Human Impact Project

The petitioner filed a motion for a temporary restraining order on August 28, 2026, seeking to prevent his transfer out of the Western District of Washington. Federal Respondents confirmed that he is currently detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. Under the court's scheduling order, immigration officials are required to give 48 or 72 hours' notice before transferring him out of the district. Because his location was confirmed and no transfer notice has been issued, both parties jointly asked the court to withdraw the pending TRO motion. The court granted the joint motion and withdrew the TRO. The order notes that the petitioner may again seek emergency injunctive relief if federal officials later provide notice of a transfer.

Moises Velasquez, a Venezuelan asylum-seeker with a work permit and an upcoming December immigration hearing, was pulled from his car by ICE agents in Lakewood while waiting for his shift to start at a barbershop. Cellphone video shows agents smashing his car windows before dragging him out; his fiancé, who was eight months pregnant, heard his screams for help over the phone during the arrest. His attorney, Bart Klein, said ICE had been searching for a Mexican national but arrested Velasquez by mistake and sent him to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma even after realizing the error. Velasquez was released after his attorney filed a habeas corpus petition and has since returned to work.

Two men were detained by ICE agents in a Home Depot parking lot in Tacoma, Washington, after officers broke the window of their car. A bystander, Lance Braunwart, told N+ Univision that when he tried to record the license plates of the agents' vehicles, one agent appeared to try to hit him with the car even though there was enough room to leave. Braunwart said he and another couple stayed at the scene, located the wife of one of the detained men, and helped bring the men's truck and construction materials to her home. According to Braunwart, the two men had only gone to the Home Depot to pick up the last materials for a job they were completing.

Jordan Shafapay is being detained by ICE and facing possible deportation to Canada, according to a fundraiser set up by his loved ones. His situation grew more precarious after the unexpected death of his father, whose green card status Jordan had been under. Friends and family are raising money to hire an immigration attorney to fight his case.

Federal immigration agents were seen detaining a man in the parking lot of a Grocery Outlet on South First Street in Yakima, Washington. Witnesses recorded video of the encounter as it unfolded in broad daylight. The man's identity and immigration status have not been confirmed.

In a separate incident on Aug. 19, ICE agents pulled at least one person off a plane at Sea-Tac International Airport and arrested them at the gate, according to immigration attorney Jane O'Sullivan, who spoke with the detained person's travel companion. The detained person had overstayed a visa but had an active immigration application pending. O'Sullivan said 'a number of people' were taken off planes that day and later brought to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, though she could not specify how many were held. The arrests are part of a broader Department of Homeland Security enforcement effort targeting non-citizens with pending immigration cases at airports nationwide.

A woman posted on Instagram that her brother was pulled over near the Yakima Sundome on Fair Avenue while driving to work by a masked ICE agent who did not identify himself. She said he was handcuffed and placed in the back of a squad car without probable cause, and was released only after officials verified his identity. She shared photos of the vehicles involved and urged others to "move with caution."

ICE agents entered a business near SW Sedgwick Road and Sidney Road SW in Port Orchard around 12:30 p.m. on Aug. 15 and attempted to arrest a person working inside who was wanted on an immigration warrant, prompting the person to flee on foot with agents in pursuit. A customer called 911, and Port Orchard Police Department officers responded to verify the agents' credentials but were not notified before the operation and did not assist, citing the Keep Washington Working Act. ICE agents wore tactical attire marked "Federal Officer Fugitive Detention Police" and drove an unmarked black SUV with emergency lights; no one was injured.

A man was taken into ICE custody on August 14, 2026 and held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC) in Tacoma, Washington. Proceeding pro se, he filed a habeas corpus petition on August 26, 2026, and the court ordered that he be given seven days' notice before any transfer out of the district. The next day, however, ICE transferred him to a facility in Richwood, Louisiana in violation of that order. After a relative alerted the court to the transfer, ICE made four failed attempts between August 31 and September 4, 2026 to fly him back to Tacoma before he was finally returned to NWIPC on September 8, 2026. He then filed an emergency motion alleging he was subjected to severe physical cruelty while away and that his mother suffered a cardiac emergency due to the stress of his disappearance, seeking proof of life, an independent medical evaluation, and release, as well as appointment of counsel. The court denied both motions, finding he failed to address the required legal factors for a TRO, that conditions-of-confinement claims cannot be raised in a habeas petition, and that he had not shown financial eligibility for appointed counsel.

More than 140 detainees at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma are on a hunger strike to protest insufficient and unsanitary food, lack of medical care, and poor detention conditions. According to La Resistencia, detainees are being denied adequate meals and medical attention by GEO Group, the private company operating the facility, with meal times delayed for hours and food quality described as unacceptable. The detainees are demanding better food and medical care.

Amina Khalifa, a 23-year-old Seattle resident from Morocco who arrived on a student visa in 2023, was arrested by ICE agents on August 10 as she stepped off a flight at Sea-Tac International Airport, returning from a trip connecting through Houston. Her visa had expired, but she has a pending asylum application, no criminal record, and previously held work authorization while employed as a bank teller; her attorney, Olia Catala, said she fled Morocco over fears of persecution. On August 19, ICE agents removed another traveler from a flight at Sea-Tac gate, a person who had overstayed a visa but had an active immigration application, according to attorney Jane O'Sullivan; both detainees were taken to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. Attorneys say the arrests are part of a broader Department of Homeland Security crackdown targeting people with pending immigration cases but no criminal history, part of enforcement actions reported at airports nationwide, while the Port of Seattle said its police were not notified of the ICE actions.

Eduardo Aguirre Esparza, a 53-year-old Mexican national and small business owner who has lived in the United States for over 20 years, was arrested by ICE on July 23, 2026, while working on a home remodeling project in West Seattle. Approximately 20 ICE agents in unmarked vehicles surrounded him, allegedly physically pushing him and threatening him when he refused to sign a voluntary departure form; he requested his lawyer instead. Without appearing before a judge or having contact with his attorney, Aguirre Esparza was transferred between multiple ICE facilities over three days and flown to El Paso, Texas, where he is detained at ERO El Paso Camp East Montana. His wife, Stacey Fitzpatrick, a U.S. citizen attorney, disputes ICE's claim that he has a 2005 DUI arrest from Kansas, noting he has never lived in Kansas and background checks show only a resolved 2015 traffic citation. Aguirre Esparza has a pending green card application and is married to a U.S. citizen with deep community ties. Community members organized rallies and fundraisers in West Seattle to raise awareness and support for his family, and Senator Patty Murray called the arrest "fundamentally wrong and un-American."

Alberto, a DACA recipient who has lived in the U.S. since 1996, worked as a painter, contractor, and Amazon delivery driver, and is a father of three, was pulled from his vehicle by masked ICE agents while making deliveries in Seattle's Wedgwood neighborhood on August 5. Five of the six agents present were masked; one reached into his car, unlocked the door, and physically removed him before placing him in an unmarked truck. In footage of the roughly 20-minute encounter, Alberto identified himself as a DACA recipient and gave observers his name, Social Security number, and the location of his car keys for his family. Neighbors and local business owners gathered to witness and record the arrest, later organizing a vigil at the site and staying in contact with Alberto's family and immigration attorneys.

A 54-year-old citizen of India who has lived in the United States for over three decades is being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center. His wife and their two children are American citizens. He entered the U.S. without inspection in 1992 and has a removal order that became final in 2014; ICE placed him on an Order of Supervision in 2016. He was first re-detained in May 2026, and a federal judge granted habeas relief in June 2026, ordering his release and barring ICE from re-detaining him for invalid reasons or no reason at all. ICE nonetheless re-detained him again in August 2026, citing his final removal order, a valid travel document, and a misdemeanor assault charge — though court records show that charge was closed without any charges being filed. He was promised an informal interview two days after detention but did not receive one until ten days later. He filed a new habeas petition and motion for a temporary restraining order, arguing ICE violated his due process rights by failing to follow its own revocation regulations.

Pablo Santiago Gonzalez was detained by ICE officers on August 3, 2026, after they smashed the window of his car and dragged him out while he was buying work supplies on his way to work. He was taken alongside his uncle. Gonzalez is the primary breadwinner for his family of nine, including his wife and seven children—one adult and six minors under age 18, with three under age 10. He was deported to Mexico on August 11, 2026. His family, unable to afford legal representation, organized a fundraiser to cover legal fees, bail, fines, and household expenses while facing financial hardship.

A Guardian investigation found that ICE officials attempted to subject at least 10 hunger strikers in immigrant detention to involuntary medical procedures, including force-feeding, between 2025 and 2026. At least three detainees were definitely force-fed and two more probably underwent the procedure, while five others ended their strikes before it began; one Kurdish asylum seeker at Port Isabel Service Processing Center in Texas was force-fed for eight months, and another detainee there for six months. In six of the cases reviewed, the detainees had no legal representation, and judges reportedly issued the required emergency court orders quickly, before immigrants could object. DHS disputes reports of abuse and maintains detainees receive adequate care, while Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin dismissed the hunger strikes as involving only a “handful” of detainees protesting over food preferences.

Paul, an Indian national with an order withholding his removal based on Convention Against Torture protections, was detained by ICE officers at Dulles Airport after returning from a family trip to Hawaii. As he was being processed at an ICE field office in Virginia, Paul suffered a heart attack, was hospitalized and treated, then released back to ICE custody. He was subsequently released under a preexisting ICE supervision arrangement with his next check-in scheduled for September. His attorney, Jay S. Marks, noted that Paul has protection from removal to India but could be deported to a third country.

Don Graham, 54, a Canadian resident of the United States for over 22 years, was forcibly removed from his work van by federal agents on a Tacoma freeway. According to his daughter Madyson Graham, six black SUVs forced his vehicle off the road, and agents aggressively removed him, shackled him, and transported him to the Tacoma ICE Detention Center. Graham's family—his wife, who is a stay-at-home mother homeschooling their eight-year-old daughter, and his three adult children who are U.S. citizens—are now facing financial hardship as he was their primary income provider. The family is seeking legal representation and hopes to either have him released or, if deported, be able to reunite in Canada.

Elaine Miles, an Indigenous actor best known for roles in 'Northern Exposure,' 'Smoke Signals,' and 'The Last of Us,' was detained by four ICE agents at a bus stop in Redmond, Washington, while walking to Target. When she presented her tribal ID from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation—a form of identification recognized by federal agencies—the agents called it fake and claimed anyone could make one. Miles said the agents did not identify themselves when asked for names and badge numbers, and attempted to take her phone when she tried to call the tribal enrollment office to verify her ID. The agents left after a fifth agent whistled them back to their vehicles. Miles's son and uncle were also detained by ICE agents who initially rejected their tribal IDs before being released.

A 24-year-old man from Mexico was arrested by federal immigration agents near Seattle Center on July 27, just around the corner from where a mass shooting killed three people and injured four the previous day. Witnesses said the man was attempting to drive a white van into the area, where vendors were packing up from the Bite of Seattle food festival, when a marked ICE vehicle pulled him over; video shows him handcuffed by multiple officers before being placed in an unmarked car. U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal said ICE told her office the arrest targeted an individual for overstaying a visa since 2022, and she called the timing and location "insensitive and cruel" given the recent shooting. ICE confirmed the arrest was unrelated to the shooting; the arrest was one of nearly a dozen daytime arrests by masked agents in unmarked vehicles documented across Seattle since June.