Human Impact Project

A 17-year-old attending a protest against ICE was detained and beaten repeatedly with a baton by officers, resulting in a broken femur that required emergency surgery. According to witnesses, the beating occurred while the minor was already surrounded by officers and detained. He is reportedly being denied visitors while hospitalized.

A two-year-old boy who was held at the Dilley family detention center in Texas since March 19, 2026, and his mother Joani were released on April 2, 2026, after the boy spent 12 days refusing to eat while running a fever. His attorney, Columbia Law School professor Elora Mukherjee, said the situation amounted to a medical emergency. ICE and the Department of Homeland Security said detained individuals receive meals, water, and medical care, including access to a pediatrician. Rep. Joaquin Castro had publicly called for the boy's release and renewed criticism of the facility, which currently holds roughly 1,400 people, including about 400 children.

On March 22, 2026, ICE agents in plainclothes detained Angelina Lopez-Jimenez, 41, a Guatemalan national, and her 9-year-old daughter at San Francisco International Airport after TSA alerted ICE to their presence on a passenger list. Lopez-Jimenez was handcuffed and placed in a wheelchair at Terminal 3 after resisting the agents. She had a final removal order issued by an immigration judge in 2019. Both mother and daughter were transferred to Texas and deported to Guatemala within approximately 36 hours. The detention prompted Democratic lawmakers to condemn the action and community groups to protest, with some alleging San Francisco police illegally assisted ICE in violation of the city's sanctuary policies.

Neysis was detained by ICE while six months pregnant with twins. When she began experiencing painful contractions, she was shackled to a hospital bed instead of receiving compassionate medical care. The incident has prompted calls for Congressional investigation into detention facility conditions.

A U.S. lawmaker confronted the Border Patrol commissioner during a Congressional hearing about an incident where Border Patrol agents allegedly pepper sprayed a U.S. citizen family—including a baby—through their vehicle window as they attempted to leave a parking lot. The commissioner acknowledged that pepper spraying into a moving vehicle window is not proper procedure and said he would follow up on whether any agents were investigated or disciplined.

Deiver Henao Jimenez, a 9-year-old asylum-seeker from Colombia, was detained with his parents at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas beginning in early March after a routine immigration check-in in New Mexico. His elementary school principal sent officials a letter describing him as a dedicated student with excellent attendance and high marks, and community activists pushed for his release so he could compete in New Mexico's state spelling bee after placing third in a regional Spanish spelling competition. Following a video call in which he pleaded with children's entertainer Ms. Rachel, and about a week after his attorney, Corey Sullivan Martin, filed for humanitarian parole, ICE released the family. Deiver is now eager to return to school and rejoin his gifted and talented classes.

An ICE enforcement operation in San Juan, Texas resulted in a male driver being taken into custody by ICE agents. A young girl present at the scene was observed in clear distress and having a panic attack as the agent reached through the car window during the escalating encounter. Neighbors witnessed the incident and the impact on the family.

Arnoldo Bazan, a 16-year-old U.S. citizen and student at Alief Hastings High School in Houston, was beaten and choked by masked ICE agents on October 23, 2025, when they stopped his father, Arnulfo Bazan Carrillo, during a drive to school near Gessner Road and Beechnut Street. Bystander video showed agents restraining Arnoldo with an arm around his neck while he told them he was a minor and a citizen; he was also subjected to racial slurs and later treated for bruises and welts consistent with choking. He was held for several hours before ICE confirmed his citizenship and released him. His father, an immigrant from Michoacán with a prior deportation and a misdemeanor DWI conviction, was arrested and, according to immigrant rights group FIEL, intimidated into signing a voluntary departure before being deported to Reynosa, Mexico. ICE disputed the abuse allegations, claiming Arnoldo elbowed an agent and that Arnulfo rammed a federal vehicle and fled. Arnoldo later testified before Congress about the incident.

Alicia Luna Flores, Juan Alberto Baquera Santoyo, and their seventh-grade daughter Melanie were deported to Tijuana within 24 hours after visiting an ICE field office in Camarillo on March 23, where they had expected their ankle monitors to be removed following eight years in the U.S. under asylum proceedings. ICE instead told them their asylum case had been terminated due to a missed court date they said they were unaware of. Their 3-year-old son, born in the U.S., was not taken into custody and is being cared for by relatives, while the family is now staying with a relative in Michoacan, Mexico. In Moorpark, Luna had cleaned houses and Baquera worked in construction and painting, while Melanie attended Mesa Verde Middle School and hoped to become a professional soccer player.

A pregnant woman identified as Marie was detained at an ICE facility and told officials of her pregnancy, but was placed in solitary confinement for days and denied medical care despite repeated requests. She was denied translation services at a medical center and was not informed about medical procedures performed. While detained, she witnessed another woman miscarry and deliver a stillborn baby alone in a facility bathroom.

Gael, a nonverbal 5-year-old boy from Colombia with significant developmental delays undergoing autism evaluations, was detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas for three weeks along with his asylum-seeking parents, Leonardo and Nelsy. The family was arrested on March 3 during an immigration check-in in El Paso. During his confinement, Gael's health deteriorated severely: he struggled to eat, experienced constipation lasting over a week with visible abdominal swelling and pain, and began engaging in self-harm behavior by hitting himself as his distress increased. Before detention, Gael had been receiving therapy in El Paso while the family pursued their asylum case. His attorney, Elora Mukherjee, requested his release on medical grounds after a video call with children's entertainer Ms. Rachel, arranged by a journalist, drew public attention to his condition. The family was released days later and returned to El Paso with required ICE check-ins to continue their asylum proceedings.

A 10-year-old U.S. citizen girl recovering from brain cancer was deported to Mexico along with her undocumented parents and four American-born siblings in February 2025. The family was detained at an immigration checkpoint while traveling from Rio Grande City to Houston for the child's emergency medical checkup. The girl, who had undergone surgery to remove a brain tumor, has been unable to continue her specialized medical treatment and rehabilitation in Mexico. An 11-year-old U.S. citizen recovering from brain cancer was deported to Mexico with her family by Border Patrol agents despite her documented citizenship and need for ongoing medical treatment. The family was traveling to Houston for emergency care when agents ignored a hospital letter the family had used previously at checkpoints and detained the family, deporting them the next day. The citizen child's 18-year-old brother, Fernando Hernández García, was not detained and remained in the U.S. to earn money and send medicine to his sister. The family's lawyers report they have been unable to access proper medical care in Mexico and have applied for humanitarian parole.

Alicia Luna Flores, her husband Juan Alberto Baquera Santoyo, and their 12-year-old daughter Melanie were deported to Mexico on March 23 after arriving at an ICE office in Camarillo expecting to have their ankle monitors removed. Luna, who had worked as a house cleaner, and Baquera, who worked as a day laborer, had crossed the border eight years earlier and applied for asylum with their then 5-year-old daughter. Melanie attended Mesa Verde Middle School in Moorpark and dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player. The family was given no specific reason for the deportation except a reference to a missed court date that Luna said she was unaware of, and they were transported to Tijuana within 24 hours before eventually relocating to Mexico, leaving behind their 3-year-old U.S.-born son Aaron, who was not taken into custody, in the care of relatives. Moorpark Unified School District officials confirmed the deportation and said they have been in contact with the family, providing support and connecting them with local agencies for immediate needs like food; Superintendent Kelli Hays said the district will continue supporting the relatives now caring for the three-year-old.

Heidy Sánchez, a 44-year-old Cuban immigrant and home health aide who arrived in the U.S. in 2019, was detained by ICE on April 22, 2025, during what she believed was a routine annual check-in appointment at the Tampa office while nursing her one-year-old daughter, a U.S. citizen born prematurely with seizures. She was handcuffed and separated from her daughter as her husband, Carlos Yuniel Valle, a U.S. citizen who owns a landscaping company, heard her screaming. Two days later, on April 24, Sánchez was deported to Cuba on a flight with 81 other Cuban migrants. Sánchez had no criminal record, worked as a home health aide, held a social security card and driver's license, paid taxes, and was complying with ICE requirements under her I-220B supervision order. Her daughter, distressed by the separation, refused to eat. From Cuba, Sánchez has recorded tearful video pleas to President Trump and walks up to ten times daily searching for internet to video call her daughter. U.S. Representatives María Elvira Salazar and Kathy Castor have called for her reunification, with Castor filing a humanitarian parole request with the Trump administration. DHS disputed Sánchez's account, claiming she was offered the choice to take her child or place the child with a designated relative. Sánchez arrived in Cuba without passport, identification, or documentation explaining her deportation.

Women detained at Baker County Detention Center in Florida have shared a video describing poor living conditions while awaiting immigration processing. They allege inadequate access to hygiene supplies, broken clothing, moldy food, and substandard bedding including mattresses made of insulation. One woman claims to have been transferred through over 30 facilities in a month and often slept on floors.

Royer Pérez-Jimenez, a 19-year-old indigenous Tzotzil Mayan from San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, Mexico, died on March 16, 2026, at Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Florida, while in ICE custody. He had immigrated to the United States at age 15 to join an uncle but was left on his own after the uncle was deported. He worked continuously in a restaurant but earned minimal wages. On January 21, 2026, he was arrested during a traffic stop after giving a false name and was convicted of misdemeanors on February 19. He was transferred to ICE custody on February 21 and moved to the Moore Haven facility on February 26. On March 16 at approximately 2:34 a.m., he was found unresponsive in his dormitory; despite CPR efforts by detention staff and emergency responders, he was pronounced dead at 2:51 a.m. ICE stated the death was a presumed suicide, though the official cause remained under investigation. His father Manuel Pérez rejected the suicide conclusion and called for a thorough investigation. His death was one of at least 13 to 14 acknowledged deaths in ICE detention occurring between January and late March 2026.

Raúl Tapia, a Mexican immigrant who has lived in the United States for about 25 years, was detained by ICE agents while driving to work with his son near their home in Georgetown, Delaware. According to his family, three unmarked black trucks surrounded their van at a stop sign, and six masked agents broke the van's windows and forcibly removed Raúl without presenting a warrant. His son Dante said agents questioned him about his birthplace before releasing him and detaining his father. Delaware court records show Raúl has no criminal history, and his wife Beth said the family had recently begun working with a new attorney to resolve his immigration status. He is being held in a detention center in Philadelphia and is expected to be transferred to Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania, with an immigration hearing scheduled. Community organizations including La Esperanza and the ACLU of Delaware raised concerns about the warrantless stop and tactics used.

Alvaro Velasquez, a high school senior at Roosevelt Schools in Nassau County, New York, was detained by ICE in May 2025 weeks before graduation. He was held at a detention center in Texas for several months before self-deporting to Guatemala. Superintendent Dr. Shawn Wightman traveled to Guatemala at his own expense to deliver Velasquez's cap, gown, and diploma in person after being denied access to him at the detention facility.

San Diego County's Immigrant Legal Defense Program, which provides free legal counsel to detained immigrants and unaccompanied minors, faces significant funding gaps as costs are expected to reach $13.4-$18 million annually while the budget remains at $5 million. The increased demand is driven by a nearly 200% increase in detention levels at the Otay Mesa Detention Center under the Trump administration. Without additional funding from philanthropic and state sources, the program may be unable to maintain current service levels.

Vilma Bautista Torres and her 9-year-old son Kenek, who has Level 3 autism, were detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center for more than 80 days despite a federal settlement limiting child detention to 20 days. During detention, Kenek lost access to specialized therapy and schooling, experienced frequent meltdowns, self-harm episodes, and became increasingly disoriented and afraid. After a pro bono law clinic filed a parole request documenting his autism diagnosis and self-harm, ICE released the family with an ankle monitor.