending U visa applications and federal deportation protections as crime victims who assisted law enforcement in prosecuting a serial rapist. Ramirez was held for four months at Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Texas, where she was denied access to seizure medication for her epilepsy. Vasquez was detained for over seven months at a CoreCivic facility in Cushing, Oklahoma, and attended 13 immigration court hearings before winning a habeas corpus lawsuit granting him a bond hearing. The prolonged separation and detention resulted in job loss, eviction from their home in Broken Arrow, and approximately $12,000 in accumulated legal debt. Vasquez was released in April 2026 on deferral of removal grounds, followed by Ramirez's release. Both remain without legal status and are working to recover financially while awaiting U visa hearings.

Alejandro Theodoro Orellana, 29, a member of the Boyle Heights-based community organization Centro CSO, pleaded not guilty to handing out protective face shields to protesters during an anti-ICE demonstration in Los Angeles. He faces federal charges of conspiracy and aiding and abetting civil disorder. Trial was set for August 26 in LA federal court.

Francisco Hernandez-Corona, an undocumented immigrant who had lived in the U.S. for most of his life, self-deported to Mexico. He was married to a U.S. citizen, but a permanent bar from a childhood unauthorized entry prevented him from adjusting his status while in the country, leaving him with no legal pathway to remain.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stopped Maria on Thursday morning while she was on her way to pay rent and buy a cake for her grandson's birthday. Sandra Hernández, director of Latinos Unidos Siempre, stated that Maria was racially profiled. The incident resulted in extensive injuries to Maria.

Rodrigo Almendarez, a U.S. citizen born in Canoga Park, was detained by ICE agents outside his workplace in Simi Valley without being identified or told why. He was released after showing his ID and a coworker's intervention. He plans to file a lawsuit over the incident.

An ICE officer fired at a U.S. citizen during an enforcement incident. Video footage shows the officer firing while the citizen stated he had children in his car.

Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry, a disabled U.S. Army veteran from Pakistan who has lived in the United States since 2000, was detained by ICE on August 21, 2025, when he arrived for a citizenship interview in Tukwila, Washington. Chaudhry served in the Washington Army National Guard from 2001 to 2005 and was honorably discharged due to a back injury sustained during training; the injury left him using a wheelchair and experiencing severe pain. He has been living in Lacey with his wife Melissa and their two children, and has dedicated his post-military life to activism, serving on former Governor Jay Inslee's Committee on Disability Issues and Employment and as president of Veterans for Peace Olympia. Federal officials say Chaudhry failed to initially disclose fraud convictions from Australia in 1996 related to using documents that were not his to open a bank account and obtain benefits; Chaudhry's wife states he was coerced into pleading guilty and was told there would be no criminal record, and that the convictions carried a lenient sentence. An immigration judge denied his bond on August 29, 2025, leaving him detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma while his removal case moves through the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, where he has an ongoing appeal challenging a 2020 Board of Immigration Appeals decision that overturned an immigration judge's 2018 ruling allowing him to keep his green card.

A U.S. citizen born in Yakima, Washington, was pulled over and temporarily detained by ICE agents on the morning of August 17 while driving to work near the Sundome area. Agents surrounded his vehicle, asked for identification without explaining the stop, and told him there was a warrant for his arrest for "being here illegally." He was handcuffed and placed in a squad car until agents verified his citizenship, after which he was released. He said agents refused to provide their badge numbers or names before leaving, and he photographed their vehicles and license plates.

Mario Guevara, a journalist with a valid work permit who lived in the United States for nearly 22 years, was arrested while covering a protest in Doraville in June 2025 and deported to El Salvador in October 2025. After his deportation, Guevara continued working as a journalist, reporting from Central America and being invited to speak at international press freedom conferences. His family remained in the United States following his deportation.

Antonia Aguilar Maldonado, a mother of two U.S. citizen children, was released from ICE custody on August 13 following a federal judge's order. She had been detained on July 17 while on her way to work despite having no criminal record and an active asylum application. Aguilar Maldonado came to the U.S. in 2016 as a 17-year-old unaccompanied minor without legal status.

A 15-year-old disabled U.S. citizen was detained by ICE and Border Patrol agents outside Arleta High School on August 11, 2025, in what federal authorities claim was a case of mistaken identity. The family alleges the detention amounted to unconstitutional racial profiling and has filed a $1 million damage claim against the Trump administration. Federal agents drew weapons on the boy and handcuffed him before his mother convinced them they had the wrong person.

Geovani Maradiaga Ochoa, a Honduran immigrant who lived in the Bronx for 20 years with a U.S. citizen wife and daughter, was arrested at an ICE check-in and detained at 26 Federal Plaza for six days without access to shower or toothbrush. He stated he felt mistreated during detention. His sworn affidavit is part of a lawsuit by Make the Road New York, the NYCLU, and ACLU seeking to improve conditions at the facility.

Sabrina Medina, a 28-year-old pregnant U.S. citizen and mother of four, has been detained and arrested multiple times by ICE agents searching for her undocumented husband Jorge. On June 12, 2025, ICE agents conducted a heavily armed raid on her Huntington Park home in the presence of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, arriving in about a half-dozen tactical vehicles. The agents showed Medina a warrant naming her husband but with an incorrect first name; her husband was not at home. On August 7, 2025, Medina was arrested by ICE agents while leaving a pregnancy clinic. She claims agents have tracked her down four times since the June raid and that she was arrested based on an outstanding warrant from 12 years ago for shoplifting. During the August arrest, Medina experienced abdominal pain. She expressed fear about her family's financial future and stated she and her children would likely follow her husband to Mexico if he is deported.

George and Esmeralda Doilez, U.S. citizens from Brawley, were stopped by Border Patrol agents in an unmarked vehicle while exploring the Jacumba area on their way to a dental appointment. The stop was conducted based on U-turns and a reported smuggling event. Agents found legally purchased cannabis. After approximately 30 minutes, they were released with a warning.

Blerim Skoro, a 55-year-old Kosovo-born cab driver from Staten Island, New York, was detained by ICE agents on August 3 while attending a scheduled immigration appointment in Newark, New Jersey. Skoro, who has an American wife and three children, says he spent years working as a confidential informant for U.S. intelligence agencies including the CIA, FBI and DEA, infiltrating al-Qaeda training camps in Pakistan and helping secure convictions of members of al Qaeda, al Shabaab and Hezbollah after cooperating with authorities following a 2000 drug conviction. In 2022 he was granted a deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture due to the risk he would face if returned to Kosovo. His attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition on August 4 challenging his detention and seeking to halt deportation, arguing a prior ruling requires a judge's permission before removal. Skoro says he fears being killed if returned to Kosovo and remains held at the Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey.

A federal judge dismissed charges against Jonathon Redondo-Rosales, a 36-year-old TikTok creator and U.S. citizen arrested at an August 2 protest against immigration enforcement, after finding the government acted in bad faith. Redondo-Rosales had spent six months in jail awaiting trial for allegedly assaulting a Federal Protective Service officer with a cloth hat. The judge noted discrepancies in the officer's statements, that video evidence contradicted the assault claim, and that prosecutors sought dismissal to avoid disclosing problematic officer records rather than address legitimate legal issues.

A visibly pregnant U.S. citizen and her undocumented mother were arrested by federal agents outside a health clinic in Los Angeles.

A man in his mid-30s who came to Huron as a teenager without legal status was detained by ICE outside his home in August 2025 and subsequently deported to Guatemala. His wife, a U.S. citizen, and their two children (ages 2 and 9) were left behind. The family had consulted multiple lawyers about obtaining legal status for him but found no feasible options under current law. The man now lives with his parents in Guatemala while his family struggles financially and emotionally in South Dakota.

Sharareh Moghadam, a legal green card holder from Iran working toward U.S. citizenship, was detained by ICE on August 1, 2025, after reporting to immigration offices as instructed. She had traveled to Iran to visit family members with serious health issues and was detained upon her return to California. She is currently held in a facility in Phoenix, Arizona, with a court date scheduled for September 12.

Daysi Munoz and her husband were arrested by Burleson, Texas police on suspicion of shoplifting while back-to-school shopping at a Walmart in August 2025, an arrest that led to their transfer into ICE custody. About 40 days later they were deported to Honduras, leaving their two U.S. citizen daughters, 19-year-old Dulce Zepeda and 13-year-old Maria, on their own in Fort Worth. Dulce has since taken on parental responsibilities for her sister, cooking, driving her to school, working at McDonald's, and selling her mother's jewelry to pay bills. Munoz said she repeatedly asked ICE to let her take her daughters with her to Honduras, but was told she would have to spend four or five more months in detention if she wanted that option.

Juan José Estrada Lopez, a 42-year-old Nicaraguan national working on a Kona coffee farm, was detained by ICE agents in August 2025 during a green card interview and held at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu for over five months without charges or bond. He had entered the U.S. in 2022 and was married to a U.S. citizen, Emily Estrada, who sought assistance from the ACLU of Hawaii after private attorneys quoted expensive fees. Lopez was released on January 27, 2026, after an immigration court granted him a green card and lawful permanent resident status, with the government waiving its right to appeal.

Alma Bella Bowman, a Georgia resident and immigrants' rights activist, was released from Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, after ICE agreed to her release following eight months in custody. Bowman was detained on March 26, 2025, during a routine check-in at the ICE Atlanta Field Office and continues to press the U.S. government to recognize her as a citizen based on her father's Navy service. She previously exposed non-consensual gynecological procedures at Irwin County Detention Center from 2017 to 2020.