Human Impact Project

Norma Bowe, a 69-year-old registered nurse, grandmother, and public health professor at Kean University who runs the Global Grace Health mobile clinic for undocumented and uninsured families outside Delaney Hall detention center, was grabbed from behind and thrown face-down onto the pavement by a masked ICE agent on Memorial Day. She had moved toward a wall of agents after seeing one drag a young woman across the ground, intending to de-escalate using skills from her decades as a psychiatric nurse. Bowe suffered a fractured kneecap, torn meniscus, concussion, whiplash, and bruising around her eye, requiring ER treatment, physical therapy, acupuncture, and ongoing neurological care, and still experiences headaches, sleep trouble, and limited mobility. She returned to volunteer at the clinic two days later and has continued since, despite receiving threats and harassment online after posting video of the incident. In July 2026, Bowe filed a federal tort claim through the ACLU of New Jersey seeking $500,000 in damages for assault, battery, and emotional distress, part of a broader effort of more than 50 similar claims filed across 17 states. Former students described her as someone who taught empathy and kindness and would never provoke harm.

Delaney Hall, a for-profit ICE detention center in Newark, faced scrutiny after detainees began a hunger strike and reported spoiled food, lack of medical care, and inadequate gynecological services, including an 18-year-old high school student and a woman who said she miscarried without assistance. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was handcuffed and arrested on trespassing charges while visiting the facility with congressional representatives, repeating 'I'm not resisting' as agents restrained him; he was held for five hours before charges were dropped. Rep. LaMonica McIver, who stood between Baraka and ICE agents during the visit, was later charged with three felony counts of assaulting federal agents after the government claimed she had 'slammed' an agent; she is still fighting the case. Days later, on Memorial Day, Senator Andy Kim visited to mediate between protesters and detainees, standing with arms raised between armed ICE agents and the crowd before agents fired tear gas and pepper balls at him and demonstrators, leaving him needing aid for burning eyes and throat. New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill was denied entry but heard from detainees' family members about conditions inside.

Jeury Concepcion, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen from the Bronx, was tackled by ICE agents near East Gun Hill Road and Hull Avenue after being mistaken for a man with a removal order. Cellphone video showed masked agents with guns drawn forcing him to the ground and handcuffing him outside a barber shop while a bystander yelled 'Why you kidnapping?!' Witnesses said Concepcion repeatedly told agents he was a U.S. citizen as he was restrained and left bleeding from a head wound. Agents later checked his ID, realized they had the wrong person, apologized, and dropped him off bloodied at an unfamiliar park, where his mother and grandmother, Ivelisse Garcia Santana, eventually found him and took him for treatment; he received a concussion diagnosis and seven stitches. A DHS spokesperson said ICE did not arrest him, claiming he was briefly detained for matching a description and refusing to identify himself. Judge Gary R. Brown later reviewed video of the incident, calling it 'extremely violent' and ruling the arrest illegal, citing 'significant injury to a U.S. citizen.' Concepcion's case is among more than 500 U.S. citizens ProPublica identified as having been detained by immigration agents during the Trump administration.

A man walking to a pharmacy in Evanston, Illinois, to fill a prescription was tackled and detained by federal agents believed to be ICE after being mistaken for a fugitive near Dodge Avenue and Howard Street. Witnesses, including Miguel Angel Olivares, recorded video showing agents using force, pinning him down and appearing to strike him as he repeatedly stated he was a U.S. citizen. He suffered injuries to his head, neck and teeth, bled at the scene, and was taken by Evanston Fire Department ambulance to St. Francis hospital for treatment. A paramedic and police officer at the scene expressed shock that agents drove away while he lay in the street. DHS said the man was uncooperative and declined assistance, while an ICE supervisor told Evanston police agents left because protesters began gathering. Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss confirmed the detention and release, while local police, eyewitnesses, and the group Sanctuary Evanston disputed DHS's account, calling it a violent assault. Evanston police, Illinois authorities, and the FBI are investigating, with body camera footage and 911 audio being reviewed.

Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan asylum seeker who entered the U.S. legally through CBP One in 2024 and held a valid work permit, was shot in the back by an ICE agent on September 20, 2026, during a traffic stop while delivering for DoorDash in North Austin. Federal prosecutors allege he struck an officer with his car's side mirror and fled, while he says an unmarked ICE vehicle rammed and spun his car before he was shot, unaware it belonged to ICE. He suffered a fractured clavicle and a bullet lodged near his spine causing partial paralysis, and his attorney said he faced risk of infection without surgery and received no pain medication in custody. A federal magistrate judge found prosecutors had not clearly shown he was a danger to the community but ruled him a flight risk and denied bond; his attorney said he would pursue a habeas corpus case. He faces DOJ charges of assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer carrying up to 20 years in prison, which his defense disputes, and a separate deportation order prompted his attorneys to sue to block removal. The shooting, partly captured on bystander video, prompted protests of over 150 people and calls from Rep. Greg Casar, Mayor Kirk Watson, and Rep. Joaquin Castro for an independent investigation and release of body-camera footage.

Ruben Ray Martinez, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen from San Antonio, was fatally shot three times by Homeland Security Investigations Agent Jack Stevens on South Padre Island while traveling with his best friend, Joshua Orta, to celebrate his birthday. Federal officials initially claimed Martinez struck an agent with his car after refusing orders, but bodycam footage obtained through a FOIA lawsuit showed his vehicle stationary or barely moving, with brake lights on, when he was shot; he was then pulled from the car, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed before receiving medical care. Orta, the only civilian witness, told investigators Martinez was 'hesitant' and 'scared'; he later died in a car crash less than a year after the shooting. Martinez's mother, Rachel Reyes, said Texas Rangers investigators told her the footage contradicted the agents' account. The government did not disclose the shooting for nearly a year, until the nonprofit American Oversight obtained the incident report. A Texas grand jury declined to indict Stevens, and the family has filed a tort claim against the federal government.

Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a 24-year-old Venezuelan man living in north Minneapolis, was shot in the leg through his front door by ICE agent Christian Castro during a January 2026 raid tied to Operation Metro Surge. His partner, Indriany Mendoza Camacho, said agents threw tear gas into the home, which had children present, before entering to detain him; the bullet also traveled into a child's room. Federal prosecutors initially charged Sosa-Celis and his cousin/roommate Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna with assaulting officers with a shovel and broom, but surveillance video contradicted the officers' sworn testimony, and the charges were dismissed after the Justice Department acknowledged agents had lied under oath. ICE's Acting Director Todd Lyons said two officers may have lied and placed them on leave. Hennepin County prosecutors later charged Castro with four counts of second-degree assault and falsely reporting a crime; he was arrested in Texas by DHS agents and Texas Rangers. Texas Governor Greg Abbott refused to extradite Castro, prompting a lawsuit from Minnesota's attorney general, and the Justice Department subsequently charged Castro only with making false statements. An Assistant U.S. Attorney who objected to that decision was fired and is now under investigation for allegedly leaking case information.

Johnny Sebastián Lucas Barre, a 38-year-old Ecuadorian man held at the Folkston ICE Processing Center in Georgia, says agents handcuffed and beat him after he refused to sign a deportation order and provide fingerprints without a lawyer present. He said three agents threw him against a wall, struck him, and placed a foot near his head until he lost consciousness, later waking up in a wheelchair receiving medical attention and showing visible bruises on his wrists and body. His partner, Leidy Montalvo, said he had been working in the facility kitchen for a dollar a day when agents repeatedly pressured him to sign his deportation paperwork, and she has shared photos of his injuries publicly. Lucas Barre entered the U.S. through Texas in 2024 and was detained again in December after reporting a change of address at an immigration appointment in Orlando, Florida; he has a pending asylum/immigration appeal but no longer has a lawyer because he could not afford to continue paying for one. Immigration attorneys said fingerprints or a signature obtained while someone is unconscious would not be legally valid. Lucas Barre has since filed a federal habeas corpus petition against the facility's warden, which remains pending after the warden moved to dismiss it and his attorney filed a response opposing dismissal.

A 26-year-old refugee known only as Adam, who fled forced military conscription, was granted protection from removal by a US immigration judge but was secretly deported to Equatorial Guinea in November 2025 under a third-country removal deal. He has been confined alone in a hotel room under armed guard for nearly a year, and was recently handcuffed and beaten by security officers who warned him not to speak out.

A U.S. citizen was injured when an ICE agent punched him during a work van stop in Naples Manor, Florida, after community members arrived to document and protest the stop. Graphic images shared with the Naples Daily News and The News-Press show an ICE agent pointing a gun toward bystanders during the encounter. June Sanson, a legal observer with the Rapid Response Alliance for Immigrant Safety and Empowerment, said the agent involved had previously pointed his weapon at her during an unrelated encounter in Immokalee. The advocacy group has planned a protest in Naples on Oct. 2 in response to the incident. ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A Guatemalan man working a landscaping job for Tommy Builders near Everett Community College was pulled from a work truck by six to eight masked ICE agents in tactical vests on a Monday morning in north Everett. Homeowner Jennifer Gordon recorded video showing the man shouting for help in English and Spanish, saying 'They don't have a warrant' and 'I can't breathe' as agents leaned over him; a second man working with him fled the scene. Gordon said the agents wore no badges or identification, used unmarked vehicles, refused to show a warrant when asked, and later photographed her house and address, which she said felt intimidating. ICE declined to confirm his identity, but DHS later said he had a criminal history and had been issued a final removal order in 2003 that was reinstated in 2011 and 2016 after alleged unauthorized reentry, and said officers used lawful, minimum-necessary force after he refused commands. A neighbor said an agent claimed the man was wanted over a murder allegation in his home country, which ICE did not confirm.

On June 7, 2026, ICE agents conducted an operation at the Port of Astoria's Pier 1, detaining two men. As vehicles left the scene, Astoria resident Stefanie Collar, who had been observing the agents, approached one vehicle at a nearby red light, pressing her body against it because she believed an officer was preparing to pepper-spray her. An officer rolled down his window and sprayed her as the vehicle drove past, and two additional vehicles following also sprayed her. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said officers had been 'swarmed by a group of 20 rioters,' but video footage reviewed by KMUN and witness accounts showed only a few people on a nearby sidewalk, contradicting that account. An ICE officer separately called local police to report that agents used pepper spray after being swarmed.

Enrique Hernández Díaz, a lawful permanent resident and owner of a roofing company, was detained by ICE agents at a gas station in Ypsilanti, Michigan, after agents intercepted a group of his workers while searching for someone with a criminal record allegedly connected to the vehicle they were traveling in. One of his employees was detained and taken away by agents. Hernández Díaz was handcuffed and held because he did not have his green card with him, and he said agents threw him to the ground, injuring his elbow, knee, and forehead, requiring a hospital visit. His wife, Roxanna Álvarez Cruz, arrived minutes later with his residency card; agents told her he would not be released until his immigration status was confirmed. After his status was verified, Hernández Díaz was released.

ICE agents arrested Welington Leonel Almara-Diaz at Meriden Superior Court in Connecticut after Judicial Marshal Services received a Warrant of Removal/Deportation stemming from a final removal order issued in October 2023, following his apprehension by Border Patrol near Hidalgo, Texas, in September 2022. Witnesses said about ten agents, some masked, entered the courthouse around 1 p.m., and video showed marshals blocking advocates as a woman fell to the ground during the confrontation. Advocates, including Middlesex Immigrant Rights Alliance member Miguel Castro, gathered outside after learning ICE was near the courthouse, and at least one person was injured during the chaotic scene. ICE said marshals impeded the arrest and protesters blocked officers' exit, prompting agents to use their training to 'gain control of the situation.' Connecticut officials and the ACLU are investigating whether the arrest violated state law restricting civil immigration arrests on courthouse grounds without a judicial warrant and rules on mask use by officers.

Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban migrant and father of four who suffered from asthma, bipolar disorder and anxiety, died on January 3, 2026, at Camp East Montana, an ICE detention facility at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, following a physical altercation with guards. Fellow detainee Antonio Frometa Ascón, who knew Campos from Guantánamo, said he watched guards beat and handcuff Campos as he begged for his inhaler; other witnesses heard him scream 'I can't breathe!' before he was taken away and never returned. A separate detainee, Gonzalo, who had survived a 12-day journey through the Darién Gap marked by violence and robbery, described witnessing guards put a foot on a cellmate's neck during a protest over detention conditions, an account consistent with Campos's death. The El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide from asphyxia due to neck and torso compression. DHS maintains guards were trying to save Campos's life, while a GAO report found the facility's contractor failed to provide required reports and that evidence was missing or destroyed. No one has been charged; his death was among 37 detainee deaths in ICE custody reported since last fall, the deadliest year on record for the agency.

Augusto Lopes Vemba, a 40-year-old asylum-seeker from Angola, was stopped by masked ICE agents in camouflage gear at the intersection of Acushnet Avenue and Sawyer Street in New Bedford on September 22, 2026. Witnesses and video footage showed him provide his information and attempt to leave before four agents chased him down, tackled him to the ground, and tased him at the neck for about 15 seconds while restraining his hands. Alicia Lopez Gonzalez, co-director of advocacy group Mujeres Victoriosas, witnessed the arrest and said the tactics appeared intended to traumatize the community, while nearby business owners described the scene as aggressive, with one saying she locked her shop door out of fear. Vemba was among roughly 40 people detained during a week of ICE operations in the city. On September 30, federal Judge Angel Kelley ordered the government to grant him a bond hearing within 10 days, a decision the U.S. Attorney's Office did not contest.

Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center and U.S. citizen, was fatally shot by Border Patrol agents Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez on January 24, 2026, during a protest against Operation Metro Surge, an immigration enforcement operation. Witnesses and bystander video showed Pretti, holding only a phone, stepped in after agents shoved a woman to the ground; footage showed agents shoving him, spraying him with a chemical agent, and beating him with a metal canister before shooting him ten times, contradicting initial federal claims of self-defense. Pretti was a legal firearm owner with a carry permit but did not brandish a weapon or attack agents. Officers did not provide immediate first aid, and a pediatrician who tried to help was initially prevented from doing so. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and other officials rejected the federal government's characterization of the shooting, and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division opened an investigation. His death, along with that of fellow protester Renee Good weeks earlier, was among at least 14 shooting incidents during the enforcement surge, which led to the removal of ICE commander Gregory Bovino, the resignation of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and deployment of 'border czar' Tom Homan to Minnesota.

Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, mother of three, poet, and legal observer, was fatally shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on January 7, 2026, while monitoring Operation Metro Surge, an immigration enforcement operation on Portland Avenue in south Minneapolis. Good had blocked the street with her Honda Pilot to warn neighbors of ICE's presence when Ross fired three shots as her car turned away from officers. Her wife, Becca, said they were simply warning neighbors. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and President Trump called her actions 'domestic terrorism,' but video evidence, a New York Times analysis, Human Rights Watch, and an independent autopsy found she posed no imminent threat. Fellow protester Alex Pretti was also killed during the same operation. Protesters who gathered at the ICE Field Office in St. Paul the following day were met with pepper balls, mace, and tear gas. The administration blocked a federal criminal investigation, Noem was later fired, and hundreds of federal agents were withdrawn from Minnesota. Good's family filed two federal lawsuits under Bivens and the Federal Tort Claims Act against the agent and top administration officials, and her case was presented at an Inter-American Commission on Human Rights hearing. DHS agents have shot at roughly two dozen people and killed six since the start of the administration.

Three undocumented brothers from Honduras, who shared an apartment in New Bedford and worked in construction and as laborers, were detained by ICE agents while doing their family's weekly grocery run at a Market Basket. Their sister-in-law Maria said federal vehicles surrounded the men as they arrived, and agents were 'pretty aggressive' toward the brother who was driving, twisting his arm behind his back. The family says none of the three have criminal records, and one had lived in the U.S. for 14 years. Maria described the brothers as 'hardworking and very kind' men who doted on their baby niece, and said their elderly mother has been especially distressed by the detentions. The brothers are being held at Plymouth's ICE detention center.

Antonio Frometa Ascón, a 63-year-old Cuban immigrant who came to the U.S. in 1994 after being paroled through Guantánamo, has been in ICE custody since Aug. 14, 2025, when Florida Highway Patrol stopped him on his way to work under the state's Operation Tidal Wave crackdown. He was first held at the South Florida Detention Facility, where he alleges a guard's blow left him partially deaf, then transferred to Camp East Montana in El Paso, where he witnessed a detainee's death, and later moved to the ICE El Paso Service Processing Center. Cuba has refused to accept his deportation, and he has refused removal to Mexico as a third country, citing fears of cartel violence and extortion. His first granddaughter was born while he has been detained, and he says he has not been able to meet or hold her. He has filed pro se and attorney-assisted habeas corpus petitions arguing his prolonged detention violates the Supreme Court's Zadvydas v. Davis limits on indefinite confinement, and a federal judge has yet to rule as his health and mental state decline and his family says he has grown depressed awaiting word from his lawyer.