Human Impact Project

Alonso C., a 72-year-old Cuban man who had lived in the United States for over 46 years and had a valid work permit, was playing dominos outside a bodega in Miami when masked agents without visible name tags approached looking for a man called 'El Flaco.' Although Alonso said he did not know the person and produced his work permit, agents handcuffed and arrested him. 'They didn't have a warrant, they didn't even show their faces. They didn't care that I had my permit,' he said. He was taken to Krome North Service Processing Center and eventually transferred to Camp East Montana.

Jose Manuel Rodriguez-Quinones, a Cuban man with prior convictions in Florida, was arrested by ICE in April 2025 and placed on a deportation flight that was diverted to a U.S. military base in Djibouti after a federal judge found it violated migrants' due process rights. The flight, carrying eight men including fellow Cuban Enrique Arias-Hierro, held them in a converted shipping container, according to court filings. On July 3, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the lower court's order, and the flight proceeded, with Rodriguez-Quinones arriving in South Sudan on July 4.

Enrique Arias-Hierro, 46, of Cuba, had been ordered removed by an immigration judge in 1999 and did not appeal. He was arrested by ICE in early May 2025 and placed on a deportation flight to South Sudan, which a federal judge initially halted, diverting the flight to a U.S. military base in Djibouti where he and other migrants were held for weeks. The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned that judge's order, and Arias-Hierro arrived in South Sudan on July 4, 2025.

Bryan José Rojas Galofre, a Venezuelan immigrant married to a U.S. citizen, was detained by ICE on January 27, 2025, following a security checkpoint stop at Trump National Doral hotel during a honeymoon trip. Agents discovered an airsoft gun and marijuana grinder in his vehicle, leading to local drug paraphernalia charges and questioning about gang ties based on his tattoos. Despite an immigration judge granting him bond in April 2025, Rojas remained in federal detention until his release on May 6, 2025. His nearly three-month detention resulted in job loss, expiration of his work permit, loss of his home and vehicle, depletion of retirement savings, over $80,000 in debt, and significant family financial hardship. His immigration case remains pending with a hearing scheduled for 2028.

Akbor Miah, a Bangladeshi national also known by the alias Shahidul Islam, was arrested by U.S. Marshals in New York on May 6, 2025, and extradited to Florida in connection with the shooting death of Monica Islam, his sister-in-law, whose body was found along a road in Mount Dora in May 2025. Investigators said she was killed after leaving a convenience store in Eustis where the two worked together, and evidence including her DNA and a bullet was later found in Miah's car. ICE has lodged a detainer with the Lake County Jail requesting his transfer to federal custody after the criminal case concludes. Records show Miah first entered the U.S. in 2016, was arrested by ICE in February 2018, received a final removal order that November, was deported in January 2019, then re-entered the country and was released by federal authorities in March 2022.

An undocumented landscaper known as Esdras was detained during a May 2 traffic stop by Florida Highway Patrol and Border Patrol agents while driving to a landscaping job with his coworkers. Video footage shows officers pulling him out of the van by his leg and neck, forcing him to the ground while he was rigidly resisting, and tasering him twice in the stomach despite no indication of a threat. He spasmed and fell crying to the pavement. Esdras was transferred to the Krome Detention Center in Miami and faces deportation proceedings, though he has been released on bail.

Kenny Laynez, an 18-year-old U.S. citizen born in West Palm Beach, was detained for six hours by Florida Highway Patrol and Border Patrol agents on May 2 after being stopped while driving to a landscaping job with his mother and two undocumented coworkers. Video footage captured officers using physical force against Laynez, twisting his arms and pushing him face-down to the pavement, while tasering one of his coworkers twice. An officer told Laynez, "You have no rights here. You are a 'Migo,' brother," after Laynez asserted his citizenship. Laynez was eventually released from a Riviera Beach federal facility after agents confirmed his citizenship status, but was charged with misdemeanor obstruction without violence and entered a pretrial diversion program.

An evangelical pastor, construction business owner, and father of five U.S.-citizen children was detained at a routine ICE check-in in Florida despite having a stay of removal and years of regular reporting. He was deported to Guatemala weeks later.

America Perez Ramirez, 52, was ordered by DHS to check in at an ICE field office and bring airline tickets for deportation to Mexico with her 11-year-old U.S. citizen daughter Yoselin, who has Maple Syrup Urine Disease, a life-threatening rare genetic disorder. Yoselin requires her mother's care to survive and her University of Florida doctor stated she cannot live without current treatment. Perez Ramirez, who came on an H2-B labor visa and was trafficked by her employer, had received four previous stays of deportation under prior administrations, but was denied another stay this time.

Marie Ange Blaise, a 44-year-old Haitian woman, died on April 25, 2025, at the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, Florida, while in ICE custody. She had been detained since mid-February after being stopped at Saint Croix International Airport for attempting to board a flight without a valid visa, and was issued an expedited removal notice before being transferred through multiple facilities including San Juan, Krome North Processing Center in Miami, and a Louisiana facility. Fellow detainees said Blaise had complained of chest pains for hours; staff checked her blood pressure, found hypertension, gave her pills, and told her to rest. She later began shaking and screaming, and when other detained women cried out for help, guards reportedly ignored their pleas, with one officer approaching, looking at her, and walking away. It took roughly eight minutes for a medical provider and 15 to 20 more minutes for a rescue team to arrive; she was pronounced dead at 8:35 p.m. Facility staff reportedly told the women afterward to stop discussing what they had witnessed.

The wife of an active-duty Coast Guard officer assigned to USCGC Mohawk was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations during a routine security screening at Naval Air Station Key West on Thursday. The couple had married in early 2025 and were preparing to move into on-base family housing when the woman's name was flagged during visitor control processing. Her work visa had expired around 2017, and she had been marked for removal several years prior. NCIS contacted HSI, and agents entered the base housing to take her into custody. The woman's country of origin and current detention status remain unclear, though officials believe she is still being detained.

A Florida woman, Latrance Battle, impersonated an ICE agent and kidnapped her ex-boyfriend's wife from her workplace on April 10. The victim, who was in the process of becoming a legal U.S. resident, believed Battle was an ICE agent when approached. Battle took the victim to an apartment complex instead of the sheriff's office, where the victim escaped and contacted law enforcement. Battle was arrested and charged with kidnapping, robbery, impersonating a law enforcement officer, and felony probation violation.

María Alejandra Rivas Martínez, a 19-year-old Venezuelan, was detained by ICE on April 10 after a state police officer notified the agency following a traffic accident in Miami, where she was struck from behind by a truck while driving her girlfriend to a medical appointment. She had entered the U.S. legally in 2019 with a tourist visa at age 13 and currently holds a valid work permit, Florida driver's license, and a pending asylum case. She was held for two days before being transferred to the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, where she awaits an immigration hearing. Her mother, Eliza Martínez, said the family is distressed and considers the situation unjust, as her family, including her parents and partner, has launched a fundraising campaign to cover legal costs.

Solangel Manzanilla, a 68-year-old Venezuelan woman, was detained by Border Patrol on April 2 after leaving work at an LA Fitness gym in Fort Lauderdale where she worked in childcare. She had been in the U.S. for 12 years with a pending asylum claim, valid work authorization, and a current driver's license. An officer noted she had a good profile but stated she had to be detained due to her immigration status. Her family reports she has medical conditions requiring attention and has launched a fundraising campaign to cover legal expenses.

Attorneys representing detainees at an Everglades facility alleged that guards beat and pepper-sprayed detainees following a protest over lost phone access on April 2. A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction on March 27 requiring improved legal access and expressed frustration with slow compliance efforts during an April 13 status conference. The state and federal governments are appealing the injunction while claiming efforts to comply.

During a transfer in mid-April, dozens of men were gathered into a cell early in the morning with feet shackled and hands tied behind their backs. They waited hours while food sat visible through bars. When lunch was provided at 7 p.m. — only after another guard protested — the men could not reach plates with their hands. 'We had to bend over and eat off the chairs with our mouths, like dogs,' one man said. At FDC, upon arrival and after visits including from legal counsel, officers forced detainees to undergo invasive visual cavity searches. A 21-year-old Guatemalan man described being ordered to 'get completely naked, turn around, bend down, and get on all fours and cough.' An officer later admitted ICE detainees did not need such procedures.

José de Jesús Jiménez Delgado, a 51-year-old Venezuelan, was detained by ICE on May 4 while driving to work in Tampa. He arrived in the U.S. in 2018 with a clean record and had a pending asylum case, TPS status, a valid work permit, and a valid driver's license. His family reported he has serious health conditions including a herniated disc, anxiety, and chronic headaches. Ángel Rafael Alvarado, a Venezuelan citizen, was detained by ICE on March 31 at 7:30 a.m. in Florida. According to his family, Alvarado was legally residing in the U.S. under a humanitarian parole program, had entered through proper channels, was in the process of applying for asylum, held a valid work permit, and had no criminal record or traffic violations. His family initiated a fundraising campaign to cover legal expenses.

Felipe Zapata Velásquez, 27, a food and resource economics student who transferred to the University of Florida after graduating from Santa Fe College in 2023, was arrested by Gainesville police on March 28 for driving with an expired license and registration. He was turned over to ICE custody and held at the Krome Detention Center in Miami before voluntarily departing for Colombia on April 6, according to an ICE spokesperson. ICE said his F-1 student status had been terminated in October 2024 for failing to enroll in SEVIS, though a University of Florida spokesperson said he was enrolled both last fall and currently. His case was among nearly 300 international student visa terminations amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, and appears to be the first such case involving a Florida college student. His mother, Claudia Velázquez, said he is undergoing physical and emotional recovery in Colombia, and Rep. Maxwell Frost criticized the action as part of the broader crackdown on foreign students.

Exclusive audio was obtained from a prisoner at a detention facility operated by ICE.

Quebec Vasquez, a DACA-protected mother of three U.S. citizen children, announced plans to self-deport to Mexico due to fears about rapidly changing immigration policies under the Trump administration. Despite being protected from deportation through DACA for 10 years, she cited uncertainty and fear about her family's future as reasons for considering leaving the United States.