Human Impact Project

Miguel Barreno López, a 39-year-old Spanish citizen, was arrested by ICE on October 18, 2025, during a traffic stop near Chicago after his tourist visa expired. An immigration judge approved his voluntary departure to Spain on November 17, 2025. Despite this approval, Barreno remained detained at Kenton County Detention Center in Kentucky for six months with no communication from ICE regarding his departure status or case updates. He was eventually deported to Spain in May 2026 and banned from re-entering the U.S. for ten years.

A 57-year-old Mexican father of four was detained at Broadview Processing Center for four days in severely overcrowded conditions before signing a voluntary departure form, unaware his attorney had secured an emergency hearing that could have allowed him to stay. He was deported to Mexico the following day after waiving his right to appeal. The case illustrates concerns among immigration attorneys that voluntary departures may not be truly voluntary, with immigrants reporting coercion due to language barriers and lack of legal knowledge.

Alexander Villeda, 30, an El Salvadoran national, was arrested during Operation Midway Blitz at the Swap-O-Rama market in October 2025, eight days after marrying Alexa Ramírez. He is being held at an immigration detention center in Battle Creek, Michigan, fighting his immigration case and hoping to secure release on bond. Villeda arrived in the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2015 and has no criminal record. His wife was deported to Mexico, and he faces pressure to self-deport to El Salvador, which would prevent them from reuniting.

Alexa Ramírez, 38, a Mexican national who had been living and working in Chicago, was arrested during Operation Midway Blitz at the Swap-O-Rama market in October 2025, just eight days after marrying her husband Alexander Villeda. She was held for four days at the Broadview federal immigration processing center, where she signed a form agreeing to self-deport. She was deported to Mexico two days later and is now living on her parents' farm in Oaxaca, unable to reunite with her husband who remains detained in Michigan.

Omar Huerta Cisneros, a 54-year-old green card holder with schizophrenia who has lived in the U.S. since childhood, was arrested in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood while going to a grocery store in October. Agents zip-tied his hands and took him in an unmarked vehicle. His family, unaware of his location, searched for him for 10 days while calling DHS offices to inform them he urgently needed his medication. After 10 days, the family found Huerta wandering the streets of Franklin Park disoriented, dirty, and hungry. Based on what Huerta could recall, the family believes agents released him without a phone call or transportation home.

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction ordering the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security to stop pressuring Facebook and Apple to remove ICE-monitoring apps and social media groups used by Chicago residents to track immigration enforcement activity. The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by Kassandra Rosado, who created the "ICE Sighting-Chicagoland" Facebook group, and Mark Hodges, who developed the Eyes Up mobile app for recording ICE officers. The judge found the agencies had coerced the tech companies into removing these platforms during the Trump administration's deportation enforcement operations.

Evelyn, an 18-year-old U.S. citizen, was pulled from a car and detained by ICE agents on October 10, 2025, in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Video showed an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officer throw her to the ground and kneel on her neck and upper back as she screamed that she was a citizen and not resisting. According to her aunt, Evelyn and two friends had been following and honking at agents' vehicles to warn neighbors of ICE activity before being chased and detained. She and her friends were held for hours in the Hoffman Estates Police Department parking lot without explanation before being released without charges; Evelyn was later taken away in an ambulance. Her parents, Jazmin and Gerardo, said officers ignored their daughter's pleas of citizenship, with Gerardo saying 'I couldn't protect my child.' Evelyn told the Chicago Tribune, 'I don't like the way they're treating everybody... it's not about race or ethnicity — we're all humans.' A DHS spokesperson falsely claimed the video showed a year-old, unrelated Chicago burglary arrest, a claim PolitiFact rated False after confirming the footage depicted the October 10 incident. The family is considering legal action.

A 15-year-old U.S. citizen was detained by Customs and Border Patrol agents on Chicago's East Side after federal agents deployed tear gas at a crash scene. According to his attorneys, the teen was slammed to the ground, zip-tied, and held in a garage for five hours without being booked, read his rights, or allowed to contact his mother. DHS stated the teen was arrested for allegedly throwing an egg at an agent, taken to an FBI field office where he admitted to the action, and released without charges. A 16-year-old U.S. citizen born and raised in Chicago was arrested and body-slammed by federal immigration agents during the East Side operation. His mother, Juanita Garnica, reported receiving a call that her son had been beaten, body-slammed, and taken into custody, but was not informed of his whereabouts or status. He was among multiple people arrested during the federal operation and subsequent protest.

Hanover Park police officer Radule Bojovic, a Montenegrin citizen, was detained by ICE on October 15, 2025, as part of Operation Midway Blitz after overstaying his B2 tourist visa by approximately 10 years—he was supposed to leave in March 2015 but remained in the country unlawfully while serving as a sworn officer with firearm access. He was released on bond on October 31 after federal authorities did not contest the release, and returned to full duty shortly after. Village officials stated Bojovic was legally authorized to work and carry a firearm at the time of hire with no criminal history.

Four U.S. citizen cemetery workers at Concordia Cemetery were arrested and subjected to pepper balls and pepper spray during an ICE operation that crossed onto private property. The workers were detained for hours before being released without charges. Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins made statements regarding the operation and requested its termination.

US Border Patrol agents pursued a vehicle driven by a person in the country illegally and used a precision immobilization technique that caused the vehicle to crash into other cars on Chicago's far southeast side. The incident led to a confrontation with federal agents at the scene.

Maria Greeley, a 44-year-old U.S. citizen and Chicago resident born at Illinois Masonic Hospital, was detained by three masked federal agents outside the Beach Bar on Ohio Street after finishing a double shift in early October 2025. The agents restrained her with zip ties and questioned her for approximately one hour, challenging the authenticity of her passport and telling her she "doesn't look like" her last name Greeley, despite her carrying documentation proving her citizenship. After about an hour, the agents released her. Following the incident, Greeley reported experiencing psychological distress and said she felt compelled to "lay low."

Warren King, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen born and raised in Chicago, was tackled and arrested by federal immigration agents at a Walgreens store on the East Side during an operation targeting undocumented immigrants. King was shopping with friends and family when agents swarmed the store; he was arrested despite repeatedly telling agents he was a U.S. citizen and legally in the country. He was held for hours before being released without charges, left with physical and mental injuries from the takedown.

Border Patrol agents pursued a vehicle for 18 minutes through Chicago's East Side neighborhood on October 14, 2025, ignoring supervisor orders to stop the chase. The vehicle crashed after agents blew a tire, not from an authorized immobilization technique as DHS claimed. Following the crash, an agent pointed his weapon at bystanders in a nearby Walgreens, claiming they charged at him despite video evidence contradicting this account.

An 18-year-old girl in Hoffman Estates was forcibly removed from a vehicle and thrown to the ground by what appeared to be a federal agent during a weekend enforcement operation. She and two friends were detained for hours before being released. Her parents are demanding accountability and taking legal action, while there is confusion about which agency was responsible for the arrest.

A federal judge in Illinois issued a temporary restraining order blocking federal agents from using tear gas, pepper balls, and excessive force against protesters demonstrating outside an ICE detention facility near Chicago. The order was prompted by video of Reverend David Black, a Presbyterian pastor in clerical garb, being repeatedly struck with pepper balls and chemical spray while peacefully praying during a protest at the Broadview facility.

Chicago TV producer for WGN-TV, Debbie Brockman, was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on Friday in a residential area during immigration enforcement operations. A federal judge had issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting DHS agents from arresting journalists without probable cause. Brockman was released from federal custody the same day with no charges filed against her.

Two women were arrested by ICE agents in front of an elementary school near the University of Illinois at Chicago campus on the West Side. DHS accused the women of stalking an ICE vehicle and attempting to impede a targeted operation. Officers forcibly removed one woman from her car, and the incident was recorded on video.

An 18-year-old U.S. citizen was detained by ICE agents on October 10, 2025, in Hoffman Estates along with two others. Video footage shows agents pulling the teenager from a car and restraining her on the ground. The detainees were released without charges after a few hours.

Sunny Naqvi, a 28-year-old U.S. citizen from Skokie, was detained at O'Hare Airport after returning from a work trip to Turkey and held for nearly 30 hours at ICE facilities in Illinois and Wisconsin before being released. Federal agencies provided conflicting accounts of her detention, with CBP claiming she was released within 90 minutes while her family and elected officials reported she was transferred to multiple detention centers. Her case is part of a broader pattern, with ProPublica documenting over 170 U.S. citizens detained by immigration agents in recent years and advocacy groups reporting increased airport encounters in 2026.