Human Impact Project

Federal Protective Service officers arrested more than a dozen protesters outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles during Occupy ICE demonstrations that began in early July. Protesters maintained an encampment and said they were targeted for exercising First Amendment rights, while officials initially cited charges including assaulting officers and vandalism; the ACLU filed a lawsuit alleging excessive force and constitutional violations. Prosecutors later dropped assault charges against two protesters after defense attorneys said the officer named as the victim in both cases had failed to disclose prior criminal convictions. In one case, the officer's claim that he was punched in the face was contradicted by video of the incident.

Armelle Bondonga Bradshaw, who came to the United States from the Democratic Republic of Congo at age 9, was detained by ICE during her final green card interview on Aug. 12. She had married U.S. citizen Terrance Bradshaw, whom she met online in 2022, after her family's asylum case was denied, and her marriage-based petition had been approved by USCIS. The couple had held a traditional Congolese engagement ceremony blessed by both families in May 2025 and attended premarital counseling through their church. Officers separated her from her husband and 19-month-old son in the interview lobby, placed her in handcuffs, and she has no criminal history, leaving Terrance to care for their child while Armelle remains detained in an Indiana jail.

J-M-L, a 57-year-old father from Guatemala, was detained by ICE on August 12, 2025, when he and his son arrived at the Eugene Federal Building for an administrative check-in. Both were transported to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. J-M-L had previously entered the United States without authorization on multiple occasions and was considered subject to a final removal order since 2007. The family had been living in Lebanon, Oregon since 2019.

S-M-J, a 19-year-old with a disability from Guatemala, arrived at the Eugene Federal Building on August 12, 2025, for an administrative check-in and was detained by ICE along with his father. An ICE officer presented him with options to sign a voluntary departure order or receive a notice to appear, which U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai characterized as "coercive conduct." The judge's ruling ensured the voluntary departure order would not be enforced. S-M-J had lived in Lebanon, Oregon since 2019 and was a high school graduate.

A 21-year-old man with physical and developmental disabilities, who is nearly deaf and has limited English proficiency, was arrested by ICE on August 12 during a raid in Oakland and is now detained at the Northwest ICE Detention Center in Tacoma. Advocates and attorneys report he cannot understand his legal proceedings and is isolated from those who can communicate with him. ICE is detaining an individual with disabilities at a detention center.

Two brothers from Guatemala were arrested by ICE agents inside a Stamford courthouse on August 11, 2025, around 11:15 a.m., after locking themselves in a bathroom. Federal officers in military-style vests and masks kicked in the bathroom's glass panel, handcuffed the men, and walked them to vehicles outside; witnesses reported the use of pepper spray and a Taser. A state judicial marshal attempted to stop the agents from entering, and a family member who asked to see identification or an explanation said none was provided. The family member described the brothers as undocumented workers who pay taxes. The arrests occurred after President Trump's administration reversed a federal policy that had prohibited immigration enforcement in courthouses.

A 15-year-old disabled U.S. citizen was detained by ICE and Border Patrol agents outside Arleta High School on August 11, 2025, and his family formally filed a $1 million claim against the Trump administration this week, alleging unconstitutional racial profiling and a Fourth Amendment violation. At a press conference outside LAUSD headquarters, the boy's mother, Andreina Mejia, described masked agents drawing guns and handcuffing her son without questioning him, despite being told he was a citizen with developmental disabilities. The Trump administration maintains it was a case of mistaken identity, saying agents were seeking someone who resembled the boy. Mejia, a San Fernando Valley resident for more than 20 years, said she intervened to protect her son during the encounter.

Federal immigration enforcement officers arrested two undocumented immigrants inside the Stamford courthouse on August 11, 2025, forcibly entering a bathroom and breaking a door panel during the encounter. The arrest, which followed the Trump administration's reversal of a federal courthouse enforcement policy, sparked public outcry and led 21 Connecticut state senators to request in September that the state's highest court issue orders prohibiting arrests without judicial warrants in or near courthouses, citing concerns that facilities are being used as "mouse traps" rather than centers for justice. On October 27, 2025, agents arrested two more men in the courthouse's parking garage, including one who was sitting in a car with his wife at the time; bystanders filmed the encounter, and the video was shared thousands of times online. Advocates with Stamford Norwalk United For Immigrants said officers did not display badges or warrants, and the arrests occurred about a month after Connecticut began requiring a judge-signed warrant for ICE arrests at state courthouses.

Ursula Borja Valle, a 54-year-old Mexican immigrant and mother of Marine Cpl. Jose Manuel Vilchis-Valle, was detained by ICE on August 8-9, 2025, when she arrived at an immigration appointment to apply for Parole in Place—a military family benefit designed to protect immediate relatives of active-duty service members. She had lived in the U.S. for nearly three decades without a known criminal record and has three U.S. citizen children, including her son Jose (age 22-23) and daughters Mia, a nursing student, and a 15-year-old. After initial detention at Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, she was transferred to US Border Patrol Central Processing Center in Texas and deported to Mexico on August 11, 2025. Her family had hired an attorney who filed an I-246 motion to stay deportation and launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover legal costs. Her son, who served four years in the Marines and was honorably discharged shortly after his mother's deportation, stated: "I gave four years of my life to this country. I feel honored to be here, that this is my country, but knowing that this country doesn't want my mother makes me feel terrible." Valle told her family by phone after arriving in Mexico: "Already had a life made there, so it's a bit complicated to be here because I never thought I'd arrive in this situation." Her sister María Constanza expressed concerns about her safety in Mexico, as their parents had passed away and she no longer has family support there. This case is one of more than 50 documented detentions of military family members under the Trump administration's immigration enforcement.

Joselyn Chipantiza Sisalema, a 20-year-old Ecuadorean public school student, was arrested inside immigration court and held at ICE's 10th-floor processing facility at 26 Federal Plaza for 10 days between June 24 and July 4, 2025. She menstruated for five of those days without access to sanitary pads; guards distributed only two pads for all women in the overcrowded cell, forcing her to remain in blood-stained clothing. She was recently freed following a federal judge's order. Her sworn affidavit is part of a lawsuit filed by immigration rights groups against ICE seeking to improve conditions at the facility, which detainees describe as severely overcrowded with limited food, water, hygiene access, and no bathing facilities.

Felipe Agustin Zamacona, 47, an Amazon driver and Mexican immigrant who has lived in the U.S. for decades, was arrested in Wheeling and detained at the Broadview ICE facility in overcrowded conditions. He testified in federal court that he had to take the spot of another detainee who got up to use an overflowing toilet, and that sink water "tasted like sewer." His testimony came as part of a class-action lawsuit seeking to improve conditions at the facility, and U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman called the described conditions "disgusting" and said sleeping next to an overflowing toilet was "obviously unconstitutional." A Justice Department attorney acknowledged the facility has no beds but said conditions have improved in recent months.

Hugo Elias Sanchez Trillos, a Colombian construction worker, was arrested in late June after ICE raided his home looking for someone else. He was held at 26 Federal Plaza for nearly three weeks (with a three-day break at Nassau County jail between June 26 and July 14), wearing the same clothes and never bathing. He lost nearly 20 pounds due to limited food access, receiving only two meals daily served cold in plastic bags. His sworn affidavit is part of a lawsuit seeking to improve conditions at the facility.

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.

Florida officials are refusing to confirm whether COVID-19 or other infectious diseases are spreading at Alligator Alcatraz, a new immigration detention center. A Venezuelan detainee recently collapsed with respiratory symptoms and was hospitalized, while relatives of other detainees report widespread illness at the facility. A former corrections officer also reported contracting COVID-19 shortly after starting work at the center.

A man named Orlin was taken into ICE custody for the second time after his family's dog discovered human remains at a home in Center Point, Alabama. His wife, Paulina Mejia, is now caring for their young daughter alone while managing their remodeling business. The couple had been cooperating with law enforcement in the investigation when ICE detained Orlin and transferred him to a detention facility in Louisiana.

Alejandra Juarez, a Colombian national who lived undocumented in Florida for 20 years, was deported to Mexico, leaving behind her 16-year-old U.S. citizen daughter Pamela and her husband Temo, a naturalized U.S. citizen and former Marine. Her deportation was initiated following a 2013 traffic stop that exposed her undocumented status. A 2001 citizenship petition was rejected after she was accused of making a false statement during an asylum claim in 1998. Juarez chose to self-deport rather than face forcible removal, settling in Merida in the Yucatan with plans for her younger daughter Estela to join her. Temo remained in Florida to care for Pamela and maintain their roofing business.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand national working for Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families, and her 6-year-old son Isaac were detained by ICE at the U.S.-Canada border after attempting to re-enter the United States. Shaw had crossed into Canada to drop off her two older children but lacked proper advance parole documentation for re-entry, though her son had valid travel documents. Both are being held at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas.

A 15-year-old Manhattan high school student, Roger Iza, was arrested by ICE at a check-in appointment on August 9, 2025, along with his father. The pair were transported to private hotels in Louisiana and Texas where they were held incommunicado without access to phones or the internet, prevented from contacting lawyers or the outside world. They were deported to Ecuador on August 14, 2025, after just five days of detention in hotels rather than standard ICE detention facilities.

Amanda Trebach, a registered nurse and U.S. citizen working in intensive care units serving low-income communities in Watts, Compton, and South Central Los Angeles, was arrested by federal agents on August 8, 2025, while documenting immigration enforcement operations at Terminal Island in San Pedro as a volunteer with Harbor Area Peace Patrol and Unión del Barrio. Video evidence shows masked federal agents pinning her face-down to the pavement, kneeling on her head, handcuffing her, and placing her into an unmarked van. CBP accused her of jumping in front of vehicles and obstructing federal agents; witnesses and video disputed these allegations. Trebach, whose cell phone was confiscated without a search warrant, says agents did not identify themselves and told her to stop photographing. She spent approximately one day in federal custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles before being released without criminal charges. Her release followed demonstrations at the detention center and calls from local elected leaders, including Councilmember Tim McOsker, who characterized the arrest as "apparently illegal and unconstitutional." National Nurses United, representing 225,000 registered nurses, celebrated her release. Trebach has continued documenting immigration enforcement operations and has been working to protect migrant patients from immigration raids; she reports that migrants in her community are now avoiding hospitals out of fear of encountering immigration enforcement.

ICE served search warrants at agricultural firms including Christensen Farms in Minnesota and Nebraska, and in Las Vegas. The 15-month investigation targeted companies allegedly knowingly hiring undocumented workers. Criminal warrants were issued for 17 individuals in a conspiracy involving fraud and money laundering. 133 workers were administratively arrested.