Human Impact Project

Brian José Morales García, a 25-year-old HVAC worker from Austin born in Denver, Colorado, was riding in his employer's truck near Fredericksburg, Texas, on April 3, 2026, when a state trooper stopped them for an alleged window-tint violation. He repeatedly told officers he was a citizen and offered his birth certificate, Social Security card, and baptismal record, but said they refused to accept them; he was held by the Gillespie County Sheriff's Office before Border Patrol took custody. He said agents mocked his citizenship claim and pressured him into signing paperwork admitting illegal entry, which he did only to avoid prolonged detention and reunite with his pregnant wife in Mexico. He was deported four to five days after the stop, missing the birth of his daughter and spending nearly five months with relatives in Mexico. His attorneys, including Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, filed a federal lawsuit alleging coercion and racial profiling, submitting his Colorado birth certificate, hospital records, baptismal certificate, and witness affidavits, while DHS disputed his citizenship claim. A federal judge called the case 'highly unusual' and ordered discovery; the Department of Justice agreed to let him return to Austin on August 30, 2026, with his lawyer picking him up in Laredo. His civil rights lawsuit continues, and he said his fear of being wrongfully targeted again will stay with him.

The father of a student at a Seattle-area school was detained by ICE earlier this week while on his way to work and is now being held at the Northwest Detention Center. His partner, who is pregnant, is caring for their children, including a toddler, while facing the sudden loss of the family's income. A fellow parent at the school organized a fundraiser to help cover the family's rent, groceries, utilities, and other essentials, as well as the father's commissary account and potential legal costs.

Carol Williams Black was detained by ICE for roughly seven months as part of a legal dispute over bond hearings for noncitizens with criminal records fighting deportation. His case became moot after he received a final order of removal and permanently left the United States, prompting the Supreme Court to focus its review on a different detainee's case.

D.C., a 62-year-old Dominican citizen who entered the U.S. without authorization, has been held by ICE since September 2025 after completing a state prison sentence tied to a 1998 drug conviction, along with earlier convictions for possessing a forged instrument, a domestic assault, and criminal contempt. A district court ordered that he receive a bond hearing under Second Circuit precedent requiring hearings when mandatory detention becomes 'unreasonably prolonged,' but denied his request for immediate release. The Supreme Court has now agreed to hear the Trump administration's appeal in the case, Genalo v. D.C., to decide whether the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a flight risk or danger to remain in custody; the case is part of a broader dispute over a July 2025 policy mandating detention for immigrants in deportation proceedings.

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.

Teresa de Jesus Ochoa Briseño, 31, a cook at Carmelita's Restaurant in Alamo, Texas, was arrested by ICE agents outside her workplace around 5 a.m. on September 21, 2026, and deported to Reynosa, Mexico, later that day. Her 17-year-old son, Luis Ochoa, a U.S. citizen, had witnessed an ICE apprehension near a Marine Corps recruiting office days earlier and was himself detained after speaking out publicly; he said agents offered him money to stay quiet and threatened to detain his undocumented relatives. Luis believes his mother was targeted because of the attention her public criticism of ICE generated in local media. ICE said Teresa had a prior removal order from a July 2025 arrest for alleged illegal reentry and denied the deportation was retaliatory, describing it as part of a 'targeted operation.' Advocacy groups We the People RGV and Carnalismo Brown Berets are calling for a congressional hearing and independent investigation into the family's case.

Luis Ochoa, a 17-year-old U.S. citizen, and his friend JC were detained by ICE agents in Alamo, Texas, after stopping to film an immigration enforcement action near Santos Livas Elementary School. The teens said they were on their way to meet with a Marine Corps recruiter when agents pulled Ochoa from his vehicle, breaking his wrist, pepper-sprayed both boys, and struck JC in the face despite their stating they were U.S. citizens. Video of the encounter showed the strikes to JC's face before Ochoa was taken into custody; Ochoa said an agent told him 'don't resist' though he was not resisting, and another reportedly said, 'I don't give a damn... Your parents can't help you now.' Ochoa's mother, Teresa Ochoa, said she went about eight hours without information about her son, calling it one of the most frightening moments of her life, and said the ordeal made both teens reconsider plans to enlist. DHS disputed the account, describing the teens as 'anti-ICE agitators' who became combative and said two officers suffered minor injuries. The Alamo Police Department forwarded the teens' complaint to the DHS Office of Inspector General, and Teresa Ochoa was deported days after speaking publicly about the incident.

Edgar Chacon-Miranda, 45, a father with U visa protections and full legal custody of his children under a New Mexico family court order, was detained by ICE agents in the parking lot of La Familia Health/Medical Center in Santa Fe while driving his daughter to a medical appointment. Clinic staff, including chief information officer Jasmin Milz, said agents appeared to have followed him from home and blocked his vehicle, taking him into custody without entering the building; his daughter was later picked up by a family member with help from community advocates. DHS described him as a 'criminal illegal alien' with an 'extensive criminal history,' citing 2018 battery, criminal sexual penetration, and child abuse charges, but court records show those charges were dismissed after the alleged victim declined to cooperate. His attorney, Allegra Love, said he received the U visa in 2022 for cooperating with law enforcement and that it expired in May while his residency application remains pending. Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies criticized federal officials for citing the dismissed case without noting its outcome, and U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández called leaving the child in the parking lot 'cruelty,' noting ICE reported eight detentions in Santa Fe that day. Chacon-Miranda was later jailed and alleges immigration agents fabricated reports to secure his deportation despite his legal status.

Twenty undocumented immigrants were arrested during a three-day joint enforcement operation conducted Sept. 24-26 across Plaquemines, Jefferson and Terrebonne parishes in Louisiana. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries coordinated with U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard, Air and Marine Operations, and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations during what was described as a commercial and recreational fisheries enforcement operation. Four individuals were apprehended during maritime patrols and 16 were apprehended during a land-based operation, all facing pending deportation proceedings for violations of federal immigration law.

Patricia Valdez, a 37-year-old Venezuelan engineer from Mérida known to loved ones as Patty, was detained by ICE while attending a scheduled check-in with immigration authorities as part of her asylum application process, and was transferred to a detention facility in Oklahoma. Valdez, who became a mother three months ago, worked for the City of Dallas and previously taught at the Engineering Faculty of the Universidad de los Andes in Venezuela. In the U.S. she has passed the FE exam and holds the Engineer in Training (EIT) and Project Management Professional (PMP) certifications, recently passing the PE Civil Construction exam, and is active in communities of Venezuelan engineers. Her family says she has no criminal record, is seeking reunification with her infant son, and has started a GoFundMe campaign to cover her legal defense and her baby's care.

A coalition called Evict ICE from 250 Delaware is calling on Uniland Development, owned by the Montante family, and Delaware North, owned by the Jacobs family, to end their lease with ICE, which operates its Buffalo field office and a detainee 'hold room' used to detain immigrants, including children, inside the building. On September 26, eight activists were arrested after occupying the intersection outside the building to protest what they call the "Montante family's continued profiteering from deportation," now referring to the site as the "Montante Detention Center." The campaign, which launched on May Day 2026, seeks to end ICE's presence at the site when its lease expires in March 2027.

A mother started a fundraiser seeking legal help for her son, who was arrested and is now being held by ICE. The family does not know where he is being detained and is trying to locate him and hire a lawyer before he can be deported.

Adwoa, a 21-year-old bisexual woman from Ghana, fled years of violence and ostracism after neighbors accused her family of witchcraft over her sexuality. Despite obtaining a US court guarantee that she would not be deported back to Ghana, she was instead sent to Cameroon earlier this year, where same-sex relations are illegal and punishable by up to five years in prison. She has been held at a government-run detention facility in Cameroon for several months, describing her situation as feeling like "a criminal" and fearing she could be killed if returned to Ghana.

Misael Ramos, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America running for Austin city council, was arrested Saturday morning on a misdemeanor charge of "riot participation" tied to a protest against the shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a Venezuelan asylum seeker with a valid work permit who was shot by an ICE officer. Ramos denies any wrongdoing and plans to contest the charge; his attorney said, "I didn't see any riots... I saw people out there chanting and protesting." His campaign manager said Ramos joined the protest to show solidarity after hearing that an ICE officer had shot someone in the back.

Federal and local officers served nearly a dozen search warrants across Jackson and Josephine counties, Oregon, as part of a two-year investigation into a drug-trafficking organization. Community monitoring group Rogue Valley Migra Watch reported at least 21 people were detained over two days, most of them agricultural workers at cannabis farms in Medford, Ruch, Central Point, Eagle Point, Rogue River, Jacksonville, and Cave Junction, including at least 8 workers detained at a Cave Junction farm on White School House Rd. Witnesses documented GEO Group detention vans, operator of the Northwest Detention Center, at the sites, and one detained person was treated by emergency responders while in handcuffs. The Cave Junction operation involved the FBI, Josephine Marijuana Enforcement Team, Josephine County Sheriff, Oregon State Police, and ICE. The Jackson County Sheriff's Office said it did not coordinate with ICE on immigration enforcement and that deputies were not told immigration detentions were planned, citing Oregon's sanctuary law barring local cooperation with federal immigration agencies; Medford police said their role was limited to supporting the criminal investigation. Advocates raised concerns the sanctuary law may have been violated, while ICE and the FBI have not publicly identified those detained or confirmed the total count.

Nathan 'Nate' Samudzi, a delivery driver from Yankton, South Dakota originally from Zimbabwe, was detained by ICE for a second time this year after reporting to the agency's Sioux Falls sub-field office. He was quickly transferred to a detention center and then to Minneapolis for a deportation flight, but a federal judge granted an emergency Temporary Restraining Order about 30 minutes before the flight was scheduled to depart. Samudzi holds a valid work permit, had begun the citizenship process, and had been under strict GPS monitoring since a prior detention in February; his wife, a local schoolteacher, said he complied with every condition. ICE told reporters Samudzi had a conviction for drug possession and distribution, but his attorney said this is false, explaining he has only a misdemeanor marijuana ingestion conviction from age 20 and a separate charge that was dismissed a year later. Judge Jerry Blackwell has ordered ICE cannot remove or transfer Samudzi from the District of Minnesota while his legal team pursues an emergency habeas corpus petition citing fear of persecution if returned to Zimbabwe, a country he has not lived in since age four. He remains held at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Fort Snelling, Minnesota, as family, friends, and South Dakota's congressional delegation seek updates on his case.

ICE agents conducted large-scale enforcement operations in Dodge City, Garden City, and Liberal, Kansas—an area known as the 'golden triangle of beef'—arriving around September 22-23 and departing roughly three days later. Agents in unmarked vans and plain clothes stopped vehicles and detained dozens of people in surrounding communities, including a mother taken into custody with her baby, prompting a volunteer to arrange for a relative to retrieve the child. Hispanic and Latino residents described being stopped based on appearance, with agents even entering a local restaurant before being told to leave. Advocates said many detained had no criminal records, while Dodge City schools warned families of possible relative detentions and 120 students missed school at one elementary school. Community organizer Amy Soberanes delivered food to frightened residents and described children crying over detained parents, while worker Deymi Anayela Martinez Lemus described an empty parking lot and short staffing at area plants operated by Cargill and National Beef. Businesses closed or slowed operations, USDA data showed reduced cattle processing, and industry groups estimated millions in lost revenue. About 200 people protested in downtown Dodge City calling for immigration reform, and the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 2 condemned the operation. Kansas Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall criticized ICE for failing to coordinate with local officials, while DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said ICE targeted people with final removal orders and criminal histories rather than conducting worksite operations.

Luis Manuel Chavarría-Galeano, a 48-year-old exiled Nicaraguan journalist who hosts the interview program Café con Voz, was detained by ICE agents on September 14, 2026 while working as an Uber/Lyft driver near Orlando to supplement his journalism income. He fled Nicaragua in 2018 after police raided his newsroom and imprisoned colleagues over his reporting critical of Daniel Ortega's government, filing for asylum in the U.S. in June 2019 with a pending case, a valid work permit, and no U.S. criminal record. In 2023, the Ortega-Murillo government stripped him and 93 other journalists, writers, and activists of their citizenship. His wife, Daykel Santamaría, said she received only a brief call before his phone was taken, during which he asked her to contact a lawyer and notify journalists. He was held at Baker Correctional Facility and then Krome North Service Processing Center, where press freedom groups including the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, Nicaraguan opposition members, and U.S. lawmakers such as Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar called for his release. An immigration judge granted him bond on September 23, and he was released on September 26, with a future immigration court hearing scheduled.

Jessica Trevino (also spelled Treviño), a DACA recipient in her mid-30s who arrived in the U.S. from Mexico as a young child and lived in Texas her entire life, was arrested by ICE agents on December 28, 2025, as she left church with her family in the Rio Grande Valley. Unmarked vehicles rammed the family's car in a Home Depot parking lot, agents struck her husband Juan with a baton, and shoved their 14-year-old daughter against the vehicle hard enough to bruise her. Trevino worked in an elementary school cafeteria and had no criminal record; her DACA status remained valid at the time. After nearly three months in ICE custody, she was deported to Matamoros, Mexico on March 25, 2026, despite disputing that she consented to a 'voluntary departure' order. Her three U.S. citizen children, ages 16, 14, and 13, remained in Texas with relatives. USCIS later moved to terminate her DACA status, citing unauthorized travel. Her family filed a federal lawsuit seeking her return and restoration of her status, though a federal judge has since recommended dismissal on jurisdictional grounds.

Adam Mohamed Abdullah, a 31-year-old Somali auto mechanic and asylum seeker living in St. Paul, was arrested by masked federal agents on December 12, 2025 during 'Operation Metro Surge,' despite holding a work permit, Social Security number, a pending asylum application, and no criminal record beyond two parking tickets, and despite regularly attending ICE check-ins. He was moved through detention facilities in Minnesota, Kentucky and Louisiana over roughly nine months before being transferred to Guantánamo Bay's Camp Six in late August alongside fellow Minnesotans Hassan Abdi Abtidoon and Abdullahi Jamal Abdi. His attorney, Marc Prokosch, said communication with him was limited and possibly not confidential, calling the use of the base a 'political scare tactic,' a characterization Sen. Tina Smith echoed after DHS described the group as having serious criminal histories without presenting evidence specific to Abdullah. Abdullah began a hunger strike over lack of information, after which he said guards beat him and placed him in a freezing solitary cell; while detained, his mother died after authorities denied his request for an international call and voluntary departure to see her. The ACLU sued the federal government over its use of Guantánamo for civil immigration detention, with a hearing set for October 14. Abdullah and the other two men were flown through Kenya and deported to Somalia around September 25, 2026.