Human Impact Project

Federal authorities arrested 10 anti-ICE activists, including Isai Carrillo, and charged them with violence and property damage during immigration enforcement operations in Southern California between June and July 2025. The charges stem from three separate incidents: a June 6 incident in the Fashion District where a protester allegedly used pepper spray against federal agents; a June 8 downtown Los Angeles protest at Civic Center where demonstrators allegedly threw objects at officers; and a July 10 protest at a federal operation in Camarillo where protesters allegedly blocked vehicles, threw rocks, and damaged federal property. Two members of VC Defensa, an organization prosecutors said operates a rapid response network to impede immigration agents, were among those charged. Federal authorities arrested the suspects on October 29, 2025, with charges including conspiring to obstruct federal law enforcement.

Illinois state representative Hoan Huynh, a Vietnamese refugee, reported being confronted by ICE and Customs and Border Patrol agents who pointed a gun at his head while he monitored immigration enforcement operations on Chicago's North Side. Huynh was documenting the agents' activities and informing residents of their rights when the incident occurred. ICE enforcement operations in Chicago have separated families from their communities. Gerardo Perez's mother was arrested and deported in June.

An unidentified law enforcement officer placed a 57-year-old woman named Franci Stagi in a chokehold and threw her down a grassy embankment during a protest outside an ICE field office in Durango, Colorado on October 28. The incident was recorded on video. Hundreds of protesters had gathered at the location. The officer wore a black balaclava and tactical vest labeled with 'Police' or 'Police HSI' and was not identified as part of any specific law enforcement agency.

Fernando Jaramillo Solano, a Colombian asylum-seeker, was detained by ICE agents on October 27, 2025 while driving his two children—ages 11/12 and 14/15—to school near a mobile home park in Durango, Colorado. The family had lived in Colorado for more than 18 months with an active asylum case and no criminal record. Immigration officials later admitted in federal court that Jaramillo Solano was not their intended target. The father was sent to a family detention center in Dilley, Texas, while the children were held separately at an ICE facility in southern Texas, apart from their mother, Estela Patiño, who remained in Durango. Local police tried multiple times to secure the children's release but were denied entry by federal agents, and Colorado Governor Jared Polis said ICE had not notified the state in advance. On October 28, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the ICE field office demanding the family's release; agents in tactical gear used pepper spray and rubber bullets, breaking through a human chain formed by demonstrators. The family was subsequently granted voluntary departure, with ICE facilitating their return to Colombia.

Subramanyam 'Subu' Vedam, a 64-year-old man who moved to the US at nine months old, was exonerated this month after spending more than 40 years in prison for a 1980 murder he did not commit. Upon his release, he was immediately taken into ICE custody, which cited an old drug conviction and a 1988 deportation order as grounds for removal to India. His family and lawyers say he has virtually no ties to India, had applied for US citizenship before his arrest, and showed decades of good behavior in prison, earning three degrees and mentoring fellow inmates. Vedam has since been denied bail and remains in ICE custody as his case continues.

Leticia Nevares, a mother of three who has lived in the U.S. for more than 35 years, was detained by ICE on September 16 after attending a scheduled green card interview at the USCIS office in Fresno, California. The appointment was supposed to be the final step in her legal residency application process. She was placed in handcuffs and transported to a detention facility in Bakersfield, then transferred to a facility in California City run by CoreCivic. Nevares works as an elderly caretaker and has no criminal history. According to her son Steven Rodriguez, she has devoted countless hours to community service, including helping at food drives, caring for sick neighbors, and providing end-of-life care to elderly community members. Her next court hearing was scheduled for October 28.

Chanthila "Shawn" Souvannarath, 44, was deported to Laos despite a federal court order issued the day before blocking his removal so he could pursue a claim of U.S. citizenship. Souvannarath was born in a refugee camp in Thailand but has lived most of his life in the United States and had been granted lawful permanent residence before his first birthday. A federal judge had directed ICE to keep him in the country while his citizenship claim was reviewed. DHS said the court order was not received until after the deportation had already taken place, according to attorneys.

U.S. citizens were detained by federal agents at an Aurora school hospital. Protesters confronted the agents at the scene. The detained individuals have since spoken out about their experience.

A Mexican citizen who has lived in the United States since 1970 and entered lawfully with a valid B1/B2 visitor visa in August 2009. He was arrested on October 27, 2025, and has been held in immigration detention at the Desert View Annex facility in Adelanto, California for nearly ten months. Petitioner has no prior criminal history. After an immigration judge denied his bond on May 6, 2026, and again on June 15, 2026, following an individualized hearing, Petitioner filed a habeas corpus petition seeking to prevent his removal from the United States and the Central District of California. He is experiencing health complications related to high blood pressure during his continued detention. On August 7, 2026, the federal court granted Petitioner's emergency motion for a temporary restraining order, enjoining respondents from deporting him or removing him outside the district while his petition is pending. The court scheduled oral argument on the preliminary injunction for August 13, 2026, and referred the case to the Federal Public Defender for consideration of appointed counsel.

Omar Viadurre Luis, a Peruvian national granted legal admission and awaiting asylum review, has been detained by ICE since October 2025 after appearing in court on traffic charges that were dropped. Now held at Lewisburg federal penitentiary, he faces deportation to Honduras under Trump administration policies despite having no criminal record, a wife, a young child, stable employment, and serious medical needs. His family was legally admitted to the U.S. in September 2022 and was on the normal path to asylum review before his arrest separated their cases.

Jose Jeronimo Guardian, a 48-year-old undocumented immigrant, was detained by ICE agents outside Clinton County Courthouse in Illinois on October 27, 2025, as he arrived for a scheduled court hearing on DUI charges. Guardian had lived in southern Illinois for approximately 20 years and was attempting to appear in traffic court as required. His family stated he was not hiding and was prepared to face the consequences of his charges.

A federal agent smashed the driver's side window of a vehicle in a grocery store parking lot in Addison, Illinois on Sunday morning to detain a woman. Video posted to social media showed masked federal agents surrounding the vehicle around 8:50 a.m., with one agent using a baton to shatter the window before unlocking and opening the car doors. Multiple people were in the vehicle, though the exact number detained was unclear.

Silvia Reyna Mendoza, who has lived in the United States for 40 years and is a mother of 8, reported sexual misconduct by an ICE contractor. A judge issued an order prohibiting her deportation. ICE deported her the following day. She is currently in ICE detention in Kern County while her family pursues her case.

Andrea Guadalupe Velez, a 32-year-old U.S. citizen and Cal Poly Pomona graduate, was detained by ICE agents in downtown Los Angeles on June 24, 2025, when she was dropped off at work during a street sweep operation targeting vendors. Agents arrested her after she stepped into the path of an officer attempting to apprehend another individual. Velez was charged with assaulting a federal officer and reported being denied water for 24 hours while held at a detention center and unable to contact the outside world for much of her detention, which lasted more than two days. A federal judge ordered her released on $5,000 bond. The Justice Department later dismissed her case without prejudice. On August 20, Velez filed a federal tort claim alleging racial profiling and wrongful arrest; she is one of six claimants represented by the Carrillo Law Firm alleging similar misconduct by ICE and Border Patrol in Southern California.

Omar Huerta Cisneros, a 54-year-old green card holder with schizophrenia who has lived in the U.S. since childhood, was stopped by agents in Chicago's Chicago Lawn neighborhood while walking to a grocery store in October 2025. Agents zip-tied his hands and put him into an unmarked vehicle, which witnesses described as a red minivan. His family learned of the detention from a Facebook video and spent 10 days searching for him, repeatedly calling DHS offices to explain he urgently needed his medication, but no agency could tell them where he was. 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.

Germán Pineda, a 32-year-old Honduran immigrant who worked as a delivery driver in the U.S. for 14 years, was arrested by ICE in June 2025 and detained at Federal Plaza in Manhattan, then transferred to a Brooklyn detention center. After a month in detention, ICE officials presented him with voluntary departure papers and promised him a free flight to Honduras plus a $1,000 payment, telling him he could return to the U.S. legally later and threatening that refusing would mean months of additional detention followed by deportation. Desperate for relief, Pineda signed the form on July 25 but remained in detention for two additional months. After arriving in Honduras, his wire transfer went uncollected for over 30 days and was returned to the financial services company before he could collect it, leaving him with nothing. An investigation found widespread payment failures in the "Project Homecoming" program, with wire transfers going uncollected, payments sent to wrong recipients, and immigrants told they were ineligible despite initial promises. Pineda said he spoke with 10 friends from Honduras, Colombia, El Salvador, and Peru who signed the same paperwork and received nothing, and he now faces a 5-year ban on returning to the U.S. unless granted a waiver.

Federal immigration agents deployed tear gas in the Irving Park and Avondale neighborhoods on Chicago's Northwest Side on Saturday, detaining multiple people including a landscaper, a tortilla delivery driver, and an elderly resident. Neighborhood protests occurred following the incident. The incident was alleged to violate a federal judge's temporary restraining order limiting tear gas use. Additional arrests occurred at O'Hare International Airport's rideshare lot the same day.

Marina Ortiz, a fifth-grade teacher at Global Village Academy in Douglas County (Parker), Colorado, was detained by ICE along with her minor children during a routine immigration appointment at an ICE field office in Centennial on October 24. She and her family were subsequently transferred to a detention facility in Texas. School officials confirmed Ortiz held valid employment authorization through spring 2029 and said they are working with immigration attorneys to help bring the family back to Colorado. ICE said Ortiz entered the country near Yuma, Arizona, on December 2, 2022, and was later paroled. A school board member said the incident has caused fear within the school community.

ICE agents attempted to arrest 21-year-old undocumented Honduran immigrant Willian Castillo-Hernandez on October 24, 2025, despite not having a warrant for him. After he fled to his home, a multi-hour standoff ensued involving the FBI. Video evidence suggests ICE rammed his truck, contradicting ICE's claim that he rammed them. Castillo-Hernandez was ultimately arrested after negotiators convinced him to leave the house.

Federal agents from ICE and U.S. Marshals Service raided a home in Gary, Indiana on October 23, 2025, taking an entire family into custody. The 26-year-old son reported being punched in the eye and choked during the arrest, while his parents—who lack legal immigration status—remain in custody. The two adult U.S. citizen children were released, but the family now faces four separate court cases and legal expenses.