Human Impact Project

Eddie, a worker at the Nutrition Bar Confectioners factory who had lived in the U.S. for twenty years and held a work permit, was arrested during a federal raid and deported to Guatemala within 72 hours. His wife is now struggling to care for their two boys alone while working overtime and coping with depression over the sudden separation. He is a plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking to allow him to return to the U.S. and reunite with his family.

Daniela Rincon and her parents, Clara Avellaneda and Henry Rincon, were detained by ICE agents at Sky Harbor International Airport upon arriving from Salt Lake City on Aug. 28 following a family trip. The family, originally from Colombia and living in Herriman, Utah, held work permits and were in the process of normalizing their immigration status — Henry Rincon's son had petitioned for his parents' residency, and Daniela was pursuing an asylum claim based on conditions in Colombia. All three are being held at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona; a judge denied bond for Henry and Daniela but allowed Clara's release, though the family has not raised the $12,500 needed for her bond. Julian Rincon, a naturalized U.S. citizen and the son/brother of the detainees, said none of them has faced criminal charges and described them as hardworking people caught up in enforcement quotas.

Henry Rincón, his wife Clara Avellaneda, and daughter Daniela Rincón, a Colombian family living in Herriman, Utah, were detained by immigration authorities on Aug. 26 after arriving at Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport on a flight from Salt Lake City. The three, who held work permits and were in the process of normalizing their immigration status, are being held at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona; the Department of Homeland Security says they overstayed their visas. Their son, Julian Rincón, a naturalized U.S. citizen, has been publicly advocating for the family and raising funds through GoFundMe. An immigration judge has denied bond for Henry and Daniela Rincón but approved release for Clara Avellaneda.

Grace Calero Cabanilla, 39, and her 19-year-old daughter Giulianna Carriel Calero were taken into custody at HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital after being treated for injuries from an Aug. 20 two-vehicle crash in Poinciana. The Polk County Sheriff's Office says deputies were at the hospital investigating the crash and determined Calero Cabanilla, then her daughter, had overstayed their authorized stays; deputies contacted ICE, which confirmed civil immigration warrants and lodged detainers, and the women were taken to Polk County Jail after discharge. ICE says Calero Cabanilla entered the U.S. legally in March 2023 and Carriel Calero in February 2025, both overstaying their authorized periods; arrest affidavits note neither woman has a criminal history. A relative's GoFundMe states Calero Cabanilla has a pending asylum case and valid work permit and Carriel Calero holds a visa valid until 2030. Cellphone video showed the women, one still attached to an IV, being separated and detained by deputies; the women elected to voluntarily depart and arrived in Quito, Ecuador, while community groups protested outside the hospital.

Luis Fernando Hong, a 20-year-old Venezuelan man from Coro, Falcón, was detained by ICE on August 20 in Hallandale Beach, Florida. He arrived in the U.S. in 2016 at age 10 as part of his family's asylum application, which was filed three months after their arrival, and has a pending asylum case along with a valid work permit and no criminal record. Hong works at Wells Fargo as a personal banker, and was intercepted by immigration agents outside a Walmart after going to the gym following his work shift. He is currently held at the Miramar processing center. A family member described him as 'a good young man' who has lived in the country for more than 10 years while following the law and maintaining good behavior.

Charlotte, a U.S. citizen from California, says her husband, who is from Afghanistan and arrived in the U.S. in 2016 on a valid student visa, has been detained at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania for over a year and a half. In early 2025, while visiting family in Maryland, he was pulled over by a sheriff in West Virginia and arrested without a stated reason, then transferred to ICE detention. He had a REAL ID driver's license and a work permit valid until 2029, and he and Charlotte have a young son, JJ, who was diagnosed with ADHD and autism and was very close to his father. Charlotte sold her belongings and moved to Maryland to be closer to him, and says ICE has not allowed him to sign voluntary departure paperwork to self-deport.

In August 2025, ICE confirmed the arrests of 24 construction workers in Centre County, Pennsylvania, who were on their way to a construction site at Mount Nittany Medical Center's patient tower project. On August 19, around 7 a.m., ICE agents pulled over a van of workers on Interstate 99 near Bellefonte; other workers from the same site were stopped near the Milesburg exit on Highway 220 about an hour later. Advocates said the 24 to 26 men detained were from Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras, and described them as fathers, sons and brothers whose arrests disrupted their families and the local workforce. A foreman driving several workers said he was pulled over by two unmarked vehicles and that many detained had valid identification and work permits. The men were reportedly taken to Pike County Correctional Facility, Clinton County Correctional Facility, and Moshannon Valley Processing Center, with advocates and a state lawmaker saying they struggled to obtain information about detainees' whereabouts and alleging some may have been misled or coerced into signing self-deportation orders. The raid preceded a similar operation near Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, and advocates described both as part of a pattern of immigration enforcement near hospitals in central Pennsylvania.

Jose Valdovinos, a 27-year-old DACA recipient who has lived in Arizona since he was a toddler, was detained by Border Patrol on August 10, 2025, after he and his wife, U.S. citizen Jitzell Flores, left a Circle K gas station near downtown Yuma. When Flores asked why he was being taken, an agent said, 'We don't have to give it to you.' Valdovinos, who works packaging Medjool dates at Datepac, has no criminal record, pays taxes, renewed his DACA status every two years, and was pursuing permanent residency. DHS said the vehicle was stopped for 'driving in a suspicious manner' and stated that 'DACA does not confer any form of legal status.' Flores called the stop racial profiling. The Mexican Consulate visited him and connected his family with an attorney before his transfer to the Florence Service Processing Center. Weeks later, he was released with an ankle monitor.

Valeria Pacheco, a 21-year-old UNLV honors psychology student and president of the Español Club, was detained by ICE on Aug. 7 after landing in Denver to visit a friend before the fall semester. She had no criminal record, a valid Social Security number, work authorization, and a pending immigration case, but was held for 35 days at the Aurora ICE Processing Center. Her family and friends organized a GoFundMe that raised $8,866 to support legal fees, and an immigration judge granted her a bond hearing allowing her to return home on Sept. 10, though her legal case remains ongoing.

Leyla Navarrete, a Nicaraguan asylum seeker who has lived in Indiana for about three years and holds a work permit and Social Security number, was detained by ICE on August 7, 2025, during a scheduled check-in in Indianapolis, which triggered an expedited removal order. After a credible-fear interview found no credible fear and an immigration judge ruled he lacked jurisdiction over her bond request—though he said he would have set it at the lowest statutory amount—she remained held at the Grayson County Detention Center while eight months pregnant. On November 26, 2025, a federal judge in the Western District of Kentucky granted her habeas corpus petition, rejected the government's jurisdictional objections, and ordered her immediate release.

Fernando Alves Rocha, a 45-year-old Brazilian theater manager at Juanita High School in Kirkland, was arrested by ICE on July 18 after overstaying a tourist visa he entered in August 2018. He filed an asylum application in February 2019, one day before his visa expired, and has maintained a valid work permit since then. Director Rose Cano described him as well-loved at the high school and a good mentor to students. According to witness accounts, ICE agents pulled Rocha from his vehicle and threw him to the ground during the arrest. ICE alleged he is wanted by Brazilian law enforcement for theft, but his attorney stated they were not shown evidence of any crimes. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 15 raised $36,405 through GoFundMe to support his legal fight and help secure his $10,000 bond. On July 29, Immigration Court Judge Tammy Fitting granted the bond, citing his strong community ties, pending asylum claim, and lack of danger to the community or flight risk. Rocha was released from Northwest Detention Center on July 30.

Wilmer Roberto Solano Dávila, a 59-year-old Venezuelan journalist and Uber driver with a pending asylum case, was pulled over by Customs and Border Protection agents while driving a rideshare fare near Haulover Beach. He had entered the U.S. legally on a journalist's visa in 2015, held Temporary Protected Status from 2021 until it lapsed in September 2025, and had a valid work permit and Florida driver's license, but was detained and held first at a Dania Beach processing site and then at the Krome North detention complex. He described being packed into an outdoor tent with as many as 250 people and no visible smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, or sprinklers, before being released on $5,000 bond after 19 days in custody and now wears an ankle monitor while his asylum case continues. Solano previously worked as a correspondent covering Venezuelan opposition politics and said he was attacked by government officials while reporting in 2011.

Lee Stinton, a 45-year-old Irish hairstylist from Northern Ireland who had lived in Key West since 2018, was detained by ICE on June 12 after being stopped for a traffic violation on his e-bike. During the stop, an ICE officer told him "You look Mexican" before taking him into custody. Stinton had valid work authorization and a pending green card application through VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) protection after his previous marriage ended in domestic violence charges. An ICE officer also threatened to detain Stinton's partner, DeVaun Davis, a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier and U.S. citizen, after seeing his photo on Stinton's phone. At Krome Detention Center near Miami, Stinton was held in severely overcrowded conditions—a cell designed for 10 people held approximately 100 men on a concrete floor with one toilet—denied vegan food despite being vegan, given limited access to showers and medications, and experienced obstacles contacting a lawyer. During his detention, Stinton was taken to a hospital where subdermal piercings were surgically removed without his consent while he was shackled to a bed. He also witnessed a detainee die after not receiving heart medication. Stinton is a valued community member with no criminal record who had been paying taxes since 2019; a local petition for his release drew over 1,500 signatures. After approximately one month in detention, Stinton was deported to London on July 12 and returned to Northern Ireland, where he has since engaged in therapy and part-time work. His case drew international attention with coverage in the BBC, Belfast Telegraph, and other outlets.

Deivi Jose Molina-Pena, a 33-year-old Venezuelan on Temporary Protected Status, was arrested by ICE agents at a Walmart on July 7, 2025, while working as a delivery driver for Walmart's Spark service. Video captured agents using a Taser to subdue him as he fell and struck his head. Molina-Pena remained in ICE custody in El Paso with reported head pain and no medical evaluation. His arrest followed tensions between American-born and immigrant delivery drivers, with American drivers reportedly calling ICE hotlines to report immigrants' locations.

Two Southeast Asian migrants, clients of attorney Tin Thanh Nguyen, were deported to Eswatini in July 2025 and have been held in isolation without legal representation or explanation of charges. Neither the Vietnamese nor Laotian governments have publicly declined repatriation, and the governments have not had direct access to the men. The attorney states his clients wish to return to their home countries. The Trump administration has not explained why they were not repatriated to Vietnam or Laos, claiming such deportations are reserved for individuals their own countries will not accept—a claim the deportees' legal representatives dispute. A human rights lawyer in Eswatini sued authorities alleging the men were being denied legal representation while held in a maximum-security prison.

Vilma Palacios, 22, a recent LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing graduate who had accepted a job at Touro Infirmary, was arrested by ICE agents on June 26, 2025, while attempting to get a vehicle inspection sticker. She has been detained at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile for six months. Palacios had previously been granted a work permit and had applied for asylum as a child, fleeing Honduras at age 6.

Erasmo Zavala, a Berks County father who had applied for a U visa after cooperating with law enforcement in the investigation into his daughter's murder, was detained by ICE in April 2025 despite his pending humanitarian visa application. During his nearly two-month detention, he was repeatedly shackled at his hands and feet and flown between facilities, including Moshannon Valley Processing Center and a facility in Louisiana, often with no explanation of where he was being taken. He said he was awakened in the middle of the night twice and driven to the airport, fearing deportation to Mexico. Zavala said, 'They treat you as if you really were some kind of criminal. But what kind of criminal dedicates himself to his family and mostly goes from work to home?' He was released following a court order from Judge Stephanie Haines, with his case tied to a dispute over a Trump administration policy rescinding protections for crime victims and witnesses cooperating with law enforcement.

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.

Yasmir Marquez, a Venezuelan man with a pending asylum claim and work authorization, was detained by ICE agents outside the Richard C. White Federal Building in El Paso immediately after his immigration hearing on May 29, 2025. Agents presented a Department of Justice document stating his notice to appear had been "improvidently issued" and that circumstances had changed, allowing for his removal proceedings to be reinitiated. A friend who witnessed the arrest said agents initially called him by the wrong name before detaining him. Marquez is currently being held at the Otero County Processing Center in Chaparral, New Mexico.

Sara Lopez Garcia, a 20-year-old student at Suffolk County Community College with a 3.9 GPA, was arrested by ICE agents on May 21 during a raid on her family home in Mastic. She claimed she had special immigrant juvenile legal status and a valid work permit. She was detained for over two months and subsequently deported to Colombia in August.